Friday’s What Maryland Thinks online poll question in the Baltimore Sun was:
Was it appropriate for federal authorities to run sophisticated surveillance flights over Baltimore in the wake of last week’s riots?
I predicted that the results of the poll would be:
Yes 83%
No 13%
Not Sure 4%
with 208 votes cast.
The actual poll results are as follows:
Yes 88%
No 10%
Not Sure 2%
(91 votes cast)
I clearly got the general sentiment correct but miscalculated the degree of interest in the topic predicting more than double the actual votes cast. C’est la vie. Predictions are hard — especially about the future (Yogi Berra).
Today’s question:
Should the Baltimore students who participated in city rioting this month be punished by the school system as CEO Gregory Thorton has promised they will be?
Yes
No
Not Sure
Ah, does the Baltimore Sun have a copy editor? There is an redundant verb to be in that question. Awkward and embarassing.
Predicting the outcome of this poll is a little tricky. While I am sure that a significant majority of folks who vote in this poll want hellfire and damnation to rain down on the kids who rioted, there also is the likelihood that public schools are the wrong venue to pass judgment on these students. Some of the latter will feel that the school system has enough on its plate dealing with its student population; some will just feel that whatever the city schools tries to do will be a monumental failure; some will feel that action by the school system will just accelerate the drop out rate and provide fuel for the poverty/unemployment cycle.
I think that Gregory Thornton is trying to score political points and, unfortunately, making himself look foolish. Now that he is on record recommending some sort of school based punishment, he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. I think there should be a distinct separation between school and the application of justice. This separation doesn’t exclude cooperation by the schools in investigations but certainly excludes the meting of justice by the school system itself.
Consequently, I think that the school system should stay out of it. Rioters who are arrested and jailed will no longer be in the public schools anyway; others who may have participated but aren’t charged — by what presumption does the school system trump law enforcement? There is simply no good reason to punish students within the context of school. Any action will almost certainly lead to drop outs and/or absenteeism, guaranteeing an increased number of future poor and unemployed.
Herewith, my prediction:
Should the Baltimore students who participated in city rioting this month be punished by the school system as CEO Gregory Thorton has promised they will be?
Yes 66%
No 31%
Not Sure 3%
with 204 votes cast.
If you’d like to vote, you can do so here.