Quote:Maybe it was stupid, but I cant blame the teacher for wanting to ensure the safety of her students.

I don't blame the teacher for being concerned about it at all. I do think that all involved in arresting him for bringing a "hoax bomb" to school, after they had already established that it was a freaking clock and that he hadn't told anyone that it was anything other than that, is an idiot and should either resign or be fired for gross stupidity.

 

Quote:Here's a picture of the clock. Very easy to see why they thought is could have been a bomb.

If the only explosive devices you've ever seen are the ones in Die Hard with a Vengeance, sure.

 

Quote:Maybe if it was something like a knife they can plod around doing an investigation. When you think a bomb, which could easily kill thousands at a populated school, is on the premise you take extraordinary actions.

Again, I don't blame anyone for acting swiftly and aggressively for the ten seconds between the teaching saying, "What is that?" and Ahmed replying, "It's a clock." My biggest issue of all is that Ahmed was arrested for bringing a "hoax bomb" to school, even though he had never represented it as such and clearly shown that it was a clock. The conversation should have ended in the principal's office with Ahmed sent back to class and a pat on the back given for displaying that level of creativity and talent. Instead, the cops arrested him. Why? I don't know. Maybe they didn't want to deal with it again later in the day if someone else panicked. Maybe they felt like "teaching him a lesson" of some sort (other than, "cops are idiots", presumably). Maybe the principal pressured them into making the arrest--that happened a few times at my high school while I was there. Maybe they just didn't want to get back to the precinct and have the sergeant go off on them for bringing a kid to the office on suspicion of having a bomb and not arresting him.

 

Whatever the motivation for arresting him, it was idiotic and unnecessary. Want to know why the rest of the world is kicking our butts in education? Look no further than clown car rejects who would sooner arrest a student for building a complex electronic device from scratch than congratulate him for excellence in math and science. I mean, what's next, kids can't make volcanoes for science fair projects anymore because mixing vinegar and baking soda at the right ratio, then sealing the container, can cause it to violently rupture?

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