Have you ever worked really hard and something and you want your teacher’s feedback on it? Did your teacher praise you for your work, or did they give you some constructive criticism on how you could improve? When fourteen year old Ahmed Mohammed went to his teacher for some advice on his clock, he ended up handcuffed by the Irving County Police Department.

Mohammed, an aspiring engineer, built a hand-crafted digital clock out of a pencil case. When he presented his unusual project to the teacher, it was mistaken as a bomb. His teacher contacted the police, and he was interrogated while in police custody. After further examination of Mohammed’s creation, police arrived at the conclusion that the clock was merely a clock.

After news spread about Mohammed’s arrest, he was immediately welcomed with open arms by the media. President Obama tweeted in support of Mohammed, saying, “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.” The same day Ahmed was arrested, President Obama also invited Ahmed and his family to Astronomy Night at the White House later in October. President Obama urges young students to study fields like science and technology because he feels that there is a lack of innovators and visionaries in those fields. In addition to a White House invitation, a hashtag was also created called #istandwithahmed, which has been retweeted over 800,000 times since September 17.

Regardless of the positive support that Mohammed has been given, it’s important to understand what inspired the teacher’s quick reaction, and what enabled the teacher to conclude that the clock posed a threat to her and the student’s well-being. It has been alleged by numerous media outlets that the teacher arrived at this conclusion because Mohammed is Muslim. In American culture, Muslims are often times depicted as terrorists and threats to American society and democracy. Others have argued that Mohammed’s clock resembles a bomb, giving the teacher every right to believe it to be true. However, the situation could have merely been a misunderstanding between a student and teacher.

Mohammed received a one week out-of-school suspension for exemplifying suspicious behavior and bringing suspicious items into the school building. Ahmed and his siblings will not be returning to the Irving Texas school, MacArthur High School, which his father announced at a Dallas press-conference.

The story of Ahmed Mohammad has opened up several conversations regarding race and stereotypes in America because of Ahmed’s ethnicity. As crucial as it is to have these conversations, did Ahmed’s arrest warrant these conversations? Is Ahmed’s rise to celebrity deserved, or was it simply a result of the media over analyzing the situation? Nevertheless, it’s important to encourage high school students to create and produce innovative and beneficial paraphernalia, as long as they don’t blow up.