An Open Letter To Principal Susan Wilson
June 16, 2007 · By Joel
The impetus:
Kieran King’s views on marijuana have led to his suspension from Wawota Parkland School.
King said he was threatened with police action by Principal Susan Wilson previously after making the case that marijuana was less harmful than alcohol.
A letter I just sent to this principal:
To: susan.wilson@cornerstonesd.ca
Subject: Shame
Principal Wilson,
Educators are supposed to instill intellectual curiosity and a respect for free and open debate in their students. But not you. This past week you taught your students that they should say and believe only what those in authority say and believe. This past week a fifteen-year-old student showed one hundred times more maturity and dignity than you did.
He’s learned that authority can be petty, arbitrary and blind, and that the mere fact of being in charge does not make someone wise.
I can only hope you’ve learned as much as he has.
Regards,
Joel
P.S. A suggestion for reading material for your coming two month holiday: John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty (1869).
A brief excerpt for your consideration:
If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner; if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.
UPDATE: Found in the comments to a post on this issue on Raphael’s blog: video of a school official’s explanation to protesters.
Watch and judge for yourself:
I don’t really think sending a letter to the principal based on the information supplied by a student who has just been suspended. I suspect there is more to this individual’s history than he is telling and unfortunately privacy laws prohibit the school from commenting on any of that. I would seriously just check the facts before jumping in. If you have than i compliment you and support your decision to send the letter.
This story reeks……of information that hasn’t been reported.
Gerry: The student’s history is that he is an honours student with marks in the 80s and 90s. I’ve read a number of different reports on this matter, all of which seem to agree that: a) the principal accused the student of dealing drugs and
b) offered no evidence to back up that assertion.
For me, that was reason enough to write. If future events should prove me wrong, however, I will gladly write a letter of apology and post it here.
Enough said thanks for the clarification Joel.
The mother of Kieren King wrote the following comment on my own website:
This is Kieran’s mom. Kieran is a major researcher. Earlier in the year, there was a presentation on drugs. Kieran stated that none of the stats given were cited and little clear factual information was given. Kieran began to research marijuana inside out when he found some stats given were not accurate. He loves to share and debate what he learns- we listen to it on a daily basis at home. He was sharing what he had learned at school. He does comparisons between alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana- comparing, for example, how addictive each is, how damaging to the body, and how each affects the health care system. Kieran was accused of promoting marijuana. When talking to the principal about Kieran needing to write his exams early, as he was leaving for China,I was told that if Kieran had talked in a positive way about marijuana to a grade 9 student and if he talked to any any Grade 9s again about marijuana, the police would be called. I told them that Kieran was a full-time research and he loved to share. No one listened but I asked Kieran to not talk to Grade 9’s. Kieran, unknown to me, made contacts and the school received a call from Senator Lorne Campbell’s office promoting free discussion on the effects of drugs. The school called me and I was asked to squash Kieran’s push for freedom of speech. Again it was repeated that Kieran was not allowed to talk to grade 9’s. Kieran organized the walkout. A lock down was planned to stop anyone from leaving, but Kieran and his brother walked out anyway. Kieran was suspended for organizing a protest against administration and defying the order to stay in. Lucas for defying the order to stay in the school. The issues are freedom of speech and fair assessment (as Kieran was not allowed to write his scheduled finals and will receive 0 out of 30%.) There may be another issue as well if the director”The youth and his mother had been warned previously that school officials didn’t think it was appropriate for him to promote drug use at the school, Rempel said”…”Condoning drug use in a school setting is inappropriate. The freedom of speech issue is really a mischaracterization of what occurred here,” Rempel said.” Mr. Remple is so wrong when he says this to the Canadian Press, that I could scream. I am sorry, but I am sick of this slander from the school division. Kieran did not promote drug use- he researched and shared facts and compared statistics. It is a crime that the director keeps saying that Kieran was promoting drug use.
Kieran does not drink, smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or take any other drugs. He is an honor student and good kid who believes in research, stating the facts, and freedom of speech, and fairness to others.
