Suspend or not?

[Key Guy]

From Fox News...

Quote:

FINDLAY, Ohio — A Christian school in Ohio says it will suspend a student if he attends a public high school prom with his girlfriend.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost says he plans to attend Saturday's dance at Findlay High School, where his girlfriend is a student.

Frost goes to Heritage Christian School. The fundamentalist Baptist school in northwest Ohio forbids dancing, rock music, hand holding and kissing.

Its principal, Tim England, says Frost is facing a suspension that would keep him from attending graduation. Frost is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24.

Frost's stepfather, Stephan Johnson, says the school's rules should not apply outside the classroom.

[Cosmin M.]

I agree with his stepfather.

[phkrause]

The thing is, he signed some paper about that. What I'd like to know, is what is on that paper he signed? Than I think we can make an honest thought to this situation.

pk

[Woody]

The main trouble with this story is that it's from "Fox News".

[phkrause]

Sorry I couldn't help myself.

pk

[Woody]

Yes pk. Some here would like to suspend Fox ... it's been tried. But it keeps popping up.

And pretty soon ... Stan will drop by and tell us we are off topic ... so I had best suspend this.

[phkrause]

Yes she does dgrimm, there is another thread on this same topic, which goes into a little more detail, but still doesn't really say exactly what students are signing when they decide to attend this private school.

pk

[Robert]

I agree with his stepfather.

Me too...

[Robert]

he signed some paper about that.

Old covenant....While I'm not crazy about dancing and such, folks need to the right thing for the right motive. If not, it's all a bunch of legalistic nonsense....

[Woody]

Originally Posted By: pkrause

he signed some paper about that.

Old covenant....While I'm not crazy about dancing and such, folks need to the right thing for the right motive. If not, it's all a bunch of legalistic nonsense....

Thet right thing would have been to not sign something that you didn't agree with or intend to follow.

[Robert]

Originally Posted By: Robert

Old covenant....While I'm not crazy about dancing and such' date=' folks need to the right thing for the right motive. If not, it's all a bunch of legalistic nonsense....

[/quote']

The right thing would have been to not sign something that you didn't agree with or intend to follow.

Yes, agreed, but....I can guarantee you that if I would have been the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath, I would have recanted my OC signature and would have opted for grace.

[phkrause]

I agree with you. But if someone signs something already telling him what he needs to do than he needs to abide by that. Now I have no problem with him deciding later that he plans to negate what he signed, but now he needs to pay the conseqiances of his actions. Just like if I sign a contract with the bank to pay my mortgage but than after awhile decide I don't want to pay it, the bank has the right to kick me out. Again all this is mute point until we know what it is he signed!

[Robert]

Just like if I sign a contract...

I really doubt if he signed anything. That would be totally silly of both him and the school.

Like I said, this is OC. Sign here and promise to be good and in return you many stay in our Holy Joe school!

[Outta Here]

Most private schools have a behavior contract that parents and students are required to sign. It is not unusual. Assuming he signed such a contract with the permission of his parents to do so, it could be legally binding. Without the document in hand, however, it is impossible to determine whether or not he agreed to any such behavior within or without the school grounds.

[Amelia]

Quote:

Frost goes to Heritage Christian School. The fundamentalist Baptist school in northwest Ohio forbids dancing, rock music, hand holding and kissing.

With a girlfriend I can fairly guess he has held her hand and kissed her. So why make a fuss over the prom?

[phkrause]

Read the thread called "Signs of the Times" by Lifehiscost. Actually let me copy and past it.

"Seems like signing an agreement predicts a loss of the right to claim religious prejudice unless a good lawyer can claim the young man is too young to sign a binding contract.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ohio Christian school tells student to skip prom

AP

Fri May 8, 12:05 pm ET

FINDLAY, Ohio – A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School's prom Saturday.

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school's rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an "incomplete" on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.

Frost's stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school's rules should not apply outside the classroom.

"He deserves to wear that cap and gown," Johnson said.

Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.

"I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid," Frost said. "I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end."

England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

"In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other," England said.

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."

England said Frost's family should not be surprised by the school's position.

"For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous," he said. "It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to."

The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School's view of prom.

"I don't see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts," Craig Kupferberg said.

___

Information from: The Courier, http://www.thecourier.com.

This is a little more info that KeyGuy didn't post in his thread. I agree with you that its silly but I still would like to see what he signed.

pk

[Outta Here]

With a girlfriend I can fairly guess he has held her hand and kissed her. So why make a fuss over the prom?

Though it is entirely possible that he has not held her hand nor kissed her, I think the difference is that he is attempting this act in a public fashion. He had to get written permission from his parents to attend this prom (not an unusual requirement for proms), and likely may have had to get his school's permission to attend as well*. Because it is in direct violation of the school's religious principals, the school board probably feels forced to make a public denial of his request.

____________

*My daughter's high school requires these two permissions for any students wishing to attend the prom who are not already students of her school. The main reasons are for character reference and emergency contact information. Additionally, all students are required to take a breath-a-lyzer test before being permitted to the event.

