- Oct 17, 2011
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My kids were kicked out of Catholic school — after being too patriotic
A Southern California mom claims that her 13-year-old son was kicked out of middle school after being “too patriotic” in a speech he planned to deliver to his classmates.On May 16, middle school student Jimmy Heyward was set to address his peers as part of his campaign for Commissioner of School Spirit and Patriotism at Saint Bonaventure Catholic School, a K-8 institution in Huntington Beach.
[First of all, why is there a 'Commissioner of School Spirit and Patriotism'? Oh, Huntington Beach. Anyway...]
When the school reviewed Jimmy’s speech, as was required of all candidates, he was asked to tone down language like the word “hate” in the context of talking about people who “hate” their country, as well as references to patriotism.
Jimmy’s mother, Hattie Ruggles, told The Post that he toned down the “hate” verbiage as requested, but refused to remove references to patriotism.
The school disagreed [that the problem was resolved]. The principal allegedly barred the boy from speaking, and, on Tuesday, Ruggles received a letter informing her that Jimmy, along with his 5- and 11-year-old sisters, could not return to the school in the fall.
From the letter:
This decision comes as a result of serious violations of the Christian Code of Conduct and the Parent Electronic Communication Policy, as outlined in our Parent Student Handbook and included below.
[The five bullet points all seem to clearly describe things the parents did, rather than the student.]
And so.... private school jettisons nightmare parents. Adios!