School play cancelled...student tardy! UPDATE Pg 2

[Pembo]

My niece is one of the leads in her school play. They cancelled the first performance, last night, because the male lead was 20 mins late to school. They cited a rule about being in school the day of an extracurricular. The boy was 20 mins late. His alarm didn't go off. He was at school the other 6 hours. He was tardy.

My mom talked to my niece and she was very upset! The boy was begging and pleading not to CANCEL the whole show. He volunteered for in school suspension, detention, whatever. Just not cancel the play for all the other people involved.

But they cancelled it and had no rehearsal last night. Their only other performance is Saturday. They are not adding any other performances. The kids were rehearsing until 11:30 Wed. night to be ready for Thursdays Opening Night.

The real kicker----2 football players were late to school. They got to play in the game that same night.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

That's OUTRAGEOUS!! Punishing the entire cast was excessive. BOY! If I were your niece's parents I'd be TICKED!!!

And don't EVEN get me startedon athlete's preferential treatment!!

 

[rbuzzotta]

That is HORRIBLE!! I understand rules are rules but they should be followed for ALL, not just some!!!

 

[Towncrier]

Sounds like a repeat of the Canal Fulton incident. I think that you (or someone at the school) needs to contact the local Cleveland TV stations. They just love to investigate this type of behavior.

 

[disykat]

That is truly awful! Not only is it extraordinarily harsh, if it's true about the football players they could find themselves in legal trouble.

 

[Towncrier]

For those unfamiliar with the Canal Fulton case that I mentioned, some students were caught partying after a football game. The group included some cheerleaders and football players. The kids had been drinking and, when the arresting officer asked them if they had had anything to drink in the past 6 hours, the girls (cheerleaders) said yes while the boys said no.

The school proceeded to suspend the cheerleaders based on their confession to the police, but the football players (including the star quarterback) were not disciplined. The school based their decision on the fact that they had no evidence that the boys had been drinking, but that the girls had confessed their crime.

The cheerleading coach protested and was subsequently fired.

If the school has a tardy policy and they enforce it across the board, then I don't see a problem with it (although I don't personally agree with the policy). I think that the real problem is the selective enforcement of the policy.

 

[luvdzny]

I can't believe that a school would do that. That is not just punishing the boy, but also the entire cast, not to mention all of the families that had made plans to attend opening night of the play. I know at our high school most performances are packed, they usually turn people away. I wonder how they plan to handle the crowd on Saturday. I hope that enough parents complain about this so at the very least they add another performance. If the football players were allowed to play after breaking the same rule I would definately notify some type of media. That is terribly unfair!

 

[caitycaity]

at the very least i would write a letter of complaint.

 

[Disney Doll]

I see 2 issues here:
1. If the school is going to have that type of policy, then for something like a play, the primary characters should have understudies so the whole play doesn't have to be cancelled. If that had been the case in this situation, the offending boy could have not been in the play that night, but the play could have still gone on.
2. If that is a school policy, it should be a school policy for all students in all extra-cirricular activites, including sports.

While it was not wise of the school not to prepare for the play people to potentially be tardy, the rule is the rule, and the boy broke the rule. A lesson learned for all.

If I were a parent in that school, what I would have the problem with is the fact that the play was cancelled due to one boy's breaking of the rule, but the football players who broke the same rule were not forced to sit out the game that night. THAT's the issue. The rule may be stupid, if so, work to change it. In the meantime, make sure the stupid rule is equally enforced for all.

 

[Pembo]

I agree with you 100% DisneyDoll. If that is the rule then the leads need understudies in case of tardiness. And also it is a stupid rule and needs to be changed.

DN's school does some really stupid things. My mom and I are wondering if there is more to this story than just the lead being tardy. I'm going to the play on Saturday night with my SIL so I'll find out more info then.

FYI-Today's paper has an article about 2 more kids from her school. A girl in the Flag corps was denied riding the bus with her wooden mock rifle yet a baseball player was allowed to ride with his bat.

