An Overheard Conversation - 6. AOC 6

Everything was going great for Wayne and Ethan until they were tackled by Derrin. It will be interesting to see if Reynolds paddles all three of them or just Wayne and Ethan.

I suspect Derrin will get off scott free as he's on the Senior Football team.

1 hour ago, chris191070 said:

Everything was going great for Wayne and Ethan until they were tackled by Derrin. It will be interesting to see if Reynolds paddles all three of them or just Wayne and Ethan.

I suspect Derrin will get off scott free as he's on the Senior Football team.

Indeed it was @chris191070 You'll have to wait until the next chapter to see if your suspicions are correct. 🙂

Somehow, I feel when Ethan's parents get involved, and hopefully there were other witnesses to the initial confrontation that we may see some interesting happenings. I am willing to bet that Mr Reynolds was in fact, the instigator by 'creating' the situation!!!!

It would not have happened if Ethan didn't forget his book so risky for them to go anywhere  in that school alone and that sucks. Jackson conveniently won't believe that Derrin started it.

Wayne's Grandmother comment to Ethan about "A happy place tp pitch your tent" sounds like she has them figured out already.

1 hour ago, drsawzall said:

Somehow, I feel when Ethan's parents get involved, and hopefully there were other witnesses to the initial confrontation that we may see some interesting happenings. I am willing to bet that Mr Reynolds was in fact, the instigator by 'creating' the situation!!!!

I'm sure there will be some interesting happenings as time goes by.

36 minutes ago, weinerdog said:

It would not have happened if Ethan didn't forget his book so risky for them to go anywhere  in that school alone and that sucks. Jackson conveniently won't believe that Derrin started it.

Wayne's Grandmother comment to Ethan about "A happy place tp pitch your tent" sounds like she has them figured out already.

I think you have Jackson figured @weinerdog 😀

And yes, she may well be seeing into the future.

2 hours ago, drsawzall said:

Somehow, I feel when Ethan's parents get involved, and hopefully there were other witnesses to the initial confrontation that we may see some interesting happenings. I am willing to bet that Mr Reynolds was in fact, the instigator by 'creating' the situation!!!!

I don’t know if Reynolds had any part in instigating this attack, but I feel certain that the football and swim teams have been given a blind eye to anything they may do regarding Wayne and Ethan.  Now that Ethan is being called to office, Mom and Dad have every right to come in and raise the roof.

Funny the things that are acceptable for adults but not for children:  "Fighting in school" may be grounds for suspension (or punishment à la Jackson) regardless if one is the perpetrator or victim, whereas defending one's self would be perfectly appropriate in the real world. Fairness, or even an expectation of fairness, can be a fantasy when it comes to the school yard, as Wayne knows all too well. If Mathers is not punished, then we'll know that the assault and battery on Ethan was a setup (or less likely, administration approval after the fact). Reynolds, however, can be faulted for failing to take Ethan to the nurse for head trauma, as I'm sure he sustained some visual damage.  (Ethan's parents may not be able to complain effectively about the punishment for fighting, but a complaint that a teacher ignored a medical issue could be devastating.)

Grandma knows. (You can have a lot of fun in a tent! 😂)

Nothing says prison like prison:  I'm sure that Wayne, his grandparents, and his Dad will have a great visit, but I hope that the prison itself won't cause Wayne to feel depressed.  (It may also occur to him that being set up in school and being set up for prison is only a matter of degree. 😪)

1 hour ago, Clancy59 said:

I don’t know if Reynolds had any part in instigating this attack, but I feel certain that the football and swim teams have been given a blind eye to anything they may do regarding Wayne and Ethan.  Now that Ethan is being called to office, Mom and Dad have every right to come in and raise the roof.

It would indeed seem the football and swim teams have been given licence with regard to Wayne & Ethan. To what extent, if any, Jackson and/or Reynolds may be involved is currently unknown.

Ethan & Wayne have legitimately been caught breaking the rules, Assuming a paddling is a specified consequence it is hard to see how Ethan's parents can raise the roof if that happens.

