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Education

Student Creativity Rewarded With Expulsion and Arrest (Update)

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
May 15, 2013
Filed under ,

Homer Hickam Supports High School Student Whose Science Project Got Her Expelled and Arrested
“Homer Hickam, portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal in the movie October Sky, has joined the ranks of scientists and engineers around the globe in support of Kiera Wilmot – the 16-year-old Florida student who found herself in hot water after her science experiment went awry. Wilmot, who has an outstanding school record and whose mother works in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field, was expelled from school permanently and arrested by police after her science experiment caused a small explosion. Although not authorized by her teacher, no one was hurt in the incident and no damage was caused. Kiera was also charged with possession and discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device: both felonies.”
Please support the Kayla Wilmot Space Academy Scholarship
Student Kiera Wilmot’s arrest over science experiment explosion sparks outrage on Twitter, other social media, Orlando Sentinel
“The website Southern Fried Science took a turn away from discussions on conservation and endangered species to weigh in on Kiera’s case, asking scientists how many “accidentally blew something up in high school doing science?” Many responded by describing their adolescent capers.”
State Attorney Jerry Hill: Drop charges against Kiera Wilmot, Change.org
List of multiple petitions online at Change.org
Keith’s note: If this over reactive mindset was in place in the early 1980s, then a dozen or so of the Chemistry students I taught while in grad school would have been felons – every semester.
Kiera Wilmot, student who caused small explosion, won’t face charges, Orlando Sentinel
“Brian Haas, an assistant state attorney and spokesman for the office, said he could not provide details of the diversion-program agreement reached in a juvenile’s case. But he said the teenager and her guardian had signed the agreement. “The pending case has been dismissed. No formal charges will be filed,” read the office’s statement.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

66 responses to “Student Creativity Rewarded With Expulsion and Arrest (Update)”

  1. Sherye Johnson says:
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    Luckily she didn’t hurt anyone. Rules may seem funny and extreme but they are there to protect everyone especially in schools. She shouldn’t have been so stupid while trying to be smart.

    • kcowing says:
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      How do you know that she was being “stupid”?

    • shan22044 says:
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      My chem teacher in junior high school (someone with years of training and an adult) accidentally ignited the ceiling in our classroom. For a second there, it was almost “an incident”. Funny how since the school didn’t burn down, no one was hurt, and no one said anything, it was just another day in chemistry class.

      • kcowing says:
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        I taught organic chemistry lab classes for several years. People do what they do regardless of what you tell them. One day an instructor was in the adjacent lab heating carbon tetrachloride and something else and the ventilation hood fan was not working up to spec and carbonyl chloride (phosgene) flooded the lab. I got everyone out, pulled the fire alarm and ended up in the emergency room being treated for phosgene exposure. Another time I was cleaning out a lab cabinet and found a jug of picric acid with dried crystals on the cap. Had been sitting there for years. It was a bomb. Called the bomb squad. Things like this happen.

        • objose says:
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          “I got everyone out, pulled the fire alarm and ended up in the emergency room being treated for phosgene exposure.” THAT EXPLAINS IT FINALLY! NOW i know why you post such crazy stuff. Thanks for revealing this subtle but obviously important cause of developmental delay!

          • kcowing says:
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            Have you ever been exposed to Phosgene? I had to have emergency treatment. I took a personal risk so that others could get to safety and you think its funny? Jerk.

    • Mike says:
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      So you endorse practically ruining this girls life for being curious? If she gets convicted of a felony her career choices pretty much peak at McDonald’s.

      This is whats wrong with the education system today, too many no-imagination administrators who have no idea the purpose of education is to teach kids how to be curious and learn on their own, not to pass standardized tests. When there is finally a kid you does something out of curiosity to try to learn something, with absolutely no malicious intent, they punish her for it and and cite a stupid no-tolerance policy which really has no context in the actual incident.

      It also kind of disgusts me to see some people supporting the school in the comments section here. I thought that people interested in the space program would be a little more imaginative and support a young person’s curiosity, not an overreacting administrator who probably got all D’s in any class where creative thinking was required.

