Oh, that first week of school. We’ve all been there, in one capacity or another. It’s an institutional rite of passage where shear enthusiasm and anticipation ultimately trump uncertainty and anxiety — and the de facto end of summer.
But those first few days can be confusing for many, chaotic for a few. Logistics that go wrong. Stuff that isn’t ready. New students, new teachers, new rules, old habits.
Hillsborough High would have settled for all that – and more — a fortnight ago.
The first day featured a 15-year-old who brought a .38 caliber handgun to school. Apparently needed protection from some toughs he had tangled with the previous day. Fortunately, no one was hurt. He now awaits arraignment and a criminal justice no-choice plan.
Day two was weapon-less — but more physical. A mother and her 16-year-old son shared felony charges. The lad, all 265 pounds of him, “body checked” the school resource officer, and his mom jumped on the officer’s back and began punching him. That occurred as they were being escorted off campus. The upshot: apparently he was supposed to go to Middleton.
After leave-no-felon-behind week, it’s now back to business as usual: school bus roulette and the FCAT countdown.