More Homophobic Bullshit from Itawamba

[Diva]

I couldn't find the Parent Advisory Committee contact info. But I DID find this:

The Itawamba County School District needs to hear from YOU:

Superintendent Teresa McNeece
tmcneece@itawamba.k12.ms.us
phone (662) 862-2159 Ext. 14

Principal Trae Wiygul
twiygul@itawamba.k12.ms.us
(662) 862-3104

Let's keep those phones ringing off the hook. And I would encourage you, if possible, to fax your letters in addition to emailing them. The school's fax number: you can send a fax to (662) 862-5494.


Enjoy being subverse.

[Tommi]

Originally Posted by Diva

I couldn't find the Parent Advisory Committee contact info. But I DID find this:

The Itawamba County School District needs to hear from YOU:

Superintendent Teresa McNeece
tmcneece@itawamba.k12.ms.us
phone (662) 862-2159 Ext. 14

Principal Trae Wiygul
twiygul@itawamba.k12.ms.us
(662) 862-3104

Let's keep those phones ringing off the hook. And I would encourage you, if possible, to fax your letters in addition to emailing them. The school's fax number: you can send a fax to (662) 862-5494.


Enjoy being subverse.

I love you...bumping because...

Thanks Diva...I love writng and faxing...Wheeeeeee

[Martina]

i emailed the superintendent a day or so ago. No reply of course.

[Tommi]

Originally Posted by Martina

i emailed the superintendent a day or so ago. No reply of course.

Look at these faces....(click on Adminstration_......Poor girl
http://www.itawambaahs.com/

(L to R) Mr. Trae Wiygul - Principal, Mr. Rick Mitchell - Assistant Principal

Mr. Trae Wiygul, Principal
*

Mr. Rick Mitchell, Assistant Principal
*

Mrs. Pam Wheeler, Office Administrator
*

Mrs. Cindy Johnson, Office Administrator



Itawamba Agricultural High School

11900 Hwy. 25 South

Fulton, MS 38843

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by evolveme

The brains of teenagers are not fully formed. Their frontal lobes are "sluggish." They are high on impulsiveness and weak on decision making skill. This article from NPR came about when a pediatric neurologist decided to study what the heck was up with her teenage sons and why they appeared to be making such ridiculous decisions.

It isn't believed that brains are fully developed until into the twenties. So, I agree with Medusa, that while we can (must) hold these teenagers responsible for the poor choices they are making (we have to teach all kids to be accountable for themselves), it is really the parents here who must own what has occurred. Constance and every other teenager like her deserves that much.

Hi evolveme, while what you say about teenage brain development is true, I hesitate to accept that that was the reason behind this incident. Here's another article on the subject of teenage brain development (from 2002, but makes similar statements as your article) http://www.actforyouth.net/documents...olbraindev.pdf.

In a study conducted at Boston’s McLean Hospital, psychologist Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and colleagues showed pictures of people wearing fearful expressions to teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17 while the teens had their brains scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). She found that compared to adults the teens' frontal lobes (the seat of goal-oriented rational thinking) are less active and their amygdala (a structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in discriminating fear and other emotions) is more active. The teens often misread facial expressions, with those under the age of 14 more often seeing sadness or anger or confusion instead of fear. Older teenagers answered correctly more often and exhibited a progressive shift of activity from the amygdala to the frontal lobes.

We know that Constance is 18 years old and we can safely assume her fellow students were as well since it was a senior prom. The findings of that particular study suggest that older teens display a higher degree of accuracy in interpreting facial expressions/emotion as well as in their ability to make decisions. It also suggests a progressive shift to the frontal lobes in older teenagers. If we consider that 18 year olds are, on average, much better at decision making and reading emotion than their younger counterparts, we can assume that they are at least, to some degree, capable of making rational decisions.

If we also consider that it is far from uncommon for adults with fully developed frontal lobes to make many poor decisions, I wonder how we can differentiate between a poor decision one makes as a teenager and a poor decision one makes as an adult, and if these adults made the same poor decision as these 18 year olds, can we really say, without a shadow of a doubt, that these teenagers simply made the decision because they were 18 and not 38? What these studies on teenage brain development show is that teenagers are more likely to make poor decisions because the frontal lobe is still developing, not that every poor decision they make is because of it. If that were the case, then adults with fully formed frontal lobes would not be making poor decisions.

I'm also unsure if I follow in your reasoning about owing Constance that much. To me, all persons involved should be owning up to what they did, not just the adults. I realise that you claim that the teens should also be held responsible, but I'm not sure I understand why there should be any difference between the responsibility taken by the teenagers and the adults. Considering both made equally wrong decisions, we shouldn't necessarily assume that one group did so just because they may be more likely to. We don't know that that isn't a decision they wouldn't have made as adults. I also think that by claiming "that while we can (must) hold these teenagers responsible for the poor choices they are making (we have to teach all kids to be accountable for themselves), it is really the parents here who must own what has occurred," we are taking away the weight of that responsibility. It's a bit like saying "you're responsible, but not really."

