Six-Year-Old Suspended

C.bronco · Oct 12, 2009

Here's another example of every new law taking away an authority's ability to make a sensible decision.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/33284007#33284007

(You just have to get by the ad before the story).

semilargeintestine · Oct 12, 2009

So he brought a pocket knife to school and got suspended? Maybe they should talk to the parents first. They sound a little...on edge?

Sorry.

C.bronco · Oct 12, 2009

It's hard to swallow for a generation who, like so many before, grew up playing cowboy with toy guns, and ran around with prized swiss army knives for all of those wilderness adventures yet to be imagined.

We are in a brave new world.

StephanieFox · Oct 12, 2009

Extremism in action. This isn't the worst I've heard. A few years ago, a grade-school girl was suspended from school for bringing a plastic butter knife her mother had packed to spread some peanut butter.

What is it about this mind set that attracts school principals?

semilargeintestine · Oct 12, 2009

Yet the schools around here will do nothing to kids who slap their teachers in the face. That actually happened to someone I know.

Cyia · Oct 12, 2009

I hate Zero Tolerance. It assumes guilty until proven innocent. I'd love to see it challenged in court and tossed out.

Gretad08 · Oct 12, 2009

Fear of lawsuits...I'd be willing to bet that all of the people involved in doling out this punishment have felt foolish doing so, but CYA is a powerful motivator.

It's a shame that people have to think about how to avoid a lawsuit when dealing with disciplinary problems.

semilargeintestine · Oct 12, 2009

Yes. It's a shame that teachers and admins can't just discipline kids in a normal fashion anymore. Now it's either zero tolerance or 100% tolerance. It's bloody ridiculous.

Lyra Jean · Oct 12, 2009

I heard the story about the Eagle boy scout who woke up late Monday because he was on a camping trip that weekend. Pulled on the first pair of jeans he grabbed, didn't realize his pocket knife was in them, from his camping trip, until he got on the bus. Immediately went to the principal's office to turn it in and then pick it up at the end of the day because he didn't want to get in trouble and he was suspended.

He was a senior in high school with no discipline problems from what I remember. His parents fought it and won.

semilargeintestine · Oct 12, 2009

rosemerry said:
I heard the story about the Eagle boy scout who woke up late Monday because he was on a camping trip that weekend. Pulled on the first pair of jeans he grabbed, didn't realize his pocket knife was in them, from his camping trip, until he got on the bus. Immediately went to the principal's office to turn it in and then pick it up at the end of the day because he didn't want to get in trouble and he was suspended.

He was a senior in high school with no discipline problems from what I remember. His parents fought it and won.

Wow, are you freaking kidding me? Good for his parents.

Brutal Mustang · Oct 12, 2009

C.bronco said:
It's hard to swallow for a generation who, like so many before, grew up playing cowboy with toy guns, and ran around with prized swiss army knives for all of those wilderness adventures yet to be imagined.

We are in a brave new world.

LOL! I know! I used to chop down bushes with a machete when I was a kid. My parents assumed I would use it properly (which I did).

C.bronco · Oct 12, 2009

Kudos for proper machete use; it just isn't seen these days! LOL!

Kids, particularly the younger ones, do not always see the psychology behind our many laws, and haven't been around to learn them all.

Parents seldom pat down their children before leaving for school to search for contraband.

I see this incident as an honest mistake. The school board should recognize it as such.

Maybe I'm so old that my wildly unlegislated youth merits me going to Carousel.

Zoombie · Oct 12, 2009

Zero Tolerance just makes it easier for psychological tormentors to get away with their bullshit. And yes, psychological bullying is just as bad, if not worse than physical bullying.

However, my teachers were sane, so I didn't get into TOO much trouble for kicking that asshole in the crotch.

I still don't remember how I got away with THAT, and yet when I made one little joke about making a cult, everyone flipped a bitch...

Magdalen · Oct 12, 2009

I read about this too, and thought it was a damn shame! I'm not a fan of Zero Tolerance at all. Totally agree with Cbronco on the need for those in authority to be able to make decisions based on particulars and not rigidly adhere to a one-size-fits-all rule.

William Haskins · Oct 12, 2009

i was once suspended for staring daggers at another kid.

dgiharris · Oct 12, 2009

Zero Tolerance policies will be the death of this country.

Shutting your brains off and blindly following a rule is a recipe for disaster

Mel...

BenPanced · Oct 12, 2009

C.bronco said:
Kudos for proper machete use; it just isn't seen these days! LOL!

Kids, particularly the younger ones, do not always see the psychology behind our many laws, and haven't been around to learn them all.

Parents seldom pat down their children before leaving for school to search for contraband.

I see this incident as an honest mistake. The school board should recognize it as such.

Maybe I'm so old that my wildly unlegislated youth merits me going to Carousel.

< michaelyorkvoice >There is no Sanctuary.
There is no Sanctuary.
There is no Sanctuary.
There is no Sanctuary.
There is no Sanctuary.< /michaelyorkvoice >

And they wonder why nobody wants to be teachers these days?

jodiodi · Oct 12, 2009

I suppose schools will also suspend for 'cutting language'. Sharp wits better watch out.

blacbird · Oct 12, 2009

Hell, ain't nothin'. My son got expelled from a preschool at age four.

caw

Justin91 · Oct 13, 2009

Yeah, this was a "knife, fork and spoon" knife you et in the Boy Scouts. This little boy was suspended for 45 days...they should consider the age.

stormie · Oct 13, 2009

Not sure, but I think it was even tamer than that. It was a "spork," spoon+fork which looks like a cupped fork.

Also when using zero tolerance, the principal should consider age. All they had to do was take it from the child and give it back at the end of the day, asking him not to bring it in anymore.

johnnysannie · Oct 13, 2009

jodiodi said:
I suppose schools will also suspend for 'cutting language'. Sharp wits better watch out.

Actually, that is far more true than you might think.

I work as a substitute teacher and you should see the things that kids are disciplined for these days...in a major, major way.

I am all for discpline but it's over the top in many instances which only adds to the problem rather than helps it, IMHO.

clintl · Oct 13, 2009

It depends on the school. You'll get suspended for fighting at the school where I teach, but the length of the suspension depends on the circumstances.

Kitty Pryde · Oct 13, 2009

stormie said:
Not sure, but I think it was even tamer than that. It was a "spork," spoon+fork which looks like a cupped fork.

Also when using zero tolerance, the principal should consider age. All they had to do was take it from the child and give it back at the end of the day, asking him not to bring it in anymore.

No, I saw the picture of him in the NY Times, it's a combo knife-fork-spoon. As in table knife, not sharp knife. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html He's an adorable little thing, too. I agree that his suspension is totally ridiculous.

tjwriter · Oct 13, 2009

As I was saying in the comments for the local paper, this is zero tolerance going overboard because it doesn't look at individual circumstances.

A pencil or a knife could be a deadly weapon if desired. They are giving out shiny new laptops to the students in Evansville. Those could be used to bash someone over the head. So could desks and chairs.

As I concluded there and so here: Humans know no bounds to their resourcefulness in hurting others.

Six-Year-Old Suspended

I have plans...

BassGirl 5000

I have plans...

Maybull the Bulldog

BassGirl 5000

Rewriting My Destiny

BassGirl 5000

Two years old now.

BassGirl 5000

Loves interplanetary chaos.

I have plans...

Dragon of the Multiverse

Petulantly Penitent

poet

Disgruntled Scientist

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)

Reflections of Reality

storm central

Represent.

i luv you giant bear statue

Emerging Anew