What Does Ahmed Mohamed’s Experience Say about Our Schools?
We don’t know Ahmed Mohamed.
We don’t know his teachers.
We don’t know the police officers who came to his school in Irving, Texas.
But we do know that a teenager with unique brilliance, passion for robotics, and dreams of becoming an engineer ended up in handcuffs for bringing a digital clock he’d made from a pencil case to school.
“They arrested me and they told me that I committed the crime of a hoax bomb, a fake bomb,” Mohamed told WFAA News 8.
To some, this is a simple mistake and an innocent misunderstanding. To others, this is an outrage. Either way, we’d be remiss to not ask ourselves what this means for Ahmed and other kids like him who stretch their brains beyond the basics and strive for more than just showing up to class and taking tests.
Are teachers underestimating our kids? What could or should the teachers and officers have done differently? Do you see your own child in Ahmed? Does out-of-the-box thinking have a place in our schools?
What do you think?
Featured Image/Video via The Dallas Morning News – YouTube
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Deanna Glick
Deanna Glick has spent two decades as a writer and editor, covering education policy, adoption, and other issues of interest to children and families. Deanna has also worked and volunteered for youth-focused nonprofits, including Students Run LA and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. A California native, Deanna loves to hike sections of the Appalachian Trail and spend time on the Shenandoah River near her Northern Virginia home. She often finds writing inspiration through her 8-year-old daughter, who loves to read, paint, play sports, and learn.