The other issue I thought I'd bring up is treating teenagers and young adults in general as though they are not real human beings because "their brains aren't grown up" and that that affects every single thing they do. To talk to a teenager like that (as this mother does in the article you posted) is really condescending and teenagers do pick up on that, which can lead to bigger problems, imo.

Originally Posted by evolveme

Respectfully, EnderD:

To me, believing that this has nothing to do with a lack of emotional intelligence seems to contradict what-all else you have to say. It is the very lack here of this kind of intelligence -- not erudition, not academic learning -- but emotional wisdom, that leaves a person bereft of compassion and too open to the whim of the herd. To cruelty. To pointless and unnecessary derision. To "lashing out" at the unknown.e

Lack of "emotional intelligence" (a difficult term to use anyway) is not always correlated with lashing out at the unknown, nor is it necessarily linked to compassion. Emotional intelligence is largely defined by the ability to interpret another human being's emotion, however, interpreting emotion correctly does not necessarily bear any testament to what a person does with that information. You seem to assume, and correct me if I'm wrong, that because a person correctly interprets another's emotions, that they will automatically be compassionate. A person may very easily understand that their victim is fearful or angry, but they may continue their torment of that person for a number of reasons, whether that be out of their own subconscious fear, their desire to feel powerful or myriad of other reasons. If the aggressors believed they were in the right (with their fear being subconscious rather than conscious), then it becomes difficult to evaluate emotional intelligence. At the same time we might interpret that, as you say, as a lack in the ability to see subconscious fear, but if that is the case how entirely aware are any of us of our subconscious?

Admittedly, I take issue with the term "emotional intelligence" because it is a bit of an unclear term that can be interpreted in a number of ways.

[Cyclopea]

CHASE AND JORDAN GO TO THE PROM

This is a testament to Jordan’s über cool parents, to Chase and Jordan for being so open and honest and to Starmount High School and Principal Parker for doing the right thing. I want to preface the following by stating that I mean no disrespect to the school or it’s administrators. I know that unfortunately this is still an issue and Chase, Jordan, Leesa and all others involved are doing their part to change it.

I have come to know Leesa Nixon, Jordan’s Mom, as the very supportive ‘FagHagMom’ on Twitter. We have never met but our virtual friendship over the past month has been endearing. She is clearly a role model for any parent of an LGBT child. She is unconditionally supportive.

So when her son’s boyfriend, Chase wanted to bring her son, Jordan to his senior prom and he was met with opposition from high school administrators, Leesa came to his defense. Bravo!!. We’ve heard this story several times this prom season with mixed outcomes. It’s a shame that these scenarios still have to involve attorneys, the HRC and the ACLU. We all recall the ongoing drama with Constance Mcmillen, the HRC and the fake prom? Gross.

It’s a dance for god’s sake. Is this a reincarnation of Footloose where no dancing has been replaced by no non-straights? Below is Leesa’s account of the victorious experience that made the high school examine their policy on same-sex prom dates. At the end of the article you can listen to the audio voicemail message left by principle Parker. She seems a bit nervous but I have to give her props for basically doing the right thing. Although they just changed the school policy so that anyone could bring a ‘guest’ and not call it a date as opposed to allowing same-sex dates, it’s still a step in the right direction. Nicely done. Congratulations to all parties involved!!!

Below article written by: Leesa Nixon–Jordans awesome mom!

----------------------

Senior Prom that much-anticipated rite of passage for American youth. The moment they wait for all school year, it is the signal that they have finally made it through 4 years of high school hell and in a very short time they will be adults, living on their own, conquering the world.

The dreaded question, “will you go to prom with me?” has been asked and answered, “Yes”. What to wear has been argued about, discussed and finally agreed upon. Transportation, check! All the hard stuff has been addressed and they are all ready to go, right?

Wrong!

For Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transsexual teens, finding a date and something to wear to the prom is the easy part. The hard part comes when school officials tell them that they cannot bring their same-sex date, or dress in a manner the school officials feel is inappropriate, “like wearing a tux if you’re a girl or a dress if you’re a boy.”

Take for example, the case of 17-year-old Chase, a student at Starmount High School in Booneville, North Carolina, who was called into the principal’s office April 6th. The following is Chase’s account of what happened next.

“Today, April 6, 2010 I was called into the Principal’s office, I was unaware of the reason at the time. When I entered the office, Mrs. Parker was in the room, sitting at her desk and so was Mr. Samuel, the Vice Principal. Mr. Samuel was sitting in the corner of her office. I went in and Mrs. Parker, the Principal, asked me to shut the door, which, I did.