I see a pattern..........

 

[Pop Daddy]

"no rules, then we will have utter chaos" Mrs Lee, my 5th grade teacher.

 

[sharbear]

I wonder if the school board knows about this. If your SIL knows someone on the school board I would call them. Our school tends to have rules but is very lenient about enforcing them. Sometimes it is just too much trouble but still.... Also maybe your neice doesn't know the whole story. Maybe the football players had excused tardies such as doctor's appt.

Last year we had problems with the band director. I know that parents complained to the principal and tried to discuss the situation with the teacher but nothing was changing. I called a school board member who I knew had ties to the music program and discussed my concerns with her. On her advise I also called the principal. I was very detailed in my complaints (the kids were not well prepared for events, she did not address the audience during a concert, things like that). I noticed great changes at the next performance. Also the principal was at the concert (he was not at any of the other concerts).

My point is, many times when you address things to the administration, things are not addressed. But when you involve the school board, the administration seems to pay attention.

 

[nativetxn]

How disappointing and just plain mean to punish everyone in the cast and technical team because one young man was tardy.

I hope they correct this rule, it doesn't seem quite right. I'm surprised there was no understudy for the male lead, too.

 

[JetMom]

As a Drama Club Mom - I am appalled. I hope that some sort of group letter/complaint/protest is being planned. Letters to the Editor can be very effective. Schools hate negative publicity.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That's it! The world has gone insane.

I just am stunned at the behavior of the school. What a memory for children to look back on, complete stupidity & discrimination.
I suppose it is just preparation for adulthood, right???
Poor Kids....

 

[Pam]

That's sheer lunacy!! The principal, school board and superintendent need to be contacted about this right away.

 

[Pembo]

My mom talked to my niece today. They are having a show on Sunday afternoon, 2 pm. Today they did a performance for the student body. The principal came up to my niece afterwards and told her that her costume was inappropriate. She needed something else to wear and he was going to talk to the director.

My brother is a hot head. I sure hope he is screaming about this. The principal should NEVER have talked to my 16 yo niece. He should tell the director not the student.

I'm going on Sat nite...........

 

[nativetxn]

What a mess. Tell your niece to break a leg. I hope she has a terrific performance and lots of fun, despite that grouchy principal.

 

[shortbun]

Is this a public school? Sounds more like minimum security
lockup. Sorry your neice and her friends are being subjected
to adult idiocy. Some in the teaching profession are control
freaks. Thank goodness for the great teachers that make the profession shine. Sounds like your neice's school has a severe
shortage of adults with though process. Children should be celebrated not opressed. Give your neice a hug for me.
My friend's 8 yo daughter was not allowed to participate in her school's halloween party because she had not earned enought "points."
What in the world are these "grownups" thinking? "Acting more like children than children"
mimi

 

[MerryPoppins]

And I thought my daughter's middle school had a tough tardy policy. If you aren't in your chair when the bell rings you are considered tardy. If you are tardy 3 times in 9 weeks you get after school detention with the kids who have caused REAL trouble. Now, I have a disorganized 12 year old, who gets to school, but sometimes takes too long at her locker. She wasn't in her seat twice the first quarter and was terrified that she would mess up and have to go sit in detention with the "bad" kids. She is part of the gifted program and makes straight A's in class. I understand that it's the rule, but I think it stinks. As my cousin would say the schools need to "Loosen the bone, Wilma". There are plenty of things that they should be focusing on that they ignore.

And before anyone says that the schools need to have rules and policies, I totally agree. I was a teacher in the public schools. I agree that the rules need to be there. I just don't always agree with the rules that they put into place. Having a kid in her seat at the bell isn't the most important thing in the world to me. I'd much rather they put more time into drug and weapon policies.

In my opinion, punishing the whole cast, the whole school really, is completely out of line. Mistakes happen. That principal needs to get a life. Put the kid in detention or take him out of one show, but call it off? I don't think so.