This story happened several years ago, so I'm a little foggy on the exact details, but I remember the outcome well. I'm not sure what reminded me of this story, but whatever it was, I thought it would be appropriate to share it here.
My high school offered a few foreign language classes...French, Spanish, and German, I believe. All 3 of them would take a trip to their respective countries every few years and any student who had been in the class for more than a couple of years could go, if they wanted. This story is about the German class taking a trip to Germany one summer between school semesters.
Some of the students who were going were 16 or older, which, I believe, is, or at least was, the legal drinking age in Germany at the time. The school required all students 16 or older to sign a form stating that they would not purchase or consume alcohol while on the class trip, and that getting caught with alcohol could result in suspension, failing the class, expulsion from extra curricular activities, etc. All the students who went on the trip had to sign this form (and if I recall correctly, their parents did too) or they were not allowed to go.
One of the students who was going -- I forget her name, but let's call her Julie -- was the head of the debate team, captain of her sports team (I forget exactly what she played, I think probably tennis), a straight A honor student, and daughter of a prestigious doctor in the area. She was 17 at the time so she and her mother had to sign the "do not drink" form before she was allowed to go on the trip.
The second day after the class had gotten there, during one of their "free times" the teacher of the class got a tip from one of the other students that some of the students from his class were down the street in a pub, drinking. He went down to investigate and sure enough, sitting right at the bar with a mug of beer, there was Julie. I think there were others with her, but he confronted her first, maybe since she was closest to the door. He grabbed her shoulder -- not hard, just enough to get her attention -- and asked her what the hell she thought she was doing.
For that, the teacher got fired from his job as the German teacher, Julie's mother threatened to sue him and have his teaching license revoked, and the high school hasn't had a German program since because they haven't been able to find a qualified German teacher. Julie (and the rest of the students who were drinking with her), on the other hand, got absolutely no punishment whatsoever.
It just makes me sick. I don't know whether Julie's mother actually did sue the German teacher and get his license taken away or not...as soon as the class got back from Germany, he packed up and left town, and I never heard of anything that happened after that.
My high school offered a few foreign language classes...French, Spanish, and German, I believe. All 3 of them would take a trip to their respective countries every few years and any student who had been in the class for more than a couple of years could go, if they wanted. This story is about the German class taking a trip to Germany one summer between school semesters.
Some of the students who were going were 16 or older, which, I believe, is, or at least was, the legal drinking age in Germany at the time. The school required all students 16 or older to sign a form stating that they would not purchase or consume alcohol while on the class trip, and that getting caught with alcohol could result in suspension, failing the class, expulsion from extra curricular activities, etc. All the students who went on the trip had to sign this form (and if I recall correctly, their parents did too) or they were not allowed to go.
One of the students who was going -- I forget her name, but let's call her Julie -- was the head of the debate team, captain of her sports team (I forget exactly what she played, I think probably tennis), a straight A honor student, and daughter of a prestigious doctor in the area. She was 17 at the time so she and her mother had to sign the "do not drink" form before she was allowed to go on the trip.
The second day after the class had gotten there, during one of their "free times" the teacher of the class got a tip from one of the other students that some of the students from his class were down the street in a pub, drinking. He went down to investigate and sure enough, sitting right at the bar with a mug of beer, there was Julie. I think there were others with her, but he confronted her first, maybe since she was closest to the door. He grabbed her shoulder -- not hard, just enough to get her attention -- and asked her what the hell she thought she was doing.
For that, the teacher got fired from his job as the German teacher, Julie's mother threatened to sue him and have his teaching license revoked, and the high school hasn't had a German program since because they haven't been able to find a qualified German teacher. Julie (and the rest of the students who were drinking with her), on the other hand, got absolutely no punishment whatsoever.
It just makes me sick. I don't know whether Julie's mother actually did sue the German teacher and get his license taken away or not...as soon as the class got back from Germany, he packed up and left town, and I never heard of anything that happened after that.
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