Another example of free speech being shut down by schoolteachers to quash the young students from thinking for themselves. If they can’t take the heat they should get the hell out of the classroom. Now we need Kieran to do some research on global warming to present the other side which is: it is a huge myth! My child did this and was shut down immediately.
You rock, Joel.
[...] Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I wrote a letter to the school principal, asking that she reconsider her stance. Information to contact the principal is at this website right here! [...]
It surprises me that people who seem intelligent, believe everything they see and read that is supplied by the media; a media that thrives on sensationalism. There are two sides to every story. Unfortunatly, due to the privacy act, the truth about the Kieren King story cannot be told and he knows that and is using that fact to say whatever he wants, to gain media coverage and a nation’s uninformed and misguided support.
[...] And a few of the bloggers that have picked up on it … plz add any you find:http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2007/06/16/an-open-letter-to-principal-susan-wilson/http://unambig.blogspot.com/2007/06/student-suspended-for-voicing-opinion.htmlhttp://blog.globalparadigms.com/2007/06/20/free-speech-not-tolerated-in-saskatchewan-schools/http://johnmurneysblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/this-is-major-non-economic-reason-why.htmlhttp://mollymew.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-telling-truth-is-offense-molly-has.htmlhttp://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com/2007/06/of-marijuana-and-free-speech.htmlhttp://cathiefromcanada.blogspot.com/2007/06/overreaction.htmlhttp://rustyidols.blogspot.com/2007/06/suspended-for-critical-thinking.htmlhttp://shagya-blog.blogspot.com/2007/06/saskatchewan-high-school-student.htmlhttp://www.abandonedstuff.com/2007/06/12/only-because-press-releases-are-easy-will-i-blog-about-pot/ [...]
Hi Susan,
Please do your homework! Some things just are not a matter of opinion. There is such a thing as scientific research, and the scientific research on marijuana shows that :
1. Marijuana is not physically addicting. This is simply a fact, well known to all who have used marijuana for any length of time, and to sincere medical researchers. This simply means that suddenly stopping all ingestion of marijuana results in no adverse physical reaction. Going “cold turkey” with alcohol can and has resulted in physical withdrawal so extreme that death is the result. To say that marijuana is “psychologically addicting” is simply to say that it is enjoyable, for clearly anything that’s pleasurable is “psychologically addicting”.
2. Marijuana is completely non-toxic. This is an extraordinary fact, since virtually all over the counter (and all prescription medications) have significant toxicity. Alcohol in excess has lead to immediate death, as the more is consumed the more of the brain shuts down, until the brain stem shuts down (and along with it, breathing stops and so does the heart).
3. Marijuana should be classified as a food, not a drug! Anything nontoxic and with nutritive value should be classified as “food”. Marijuana seeds are one of the most complete plant proteins available, and indeed have the highest content of omega 3 fatty acids of any plant source. Even the leaves of the marijuana plant have nutritive value. There is nothing remotely nutritious about alcohol.
4. There are numerous medicinal uses for marijuana. Indeed, in addition to the plethora of such applications, many of which were known and in use in the early 19th century, recently some striking new medical uses have been discovered. It turns out that not only does marijuana smoking not increase ones chances of contracting lung cancer, but the natural cannabinoids in marijuana actually shrink a variety of tumors, and promotes necrosis of cancer tissue without damaging healthy tissues. Also, it’s been found that cannabinoids are more effective than any existing medication in slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s. Alcohol, by contrast results in obvious physical damage to numerous internal organs, including the brain.
So why is marijuana illegal? This is a very interesting question indeed.
There has been a propaganda campaign since around 1911 against marijuana, for purely political reasons, and rooted in racism and greed.
If you’re interested, I can suggest a reading list, if you are really interested in the truth. If you’re not interested in the truth, then kindly resign your position - you should not be in the education business.
To punish a student for doing his homework is a disgrace, especially since you haven’t done yours. But you can still show yourself a decent human being by doing a little research and perhaps admitting you were wrong. Learning from mistakes is a wonderful ability. Hopefully you possess enough integrity to learn and grow from this experience.