51 minutes ago, travlbug said:

Funny the things that are acceptable for adults but not for children:  "Fighting in school" may be grounds for suspension (or punishment à la Jackson) regardless if one is the perpetrator or victim, whereas defending one's self would be perfectly appropriate in the real world. Fairness, or even an expectation of fairness, can be a fantasy when it comes to the school yard, as Wayne knows all too well. If Mathers is not punished, then we'll know that the assault and battery on Ethan was a setup (or less likely, administration approval after the fact). Reynolds, however, can be faulted for failing to take Ethan to the nurse for head trauma, as I'm sure he sustained some visual damage.  (Ethan's parents may not be able to complain effectively about the punishment for fighting, but a complaint that a teacher ignored a medical issue could be devastating.)

Grandma knows. (You can have a lot of fun in a tent! 😂)

Nothing says prison like prison:  I'm sure that Wayne, his grandparents, and his Dad will have a great visit, but I hope that the prison itself won't cause Wayne to feel depressed.  (It may also occur to him that being set up in school and being set up for prison is only a matter degree. 😪)

Some excellent points @travlbug

As for the prison visit, lets hope the pleasure of seeing his father again after all this time will outweigh the negative thoughts about the location

Grandma's are usually very knowledgable.😇

2 hours ago, Ivor Slipper said:

It would indeed seem the football and swim teams have been given licence with regard to Wayne & Ethan. To what extent, if any, Jackson and/or Reynolds may be involved is currently unknown.

Ethan & Wayne have legitimately been caught breaking the rules, Assuming a paddling is a specified consequence it is hard to see how Ethan's parents can raise the roof if that happens.

If they were attacked first, yes, they can.  The problem is that the boys haven’t laid a paper trail in order to prove harassment.

10 hours ago, Clancy59 said:

If they were attacked first, yes, they can.  The problem is that the boys haven’t laid a paper trail in order to prove harassment.

They could try, but they don't appear to have a single independent witness as to what actually happened. Even if Wayne did see everything, he is unlikely to be believed.

I had to laugh at Wayne's grandmother's prescient assessment of the boys future.

”There will be storms along your path, but in the end you will both find happy site to pitch your tent.”

That statement works on so many levels.

Society will never be able to eradicate all wrongdoings. The best that can be said is that bad situations become an opportunity for great people to shine.

And so we are seeing, with both Ethan's and Wayne's families.

Lowlifes like Reynolds may never learn or receive their deserved punishment and so many abusive teachers never did. 

But it's the good ones that stand out.

1 hour ago, Bard the Hard said:

I had to laugh at Wayne's grandmother's prescient assessment of the boys future.

”There will be storms along your path, but in the end you will both find happy site to pitch your tent.”

That statement works on so many levels.

Society will never be able to eradicate all wrongdoings. The best that can be said is that bad situations become an opportunity for great people to shine.

And so we are seeing, with both Ethan's and Wayne's families.

Lowlifes like Reynolds may never learn or receive their deserved punishment and so many abusive teachers never did. 

But it's the good ones that stand out.

 

One does remember the good teachers rather than the bad ones. Luckily I never encountered any abusive ones.

Ethan and his parents may just have arrived in time to save Wayne from being pushed into doing something stupid.

Does seem as if a plot is developing among a few of the teachers and some team members to make our boy's lives miserable. Individual, random discrimination is nasty enough, but when it becomes organized like this it's definitely heading into criminal conduct territory.

I remember many teachers fondly. Many coaches fondly. Teachers, for the most part, won't have anything to do with acting out like this. But as we still see from modern headlines today, the problem does exist among individuals in the teaching establishment. There is no such thing as perfection, especially when it comes to people.

Can't wait to see how this all plays out!

7 hours ago, Geron Kees said:

Teachers, for the most part, won't have anything to do with acting out like this.

I accept my experiences were not the norm but having Irish parents and attending an English so called christian school (known for its discipline (read cruelty)) I experienced regular discrimination and punishments, especially when the IRA were in the news.

