That is ridiculous and has to stop, it's obvious that a lot of these children are young, and do not fit a troubled profile.
It never was like this back when i was in school, i think a lot of parents and grandparents, we wouldn't think twice about bringing in a butter knife or freak out about a camping utensil tool, the schools have become a source of paranoia since those times, a lot has changed.
The Christina School district (where the boy in the article goes) seems to have had a lot of controversal incidents like this, going back to 2007 when a 3rd grader was expelled for a year because her grandmother sent her to school with a cake and cake knife to cut it for her birthday.
The article states "the teacher called in the principal- but not before using the knife to cut the cake"
That's disgraceful!
The schools need to go on a case by case basis, it's the only way, especially with these younger children.
They are getting conflicting signals, you have cub scouts giving them a camping tool which is perfectly fine, and then the school overreacting about it and suspending them.
Gee Whiz. Wonderful teacher we have here! I notice she made sure she got her piece of cake before reporting the knife.
From reading everyone else's posts, this little boy has gotten nothing but support....but did you read his last statement... "I think the rules are what's wrong, not me." Somehow, that phase just doesn't sit right with me. (Yes, the rules need to be more "uniform" -- someone had a good point -- scissors are allowed, but not this dull knife on a camping set???")
This particular district has a history of making stupid decisions, gal.
The child's statement, to me, is simply a statement of truth. As you say, the rules do need to be more uniform, and that (to me) means the rule as it stands now IS wrong! The cafeteria has eating utensils that are allowed to be used by the children, I can understand the child's confusion over the issue.
That's fine -- we can choose to disagree with each other regarding the "in this day and age" comment, and nobody needs to get hurt
While this may go on his juvenille "record," I doubt it will mar his adult life, unless he lets it.
Had his mother not decided to keep him home, the 45 days in that reform school (the district admits it is for "problem" children) could well have had a life long impact. Bad company corrupts good character! (It's a strange "sentence" to me, because if a kid brought a REAL weapon to school, 45 days in reform school wouldn't be nearly enough punishment! At the same time, it's too harsh for a little kid who wanted to show off his Boy Scout utensil!)
As an aside, his mom is lucky she had the choice to homeschool. If she'd have tried that in my district, she would have brought that child back to school in 45 days to be met at the door and be told "He can't come back until he serves his 45 days at reform school."
My question was to illustrate that even if we are not aware of something, our actions have consequences. I was using an example that I felt an adult could relate to, since this is a situation that involves children, and it's been a long time since I have thought things through as a 7 year old. I hope that is more clear.
Again, let's just agree to disagree on this matter. There's really nothing more to be gained from further discussion.
I understood what you meant with your question. Indeed, ignorance of the law is not considered to be a excuse for breaking the law. (This is getting harder to agree with since the "law" multiplies exponentially around here daily!) What six year old, however, would ever in a million years look at his Boy Scout utensil and consider it a weapon! He gets to use utensils in the school cafeteria, and in his mind his utensil would have been just the same, only way cooler!
I am glad to read in the latest posted article that the school district has decided to slam a couple of its brain cells together and try to come up with a coherent decision. Zero tolerance rules always seem to be so undefined that even a bobby pin can be considered a weapon! Or, as I mentioned earlier, a medicated Chap Stick can be considered a drug! The rules need to tighten up and define the parameters very clearly, so that kids who have real weapons and real drugs face the consequences, and little guys like this excited Boy Scout, who had no weapon at all, don't.
The people behind this decision are lying to themselves and to others if they think they are protecting or helping any person at that school with this decision.