      • stargazerken73 . says:
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        Once again this was not a science experiment. If it was it would have taken place in one of our labs and not outside near our school’s pond-a popular hang out for student before class and during lunch. If she wanted to explore her scientific curiosity on a school campus, she should have contacted her instructor.

        • kcowing says:
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          What a great way to stifle creativity and imagination. What’s your job: running detention?

          • stargazerken73 . says:
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            What would you say if the school ignored the county and state procedures and someone (student or faculty) was injured?

          • kcowing says:
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            Trust me – this story has generated enough attention that journalists and interest groups are pouring over the school’s records, related arrests, community feedback etc. and there will certainly be examples found where the school either did not follow local/state laws and/or its own regulations – or that the rules were simply waived. There are nearly a dozen petitions on this topic at Change.gov – a website run by the White House.

            Tick tock.

        • Mike says:
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          What a way to teach kids to be curious: “Don’t try anything unless your teacher says its ok” Luckily not everyone has this mentality or we would still be living in the middle ages. I guess its a good way to make more school administrators who cite codes of conduct like they came straight from God.

          Why don’t we take this into a little context. Was the pond crowded when it happend? Perhaps she picked the area because it was outside, and any gasses produced could vent, and also gave some room to stand back from the experiment. Was anyone hurt? Was any property damaged? Was there any malicious intent? Agreed she made a mistake doing it on school grounds. But again, I just want to point out that the punishment that was handed out pretty much ends her chances at any sort of career in life.

        • Nassau Goi says:
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          Kenneth, your thoughts describe in a microcosm what is wrong with this country. Risk acceptance for too many old folks today only involves the economy and look and what good that did.

          There is something called intent that is usually weighed when judging others, especially in criminal cases.

        • Eli Rabett says:
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          You have no damn idea of what a science experiment is.

  2. Spacetech says:
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    According to the official incident report, the students actions had nothing to do with any science class lesson or science fair experiment at all.

    The student knowingly brought all of the components to the school grounds and even though the student admitted she did not know what would happen when she mixed the ingredients doesn’t make it OK.

    Like it or not the student DID build and detonate an improvised explosive device on school grounds without the schools knowledge or approval.
    Like it or not the schools decision is harsh but correct.

    Sure, I did this stuff too when I was 10 but I was smart enough to know this was something you don’t take out of your back yard.

    • John Thomas says:
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      It sounds like bringing a diet coke and mentos would also qualify as an explosive.

    • kcowing says:
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      You have never been in a chemistry class it would seem. Look at the ceilings. Ever wonder what the scorch marks are from and how the embedded pieces of glass got there? Also … are saying that it is OK to build a “improvised explosive device” (your phrase) in your back yard? I suspect the laws regarding that sort of activity in a residential neighborhood are even more strict – if applied, that is.

    • Todd Austin says:
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      An ‘improvised explosive device’? Really? Would you have her labeled as Taliban and excoriated in the media? She’s a kid! She was trying to learn something!

      If all of our children limited themselves to only what was in a ‘science class lesson’ or ‘science fair experiment’ then this country would be in deep doo-doo. The smart kids do their best not to waste their time on that mindless teach-to-the-test nonsense.

      Kiera should be applauded, not have her life destroyed by an over-zealous atorney.

      • Jafafa Hots says:
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        These soda-bottle and aluminum foil IEDs are why every schoolkid should be armed – for safety’s sake!

      • Jafafa Hots says:
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        These days in many places a “science class lesson” is rote memorization for the standardized test.

        Like Florida’s FCATs for example.

    • dogstar29 says:
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      If you’re concerned about school safety I suggest you start by eliminating football, which regularly produces serious injuries, disability, and even death, even with teacher supervision.

      I readily concede that this incident was not part of any officially sanctioned science fair or assignment and that its unlikely any teacher would have authorized it. But it is widely described as a science experiment. From a technical standpoint it seems unlikely the hydrogen ignited, since there was no source of ignition. We are left with an 8-oz bottle that was overpressurized and blew off its top.

