Principal makes unannounced visit to absentee student home..

[HipChick]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/19/straight-out-of-hollywood-principal-makes-house-call-2/

In a famous scene from the comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” a principal makes an unannounced house call to check up on a student who didn’t show up to school.
When it happened in real life for a family in Orange County, though, it was no laughing matter, reports CBS 2’s Lou Young.
The principal is a well-liked former lieutenant colonel in the Army with a no-nonsense demeanor.
The two students, ages 12 and 16, live at the home with their mother.
A criminal complaint alleges Chester Academy Principal Ernest Jackson entered the home without permission when the two boys didn’t come to school in late September, and actually tried to coax them out of their beds.
“You don’t walk into someone’s house,” Melanie Hunter said. “I could’ve been coming out of the shower.”
ackson had a school psychologist with him during the unannounced visit. The boys’ mother wasn’t home, and there’s dispute over whether an adult relative passing by gave them permission to enter the home. The boys’ father, living in Brooklyn, filed the complaint a month after the incident.
“We’re looking at a simple trespass charge right now,” Chester Police Chief Peter Graziano said.
Graziano said he hasn’t seen anything like it since a mythical principal chased a famous movie character.
Residents in Chester seem to favor giving the principal the benefit of the doubt.
“I think his heart was in the right place, but he did the wrong thing,” Pat Wohlrab said.
“He really cares, he’s a good guy,” Ed Dunn said. “I’d want him to come and kick my kid in the butt if he saw my kid doing something wrong.”

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Alternate headline: Principal Abandons Post

:think:

[uppityperson]

5. to trespass.

[msanthrope]

25. He's got two current strip-search lawsuits against him---

so, of course, he thought it appropriate to visit students in their bedrooms, while they were in bed, and in their underwear....

[devilgrrl]

2. Mr. Hand!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9huSs0g67c

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

21. I love when he shows up at Spicolli's house

"I think I left that one in my locker....."

"Then I'm glad I brought an extra copy......just for you."

[DFab420]

3. Alternate Headline : Principal fed up with parents not parenting

:think:

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. How about: Principal Doing His Job

[DFab420]

10. Haha

Truth!

Living in boarding school, if you didn't show up for school they would send the Dean in to wake you up and get you to class.

Happened once to me, lemme tell you, I never skipped a morning class again.

[liberalhistorian]

26. Really? It's the principal's job to enter uninvited

into homes (trespassing, in other words) and, finding sick kids in bed, try to make them get dressed and come to school? Really? Seriously? He has two other civil lawsuits against him for illegal strip searches, was that his job also?

According to other articles I've read with more information, he did not have permission to enter. The mother had called the school to say the boys were ill and unable to attend school; she then left for work. The principal brought the school psychologist with him but, when the psychologist saw them in bed in their underwear, saw no reason to stay. The principal, however, stayed and tried to get the boys out of bed when they were ill. Understandably upset, they called their mother who told the principal to leave immediately as he was trespassing. And both boys are honor students, they are not ne'er do well delinquents. And the fact that he has other suits against him doesn't speak well for him, either.

Bottom line is, he had no business entering the home without permission and was trespassing. The lengths to which some people here will go to defend heavy-handed authoritarianism is truly astounding.

[ThomCat]

61. +1 Schools get paid based on attendence. Follow the money.

Also, it is more likely to be the good kids that usually put up with authoritarian abuses without complaining. This guy probably thought he could get away with this because, if these were good kids, they could be coerced into doing what he wanted without complaining.

Good kids get that label in part because they can be coerced by adults in authority into doing what those adults what them to do, and can be coerced into believing what those adults want them to believe. Those are the kids that DON'T complain, and AREN'T cynical.

Good for these kids, that this time he was wrong, and this time the kids did complain and couldn't be coerced. And good for the mom for pressing charges. Nobody in authority should be able to abuse their authority this way.

