children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

until the new school year. Meanwhile, because he
had failing grades on his record, John was dropped
from the football team, which disqualified him from
applying for a football scholarship to college.
John's younger brother, Fred, also has had problems.
One day in school he became sick and hallucinated.
He was taken to the hospital and his stomach
was pumped. Doctors found no traces of drugs,
but Fred was removed from the track team for using
drugs. No hearing or inquiry was held by the school,
and no evidence of drugs was given to justify his
removal.
The Millers have three other children and Mrs.
Miller said that "maybe it would be best for them if
we moved. They have lost friends" she said because
of the stories circulated about the older children, and
she feels "the school officials are out to get them."
Ever since the first incident with Ellie, the Miller
children "have been unjustly persecuted." The resuits:
months out of school, grades failed, reputations
damaged, athletic interests thwarted, and trouble with
the police. 9
Sadao, 15
From the time Sadao Fujimitsu started kindergarten,
he was called Teddy for reasons no one remembers,
and because the school had very few Japanese­
Americans, the name Fujimitsu was also lost somewhere
along the Line. The other children called him
Teddy Fudge, Fudge Cake, Hot Fudge. He was willing
to be called Teddy but insisted on the proper
pronunciation of Fujimitsu.
One day Sadao was speaking to a friend when a
teacher called the class to order. Involved in his conversation,
he failed to hear the teacher, who yelled
at him to shut up, mispronouncing Fujimitsu in the
process. Humiliated and angered, Sadao said nothing.
After class the teacher approached Sadao in the hall
and mocked his inability to be disciplined or admonished.
Sadao remained silent. The teacher knew that
Sadao felt people should not laugh at his name. With
their faces inches apart the teacher challenged
9 Chapter 5 of this report discusses the epidemic proportions
of suspensions by school officials, particularly among minority
children. At the secondary school level, black students
in our survey were suspended more than three times
as often as white students--12.8 percent compared with
4.1 percent, respectively.
24
Sadao's complaint about the mispronunciation of
Fujimitsu. "You don't Like that, huh? You think
your name's that special? All these kids in the school,
but your name is special, more than any of theirs?"
Sadao, though very angry, still didn't speak. "And
suppose," the teacher said, leaning toward him, "that
I mispronounced your name altogether, and just
called you Teddy the Jap?" Instinctively, Sadao
pushed off against the lockers, slamming his palms
against the doors. Then he struck out and shoved
the teacher away from him.
"You chicken shit son-of-a-bitch," Sadao barked
at him.
"You just made your second mistake, pal. I might
have forgotten the first one, but no one here gets
away with that. And there are a lot of witnesses.
You better consider yourself out of school for a long
time, sonny boy. Hitting a teacher and then swearing
at him on top of it? You're going to be gone a long
time, friend. Talk about mispronouncing your name,
there isn't going to be anybody saying your name
around here for a long, long time."
Three days later after long discussions and arguments
involving the faculty counsel, student honor
committee, and Mr. and Mrs. Fujimitsu, Sadao was
suspended for the remaining three months of the
school year. Whether or not the administration
would allow him to make up the lost time or force
him to repeat the entire year would be decided by
the end of the summer. Sadao's side of the story was
taken into consideration, as were the reports of thirteen
students who had witnessed the episode. Every
student saw the teacher as having provoked the incident
and they all felt Sadao's talking in class did
not warrant the teacher's severe and public remonstration.
The teacher sent an official apology to Mr.
and Mrs. Fujimitsu who, throughout the deliberation,
could not decide what hurt them more, the teacher's
use of the word Jap, or their son's actions. In the
end, no amount of argument overturned the suspension.
No student, the principal said, can ever be excused
for pushing a teacher or swearing at him.
Sadao kept busy during his suspension, but no
amount of activity could hide his sadness. "I should
be in school," Sadao said. "I feel terrible watching
my brothers and sisters go to school. I can even
sleep late if I want to, but I see all the kids going to