      A few stern words might well have been in order, but the response of the school officials with handcuffs and expulsion was not in order, nor was the response of the judge, who according to other reports on the internet recently let a boy off scott-free after an incident in which he accidentally shot and killed a sibling with a BB gun.

      • Jeff2Space says:
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        I just read a news story talking about both this girl and the boy who killed his brother with a BB gun. Both of these cases were kids doing something they probably shouldn’t have been doing. I’m just shocked that the girl who hurt no one is going to have felony arrests dogging her (even if she “beats” the charges) while the boy who killed someone won’t.

    • stargazerken73 . says:
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      SpaceTech is correct. The school and district followed the procedures as outlined in the Code of Conduct. This incident was not a science experiment nor was is part of a science fair. The student brought the materials on campus on her own without the knowledge of her teacher or the administration. If she asked her instructor and obtained permission as part of a project she may have been allowed to conduct this under supervised conditions. Knowing the location of the incident like I do, there was a decent chance if things went wrong several students could have been hurt. This event occurred outside and without an instructor knowing what was going on. She did this on her own.

      For the teacher and department in question; no instructor in the department would have asked a student to conduct this on their own as part of an assignment. For those that have questions, yes I am part of that department and know her teacher.

      • kcowing says:
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        Sounds like a school that selectively enforces some rules but not others – and has totally lost sight of what it means to teach students. This is not teaching- it is gratuitous punishment grossly out of proportion to the infraction. Watch as the rest of the student body now decides not to take risks – of any kind – out of fear for being thrown out of school for even the slightest infraction.

        • stargazerken73 . says:
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          It is not out of proportion. On page 39, section 5.05 it states plainly what conditions for an explosive device and/or explosive materials/substances that are on a school campus. The section also notes an exception for instructor led and administration approved experimentation with such chemicals. The consequence for having those materials/substances is expulsion. My administration was has and always will follow the procedures set in the district’s Code of Conduct for serious breeches of conduct.
          Now if the student obtained permission from the administration and had the help and supervision of an instructor, this would be a non-issue.

          • kcowing says:
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            You are a teacher at this school? This explains a lot. You sound more like a traffic cop who hasn’t written his quota of tickets this month.

          • Sherye Johnson says:
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            Spoken like a wannabe nasa blogger. Wow. That is pathetic.

          • kcowing says:
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            “Wanna be nasa blogger”? Um, I have been a nasa blogger for more than 16 years. The “wanna be” is inaccurate – sorry

          • Mike says:
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            Oh, well if page 39, section 5.05 says that, then it must make it the right thing to do! My mind has been changed!

            Seriously, citing a code of conduct helps nothing. It just reinforces the point that things need to be taken into context, and have the punishment fit the crime. No tolerance policies are the worst things ever to happen to the school system. It ruins kids lives for making minor mistakes and sends them down the path of becoming criminals. You can’t learn from your mistakes when you never get a 2nd chance.

            It looks to me like she should have gotten a scolding for doing it on school grounds and maybe some detention. Not the ridiculous over reaction that actually happened.

          • dogstar29 says:
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            Hydrogen is not, by itself, an explosive. An explosion with hydrogen as a fuel requires that the hydrogen be mixed with an oxydizer, confined under pressure, and presented with a source of ignition. In this case there was no mixing until the hydrogen escaped, and at that point there was no pressure. Moreover, there was no source of ignition. Therefore the elements required for an explosion were not present, and the school officials were in error in assuming they were.

            Moreover, I recognize that inflexible rules are applied in many schools rather than judgement but I don’t think this is proper policy. To quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

        • Nassau Goi says:
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          Public school system at it’s finest.

      • Sherye Johnson says:
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        Good for the teachers! You guys get too much grief to have to police things like this. The student knew better. She isn’t dumb. I can’t imagine what would have happened if a mischievous student had done this and the teachers did nothing. Parents would have gone non-linear. I too am very close to educators on many levels and respect what they do.