What does it matter that they are honor student and not "ne're do wells?" Even if they weren't the best students, and even if they did have a history of problems in schools, they would still have a right to privacy in their own home, and a right to not have the principal walking in on them while they are home sick, and only dressed their underwear. Rights should Every depend on what grades you get or whether or not teachers like you. Every student deserves all the same rights. That's what it means for something to be a right, instead of a privilege.

[northernlights]

71. +1 .....nt

[Toucano]

15. +1

[liberalhistorian]

27. Both boys are honor students. I hardly call that

"not parenting." And he had no business entering the home without permission, especially considering the boys really were ill.

[ThomCat]

62. Who are you to judge the parent for keeping sick students home

from school?

Most people would consider that Good Parenting, preventing illness from spreading to other people's kids. You don't send sick kids to school.

Or are you being judgmental because the mom isn't a stay at home mom, and can't afford to be there at home with them when they are sick? Do you not realize that a lot of jobs don't allow parents that flexibility? The reality is that once kids are old enough and responsible enough to be home alone, if they are sick they spend the day home alone in bed letting the illness run its course.

The only adult I see acting irresponsible there is the Principal.

[liberalhistorian]

69. +100

These boys, at 12 and 16, were old enough to be home alone if they were sick. The majority of parents don't have the luxury of taking off work every time a child is sick, many don't even get sick days for themselves. Many employers penalize or fire workers who take time off for illness for themselves or their children.

[Initech]

4. Funny I immediately thought of Ferris Bueller when I saw this.

[csziggy]

6. Apparently this is not the first abuse of power with this guy

From the Comments:
"Fox News just said that he’s already got two law suits against him for illegal strip searches of two students in his school! - JeriAnn Eakin"

Uh, maybe this principal should actually READ the Constitution he swore to uphold during his years in the Army.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. How is visiting a student's home an abuse of power?

:eyes:

[csziggy]

14. Visiting a student's home is not; entering when no adult is present to give permission is

Harassing a student who is sick in bed and who has been reported as sick to the school by the parent is. According to a comment below the story, the mother had reported that the two boys were sick and would be absent. So why is the principal hassling the kids? If he thought the mother was lying, he should take it up with her, not with the kids.

If the boys had a history of excessive number of days out of school, the principal should take that up with the mother. If he thinks she is letting the kids off for no good reason, he should take it up with the mother. If he thinks there are other problems in the home, he could have set up a meeting for the kids with the school psychologist at the school when they returned.

The mother filed charges for trespass immediately. The father did as soon as he heard about the incident. The article acknowledges that the principal should not have entered the home.

The comment on the article I was reacting to said this principal is already involved in two lawsuits for strip searching students - how is a school principal authorized to do that? If he suspected that students had illegal items, he should have called the police. Most schools these days have school resource officers on hand to handle illegal acts by students.

[WinkyDink]

37. Because he went up to and into the BEDROOMS! He'll be lucky not to be accused of molestation!

[MattBaggins]

73. Really? Trespassing? You don't see the problem with that?

[DFab420]

12. Abuse of power?

why? For trying to get a 12 year old and 16 year old to get to school. To care about their future?

Honestly, there are some educators out there who do go a bit over the top..

This guy, not one of them.

[csziggy]

16. Strip searching students is not abuse of power? Harassing sick students

Illegal entry is not abuse of power?

In case you did not read my message, here is what was in the body:
From the Comments:
"Fox News just said that he’s already got two law suits against him for illegal strip searches of two students in his school! - JeriAnn Eakin"

If a principal had done that when I was in school, he would have been in jail before school let out for the day, not running free to enter a student's home illegally and attempting to harangue sick children into attending school.

[PeaceNikki]

19. I'm with you. Fuck that creep.

[csziggy]

24. Thanks - I don't get the instant assumption that the kids were slackers

Especially when in the comments it was said that the mother had reported them sick. Nothing in the article indicates that the two boys had missed an unusual amount of school or that there were any problems with their school work, just that the principal decided to take the law into his own hands.

