Comments on: Rangiora New Life College, Religion and Discrimination

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:17:42 +0000

It’s funny how your version doesn’t sound nearly so sensational and quite understandable – I wonder why Campbell Live didn’t tell it like that?

Thanks for dropping by
.-= My last blog-post ..St Matthews on the Terrace: Progressive Irrationality =-.

By: Student at the School

Student at the School — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:08:41 +0000

I go to the school in question, and the problem was that the Princepal, greg, appointed ollie as head boy, but forgot to tell the BOT, so when the BOT heard about it, they revoked his title, not the princepal.
also, she chose to leave, was not expelled,and is now at school (well, not excactly a school) close to her home, that is more able to supports her with her child..

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:06:53 +0000

Very good comment Cedric. .-= My last blog-post ..Another Climate Change Science Hockey Stick Graph =-.

By: Cedric

Cedric — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:56:19 +0000

many years ago I was in the same position as the guy in this situation, yet my (Catholic) school backed me 100% in my efforts to complete my education and provide for my new family. This left a profound message on how to deal with people that have fallen short of the Christian ideal, yet are doing the best they can with the situation they find themselves in. It would be a different story if the couple were flouting their actions as completely fine and leading others astray, but this does not seem to be the case. So many abortions arise from the fear of rejection by the community, and “loss of a future” caused by leaving school etc. I can completely understand the loss of a leadership role as a result of this, but not the kicking out of school. The board missed a real opportunity to show they “loved the sinner not the sin” here.
PS, Cambell Live have proven themselves yet again to be ambulance chasing gutter-journalists, treading relationships underfoot in their sickening rush to sell advertising.

By: nyokodo

nyokodo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:46:23 +0000

Any connection between special character schools and government is going to inevitably bring about a watering down of the school's character. This could be from the slow effects of the divided loyalties that come from being paid by government, or the much quicker effects of scrutiny by the media or eventual direct intrusion by government (for instance sex ed). This is why I thank God for home schooling and pray to Him for a revival of teaching orders in the Catholic Church. .-= My last blog-post ..Manhattan Declaration- a call to stand with those who fight for life =-.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:30:47 +0000

1. Anyone aged under 18 lacks full capacity to contract.
2. The owners of the house did not given consent.
3. The parents who objected where the parents of Sara, so if you are correct Ollie invited Campbell Live into his fiance’s parents house which is even worse.

Bottom line Campbell Live acted unethically.
.-= My last blog-post ..Madeleine on TV Tonight on Abortion & Parental Consent =-.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:04:08 +0000

Just one comment, you have mentioned that TV3 were intrusive as they did the filming at the house without consent of the parents. This implies that TV3 were trespassing. The boy concerned went to TV3 with the story. He arranged for TV3 to interview him at the house. He's 17 or so, he doesn't need TV3 to get permission from his parents to do a story the way they did if reporters are welcome into his home.. .-= My last blog-post .. =-.

By: Lucia Maria

Lucia Maria — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:07:25 +0000

Matt,

I’m sorry you didn’t get the job.

At least it was for the right reason.
.-= My last blog-post ..Catharsis: retelling the Nativity as a fable =-.

By: Brendan Malone

Brendan Malone — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:49:02 +0000

It seems to me that there are two separate issues here…

1. The processes/judgment employed by the school around this issue
2. The issue of leaders/students adhering to the special character of the school

Based on what I have read on the TV3 website, the school didn’t handle this issue in the best way possible.

If they truly did know about the sexual activity beforehand, and then changed their mind at a later stage, and reversed their initial decision, it suggests a weakness in their processes which needs some urgent attention.

Perhaps they need to clarify exactly what the role of head boy/girl is intended to encompass – if it is purely about academic excellence and leadership, then I can understand the complaints here, but if it is about both leadership in the academics and matters of faith and morals then that’s a different story all together.

Were the students here made aware of what the school expects of their head boy/girl?

From reading the TV3 article it appears that the students (and parents) seem to think that their obligations in this area were only academic.

This suggest that, at the very least, the school may need to address their communication of the expectations they hold when it comes to their student leaders.

And I would also be extremely disappointed if they did actually ask a student to leave the school altogether purely for making a bad decision about sex, and then getting pregnant – as the TV3 article claims they did.

This statement intrigued me…

“Ollie says he believes the school has every right to make decisions about things that occur at school, but not outside of school.”

This sort of erroneous thinking might work for supporters of Bill Clinton, but it doesn’t pass the basic commonsense test.

Leadership 101 is about integrity, and that means a consistent application of principles in all areas and times of one’s life.

So it does actually matter what you do when you leave school grounds, and in many ways it actually becomes more important for a school leader, because off-site is where most of your leadership is exercised.

And it becomes even more of an issue when your actions off-campus are brought back on to the campus with you, and in such a public fashion.
.-= My last blog-post ..Can evolution explain religion? =-.

By: Duncan Babbage

Duncan Babbage — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:14:12 +0000

Actually, going even further than Madeleine’s point, the “decision making part of the brain” is still developing well into the 20s.