[Bob Steele]

Does anyone really know whether "insert generic white Christian name here" would have been treated differently in this case? Was it the device or social injustice? Is it the media that jumped to a conclusion? These are tough questions to figure out.

I think that someone should have looked at the device/clock that this young man had and figured out it was not a bomb. Unfortunately, there are few individuals that would be able to do that. I know that after the fact it is easy to see that this was not a bomb.

If YOU were the teacher or staff member and you saw something like this how would YOU have reacted? Remember that if it had been an explosive device and it went off how would you have felt then?

I know many teachers who would have reacted the same way. Students bring in all sorts of things that aren't part of their classes. Including weapons, toys, and things I can't really talk about here. They don't belong at school. I have worked at schools (not my present one) where i have had to disarm individuals. I did not do that based on what they looked like. I did it based on the weapon.

Now Ahmed didn't have a weapon... but do we err on the side of caution when the circumstances dictate that? I have seen students with squirt guns (that looked amazing like real guns) cuffed and led away at school. How does one know?

Ahmed bears a little of this responsibility by just deciding to "make" this clock/device and bring it to school. While I applaud any attempt at deciphering the technological world around us and I love his curiosity about NASA and science, in retrospect he should have asked permission to bring it in and made sure everyone at school knew it was coming in order to not elicit the type of response that he got.

I am not knowledgeable enough about Ahmed or his family or the school or anything else to comment on his motives for doing this so I won't.


I believe it was the "device" that caused the reaction and not the color of Ahmed's skin or his name or religion.

People, in general, are afraid of technology because they don't understand it. They are encumbered by media reports of strange technological devices because for the most part, the media does not understand it either. Fictional programs have prop devices that are shown on screen giving the viewer a "taste" of what a real device looks like.

I know that this has probably happened at many schools all over the world.
A student brings something in to school.... it looks strange.... it is necessary to think the worst and act accordingly until it is proven safe. This is a totally necessary response to protect our students.

I am sorry for any student that gets caught up with something like this but it needs to be a learning experience. When the truth comes out, we move on.

move on... invite Ahmed to a team... give him a good place to exercise his curiosity and passion for technology....

move along... this is not the droid you are looking for....