With Christmas break just a day away, those darn tootin’ yearbook pages demanding my attention and grades and all matters of stuff that needs tending to, I may not post my normal insightful reparatee this coming week.
I did, however, post a rather interesting and amusing post on Technorati a few days ago entitled “Jeepers, Creepers, Watch Those Meepers!” It even made the Technorati front page. While I encourage you to go over there and read it and post comments, I have include the post below as well…
Jeepers, Creepers, Watch Those Meepers!
Blame the soothing effects of tryptophan from my Thanksgiving turkey that lulled me into a semi-comatose, ignorant state. Otherwise, how could I have possibly missed the Meeps story? Or how could I possibly explain that I probably wouldn't even have discovered the story if I hadn't been researching, planning and updating my First Amendment unit for my high school journalism class.
According to the Student Press Law Center and the Salem News, the principal of Danvers High School in Massachusetts sent one of those recorded computer messages (that we all love) to parents warning them that any student who said or displayed the word “meep” at school could face suspension.
Hmm. Let me get this right. Forget about your basic profanity and let's instead move into the realm of made up words. "Meeps" supposedly is a word that can mean just about anything and everything. It's origins apparently come from the sound that the Muppet Beaker makes.
And if all that wasn't bad enough, there was some online talk of a mass meeping somewhere in the school. Now, school administrators aren't the only ones who take a dim view of school disruptions. While I know judges generally do not uphold First Amendment freedoms for kiddos if they cause such disruptions, I'm not exactly sure how the high court would feel about a meep-ruption.
No such meep-ruption occurred and the principal never did provide an explanation for why the word itself should be banned. The whole thing seems to be, well, rather silly.
Now, I am not a lawyer or a Supreme Court judge or a Fox News expert on constitutional law, but I do think I'm a pretty good judge of things that are just plain silly stupid.
I think this meeping thing fits rather nicely into that category.
3 comments:
I saw your post about meep-ing and enjoyed it. I loved my high school newspaper (in NJ) and went on to become an editor of a chain of papers in North Jersey and also have published novels. Your book sounds like a hoot! I have great respect for anyone who can go into a classroom every day and keep kids engaged. I do it about once a year and it still leaves me drained. Keep up the good work! Caren (www.carenlissner.com)
No meeping way! And speaking of meeping, we're facing a dicey yearbook deadline over break, and Principal Man has decided to close the building. I wonder if our yearbook rep would have sympathy for a poor meeping adviser and her bedraggled eds? Have a Happy!
Sadly, this meeping thing is not just a high school problem. It came up in my class early last year.
http://regurgitatedalphabits.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-not-to-make-friends.html
And to think my student thought he had come up with a new and unique way to annoy others. Ha!
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