I usually don’t like invoking historical figures. It’s usually a ploy to imply the writer is “right” because he thinks a famous person would have agreed with him, even though that might be debatable. However, I don’t think anyone can doubt how much Douglass valued education.

Pretty hard to make a case for the success of Douglass–with or without Audie. But again–he’s not taking, or receiving anything. Some might say that by hanging out in the hallways he’s actually helping to finance the kids in the classroom.

This kid is old enough to recognize right from wrong and chooses to do wrong. In doing so he chooses to reject the free education he could be getting and disrupt the education of others.

His right to act as he please shouldn’t supercede the rights of others to learn.

I don’t know the law for Maryland, but here in Texas the Joe Clark style of cleaing house of the troublemakers couldn’t be done. Toss that many kids out and the state will label you a failure based just on the number of expulsions.

Now Audie has probably counted that minimally in school for a long time–although he may actually have occupied a seat at a younger age. Do you ever wonder why Audie shows up at all?

So, along comes HBO, filming this pathetic situation–a high school where the kids can’t read–and the adults aren’t outraged that this is so. This is the pathetic life led by these pathetic ghetto kids. Do you hang your head and tell American what a pathetic victim you are, or do you put on a little braggadocio and claim you meant to do that?

I’ve watched the program and what this school needs is a Lean On Me/Joe Clark type housecleaning.

If I were king of the world behavior of this type would be criminalized, Audie would be thrown in jail so fast his head would spin.

Not sure what the amount spent per student at this school is, but let’s say it’s in the high range, 14K. Audie is effectively stealing that money from the taxpayers by refusing to learn and refusing to behave in a civilized manner. What’s worse is the little thug is also disrupting the learning of others, so the waste of money he is causing is even higher.

Throw him in jail, save the taxpayers some time and money.