Maybe I am taking this one personally because I missed an unusual amount of school. Between accidents (broken arm, third degree burn), a tendency towards respiratory infections, and severe migraines, I missed a lot of school. My grades stayed high, though, so when I missed more than the maximum days in my senior year, they waived the requirement to repeat a grade and let me graduate. It helped that I usually managed to stay for the half of the school hours when I had classes - I had two "study" periods the end of the day my senior year since I ran out of classes I could take.

I can't imagine the kind of havoc that would have ensued if my high school principal had showed up at my parents' home and tried to get me to go to school on a day when I had a migraine. It would not have been pretty, that is for certain.

[PeaceNikki]

35. I am all for educators caring. I am 100% behind them being involved. I am vehemently opposed to them

strip-searching students and entering homes and bedrooms of students uninvited. This guy is no hero. He is a creep.

[csziggy]

57. The school psychologist needs to evaluate the principal, not the students!

[Mariana]

55. Lots of folks intensely dislike young people.

Given a story like this one, they'll always jump to the conclusion that the kids are rotten and deserve whatever was done and said to them, and usually that the parents are lousy, too.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

66. Worse than jumping to a conclusion, they stay with the wrong conclusion even when shown evidence! nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

65. There's no such thing as abuse of authority to some assholes.

Yes, everybody who is defending this act IS an asshole. An authoritarian asshole. A demented authoritarian asshole. A creepy, demented authoritarian asshole. A creepy, demented authoritarian asshole pervert.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. +1

[liberalhistorian]

28. How about entering a home without permission

and harassing sick children who are in bed in their underwear? Even the school psychologist he brought with him saw no reason to stay once he assessed the situation. And the boys are honor students, hardly slacker delinquents.

[DainBramaged]

45. Which is the point to this exercise, but some here think giving up their freedoms at the

airport is also a good thing.


Those who would give up their freedoms so liberally may not be as liberal as you might expect.

[Ikonoklast]

64. He might have got a bullet if he tried that at my house.

Unlawful entry is enough to get one permanently ventilated in a most violent manner.



On what planet do people think that strangers can just take it upon themselves to enter a private residence?

[MattBaggins]

74. Trespassing perhaps even breaking and entering isn't over the top?

[Frustratedlady]

7. Several years ago, we had a coach who got a player out of bed.

His mother told the coach she couldn't do anything with him. The coach asked for permission to come and get him up. She agreed.

The next morning, the boy didn't show up for school, so the coach went to his home, walked into his bedroom, told him to get up and, when he didn't move, the coach threw off the covers and repeated the request.

That kid looked up and saw this coach with his hands on his hips and the biceps bulging, jumped out of bed, pulled on his pants and was ready for school in less than a minute.

He never did that again! Turned out to be a good student, as well as a star athlete.

[liberalhistorian]

29. What does that have to do with this case?

Here, the mother reported the boys as ill (children will tend to get sick at the same time, catching bugs from each other), and the boys are both honor students, hardly slackers. She neither requested the principal's presence nor was it necessary.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. My principal makes home visits all the time

Good principals do this.

[petronius]

17. Going to a home and knocking on the door is great

However, it sounds like this principal just walked in uninvited, which is a crime and an invasion of privacy...

[msanthrope]

22. Your principal interviews children in their underwear in their beds?

The mother had called the boys in sick...and he showed up at their house, with a school psychologist who took off once it became clear the kids were, actually, sick.


"It appears that Jackson and a guidance counsellor both went round to the boys’ house in Chester but when it became clear both were in bed the counsellor left.

Jackson, though, remained unconvinced and began hectoring the half-naked boys to come to school, according to the police complaint.
'My kids were in their underwear, again you are talking about a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old,’ said Mr DiQuattro.

Asked if the principal should be left in charge of children, Mr DiQuattro replied: 'Absolutely not’.

The terrified boys called their mother at work, who ordered Jackson to leave before making an official complaint.
In addition to the school investigation, local police are also looking into the matter.