      • MattWriter says:
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        There is a point you are missing, Mr. Webb. Yes, the young lady did something improper on school grounds, resulting in a gas-expansion “pop” (NOT an explosion, ask a science teacher) and suspension or detention may be appropriate. Expulsion is an absurd overreaction, an application of rules without consideration of the objectives behind those rules. Involving the police, leading to destroying the young lady’s life with felony charges is a totally unwarranted and excessive action. It can’t be reversed, but you can make a public statement that the expulsion and the police involvement were erroneous and the school urges that charges be withdrawn, after which the student will receive appropriate in-school discipline and be returned to class. – Sincerely. Matt Bille, science writer, father of teens, and former experimenter with things I found in junior high school chemistry books

      • whatagy says:
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        If this had happened at my son’s high school the result would have likely been the same. Things have changed over the years. In my day a fight got your butt busted by a coach, now it gets you a ride down to juvi in cuffs. The rules are what they are and students know them.

    • northcross says:
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      It seems to me that felonies should be reserved for people who actually have some kind of malicious intent to harm people or property, not for accidental violation of some misguided no tolerance policy. We now arrest and charge honor students who accidentally leave unloaded skeet shotguns in the trunks of their cars, and expel first graders who aim their fingers and go bang. Only the lowest form of educational bureaucrat could possibly defend such idiocy.

    • dogstar29 says:
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      I think part of the problem is that the administrators who made the decision did not understand the chemistry of the device. Consequently they concluded it was an IED which failed. I’d like to suggest that at the next school board meeting, the members of the board and the student be each asked to explain how the device worked and how much energy it could release. let’s see who really understands the science.

  3. Yale S says:
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    She built a type of “Macgyver Bomb”. She new damn well what she was doing. It was lucky that it failed. Vandals use these all the time and they can cause destruction and terrible maiming injuries. The US CDC even has a page on the internet warning about their use.
    She needs to learn a very serious lesson.

    • kcowing says:
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      How do you know that she “knew damn well”? Were you there? Did you ask her?

      • Jafafa Hots says:
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        I’ve seen similar “they knew damn well” statements from people about other situations, and they are always cases where there is a photo of the person and that person has a particular characteristic.

        Yeah, I’m saying that.

        • Yale S says:
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          Don’t hand me that nonsense. Don’t you dare accuse me of sexism. She said she did it because she saw it on the internet. Things like THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watc

          • kcowing says:
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            DId she tell you that she saw this video?

          • MattWriter says:
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            Don’t assume the connection with the internet. I remember this experiment along with many others (most of which I did – I just didn’t get to this one) in a middle school library book that I kept checking out until they told me I couldn’t have it any more. I did separate water into hydrogen and oxygen and liberate oxygen from manganese dioxide and hydrogen peroxide (testing the results with lit matches) when I was years younger than this young lady.

          • Jafafa Hots says:
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            I was suggesting perhaps a different -ism than sexism.
            Don’t I dare? I dare. Just my impression after all.

            You sure dared give your impression of HER motivations, didn’t you?

            Here’s something you perhaps should not dare – don’t dare hypocritically complain when someone mildly does to you what you’ve repeatedly and far more explicitly done to another.

          • Steve Whitfield says:
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            If you’re so bothered by Keith’s attitude, or any one else’s for that matter, why do you keep coming back to NASA Watch and inflicting your negative “impressions” on the rest of us. If you don’t like what you read here, go somewhere else instead.

          • Jafafa Hots says:
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            First of all, please start reading for comprehension, not ammunition. Keith’s and my positions on this issue are the same.

            Secondly if you are that concerned about encountering opinions different than your own, perhaps it is you who don’t belong here. Maybe you need to stick to one of those “news” channels that simply repeats the talking points of the ideology that soothes you.

            Keith doesn’t seem to have a problem with me commenting here not only because my position is the same as his or because he routinely gets comments that disagree with his and doesn’t censor them, but most importantly because comments are put into moderation before they appear…

            …and he let them appear.

