Punishment does not fit the crime

To the Editor:

First of all, congratulations to the Class of 2011.

My son made a grave mistake. He cheated and got caught. Because of this, he was not allowed to march with his class (principal's policy).

There were nine days left until graduation. But we were told he would not be able to make it up until after ranks closed, then he could pick up his diploma that Monday when the teacher could grade it (principal's policy).

To me this is not fair. I know what he did was wrong, but I feel the punishment does not fit the crime. You took something from our family that we'll never get back. Seeing our son march with his classmates, I disagree with this and so do a lot of other people.

So we will be at the next school board meeting to get this principal's policy changed! It's not right, Mr. Gilbert. You are supposed to be there to help these children, not cut them down and make them feel worthless. What you did is causing more harm than good.

Thank God for two very special teachers, Ruth Brown and Brenda Gammon, who allowed my son to march with his cap and gown at Region 9 Adult Ed. They gave a very moving speech about all of my son's accomplishments and what he has done through his school years. It made us very proud parents.

MVHS, you need to change your policies. School is there to help children, not cut them down at the end. You should take a better look at Region 9 and how they run their system. It's a lot better than the way you're running yours.

Again, congratulations to all you graduates and adult ed graduates. It was a wonderful ceremony.

Alan and Jane Bradford