Friday, February 5, 2010

Rise and Shine --- Craziness

Good Morning and welcome to the calm before the storm!

A couple of stories hit close to home yesterday.
First, was the one about the one about the St. Eugene student who took a knife to school.
The other was out of Florida, where a fourth grader was dragged to the principal's office when he was found playing with a Lego figure, which just happened to be carrying a toy gun.
Now, at first glance, these appear to be two different things. A child bringing an Army knife to school, then threatening fellow students (according to the report), is much more disturbing than somebody with an Army Lego man.
The problem, like in all these cases, is where do you draw the line. A threat of violence has to be dealt with to the full extent of the rules. Bring something to school that could hurt somebody else, pay the price.
Bring a one-inch toy to school to show off to your friends, well, that's completely different.
It's up to teachers to know the difference. You can take the toy, put it away and give it back at the end of the day. Even a fourth-grader knows not to bring it in again.
This happens all the time. Parents are now going to have to dump bookbags in the morning to make sure sneaky toys haven't jumped in.
There is a difference.

1 comment:

Dannytheman said...

Maybe you can help me out on this? When did zero tolerance, not common sense, take over in these schools?
The parents and the administration are the people that need to work these out, together.
Zero tolerance policies are a nightmare. Why do the kids rights get thrown out the door? Guilty until proven innocent? Not in my Country.
7 year old NEW Cub Scout brings a camping knife to school, the kind with fold out fork and spoon, that his parents bought him. He is suspended and attempt was made to expel him.
Young girl in high school uses a painted wooden gun-shaped implement to practice for her marching in Drum and Bugle corp. She leaves it in back seat of her car. She is suspended and almost expelled.
These stories are just 2 of the many out there. Me? I blame the insurance companies and the lawyers. IF I was on a school board I would insist on common sense use of the laws. Each instance would be dealt with individually on their merit.
This story of the little boy with the tiny toy plastic 2 inch gun, who is a police officers son, is ludicrous and insulting to smart people!
This is children brainwashing.. Soon there will be no bats used at baseball games. Someone could be beaten with it. Incredible!