            Why don’t you let Mr. Cowing run his own blog the way he sees fit?

          • Steve Whitfield says:
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            THAT EXPLAINS IT FINALLY! NOW i know why you post such crazy stuff. Thanks for revealing this subtle but obviously important cause of developmental delay!

            I was responding to the above sentence (DISQUS seems to be moving things around). It’s not matter of either ammunition or opinions, but rather of polite conduct.

            You may have intended it as a joke, I suppose, but it came across to me as an uncalled-for insult of our host. Apparently Keith thought so, too, seeing as he responded to it by calling you a jerk.

          • Steve Whitfield says:
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            NOW i know why you post such crazy stuff. Thanks for revealing this subtle but obviously important cause of developmental delay!

            The sentence above was what I was trying to respond to, but it seems to have been inserted in the wrong spot.
            Maybe you were intending it as a joke, but it came across to me as an insult of our host.

          • kcowing says:
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            There are millions of things on YouTube that have nothing to do with anything – unless you want them to.

    • dogstar29 says:
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      It wasn’t a “McGyver bomb”, whatever that is. It was indeed a well known science experiment in which aluminum foil is added to a weak solution of HCl in a small soda bottle. The reaction produces aluminum chloride and hydrogen gas which can be caught in a balloon and ignited with a match. There isn’t any way to produce a significant explosion with this amount of unpressurized hydrogen, just a flash and a satisfying “pop”. If she didn’t wear goggles she should get a couple days detention, but that’s all.

    • Mader Levap says:
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      My troll and bs detector went off. Admit it, you made that up on spot.

  4. dogstar29 says:
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    It sounds like the explosion was accidental and it must have been pretty small since no one was hurt. Expelling a student who wants to learn is plain stupid when there are so many students who don’t want to learn, who drive drunk, who use drugs, who pick on kids that are trying to learn. There have been numerous accidental explosions at NASA facilities that didn’t result in disciplinary actions. The scholarship fund is now at $340 and will “tilt” at $500. Let’s put .000001% of the money we spent today on SLS into giving a head start to somebody who still has dreams. Edit: The scholarship fund has reached $500. Just $1500 to reach the final target. Looks like a misprint above where it says “Kayla Wilmot Space Academy Scholarsip”, should be “Kiera”.

    • Homer Hickam says:
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      I have already given Kiera a fully-funded scholarship to the U.S. Space Academy. Raising these funds are so that her twin sister Kayla can also attend. Any extra funds will help defray their transportation costs plus Academy uniforms and supplies. I appreciate the support that both Kiera and Kayla are receiving.

      • dogstar29 says:
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        Thanks, now I understand. Looks like you could reach the funding target today or tomorrow. Kiera could also use a few letters to the local paper suggesting that charges should be dropped.

        • Homer Hickam says:
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          Yes sir. Anything to support this young woman and her sister would be appreciated. Her mom is a single mom with a full-time job (plus a part-time job as a janitor) and no government assistance and is doing all she can to support her girls, including PTA, class events, & field trips. There are a lot of situations like this out there, I suspect. I’ve provided scholarships to several universities over the years but for Space Academy and Space Camp, this is a first. Now, I’m going to try to do it every year. I’ll put it up on http://www.homerhickam.com, Facebook, etc. when I get a program figured out.

      • hikingmike says:
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        Sweet!

  5. el_curandero55 says:
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    For God’s sake! Aren’t schools able to handle any disciplinary problems on their own anymore? Do they have to involve the police and the courts as surrogates everytime now?

  6. Jafafa Hots says:
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    In my 8th grade science class my teacher demonstrated fermentation by having us make wine, and then she let us drink a little of it in a dixie cup.

    Imagine what would be done with her these days.