[Woody]

Quote:

all students are required to take a breath-a-lyzer test before being permitted to the event.

How about afterwards?

[Outta Here]

Not afterwards. There are chaperones at the event who are monitoring the drinks; chaperones in the rest rooms; chaperones at the doors, and chaperones at the dessert buffet. This is a very small school and the prom will be attended by only the junior and senior classes. This year there are only 150 students attending the prom.

[Key Guy]

Quote:

This is a little more info that KeyGuy didn't post in his thread.

It's true. But I don't search every news article on a particular subject and I assume the mainstream news sources on the web have done their fact checks. I don't look for the longest or shortest article.

In addition to being informative, I like to use some news articles as a springboard for discussion.

[Robert]

I got baptized at 13....Did I really understand it? No! I did it because that's what others wanted. And then we guys would skip SS and go to Hardees for some "meat"....

We parents really know how to get the outside looking good, don't we? We teach our kids to be good little legalists, huh?

So on the outside I was baptized SDA, but on the inside I could have cared less...I just wanted to get a hamburger!

So in order to please dad, mom, the school, the pastor, etc, etc...he signed an agreement...a covenant....

Again, folks need to be concerned what's on the inside, not the outside. It's about motive....Get that right and the outside will take care of itself.

[carolaa]

It's too bad that a young man now has to make a choice of whether to support his girlfriend by escorting her to her special event, or whether to attend his own special event. I suppose it will boil down to how serious he is about this girl.

Certainly, the school has a right to enforce whatever the kid and his parents signed, but so many times schools act like they are god, trying to dictate your life.

I've seen several situations where the non-Christian institution will go out of its way to accommodate the Christian, but almost never the other way around. I think the school (along with many of our own academies) needs to consider how that student is going to remember their actions for the rest of his life. Sometimes the way we stand up for "right" is just plain wrong.

[bonnie]

It's too bad that a young man now has to make a choice of whether to support his girlfriend by escorting her to her special event, or whether to attend his own special event. I suppose it will boil down to how serious he is about this girl.

Certainly, the school has a right to enforce whatever the kid and his parents signed, but so many times schools act like they are god, trying to dictate your life.

I've seen several situations where the non-Christian institution will go out of its way to accommodate the Christian, but almost never the other way around. I think the school (along with many of our own academies) needs to consider how that student is going to remember their actions for the rest of his life. Sometimes the way we stand up for "right" is just plain wrong.

A private school has a right to rules of conduct for students. If parents and students are fully aware of what they are,there is no excuse.

This is a time the high school students should learn the importance of keeping their word and honoring the contract they signed.

Signed contracts are not just for show.

Our four went to academy. There were rules we did not agree with. That was immaterial as we registered the boys voluntarily and agreed to abide by the terms.

needs to consider how that student is going to remember their actions for the rest of his life.

As they get older and more mature the student will also remember the actions of parents that go back on their agreement.

I've seen several situations where the non-Christian institution will go out of its way to accommodate the

It is far easier for a non-christian institution to go out of their way than it is to expect a religious institution to alter or make an allowance for something that simply is against their religious beliefs.

How would we accmmodate this.

[carolaa]

I have never seen anyone ever come to believe that dumb rules and unfair punishments were the right thing to do. I have, however, seen many people who were grateful to their parents and/or others who stood up for fairness and common sense on their behalf.

I suppose an institution could accommodate or allow for (or maybe even encourage) people to follow their own conscience instead of trying to *be* their conscience.

But the main thing is if the kid feels like the school personnel really care about him, regardless of what they decide, it should all blow over with no hard feelings.

[bonnie]

Quote:

I have never seen anyone ever come to believe that dumb rules and unfair punishments were the right thing to do. I have, however, seen many people who were grateful to their parents and/or others who stood up for fairness and common sense on their behalf.

Did the parents and student know about the "dumb rules and unfair punishment before this"?

Regardless for our four we wanted them to realize the importance of keeping their word. All thru their lives they would face what they considered unfair and unreasonable rules. That was not the issue. Did they give their word?

Quote:

I suppose an institution could accommodate or allow for (or maybe even encourage) people to follow their own conscience instead of trying to *be* their conscience.

I am thankful that the academy did not follow this idea. Three teenage boys at one time taught me rather quickly how a young persons conscience can be silenced,

Following you suggestion there would have been no reason to go to the work and sacrifice we gladly went thru to put them in a christian school

Quote:

But the main thing is if the kid feels like the school personnel really care about him, regardless of what they decide, it should all blow over with no hard feelings.

If the parents let it,it probably will. With the parents in agreement with their son it may well have a lasting effect.

One where the denomination and the school are blamed for their failure and that of their sons.

Like it or not every school/institution have their rules. Some are obvious as to why and others seem silly.

Stay away from those schools and institutions where you feel the rules are unfair to your child.

All four of our boys went thru academy and all four boys have thanked us many times for making it possible. Unfair and silly rules and all