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COURAGE 2009
Submission for “Other Voices”, 
June 12, 2009		
by Ed Riffle

The final chapter of the Shontale Taylor story will be written years from now when, hopefully, she is living a good life as an adult, enjoying the rewards of her optimism in the face of difficulty, self-discipline and dedication to hard work.  In the mean time, there is much for all of us to learn from her story.

The adults involve in this story… school administrators… were frozen by a commitment to a stupid one-size-fits-all policy that was hurting an innocent student who was just trying to help a friend by breaking up a fight.  The children in this story… students at Milpitas High School after reading the account of Miss Taylor’s plight in the San Jose Mercury News… immediately recognized the difference between right and wrong and stood up for what was right.  

Having raised four (not always angels) boys into adulthood, I have had my share of experience with school administrators and inflexible policies.  Sometimes called “zero tolerance”, these policies can hurt children deeply while absolving school administrators from ever having to make a determination on what is right and what is wrong or who is right and who is wrong.

This is especially true of on-campus fights.  If a bully beats up on some meek student, both are suspended if the meek student in any way fights back.  The “Zero Tolerance” for violence policy is cited and school administrators are absolved from making a decision.  From experiences like that, bullies learn that it pays to be a bully and meeker students learn to hide.

This is not a problem unique to Milpitas.  I’m not sure that any administrator who showed the courage to make tough decisions would have much of a career in California schools.  Courage is not an attribute much admired by many school boards or even many parents in this state.  Neither is the ability to differentiate between right and wrong or good and evil.  That’s a pity.

Luckily, our young people don’t seem to be constrained by lack of courage and in June of 2009… in Milpitas, California… they saw an injustice and stood up for what was right.  Congratulations to all of those participating in petitioning the administration to do the right thing.  Also, congratulations to Shontale Taylor, who inspired her classmates and is on the path to a successful life.
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