Mrs. Parker then asked me to sit down, and I think I did, though I only remember standing, but I believe I sat down. Mrs. Parker then tells me, that she didn’t realize it until she looked at my permission form for prom again that I was planning to bring a boy to the prom or something like that, and then she informed me that I couldn’t bring a friend as my date.


Mrs. Parker stated, that it was because other people would want to bring friends and it’s a rule that they’ve had for a while now, that you could not bring friends to the prom. I informed Mrs. Parker that Jordan is not my friend, but my boyfriend and she replied that she knew my situation was different but she couldn’t let me bring him.


I then asked her, “why?” And she replied that she knew my situation was different but if people saw me bring my “friend” then other guys would want to bring their, and I quote, “Home-Boys” to prom. When I didn’t respond, Mrs. Parker then asked me if I had a “backup friend” a girlfriend to bring instead. I stated, “No, I won’t go” (Implying that I would not go if he couldn’t).


Mrs. Parker then asked me if I had already bought my prom ticket and I said no. Then she said nothing else and neither did I, until I asked if I could go and she said that I could. I told her thank you and she said thank you and I left.


Mr. Samuel never said anything the entire time I was there; I believe he was there to ensure that the conversation did not get out of hand.


This is not a word-by-word account of the entire meeting. But the “I know your situation is different” and “Other guys would want to bring their “homeboys” are exact quotes of what Mrs. Parker said to me.”


The discrimination that Chase was confronted with has been resolved. I called and spoke with his principal and informed her that not allowing Chase to bring his boyfriend to the prom was discrimination and a violation of his constitutionally protected rights. I threatened to call the ACLU, (which I did) and go to the media.

After our first conversation, I was contacted by Mrs. Parker, who informed me that she was waiting on the school attorney to call.

April 7th, Mrs. Parker left a message on my phone stating that she had spoken with the school attorney and that the school was going to allow Chase to bring my son Jordan to his Senior Prom “as his outside date” and that what they were going to have to do, was change the rule to allow students to bring a guest and not necessarily a “date”.

To be fair to Mrs. Parker, I got the distinct impression that she did not agree with this policy and was only trying to follow the rules that were in effect in her school district before she got there. She immediately went to work and corrected the issue at hand.

I applaud Starmount High School for their quick actions, I brought this issue to their attention and in one day they not only changed their initial decision, they changed their policy to ensure that this would never happen again. Although they change their policy to state “guest” instead of “date”, it is still a step in the right direction and they should be admired for their willingness to change. It is my hope that all schools would respond to these issues in such a fair and timely manner.

Thankfully Starmount High School did solve the problem very quickly, and decided to put a stop to this unfair treatment. Unfortunately, other schools are not willing to resolve these issues and discrimination without being told do so by the courts.

The educators in these cases are teaching hate and intolerance to our nations children, the example they are setting with their treatment of these gay, lesbian, bi and transsexual children only enforces the view that these teens and all homosexual’s should be ostracized and denied the same fundamental rights as straight people.

How is America the land of the free, where all men are purportedly created equal supposed to achieve a society of fairness, equality and justice, when the very people charged with educating our children are behaving in such a discriminating manner?

There are laws and school rules that prohibit hate crimes, discrimination, bullying, and harassment, but when the very people who are in charge of enforcing those rules and laws, are guilty of breaking them, who protects these children from them?

** Special Note of Interest

There is currently a bill before Congress that would protect Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transsexual students from this very type of discrimination. If you would like to take a stand against this discrimination, contact your Congressman/Woman and ask them to support and pass the Student Non-Discrimination Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4530:

This bill, if passed, would “end discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools, and for other purposes.” You can read the entire bill at the link above.

I urge all of you to call Congress and voice your support of this bill. If you are unsure of who to talk to you may visit the House of Representatives website at http://www.house.gov/ to find out who your Congressional Representative is.

Stop teaching hate, don’t discriminate. Celebrate!! Jordan and Chase have been dating since September 2008 and hope to get marry one day.

Listen to the message from Mrs. Parker here http://chirb.it/g8aLsh

ROCK ON LEESA!! Hope you boys have a great night. Shine on!

http://blog.jackmackenroth.com

[Cyclopea]

[Soon]

Originally Posted by Tommi

Look at these faces....(click on Adminstration_......Poor girl
http://www.itawambaahs.com/

(L to R) Mr. Trae Wiygul - Principal, Mr. Rick Mitchell - Assistant Principal

Mr. Trae Wiygul, Principal
*

Mr. Rick Mitchell, Assistant Principal
*

Mrs. Pam Wheeler, Office Administrator
*

Mrs. Cindy Johnson, Office Administrator



Itawamba Agricultural High School

11900 Hwy. 25 South

Fulton, MS 38843

Ugh..did you see their mascot (is that the term?) for their school? A racist caricature of a Native American.

Messed up.