Oklahoma Teacher Has Her Student, 13, Arrested for Using a Permanent Marker in Class

Talk about a busy-body on steroids.  DeLynn Woodside, a 50 year old 7th Grade math teacher at Oklahoma City's Roosevelt Middle School, made a citizen's arrest of a 13 year old student.  His crime:  she caught him writing in class with a Sharpie pen, which bled through the paper onto the desk.  Permanent markers are illegal in Oklahoma, under certain circumstances.  This is based on an obscure law designed to prevent graffiti.

Another youngster is criminalized by the public school system for seemingly innocent infractions of some rule.  You can write or call the school at the following:

Roosevelt Middle School
3233 Southwest 44th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73119-4399
(405) 685-7795

What's the matter with airhead teachers these days? So many seem to be completely devoid of all common sense. I wrote about this phenomenon in October 2009:

DeLynn Woodside

You hear a version of this story nearly every week.  Some public school official turns in some student for "bringing a weapon to school" where the "zero-tolerance policy" requires that the student be suspended or worse.  A 5th grader brings a birthday cake to school to share with her classmates, as well as a pastry knife to cut it with; the teacher uses the knife to cut the cake, then turns the little girl in for "bringing a weapon to school."

A six year old cub scout brings his scout camping tool to school to eat lunch with.  The tool is a combination folding fork, knife and spoon.  He was charged with "bringing a weapon to school" and ordered to spend 45 days in an alternative school for trouble makers.

Now an Eagle Scout, Matthew Whalen,  has been suspended from Lansinburgh High School in Troy, New York, for carrying a two inch utility knife in the trunk of his car.  The knife is part of Whalen's scout survival kit that includes a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal and the small pocket knife in question.  When School Superintendent George Goodwin found out about the pocket knife, he suspended Whalen from school for 20 days.  Goodwin refuses to reconsider the draconian punishment, or talk to Matthew or his parents about his decision. 

This is the totalitarian mindset, where rules are rigidly enforced without the benefit of judgment or context, even when the alleged "weapon" is a pocket knife or eating utensil.