Ahmed Mohamed, 14, Builds Clock, Is Cuffed for Bomb Hoax, Then Gets Invited to White House
To me this also highlights the failing of a broad trend in education over the past decade or so: zero-tolerance policies. Such policies are applied to a range of topics/issues, from language to clothing to weapons to drugs/medications, etc. These issues are serious and real, but zero-tolerance far too often means “zero judgment.” Such policies free teachers & administrators to act first and think later (if at all), rather than thoughtfully examining the context of the issue. They teach students that judgment and reason are not to be valued, and that “fairness” means applying the same rigid answer to all situations. Life is rarely black and white, right or wrong; yet such policies falsely teach our children to view the world that way.
.. If they’d truly thought this was a bomb, they would have evacuated the school. Clearly no one thought it was. They said thought he had a hoax bomb, which he would have, had he said “this is a bomb.”
.. So according the police spokesperson, “He kept maintaining it was a clock, but there was no broader explanation.” Exactly what kind of “broader explanation” were they looking for?
.. Looking at the picture of the “clock”, you can understand the teacher’s concern. It should not have gotten to the point that Ahmed was detained by the police, but you can understand the school getting them involved.