Jackson declined to comment but his wife told local TV station WABC-TV that facts not yet made public would explain her husband’s behaviour


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1331446/Headteacher-barges-students-home-really-sick.html#ixzz164BsLty4

[kas125]

33. Wait a minute here. Good principals just enter people's homes

without permission? Good principals not only enter the home, but the BEDROOMS of children without permission to be there? Since when? This wasn't a principal making a home visit, this was a guy breaking and entering like a common criminal.

[WinkyDink]

38. PLEASE read the entire story!!

[MattBaggins]

75. A good principal might call in advance and set up a time to come over

Coming over announced and trespassing is unprofessional at best.

How about strip searching kids? You down with that as well?

[beyurslf]

13. Good for him!

As a long time foster parent of teens, getting a kid out of bed who refuses to get up can be an unwinable situation. I say bravo!

[msanthrope]

20. The mother had called the school to report the kids as 'sick.'

And when the principal entered the house, he found the children in bed, asleep and in their underwear.

Oh--and the school psychologist who was with him?

Took off after he realized the kids were actually sick....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1331446/Headteacher-barges-students-home-really-sick.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[kas125]

32. Really? You are actually saying "good for him" entering a home

without permission from the people inside? I worked for my local school system for a good many years and have known lots of school principals, but not one of them ever just walked into someone's home and the kids' bedrooms. Even if he suspected that they weren't really sick, he had no business walking into someone's house without being invited in. If someone had done that when I was at work and my kids were home sick, I'd have been at the police station filing a complaint first and the superintendent's office to inform the school district that they had an employee who had just committed a crime next.

Geez, I am really shocked to read some of the responses here. Since when has breaking into people's houses to enter a teenager's bedroom become acceptable behavior at DU?

[WinkyDink]

40. What?! You would LIKE IT if, without your presence, knowledge, or permission, this MAN ENTERED YOUR

CHILD'S BEDROOM?!

[1monster]

68. Good for him???!!! Even teachers for Hospital/Homebound students who are scheduled

to teach children in that program are not allowed to enter the home if a father/mother/or designated adult is not in the home with the student when s/he arrives. This is for the protection of both the child and the Hospital/Homebound teacher. If the Hospital/Homebound teacher entered the home without the required adult present, s/he would be suject to discipline up to and including dismissal. The teacher might also find him/herself in a world of woe if the homebound student (many times there are serious/emotional problems keeping the student homebound) chose to make accusations agains the teacher.

This principal was wrong. The mother had called the kids in sick. That should have been enough for the principal. If there had been a truancy problem, (in this case, however, the students were honor students), there are proper channels to follow. Including that school resource officer that most schools have these days. The officer would have known better than to illegally enter a residence.

[tinymontgomery]

23. I look at this as 2 edge sword

He didn't do it the right way BUT when they don't pass the EOC's or drop out in a few (maybe) years he is then held responsible. In this situation he is stuck between the rock and a hard place. I think the whole situation just sucks!

[liberalhistorian]

30. These boys were both honor students,

hardly slackers in danger of failing. Their mother had reported them sick, they were in bed sick as even the counselor saw, and they should have been left the hell alone.

[tinymontgomery]

31. Like I said 2 edge sword

the school won't come out okay either way. He did it the WRONG way but not checking he could and I REPEAT could have cost him the parents getting mad at him for not checking and running to the school board about how the school doesn't track what is going on. We have to call at the 3rd day absent, 6th day absent and 10 day absent (most numbers are disconnected) . It is amazing that teachers get blamed when the kid cuts class. First thing out of the parents mouth is "why didn't you tell me" "it's the teachers fault" etc. Yes he did it the wrong way, most likely the next principal won't check up at all. Then the parents will be pissed off again and that person will be gone and we'll be reading about how they suck in the paper or on DU.

[kas125]

34. No, not the "wrong" way, he did it in the criminal way. We are

not allowed to just walk in to people's homes without being invited in. There are laws against that and he should be charged just the same way anyone else breaking and entering would be.