Unfortunately it does happen and has happened with one of my children, until I got a teacher dismissed 🙂

2 hours ago, Bard the Hard said:

I accept my experiences were not the norm but having Irish parents and attending an English so called christian school (known for its discipline (read cruelty)) I experienced regular discrimination and punishments, especially when the IRA were in the news.

Unfortunately it does happen and has happened with one of my children, until I got a teacher dismissed 🙂

I'm sorry. I was referring to the US, but even find that doesn't bear up under intense reflection. Teachers are, ultimately, people, and people have prejudices and hatreds that easily intrude into their professions.

I do believe that many, if not most teachers, at least here in the US, will try their best to treat their students fairly. But that may just be my own naivety speaking. My experiences with teachers in my state growing up were all good.  But that was also a different time. These days, it seems that most anything goes.

This story is timely, and probably always has been.

10 hours ago, Geron Kees said:

Does seem as if a plot is developing among a few of the teachers and some team members to make our boy's lives miserable. Individual, random discrimination is nasty enough, but when it becomes organized like this it's definitely heading into criminal conduct territory.

I remember many teachers fondly. Many coaches fondly. Teachers, for the most part, won't have anything to do with acting out like this. But as we still see from modern headlines today, the problem does exist among individuals in the teaching establishment. There is no such thing as perfection, especially when it comes to people.

Can't wait to see how this all plays out!

 

There does appear to be some sort of vendetta taking place against our boys. The checks on such behavior that one would expect from above, appear to be missing.

5 hours ago, Bard the Hard said:

I accept my experiences were not the norm but having Irish parents and attending an English so called christian school (known for its discipline (read cruelty)) I experienced regular discrimination and punishments, especially when the IRA were in the news.

Unfortunately it does happen and has happened with one of my children, until I got a teacher dismissed 🙂

I'm afraid it does happen. Apologies if the story is stirring up bad memories for you. 

2 hours ago, Geron Kees said:

I'm sorry. I was referring to the US, but even find that doesn't bear up under intense reflection. Teachers are, ultimately, people, and people have prejudices and hatreds that easily intrude into their professions.

I do believe that many, if not most teachers, at least here in the US, will try their best to treat their students fairly. But that may just be my own naivety speaking. My experiences with teachers in my state growing up were all good.  But that was also a different time. These days, it seems that most anything goes.

This story is timely, and probably always has been.

I won't say there is always a bad apple in the barrel, but on the occasions there is, actions needs to be taken to remove it before the rot spreads.

13 minutes ago, Ivor Slipper said:

I'm afraid it does happen. Apologies if the story is stirring up bad memories for you. 

Thank you Ivor. I'm going to keep my personal experiences under wraps from now on so that I can focus on your fine story. 🙂

Seems to me I recall an ancient phrase 'Evil will out'...schools are not known for maturity among the denizens, and adults don't always exemplify the better natures we often expect of them.  All it takes is one or two precedents, and the semblance of justice vanishes like fog in the heat of day.

Given that most schools depend on sports for fund raising, it's a common practice to let infractions by athletes slip by unless they are too extreme to sweep under the rug.  We can't blame all athletes for this going on, but there are always those who will abuse their 'status' for their own purposes, and it becomes easier the more this practice goes on without repercussions.In today's schools in the US, such things have become more covert as 'cyber bullying' and it's now acceptable to 'shun' someone if they don't hold the common beliefs of their peers.  For teens the big offences used to be drinking, smoking or overt making out, but now all those are acceptable while disagreeing with anything but Liberal views can lead to ostracism and even job loss for adults.

This weekend, we celebrate 245th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, and it has never looked to be more in danger of disappearing than now thanks to a silent media and the indoctrination of our young people from their earliest school days to despise unity, a colorless society and the right to think for oneself.  Our media is touting the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's Revolution, and decrying anything patriotic from our own history....    

I'm betting the athletes will be let off with a warning or maybe a detention (that is if Jackson is actually intelligent enough to think about the possible consequences of discriminatory punishment for the same offense). He's probably been getting away with that sort of behaviour in the school for so long, he won't even consider that as a possibility. I’m hoping he'll get sacked and banned from any position in charge of minors again, but if we're talking about the 80's or 90's that's less likely, unfortunately.