Mr. Berghouse gets the double whammy of both a Dunce Cap and a set of weasel ears this week. Why? Read on, MacDuff!
Mr. Berghouse's son was expelled from Sequoia High School in California earlier this week after the lad was caught cheating on a test in an English Honors class. He was copying from another student, who, oh, by the way, was also expelled. The younger Berghouse had signed an honesty pledge at the beginning of the season, but, as his dad said, there was another policy document attached to the pledge, which supposedly allowed for 2 strikes before expulsion.
Berghouse decided the only sure way to settle it was to file a lawsuit. Now, that was Dunce Cap worthy all by itself, because he's unwittingly trying to justify his son's actions. The school board says that the "two strikes" policy was outdated and is in need of updating. The honesty pledge overrides it as it stands presently, so Berghouse is wasting time, money, and brain cells with foolish litigation. Clearly, the Berghouses didn't completely comprehend the policy as stated, else we wouldn't have this mess. A hearing is scheduled for May 17. Problem is, the school year ends on June 8, which means the younger Berghouse will likely be headed for summer school to make up the time lost, with interest.
So why is Jack Berghouse a Weasel? He's fighting a losing battle, and getting 15 minutes of cheap publicity that few will remember later. I've got this feeling he's already been well acquainted with dunce caps, though........
2 comments:
I've been reading up on this case and indeed Berghouse deserves his awards. The son deserves a dunce cap for whining on Facebook about the "tyranny" his school has forced upon him.
You mentioned the boy was expelled from school but originally the administrators said he could return to the International Baccalaureate program next year with no mention of the cheating on his record.
Of course with the rejection of that offer, it does now.
Actions have consequences and neither father nor son feel guilty or shamed about this based on their actions. You think an Ivy League school is going to touch the kid now?
Then again, an Ivy League education isn't what it used to be. Parents pay 30-100K a year so their children learn how to whine, cheat and steal and feel good about themselves while doing it.
Cheating only gets worse there and based on what I've read, the boy has politics in his future.
Rather ironic he is an "honor" student.
The lack of guilt coming from the Berghouses speaks to being totally oblivious and/or blind to the fact that the kid screwed up royally.
It seems so appropriate, then, that the boy wants to go into politics. They tend to turn a blind eye to cheating if they can profit from it.
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