Not sure what I think of this

vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
http://ksn.com/2015/03/26/special-needs-student-at-east-high-told-to-remove-his-letter-jacket/

A Wichita woman claims her special needs son was asked to remove his letter jacket at school.

The student, Michael Kelley, has Down Syndrome and autism. Kelley is not a varsity athlete but participates in extra-curricular special needs basketball.
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On one hand, a varsity letter means something and the mom is a butthead for buying the kid a letter in the first place. Just shows that she doesn't respect the effort and commitment it takes to letter in a sport. And the comments from all the resentful former nerds tells me that they don't respect it, either.

On the other hand...who cares. If it makes the kid happy, it's not hurting anyone, so why not let him wear the letter? Also, these days you can letter in many different activities, not just sports. My daughter has a varsity letter in Theater, of all things.

Then on the third hand - if I had three hands, that is - of course special needs kids should be allowed to compete for a varsity letter. Why wouldn't they be? They might not be able to compete physically, but don't team managers and cheer squads get a letter?
 
PeoplesElbow

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
Me either.

When I got my letterman jacket you got a chevron for each year you participated, I purchased all four chevrons at the same time because I noticed that some of the guys has chevrons that were different than others and I wanted all mine the same. When my junior year came and I asked my mom to sew on another chevron what did she do but sew on both of the remaining chevrons because she didnt want to do that again. I was so embarrassed by it that I didn't want to wear it again until I was a senior. That itchy wool and leather coat was too hot inside and didnt help all that much when it was cold outside anyway so I didn't wear it until I was a senior.

Looking back nobody would have really cared, my friends would have given me crap for it but thats about it.

I see all kind of guys wearing Sons of Anarchy shirts but I doubt they are in the motorcycle gang, let the kid wear the jacket.
 
Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
vraiblonde said:
On one hand, a varsity letter means something and the mom is a butthead for buying the kid a letter in the first place. Just shows that she doesn't respect the effort and commitment it takes to letter in a sport. And the comments from all the resentful former nerds tells me that they don't respect it, either.

On the other hand...who cares. If it makes the kid happy, it's not hurting anyone, so why not let him wear the letter? Also, these days you can letter in many different activities, not just sports. My daughter has a varsity letter in Theater, of all things.

Then on the third hand - if I had three hands, that is - of course special needs kids should be allowed to compete for a varsity letter. Why wouldn't they be? They might not be able to compete physically, but don't team managers and cheer squads get a letter?
Click to expand...

1. That sort of parent stinks. Don't they have cheerleaders to turn into hate filled wretches to take their place some day?

2. This kid isn't Cartman trying to get away with something.

3. If you had three hands you wouldn't be special needs. Unless you were all thumbs...
 
Lurk

Lurk

Happy Creepy Ass Cracka
Try being a letterman in music, and scholastics in small town that has only it's football and basketball teams to be proud of.
 
RPMDAD

RPMDAD

Well-Known Member
The school stepped in:

Kansas school tells special needs athlete he can't wear varsity letter

A Kansas teenager who plays on his high school’s special needs basketball team has been told he can’t wear a varsity letter jacket because he isn’t a varsity athlete.

Wichita East High says a rule is a rule which means Michael Kelley, the 19-year old student athlete with Down syndrome and autism, has to leave his precious letter jacket at home.

“Another parent, from what I had been told, was upset that my son was wearing his jacket,” Jolinda Kelley told KSN-TV Friday.

Kelley told the station her adopted son is a one-of-a-kind kid who loves to play basketball.

She bought him a varsity letter that is the same as the one worn by East High’s varsity basketball team that just won the state championship.

Kelley said Michael was told he couldn’t wear his letter jacket and was given a girl’s sweatshirt to wear instead.

“Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket,“ East High principal Ken Thiessen told KSN.

He said the school had weighed letting special needs kids wear varsity letters.

“We have considered it, and our decision was no,” the principal said. “We decided that it is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity level competition."

East High’s refusal to let a special needs athlete wear a varsity letter apparently is not a district-wide policy in Wichita. District school board member Lynn Rogers said he was willing to give the matter consideration.

“I would definitely be willing to look at it and be sure that kids are being treated fairly,” Rogers told the station.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/2...e-cant-wear-varsity-letter/?intcmp=latestnews
 
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