6 Year Old Suspended For Zero Tolerance

[MA-Caver]

It’s a Fork, It’s a Spoon, It’s a ... Weapon?

NEWARK, Del. — Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother’s fiancé by his side to vouch for him.


Zachary’s offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s reform school.
“It just seems unfair,” Zachary said, pausing as he practiced writing lower-case letters with his mother, who is home-schooling him while the family tries to overturn his punishment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?no_interstitial

Zachary hit the nail on the head with that "unfair" comment. How stupider are we going to allow school policies to get? How thick do these people have to be?
I can hear those school board members now... "oh he might get mad at another student and he might use the sharp points/edges of that weapon against the student and seriously harm them... he might even try to use it against a teacher who is disciplining him.
Gee... judge a six year old's character/disposition by what they got in their pockets.
IMO Zach needs to stay at home-schooling. Sheesh!

How are things going to be 5 years from now? 10 years from now?
It's scary, it's sad, it's frustrating to think how affected our educational system in this country (which USED to be one of the FINEST in the WORLD) has become over the last 10 - 15 - 20 years. :miffer:

 

[grydth]

Ask yourselves how often:

Zero Tolerance = Zero Justice
Zero Intelligence
Zero Fairness

 

[celtic_crippler]

Sigh... Man are our public schools in a mess or what?

What next? No more pencils? You know, you could put yer eye out with one of those things!

How about focusing on education? Too much to ask?

 

[girlbug2]

Why couldn't the teacher simply confiscate it and notify the parents that it was inappropriate to bring it to school?

Wisdom is totally out of the picture here.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

give someone a hug = sex offender
tap them on the shoulder = assault
bring a plastic knife in = weapons violation
make a gun out of your fingers and shout bang = expelled for posing a risk.

All have happened.

All are ****ing dumb.

And they wonder why kids spends twice as much time in school in the US compared to Japanese and European kids and are consistently lower scoring and less motivated?

 

[CoryKS]

Hey, what a cute little guy! He looks like-- HOLY GOD HE'S GOT A WEAPON CALL 911!!!

This sounds like my kid's school. Must be nice to have a script to follow so you don't have to think.

 

[Big Don]

Zero Tolerance + Zero Flexibility = Zero common sense

 

[jks9199]

Why couldn't the teacher simply confiscate it and notify the parents that it was inappropriate to bring it to school?

Wisdom is totally out of the picture here.

Because that would require someone to actually exercise some judgment and discretion, which could open the school up to allegations of being unfair...

 

[Makalakumu]

School = Social Engineering.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

At least society's going to collapse soon and if anybody survives we can scratch this crap and start over.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Because that would require someone to actually exercise some judgment and discretion, which could open the school up to allegations of being unfair...

They're too damned scared of a lawsuit and who could blame 'em?

 

[Stac3y]

OK, yeah, this is stupid. This child shouldn't be punished so harshly--it's insane. But why on earth would parents let a kid take a knife to school? They knew it was against the rules, and it's not like the thing was a necessity. Plus, if it's the kind of combo utensil it appears to be, those are actually pretty sharp--they're made to cut meat. Seems there was a bit of contributary stupidity coming from the parents. I'm more concerned with the drug-related zero tolerance stuff--like kids getting suspended for carrying their (necessary) asthma inhalers to school. I had to fill out a 7 page form and get 2 signatures from the pediatrician so that my child could carry his with him.

 

[MA-Caver]

Because that would require someone to actually exercise some judgment and discretion, which could open the school up to allegations of being unfair...

Well of course it woul ... uh too late!

 

[arnisador]

This is nuts. I can see them taking it from him, but a 45 day suspension?

IMO Zach needs to stay at home-schooling.

My son was home-schooled, and became a black belt in arnis as his gym class--Filipino stick and knife fighting.

 

[shesulsa]

Forty-five days. Wow. That's like the death penalty for shoplifting.

First offense, too.

I think someone needs to educate the educators.

 

[shesulsa]

I decided to write an email to the school board:

Doctors, Superintendent, Board members, Ladies and Gentlemen;

I am writing to you in appeal to good sense and sound judgement upon Zachary Christie in the event of finding him with a meal tool including a knife at school. While I passionately share the zeal in preventing and abating weapons violence in schools, I am compelled to remember with the same importance that very young children make innocent mistakes.

While I admittedly do not know the family nor the child (nor the school board) in question, I strongly question the soundness in the decision to place such a young child in a delinquent school for such a long period for one mistake. One can only assume this child is a severe problem at school and causes many problems ... yet I have not found any journalistic exposure of such issues with the boy.

I would ask, as the mother of three children, a surviving victim of violence and a self-defense instructor that you weigh this young man's record, his intent and place proper judgement upon him. Perhaps that may be removal of the instrument and a written warning; if the child has exhibited repeated behavioral problems perhaps an in-school suspension; if he is disrespectful, threatening and consistently violent perhaps a change in placement would be appropriate.

The story available nationally is that this boy is a serious student who is seeking a young life of high moral character with fervor. If this is indeed the case, I would hate to see such aspirations destroyed by the lack of sound judgement by a panel of seasoned adults. Please weigh your decision carefully and use good sense in judging this young man.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Georgia Ketchmark
Vancouver, WA

cc: Christie Family

 

[Archangel M]

They should keep homeschooling the kid. Schools exceeded their mandate years ago.

 

[Ken Morgan]

My 8 year old Nephew just went back to school last week, he had some serious surgery two weeks earlier. One of his classmates walked up and gave him a hug. Fine right? Nope, zero tolerance for touching up here, the little girl was told by her teacher that she’s not allowed to touch anyone at all.

Can someone tell me what the hell happened to common sense?

 

[MA-Caver]

My 8 year old Nephew just went back to school last week, he had some serious surgery two weeks earlier. One of his classmates walked up and gave him a hug. Fine right? Nope, zero tolerance for touching up here, the little girl was told by her teacher that she’s not allowed to touch anyone at all.

Can someone tell me what the hell happened to common sense?

Basically insensitive and resentful people. People resentful of the things that happened to them in childhood that never got resolved or worked out and carried on through adulthood and now in a position of authority/power they feel they can assert their bad experiences and desires to do something about it, when before they were powerless, and say THIS is wrong, this is bad, this might happen that might happen. Insensitive when possibly they grew up in an abusive environment and the very thought of touching someone or being in a "personal space" is threatening...

An overblown sense of personal rights projected onto other people. It's the same thing with harassment complaints... where it's gone TOO FAR. There is real harassment I'll agree, but it is carried too far when a simple gesture, a HUMAN gesture to show "hey I like you, you're a good person" (such as a pat on the back or shoulder) is misconstrued as a come-on or a prelude to unwanted sexual advances... a violation of personal space... (the solution is to ascertain INTENT before passing judgment and saying "back off".
Or nightmares about Columbine and other similar school violence leads to Zero Tolerance Policies.
In a college or upper high school I can understand but children? Especially those who are just barely past being toddlers?
It's going TOO FAR and will teach our children to be cold, insensitive, untouching parents when they reach adulthood. Teach them that it's better to be of a herded sheep mentality and have nothing that could be used as a weapon on their persons... and so on.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Leo Buscaglia was getting the "no touching" crap when he was a rug rat.....and he died in 1998 at age 74. This has been going on a long time.