Suspension of a 6 year old for a folding utensil... is this right??
By mommyboo
@mommyboo (13174)
United States
October 14, 2009 9:52am CST
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091014/ap_on_re_us/us_zero_tolerance_boy
See link for details. A six year old 1st grader was given a 45 day suspension at an alternative school simply for bringing a folding fork/spoon/knife to eat lunch with - a typical camping item anybody might use. This zero tolerance policy at schools is going a little too far. There was a mention of a 5th grade girl who was order expelled for bringing a birthday cake and a serrated knife to cut the cake with! HELLO!! If *I* bring a cake somewhere, I'm probably bringing a HUGE cake knife!! That doesn't mean I have any intention of attacking anybody or myself with it. Sheesh. They DID lift the suspension but I do not think the boy should have gotten in trouble at ALL - unless he was caught damaging school property or threatening someone with it.
I think they need to start looking at INTENT. If the intent is innocent say... to EAT LUNCH or to CUT A CAKE, they need to stop seeing things that aren't there. What do you think? Have schools gone too far with zero tolerance policies where someone cannot use any form of silverware or they are accused of violence, yet kids still get bullied and teased and have no friends and THAT isn't stopped?
2 people like this
7 responses
@olepmis (840)
• Philippines
14 Oct 09
The policy is made to be followed or rules are rules but the suspension is too much which is inhuman or unreasonable for a 6 year old child to be suspended for 45 days. That is not fair? School should teach the child to do the right thing if they did wrong but not to punish the child. The school should give warning to the first offender and no penalty to be imposed. As if those school teachers who impelemented the policy had not gone thru childhood. For goodness sake wake up!
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
14 Oct 09
ARGH! It was a camping utensil - to EAT with. I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to have control over what people eat with but don't you use REAL silverware at home? Do your kids use REAL silverware at home? I know I take the knives away from a toddler and such but once kids are in school? If they need a knife to cut something with and they have the proper dexterity and muscle control to use it without cutting their finger off, I think they should get to use a frigging knife....
@34momma (13882)
• United States
14 Oct 09
i agree with you. i mean i think that they are now taking things way to far. what a waste of time and school effort to go after children who are not doing anything wrong. but the got damn bullys get away with damn near murder!!!!!! crazy to me, just crazy
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
14 Oct 09
That's why I feel that 'zero tolerance' has become about the wrong things, without room for intent, without room for individual situations. I very very much do not believe in one size fits all, because it never has, and whoever coined that phrase should be strung up somewhere lol.
@playwright82 (167)
• United States
14 Oct 09
This has gone too far. In the Florida school district I grew up in, they got rid of the metal eating utensils, and gave them plastic instead. Also, they got rid of the plastic trays and gave them styrofoam with little plastic and styrofoam containers for the food. The reason (they say) they did this, was because the forks could be used as weapons, and the trays could be used to hit people. Kids can't even bring metal forks or spoons to school to eat lunch with if they bring their lunch. Zero tolerance policies have gone too far. I'm seriously thinking of home schooling my kids in the future.
@dreamr802 (985)
• United States
14 Oct 09
I do think that it is definitely going too far, but at the same time, the schools have to protect the rest of the children. Say if that child did use the knife on another child, then the school would be liable.
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
14 Oct 09
Perhaps, but I still think that maybe they could make sure an adult could provide a knife to cut a cake with then. I also don't understand people freaking out about plastic silverware, because people do....
All I'm saying is that I don't want to be penalized or suffer because someone else is an idiot and does stupid things with utensils lol. That doesn't mean *I* or my kids will, and it isn't fair to treat us as if we would.
@LetranKnight25 (33117)
• Philippines
15 Oct 09
hello mommyboo,What's that
? that would have been okay if we are in state penitentiary or high security prison which even kitchen knifes are not allowed. But WHAAT?! in a school, who's the Principal there? Is it Hitler or a hard core warden who used to work in Alcatraz. who ever is running the school they should just and basically rewrite the rules and regulations. that's way way off as a violation, what a load of crap. i believe they should protest and boycott the school. probably convinced the other parents not to enroll their kids in that school. 
@velocity_186 (879)
• India
14 Oct 09
ya u r right , they cannot suspend the boy like that sometimes they are too strict with such rules and they stick to it
one more thing the webpage is not found may be it s typed wrong
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
14 Oct 09
I copied and pasted it directly from the article after I read it, sometimes mylot has issues with links lol. Let me see if I can re-link it for you here.
http://www.freep.com/article/20091014/NEWS07/91013071/1202/RSS
See if that one works. Like I said again, they need to figure out a way to use INTENT as part of the framework for certain policies. If there was no intent to harm anybody or anything, they need to stop being ridiculous.
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
14 Oct 09
I saw that, thought it was absurd. Zero tolerance policies ought to have common sense clauses...
