What happened at Morgan Hill’s Live Oak High School last week
when American flag attire collided with Mexican colors on Cinco de
Mayo is a case study in for school administrators in how not to
handle a situation.
What happened at Morgan Hill’s Live Oak High School last week when American flag attire collided with Mexican colors on Cinco de Mayo is a case study in for school administrators in how not to handle a situation.
There’s nothing “calming” about Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez insisting that students wearing patriotic-themed clothing turn their shirts inside out. That request, given the circumstances, is clearly incendiary.
Days later, cooler heads prevailed and Live Oak Principal Nick Boden, who is retiring at the end of the year, issued this statement: “In this situation, I may have moved too quickly in drawing the line of when to take preventative action.”
There is no maybe about it. Though the national media attention certainly aimed a huge spotlight at the school, the judgments were, regardless, hasty and unnecessary. The four students wearing patriotic clothing didn’t need to be sent home.
The judgments made and the atmosphere maintained at Gilroy High School stood in stark contrast.
At Gilroy High, though many students donned both Mexican and American national colors, none were sent home.
“We’re not going to be sending kids home for wearing American flags or wearing patriotic colors,” Principal Marco Sanchez said. “That’s discriminatory,” Sanchez said simply and it would be “outrageous.”
What it comes down to, of course, is using good judgment. Fairness is key, especially at a high school where teens are quick to “feel” the sting of unfair decisions.
If America-themed clothing is banned – and thankfully it’s not under Morgan Hill Unified School District’s dress code – then Mexican-themed clothing must be banned.
Addressing student behavioral issues applies equally across the board. What gets you suspended on the 12th of October should be no different than what gets you suspended on the 5th of May. Again, it’s about judgment.
Judgment comes from experience and common sense, but it can be augmented by training. Perhaps there is a seminar that school administrators can take which will help decipher the keys to good judgment in difficult circumstances.
Additionally, since administrators clearly knew that Cinco de Mayo had caused tensions on campus in prior years, the question arises as to what preparations were made and what discussions were formalized in anticipation to that day.
More planning would appear to be in order.
Meanwhile, though America isn’t perfect, we’re light years ahead of most of the world when it comes to assimilation and tolerance. Let’s remember that, and remember that respect, applied without an agenda, is key when it comes to human relations.
That’s important to remember for students, and the rest of us.
