1. Is this incident simply a schoolboy prank, or is this sexual harassment? I do not believe this should be considered just a simple schoolboy prank, rather it should be considered serious sexual harassment. The students participating in this incident should be made to realize this is sexual harassment and they should be punished.
2. Should the boys involved be punished? If so, what should the punishment be? I do believe the boys involved should be punished, so they can realize the serious issues associated with sexual harassment. I also believe they should be made to apologize to the girls in front of the whole class. With this being a first incident for the boys they should be given a warning, detention, and be further educated on the awareness and issues of sexual harassment. Then if it were to happen again they should be put on probation and or suspended from school. If and only if a third incident was to occur they should then be expelled from school with a note put in their permanent school records.
3. Should this incident be limited to the class, or should the principal and parents be notified? I believe this incident should encourage a school wide learning situation, in which attention is brought to all students about the seriousness of sexual harassment. I also believe the principle should play apart in this event, as well as the parents. Not only the parents of those students involved in the incident, but all parents.
4. Should Ms. Reid turn the incident into a learning situation for the entire class? If she does so,
How should she do it? What can the class learn from the incident? Yes, because it is important the students truly understand the meaning of sexual harassment. She could start by giving the students handouts on sexual harassment. In addition she could allow them to watch educated videos designed to teach students about sexual harassment at school, work, and home. Finally, she