“We don’t condone heroics in this school.” That was how the vice-principal of Sir John A. Macdonald junior high school defended sending home seventh-grader Briar MacLean after he tackled another boy who had put another student in a headlock and was brandishing a pocket knife at him. Briar overheard the scuffle and leaped into action, risking life and limb, and a teacher on the other side of the room came over to break it all up. You might think Briar would be rewarded for such heroics, but Sir John A. Macdonald academy has no use for heroes. When Briar’s mother called to complain, she was told her son had been trying to “play hero.” The school’s principal, Michael Bester, later said Briar should have alerted a teacher. So, hopefully, Briar has learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of helping someone else …