According to an article from Yahoo!News, the 14-year-old boy on the left, Keanu Gallardo of Del Mar High School "suffered a concussion during a football" game, but the school's principal refused to let the ambulance drive to the track to help him. Gallardo has been suffering from headaches and neck pain, and the delay in help could possibly have caused some brain damage. The principal, Liz Seabury contends that she was simply following orders that she was not to let vehicles onto the field; she told the ambulance that "heavy equipment" was not permitted on the track or field, but I think that it was common sense that an injured boy needed immediate help, and emergency vehicles have to be able to help as soon as possible. Gallardo's mother is of course, furious, but she has not yet received an apology from either the school or the district for this terrible decision, and she "wants the principal reprimanded and the district to ensure this doesn't happen again."Personally, I just don't understand how a principal of a school can make such a decision; how can she put the conditions of a football field above the safety of a student? And the fact that neither the school nor the district have apologized is completely ridiculous. What do you guys think?
14 comments:
The principal's actions were pretty appalling and I'm surprised that the mother of the student isn't filing charges against the school (although that might have something to do with the waivers that sports players have to sign).
To kind of play devil's advocate, what if we were in the place of the principal? How would we react? It's easy to say that her actions were wrong now but in that moment, the principal may have not been aware of the severity of the player's injuries so she may not have taken it that seriously. She was also explicitly told not to let "heavy equipment" onto the field. This is somewhat relevant to psych, where we learned about the Milgram experiment. The experiment revealed that sometimes people perform actions that run contrary to their personal beliefs, simply because an authority figure is telling them to do so. It also demonstrated that sometimes people behave out of fear or out of desire to be compliant and cooperative. What if the principal was simply following the rules...?
I, too, am appalled that the principal of a school exhibited such behavior. As a principal, she works with students all day and it shocks me to see her act so careless with Gallardo. True, she may not have been aware of the player's injuries, but he did speak out about his pains, and the principal should have known better than to have ignored those pleas. A simple rule about "heavy equipment" cannot, in any way, justify the principal's actions. A student's health was in jeopardy and, in my opinion, the principal's reaction was completely inappropriate.
She was simply following orders.
Anyone taking psych or otherwise familiar with Milgram's experiment will know that that is a very, very compelling reason.
I hope the kid will be okay.
That principal deserves to be fired from her job. In addition, she should be excluded from every education institution in the state. How heartless can you be by not helping a teenager with a serious injury? That has got to be the lamest excuse to not put Gallardo to safety. It really makes me curious as to how some people really lack the courtesy and care for others. The administration's top priority should be the students' safety and they really need a tune up.
And to add to what I said, hindsight is 20/20.
The district ought to apologize, definitely. But beyond that? Ehh. The principal shouldn't be held accountable for it. That just amounts to pointing fingers here, when what really happened was an unfortunate accident.
The principal should have used better judgment. Because Gallardo was in obvious pain, the school administration or whoever was at the game should have done everything in their ability to help him. It's really saddening to know that he could have suffered brain damage from this accident especially since it could be prevented with immediate help. Hopefully nothing like this happens again.
I feel like the kid should have deserved attention because concussions are pretty serious injuries. Then again, if he suffered a concussion while on the field, I'm not sure how delaying the drive to the hospital would cause additional brain damage because doctors can't really just cure a concussion. The damage is already by the brain bouncing off the skull, so the only way to heal from a concussion is rest and ice. Still, I think the school reacting immediately would've been a better response because it would show that the school and its principal care more about the students that attend the school than school property.
@anthony
Definitely agree with you on your comment about hindsight bias...
@ OP:
From what I understand about concussions, a delay in getting a "concussion'ed" person to medical treatment will not "cause brain damage." Furthermore, concussions aren't always completely obvious. It's not like someone has his leg broken, and half the bone is exposed. The principal very well could have assumed the injury wasn't major, and didn't see the need to bring the ambulance out and violate her orders, as many others on this post have already stated before me.
@Tiffany:
I'm pretty sure neck pains and headaches are moderately common during and after football games. Misuse of heavy equipment on the field could have potentially cost the school a whole lot of money, and in the heat of the moment, the principal had to make a decision. She chose one side, and I think it's a perfectly valid one.
@Joshua:
She should be fired and "excluded from every education institution in the state" eh? How about we just take away her house, kids, and pension while we're at it? Just for following rules?
And what is the time difference between carting a kid off the field and letting an ambulance drive out to him? Five minutes, max? Give me a break. Maybe the district should have apologized after the fact, but to say the principal was "heartless" is just ridiculous.
The "heavy equipment" comment confuses me. I assume that it refers to the vehicle itself as there is nothing considered "heavy equipment" in an ambulance. Also, the delay didn't cause any brain damage. We should just be happy he's okay, not insulting someone we don't know for a situation we don't fully understand.
I actually think that one key part to the this situation is the injury. Concussions are gravely underestimated in how severe an injury it is mainly because on the surface the injury is hard to diagnosis and has no face value or scare factor. People seem to think that you have a concussion as long as he stops playing he is ok. It doesn't have the same effect of some one snapping their tibia or dislocating their ankle because it just isn't scary enough. I feel that if this injury had appeared as a more severe one that a the principal may have acted differently. Anybody else?
@Rosslee:
Exactly. You just made my point. The injury likely didn't APPEAR to be threatening at all. Thus the principal figured, in the heat of the moment, that the violation of field rules was not necessary. She made the right decision in her situation.
Regardless of if the principal was simply following the rules, the princial should have apologized or at least somehow expressed some sympathy to him and his parents.
Despite the principal "simply following orders" that she couldn't let vehicles onto the field...shouldn't there be exceptions to emergencies? I just hope that Gallardo doesn't suffer any permanent brain damage just because his principal was following school rules and not getting him immediate help. Also, even if she couldn't bend the rules a bit and get the ambulance on the field, she could have at least sent Gallardo's family an apology, telling them why she couldn't get that help for him. She's the principal, she needs to take responsibility.
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