Teenager refuses to kill her chicken for a class project

[Rozzie]

Technically in taking the chicken, she probably committed petit theft or some such, similar to the folks discussed in another thread who took ducks from their community and were fined for it. (They were found guilty in court.)

Since Whitney is a minor, however, it is unlikely that anything would be done about this even if prosecuted. Perhaps a short period of probation might result and restitution for the cost of the bird. The market value is what, about $4? Restitution might feasibly include court costs, as well, though I don't think this is USUALLY pursued against minors.

Non-violent actions that result in (edited to add: "or can result in") arrest during the course of Civic Disobedience are something to be commended. A long history of non-violent resistance exists in our nation. I have absolutely NO problem with non-violent student protests against things like this.

Of course, those who disagree with the views of those engaged in Civil Disobedience will generally decry protesters and activists as a radical or attempt to smear them for their actions. Look back at the Civil Rights Era for many examples.

 

[PineappleMama]

Already posted on FB but I'll say it here too.

The district/teacher could have made double sure that parents and students were fully aware of the entire scope of the class... but I've yet to be in a k-12 class that gave out a syllabus at the beginning of the semester... college, yes... but not grade school. Include with that detailed project/grade list a permission for for the parent AND student to sign saying they understand fully what the class is, and give permission for their child to take the class... well at least then the parents/student can't say they didn't know... if they choose to back out and fail then it's all on them.

But it's the student and parents' job to know what's going on with their kid's education... you brought them into this world, you're responsible for them. You should have taken pains to make sure you understood what your child was signing up for. Student should have taken pains to make sure they knew what they were getting into. And it boggles me how anyone could see Food PRODUCTION and a passel of chickens and not at least have an inkling where it was going to end.

Entirely possible that the school did do what they could to make sure parents/students knew what was coming but they were too busy to actually read through it... seen that plenty... hence the permission form suggestion. Nowadays you have to sign, or check, to say you've read the Terms on every teensy tiny thing... including school handbooks... so that if after the fact you pitch a fit the business/school is covered because you signed saying to understood... definitely a good idea in this case... but it would need to be a thorough explanation of the course BEFORE folks sign up and then get stuck and can't leave. Anything else and the school ends up looking like demented monsters out to harm the innocent children.

 

[Ferrret]

Pineapple Mama, In high school (not too long ago for me) we got a syllabus of events for each class. Some schools do it to prepare students better for college, others don't. Some school also have a college hour set up of hour and a half long classes every other day.

From the course description there is no actual mention of animal slaughter in any form, and there should be. This sort of class should require parental consent to take or at least parental consent to take part in the project, as many parents do not wish to have their children participate as such. They send out permission slips for Sex Ed class, some even send out slips for dissections, they should send them out for killing a food animal.

I am all for students having the right and power to stand up for their beliefs but I don't feel this girl did it in an appropriate way. She was not punished for taking the bird and reports say she paid the school for it. She was punished for leaving school grounds without permission. She had more than a month when they had the birds to bring it up with the school board, her parents and the local community. She could have taken up action when the project was announced instead of brushing it off as something they wouldn't have funding for. She had plenty of opportunity to have her opinion heard but seems to have chosen to act in the last minute.
There are some situations in which you can only act upon the moment, but this was not one of them.

 

[greeneggsandham]

Ok so I know this is not going to go over well with many here, but if Oct 11 was the "kill" day and the chickens were 6 weeks old as one of articles say. Then school in Kansas started when? August maybe. She must have known at the beginning of the class that they would be processing chickens. I think she did have time to switch class, but for what ever reason didn't. Heck I was able to switch out of a 1/2 year class in HS two months into it.
To me somethings just don't add up. And I have to ask how will she feel when the chicken dies. We all know that the meat birds don't live long normally.
I would love to hear from the teacher. Remember there are two sides to every story and there is the truth.

 

[PineappleMama]

Ferrret all told I attended five different schools from 9-12 grades and that's been some years so I'm not 100% clear... and the vast majority were book classes, English, History, Math, etc... never took an Ag class (wasn't offered) but did take Shop and Home Etc... In the book classes they'd let us know, maybe in writing maybe just talking, that tests were worth this much, and quizzes this much, and if there was a big project (ala Senior Theme) when the due date was and the total % of the grade. In Shop and Home Etc it was similar, except it wasn't a report due, but a pillow or a clock or a sconce. But they didn't go into big detail in that opening week intro... that came later when they were explaining the actual project, requirements etc.

But Green mentioned they were six weeks at this time, so they'd have had to start the project very early in the year... and if they had any sense they'd have explained thoroughly what the project would cover, and the Due (execution) Date... if they did that when they first got the chicks it would probably have been early enough to transfer to another class without a penalty... sometimes they can't because other classes are full, etc. but in this instance it seems like they would have if she'd asked because of what was being done... parents could also have chimed in to see it done... but she didn't ask so maybe they failed to explain clearly before signups or when they got the chicks, or maybe she was absent that day, or maybe she heard it but didn't believe it? Who knows... hopefully next year they'll be more clear before the class starts so this won't happen again.

And hopefully parents and students will learn to actually read the course description instead of just randomly picking an elective they think will be a 'bird course'.

 

[arabianequine]

We have 16 year olds emancipated and living on their own as adults. 16 year olds have been convicted of crimes and held accountable as 18/adult.

 

[Ferrret]

Different schools work on different ideas. Some hand out syllabuses (that end up thrown away by most) others don't. There were no Ag courses or even Home Ec at my high school, but there were shop courses where students used table saws, drills and even fixed cars, and there were science courses where students dissected pigs.

As I mentioned earlier, I hope this incident does not cause the school to drop the course, but rather reform it so there is no doubt that students would raise and slaughter a chicken. 6 weeks is an awful long time to have to raise concerns over the class project. I understand the time period to change classes was over, but students and parents could still contact the teacher and school officials and have the matter handled by offering an alternative project, a special change of classes or stopping the project for that class.
Leaving school property with the chicken in tow seems extreme to me, a bit like throwing a temper tantrum. 2 days suspension over leaving the property could have simply been a Saturday detention for refusing to participate in class, i.e. sitting out in the hallway or library, essentially skipping class. I know her intent was to also save the chicken, but as many stated here, meat breeds do not live very long as it is and there is a likelihood that the chicken will end up someone/things dinner.

arabianequine:
Unless emancipated, persons under the age of 18 are considered minors and require parental consent for pretty much everything. Slaughtering a chicken for a class project should have parents notification at the very least.

 

[kathyinmo]

Ya know what I think is sad .....

This girl has a meat bird and it will likely die soon ..... how sad is that!!!

 

[PineappleMama]

Quote:
Oh I wish!! FIL talks about back in his day and I'm so jealous. It's really a shame that classes that teach practical knowledge are being cut out. Classes like this one should be increased, not decreased. We've got a whole generation/s that have no clue where their food comes from, how to cook it, how to balance a checkbook, how to check the oil... it's SCARY.

Punishment wise... she knew the rules and chose to leave campus, thus she should be punished for leaving campus... she knew stealing school property was a no no, in school code AND law, and did it anyways... should be punished as such. Just my opinion of course, but if the school doesn't stand by the rules it has written why should the students?

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
Yea..... Throw the book at her!
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This book.