School Spirit - And the Consequences

We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit - oh crap, run before we get suspended!

It's amusing, yes, but recently happened to a high school student.

One high school in Massachusetts recently suspended a student for riding a horse to school.

I would love to say there's more to the story, but really, there's not much. The school was having a "spirit week," and each day was a new thing to get the kids revved up about high school. One day, they encouraged everyone to dress like a knight. Now, who's a knight without a noble steed?

One kid got permission from (and was accompanied by) his parents to ride to school, dressed as a knight, on his family's horse. After an impressive entrance, the principal suspended him on the spot. Why? Because according to this deluded educator (this guy is teaching our children, mind you), riding a horse to school is the equivalent of bringing a loaded gun into a classroom.

I'm sorry. It's not. You are massively mistaken. I'm not aware of anyone stuffing a horse in a backpack, pulling it out in homeroom, and massacring all his fellow students. Please, if I've made an error there, and someone has snuck a horse into school and performed a mass homicide, let me know. I actually think this would be offensive to anyone who has been victim to a gun in the classroom, and I feel the guy ought to apologize for his stupidity.

There are, I have been informed, still many places in the US where kids can legally ride their horse to school, particularly in rural areas. Not one of those children have been suspended for going to school.  Nor has anyone found a rule that says this teenager is NOT allowed to ride a horse to school. It appears his parents were going to take the horse back home after he arrived, so it's not even an issue of a horse hanging around all day at school.

So apparently, students, you should not go "above and beyond" in anything at school, particularly school pride, because you may end up on the wrong side of the horse.

Parents can breathe a deep sigh of relief, even though we are suffering through falling test scores, incompetent teachers, and  increased use of drugs, our schools are being kept horse-free. Isn't that a comfort?