[Binka]

48. The Authoritarians Are Playing Hard And Fast Tonight n/t

[tinymontgomery]

51. No I said he did it the wrong way

He should have knocked and waited or tried to get a hold of the parents. Again, I didn't say he was RIGHT in how he did it.

[Mariana]

56. If this jackass is so concerned about attendence

then what the hell is he doing trying to drag sick kids into school so they can infect the other students?

[WinkyDink]

41. What about "illegal trespassing" do you not get?

[WinkyDink]

36. ARREST the SOB! I don't give a good g%^$$%^mn about "his heart"

[PeaceNikki]

39. I can't believe anyone is defending this creep.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

67. I can. I no longer believe human capacity for authoritarian evil is in any way limited. -nt

[WinkyDink]

42. Raise your hand if you would not mind a school official's entering your child's bedroom without your

knowledge.

THERE ARE NO TWO SIDES TO THIS STORY.

[TBF]

43. Heart's in the right place but ...

you know one of my nieces' was having a rough year awhile back (she was 10 or 11 then) and the principal took an interest in her after talking to her mom (my sister). She would pick her up for school (not walk in - but she'd drive over and honk) and kept an eye on her until she got to class. She really worked with my sister to get the girl engaged again. I'm really not sure what all was going on, and why my niece hated school at that point, but the extra attention worked. She got her involved in band, had her in summer school, and she is doing great now. She's an average student with friends and does really well in the band.

They live in a small town though, and that may make it a little different environment then you'd have in a big city school. Dunno... This principal just went above & beyond and I know my sister (a single mom with 2 kids) was grateful for the help.

[WinkyDink]

47. Read above. Someone involved in strip-searches, who then enters a boy's bedroom, .....

[TBF]

50. Ah, now that is different "involvement" not so desirable ... nt

[rucky]

44. Faux outrage over a victimless "crime"

American society needs more caring at all costs.

[WinkyDink]

46. Let me know the next time you're not home. Leave the door unlocked.

[rucky]

49. I don't trust you with the care of my child.

But I do leave my door unlocked, so feel free to come by and drop in a load of laundry.

[Dappleganger]

52. Enter my home uninvited...

and there's a very good chance you'll get shot.

[unblock]

59. exactly. he put the students in a position where perhaps the right thing to do was to kill him

now wouldn't that fuck up a kid for life!
how the hell is that good teaching?

[Greyhound]

54. Walking into another person's home, when they are not there is a crime.

Do it in most southern and western states and he could be legally shot.

You're submission to non-existent authority is noted.

[unblock]

58. "victimless"????????

the term "victimless" is normally reserved for "crimes" where everyone participating in it has consented, e.g., possession or sale of drugs, or prostitution.

i'm not clear on where the homeowners or students gave consent. this is hardly a "victimless" crime.

[northernlights]

72. honor students home sick and you think trespassing and entering somebody's home

and wandering around in there, and on finding 2 sick honor students in bed, trying to coerce them into getting out of their sick beds and go to school is caring?

Or do you think the principal's history of strip searches are caring?

With caring like that, who the fuck needs enemies?

The guy thinks he's in the military and owns the students, their parents and their homes. He needs to get in touch with reality and stay the fuck out of people's homes.

I'm so glad I never had kids and pity many of today's parents.

[Greyhound]

53. Of what possible relevance to this incident is his former military rank? n/t

[fifthoffive]

63. Relevance? None

Military service is used now to imply that the person is morally superior to any citizen who hasn't served. His status as a veteran automatically gives him rights no average citizen has.

[liberalhistorian]

70. +1

I'm getting mighty tired of that, myself, and am noticing it more and more.

[unblock]

60. at best, this should be filed under "no good deed goes unpunished"

every once in a while, someone commits a crime out of the best intentions, so focused on the "good" of what they're doing that they become oblivious to the harm, or potential harm that could come of it, or simply the straightforward fact that their actions are illegal.

even if you think the principal's actions were based from a desire only to do good, he clearly and obviously crossed the line and needs to be disciplined.