Twenty four students are suspended in South Australian school Stuart High for starting their own version of a Fight Club at lunchtime.
What makes this story so bizarre is that the school knew about it and didn’t take any action until footage was disseminated online.
The school’s principal says fight club had been going on for some time and they’ll now offer army cadet training for students to exercise instead.
Not only did the school know about it, but they initiated the club:
One of the parents Mick says it started off as an organised activity by the school itself.
“It was an organised activity at the school but the teacher never turned up, so the students took it into their own hands to organise their own exhibition.”
So what does the school Principal have to say about the violent exchanges occurring in the schoolyard every day?
School principal Veronica Conley said the fights were based on the movie Fight Club, and some of the students followed the film’s motto “whatever happens at Fight Club, stays at Fight Club”.
“It was not horrible, they were using boxing gloves and if anyone got hurt they stopped the fight and checked if he was all right,” Ms Conley told The Advertiser last night.
“Some of the parents were upset that we suspended everyone we identified on the footage, even those who were watching, but it was not safe, some schools have boxing at their school but it needs to be supervised.
“When you have kids this young and energetic they look to use that energy. We first became suspicious when we noticed they all failed to come to a soccer competition that occurred on the same day.”
You have got to be joking! At least the Education Minister is horrified, right? Nope!
“They went into an unused room and in groups, using boxing gloves, carrying out a fight club was, of course, unauthorised and from time to time some students were injured through that,” he said.
“All of the students who participated and all of the bystanders have been suspended by the school and all of the parents have been notified.”
What about the school? Who is supervising? Who suggested such a practise? What about the Principal that seems to be defending her students’ right to box at lunch time?
What an awful response to a unnaceptable episode.
Topical Teaching 