Another thing comes to mind. People are harping that he did it in the privacy of his own home.

Hmm...last I checked, facebook is accessible anywhere you have the ways and means to do so.

Moreso, this wasn't just a status update, but a Fan page.

Yeah, but here's the thing. In the end it's still a CHILD doing something stupid. Eventually he wised up, realized it was a mistake, and took down the page. It was taken down. Who hasn't said something stupid as a kid? He obviously learned his lesson, but suspension simply isn't acceptable when it doesn't occur on school grounds.

And that's why he can be held accountable by his high school (and parents).

The same goes for ADULTS who do stupid things on facebook and are held accountable in the workplace or college/university.

Kids these days have been allowed to fly off the handle and that is partly due to the Internet and excuses being made for their behaviors.

He created a fan page. Children only learn lessons when the excuses end and there are negative consequences for their behaviors. I am glad that his school is punishing him and not leaving it up to the parents. If his parents are smart, they will also punish him, including making him close his facebook account. I don't think children should have myspace and facebook, anyway.

Off with his head! :)

He got what he wanted: Attention and an ability to vent. Luckily, he is also getting what his child mind didn't consider when he CREATED the page. :)

I have absolutely no tolerance for unruly children and students, including college students. The behavior has to be challenged head-on instead of leaving it up to them to realize the error of their ways.

if his parents were extra smart, they wouldn't have waited a 1/2 a school year to follow up on this. This would have been nipped in the bud and monitored after that first PTA meeting in November.

The school's responsibility to give out punishments ends at school. It does not extend into the home. That isn't just my opinion. It's something that has been confirmed in higher court many times in the past. If the parents did choose to pursue legal action, there's almost no doubt they will win.

The issue right now is not if the child did something wrong. It is if he did something wrong that occurred on school grounds and directly affected the school. He did not. The post was removed before school the next day. The school overstepped its boundaries. They have no right to police matters that don't occur in school.

Dr. Phil, I think your clear crotchety attitude against adolescents is affecting your judgement here.

Correction...it was up for 5 days.

5 days 50 hits...do the math.

No, the school's responsibility to give out punishments extends to all behaviors that impact the school. That also applies to students who use school property for personal use (which wasn't the case in this instance).

However, it would be hilarious for a student to stop doing homework and tell a teacher "you have no say over what I do at home."

You were just a badass kid who didn't get punished for your behavior.

^^^ Exactly. What this kid did has the potential to disrupt learning for everyone else. What if those 50 (any any number that had seen it therin) that saw it decided they wanted to act out in class because of what he posted?

He became the catalyst for that action.

You just completely created a logical fallacy jumping from reasons for punishment to homework issues. If I call a teacher a name to a group of friends, outside of school, then the school can't do anything about it.

Maybe I'm just against the man, but I'll be damned if I let school officials tell me what I can and can't say outside of the classroom.

Is it Oregon? The Ducks? I read that on MSN or AOL, yesterday.

That's because you didn't leave a PERMANENT record of it like what this kid did on facebook and also you are talking about around a group of people whereas he left something up PERMANENT wheer EVERYONE can see.

Like...graffiti.

If the school were to regulate things like this, (which I still don't think they should) then there NEEDS to be something in the student content handbook about it. Those are the "rules of the school." If facebook isn't covered in there, then it's fair game. Technically, the student broke no rules.