Halloween '08 is a week behind us (R.I.P.), yet the spirit lives on. In the case of Jordan Hood, a 5th grade student in Savannah, Georgia - the spirit lives on in the form of a malicious evil forcing his family into a very uncomfortable position. His crime? Drawing a Vampire for a Halloween art project.
"The picture was not destined for the cover of FANGORIA magazine, but it fulfilled the requirement for fifth-grade Halloween art." says Jenel Few of the Savannah Morning News.
The Tuesday prior to Halloween, Jordan had been instructed to create "a scary Halloween mask" as a class art project at Pooler Elementary School. His art teacher, Lloyd Harold, assisted Jordan in crafting a vampire mask - complete with scars, blood, and shading under the eyes.
"The assignment was to draw a scary mask or picture - basically a Halloween activity," Harold said.
After completing the project, Jordan proudly showed it off. That's when Melissa Peavey, his homeroom teacher, alerted Campus Police.
Jordan had included the text "I Kill For Blood" as a finishing touch on his drawing - a fitting line for a vampire. In an act of extreme ignorance and stupidity, Peavey assumed that the statement was a salute to "an infamous Los Angeles street gang known as The Bloods." and that the bloody "droplets could actually be a gang symbol for the number of people he killed."
Jordan's parents were called, and he was forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation the very next day.
Truth told, I'm surprised and pleased to hear that art classes still exist in Savannah. Here in Illinois, anything dealing with the arts always seems to be the first programs to fall victim to the budgetary axe. Jordan's story, however struck a chord with me in a far different way.
As an 8th Grade student at Steger Central Junior High in Steger, Illinois - I had a bit of an "art" problem myself. At the time, I was a huge fan of artist John Byrne. His run on D.C.'s SUPERMAN was what hooked me on comic books, and when he jumped over to Marvel's SHE-HULK, I was there.
Issue #1 had just been released, and I happened to bring it with me to school the next day. In my own homeroom, I would often find myself drawing in my sketchpad, attempting to emulate Byrne's style. The unfortunate move for me, was my decision to draw my own half-assed depiction of SHE-HULK, based on Byrne's cover art. My sketchpad and the comic were promptly snatched by my teacher, who also happened to be the school's gym instructor and volleyball coach. You see, she took issue with SHE-HULK's well-endowed anatomical features. While I wasn't sent for a psychiatric evaluation, my parents were called, and I was sent home - with the instruction not to create further drawings while at school.
It's disheartening to see that 20 years later, the same type of stupidity still exists.
Steger Central was a sub-par school, and I fully expect that it still is. Pooler Elementary in Georgia is apparently it's bastard cousin.
The creativity of a child should not be stifled, but embraced. If you take issue with what is being created, address it constructively - not by extinguishing the creative fire altogether. For a child to be subject to such punishment based on a Halloween project is ridiculous.
And Jordan, if you ever see this (which I doubt) - fear not. Give yourself about 25 years, and you too could be working for FANGORIA.
--James
"The picture was not destined for the cover of FANGORIA magazine, but it fulfilled the requirement for fifth-grade Halloween art." says Jenel Few of the Savannah Morning News.
The Tuesday prior to Halloween, Jordan had been instructed to create "a scary Halloween mask" as a class art project at Pooler Elementary School. His art teacher, Lloyd Harold, assisted Jordan in crafting a vampire mask - complete with scars, blood, and shading under the eyes.
"The assignment was to draw a scary mask or picture - basically a Halloween activity," Harold said.
After completing the project, Jordan proudly showed it off. That's when Melissa Peavey, his homeroom teacher, alerted Campus Police.
Jordan had included the text "I Kill For Blood" as a finishing touch on his drawing - a fitting line for a vampire. In an act of extreme ignorance and stupidity, Peavey assumed that the statement was a salute to "an infamous Los Angeles street gang known as The Bloods." and that the bloody "droplets could actually be a gang symbol for the number of people he killed."
Jordan's parents were called, and he was forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation the very next day.
Truth told, I'm surprised and pleased to hear that art classes still exist in Savannah. Here in Illinois, anything dealing with the arts always seems to be the first programs to fall victim to the budgetary axe. Jordan's story, however struck a chord with me in a far different way.
As an 8th Grade student at Steger Central Junior High in Steger, Illinois - I had a bit of an "art" problem myself. At the time, I was a huge fan of artist John Byrne. His run on D.C.'s SUPERMAN was what hooked me on comic books, and when he jumped over to Marvel's SHE-HULK, I was there.
Issue #1 had just been released, and I happened to bring it with me to school the next day. In my own homeroom, I would often find myself drawing in my sketchpad, attempting to emulate Byrne's style. The unfortunate move for me, was my decision to draw my own half-assed depiction of SHE-HULK, based on Byrne's cover art. My sketchpad and the comic were promptly snatched by my teacher, who also happened to be the school's gym instructor and volleyball coach. You see, she took issue with SHE-HULK's well-endowed anatomical features. While I wasn't sent for a psychiatric evaluation, my parents were called, and I was sent home - with the instruction not to create further drawings while at school.
It's disheartening to see that 20 years later, the same type of stupidity still exists.
Steger Central was a sub-par school, and I fully expect that it still is. Pooler Elementary in Georgia is apparently it's bastard cousin.
The creativity of a child should not be stifled, but embraced. If you take issue with what is being created, address it constructively - not by extinguishing the creative fire altogether. For a child to be subject to such punishment based on a Halloween project is ridiculous.
And Jordan, if you ever see this (which I doubt) - fear not. Give yourself about 25 years, and you too could be working for FANGORIA.
--James
Karen Walter makes this comment
Tue 23 Jun 2009 10:49:27 CDT
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