She fell out of her chair, but this wasn’t a class prank. Rather, it was a girl at Gateway Middle School in Texas. Per the DailyMail, she was coughing and gasping for air for several minutes while no one lifted a finger before collapsing.
Student Anthony Ruelas was sitting in class when a fellow student began coughing and wheezing. The teacher asked the class to remain calm and emailed the school nurse, but minutes ticked by waiting for a response and nothing was being done to help the suffering student.
According to the teacher, the girl was struggling to breathe so much that she fell out of her chair, and that’s when Ruelas stepped in and carried her to the nurse’s office himself.
Sounds like a hero, right? Apparently not. Ruelas was slapped with a two-day suspension for his foul language and for “leaving the classroom without permission.” To add insult to injury, Ruelas’ mom, Mandy Cortes, says the school actually called her on the first day of his suspension to ask why he wasn’t in class, and she had to remind them that her son was suspended. She adds, “I don’t think he should have used that language, but as far as getting suspended for walking out of class, he could have saved her life.”
Gateway Middle School is an alternative school for students with disciplinary issues, which could help explain their incredibly strict response. Still, this seems like a situation where it would have been better to praise Ruelas for what he did right, rather than penalizing him for helping a classmate or saying “fuck that,” which, if we’re being honest, is the response most of us would have in that situation.
I mean, why the hell is a teacher sitting there waiting for an email while a student is falling out of her chair and gasping for breath?
Mandy Cortes said that the school’s response was totally backward given her son’s heroics.
“For them to not be rewarded for really something that is brave, you know, he is a hero to me,” she said.
Yet the one person who most appreciated Ruelas was the girl he saved. She had texted him to thank him for his help and also to let him know she was doing just fine. Granted, Ruelas could have expressed himself better. No matter how he feels about the teacher’s actions, you have to show a level of respect for authority.
But looking at the bigger picture, his motivation wasn’t to rebel but to rescue a girl. From the looks of it, the school admin needs a timeout to review their safety policies lest another student is put in danger.
As for Ruelas? His mom says that sometimes, it’s about more than rules. “He may not follow instructions all the time, but he does have a great heart.”
At the end of the day, doing the right thing sometimes goes against the rules. In those cases, let’s give a pass to the brave boys like Ruelas for bending them for the greater good.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: OpposingViews, National Post, DailyMail