  7. dogstar29 says:
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    Here’s a description of the well-known demonstration.

    http://mad-science.wonderho

    Of course anything could be scaled up to the point of being a significant hazard, but it wasn’t. The demonstration was performed outdoors, and no students were nearby except Keidra and a friend who helped her but was not charged. This quantity of hydrogen, uncompressed, will burn rapidly but will not explode. The total heat produced is insufficient to cause significant injury. There is nothing in the report to indicate she intended to create a damaging explosion, or could have done so with the materials at hand, nor is there any evidence she was trying to hurt anyone.

    There are hazards in life, and in school, much greater than the hazard of this event which we accept as a matter of course. One of the drama students at our local high school permanently lost sight in one eye after being accidentally struck during the sword fight scene in “Hamlet”. Students have been injured using saws in shop class. Students have been killed driving to school. Thousands of students across the country have suffered serious injuries, some causing permanent disability or death, playing football. (If you really want to make school safer, get rid of football.) I think in this case it would have been appropriate to disciple the student regarding safety and supervision of student activities, but to treat her like a terrorist or juvenile delinquent is absurd. We meed students who are interested and capable in the sciences, as opposed to the many who think they will strike it rich as athletes, and we need school authorities with common sense and good judgement.

  8. Jeff says:
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    I read the news articles for this when it first came out. If this was a real science project and not just some prank wouldn’t it have made more sense to do this DURING School hours and under Supervision. The stories stated it was done on campus at 7:00 in the morning. She needs to be disciplined and her parents need to be taught that screaming to the media is not a good excuse for poor judgement. This happened right after the Boston incident and the administration is probably over reacting a bit. Suspend her and teach her a lesson about poor decision making skills, but quit the eternal “give her a break” postings.

    • Jeff2Space says:
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      Unfortunately, a lot of schools have “zero tolerance” policies in place along with administrators quick to enforce them. In this case, this would appear to have included having the police called and felony charges levied against her by the prosecutor even though no one was hurt. Days later, that same prosecutor didn’t charge a slightly younger boy with anything after killing his brother with a BB gun.

  9. james w barnard says:
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    A good thing I attended Jr. High nearly 60 years ago. Sci teacher let us mix small quantities of sulfur, charcoal & KNO3 and set them off in the lab! In high school I was mixing fuming nitric acid & aniline for my personal rocket engine project! Wasn’t part of the normal chem course, but they let me do it.

  10. Dan says:
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    They also would have put Thomas Edison behind bars. He used to make some mistakes during experiments when he was young.

  11. Nassau Goi says:
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    This result brought to you by baby boomer leadership. Because leveling extreme deficits on the youth of the country isn’t enough.

  12. OpenTrackRacer says:
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    Now that all the details of this incident have come out it’s proven not to be so cut and dried. Kiera exercised very poor judgement in this case. She was not doing an experiment in class, nor for any school assignment. She doesn’t strike me as a fool so one has to assume she researched the chemical reaction she was creating beforehand and had some idea of what would happen. I’m not sure what her motivation was but she made a big mistake.

    Now, that being said, arrest and expulsion is over the top. Zero tolerance policies are inane and ignore both intent and results. She did not intend to hurt people and no one was hurt. A suspension would seem to be appropriate in this case.

    We used to blow things up all the time when I was a kid. Firecrackers in sealed containers, dry ice bombs, even black powder bombs. We sure as hell didn’t do it at school through. If we’d been caught we would have been in big trouble but not arrested (the cops just turned you over to your parents and then you were really in for it). I would have claimed I was doing a science experiment too!

    It’s sad to see how messed up society is at this point.

  13. ed2291 says:
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    I am glad I retired from teaching in 2007 when I did. In the last ten years there was a continual increase of micromanagement by people who had never been in a classroom. The result was teachers overworked filling out increasing amounts of BS paperwork and punished for any creativity or fun. “School reform” seems to be you can get any competent 8th grader to teach by lecturing with no deviations and then hold the teacher and those evil teachers’ unions responsible if students don’t respond to arbitrary tests.Keith clearly gets what it is like to really teach, the “experts” do not. The public education system as I knew it growing up is disappearing to the great detriment of the United States.