Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Wednesday, May 26, 1976, page 3 (of 37)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
'Students have more rights than teachers'
By ANA MARIA ALVAREZ Staff Writer "Students in the Dade County School System have more rights than teachers," says Robert Hosmon, a University of Miami English professor and South Dade resident. "I'm all for rights, but let us give the teachers their rights back." Hosmon is seeking support for urgent passage by the Florida Legislature of the "School Disruption Act" to deal with what he terms "the crisis of order in our public schools." Hosmon, who teaches all levels of English at the UM, including many required courses for those majoring in education, said the crisis has become evident to him and others in higher education by the reports they receive from former students. "The crisis is evident, judging by the quality of high school graduates reaching our college classrooms, by what they tell us of their experiences in the public schools, and by the young school teachers we have educated, who report back to us the virtual combat conditions that prevail in some junior and senior high schools," he said. "All the teachers I've contacted are enthusiastic about this bill, but they are also convinced that nothing will be done," Hosmon said. Hosmon, who has written to all the legislators and university education deans in the state and has received only two responses so far, said residents have been ignoring the school discipline problem for too long. The School Disruption Act Hosmon is proposing calls for the mandate of "permanent dismissal from the public school system of any student who continually and willfully interferes with the educational process through disruption. Psychological counseling and fair logical appeals procedure should be established," Hosmon said. The act also calls for a stronger and more effective method of disciplining disruptive students with the intention of making dismissal action unnecessary, again with proper safeguards. To provide funds for the statewide grand jury to make an annual study of the effectiveness of the School Disruption Act and authorize it to report its findings to the governor and to the commissioner of education, is also a part of the act. "In some cases when students continue to disrupt classrooms and interfere with the educational process of other students and continue to do so after all other means have been exhausted, there should be no question about expulsion," said Dr. Edward Arahill, principal of Killian High School. "When we have recommended that a student be expelled we have been supported all the way to the area office, but once it gets to the county level, there is no way that student will be expelled," Arahill said. "The county has a philosophy which allows no expulsion," he said. "In the cases that we recommend, this becomes frustrating, embarrassing and unfair to the people who know that the student shouldn't be allowed to return to school. "Every student is entitled to work in a safe, educational atmosphere and that right is taken away when they have to feel threatened or afraid in a school hallway," Arahill said. One of the problems facing numerous teachers is the fact that, by law, they are "allowed to use "reasonable force" to discipline a student. But no one has defined reasonable force and teachers fear being dragged to court. "The county has a philosophy which allows no expulsion... this becomes frustrating... unfair to people who know that the student shouldn't be allowed to return to school." Dr. E. Arahill Killian principal "Unfortunately, lawsuits have become a way of life in this country, anywhere from auto accidents to someone slipping in a supermarket," said Dr. Ray Turner, principal of Palmetto High School. "Because 'reasonable force' has not been defined, many teachers are reluctant to use it." Students over 16 do not legally have to stay in school. In truancy cases, the only recourse left to school administrators is to contact parents. "We can jump up and down and make a big fuss, but if the family doesn't enforce attendance there is nothing we can do," Arahill said. "The percentage of young people who ignore the rules is very, very small," said Turner. "We have to accept the fact that some youngsters can't adjust to the normal structure and in that case the school has the obligation to help students adjust. "After a school has exhausted all of its means and still can't control the student, then they are preventing other students from learning," Turner said. "Sometimes the rights of the victims are overlooked."
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