Boy's camping utensil = weapon

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2001
Boy's camping utensil = weapon
39
Mon, 10-12-2009 - 12:25pm

I think this school really went over the top on this one... "School officials concluded he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary faces 45 days in the district's reform school." Say WHAT??!!! Good grief!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/12/MNM21A4B2T.DTL

"Boy's camping utensil violates 'zero tolerance'
Ian Urbina, New York Times
Monday, October 12, 2009

(10-12) 04:00 PDT Newark, Del. -- Zachary Christie, 6, was so excited about joining the Cub Scouts that he brought a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school to use at lunch.

School officials concluded he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary faces 45 days in the district's reform school.

Spurred in part by the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, many school districts around the country adopted zero-tolerance policies on possession of weapons on school grounds. More recently, there has been growing debate over whether the policies have gone too far.

But, based on the code of conduct for the Christina School District, where Zachary is a first-grader, school officials had no choice. They had to suspend him because, "regardless of possessor's intent," knives are banned.

Critics contend that zero-tolerance policies like those in the district have led to sharp increases in suspensions and expulsions, often putting children on the streets or in other places where their behavior only worsens, and that the policies undermine the use of common sense by school officials in handling minor infractions.

For Delaware, Zachary's case is especially frustrating because last year state lawmakers tried to make disciplinary rules more flexible by giving local boards authority to, "on a case-by-case basis, modify the terms of the expulsion."

The law was introduced after a third-grade girl was expelled for a year because her grandmother sent a birthday cake to school, and a knife to cut it. The teacher called the principal - but not before using the knife to cut and serve the cake.

Education experts say that zero-tolerance policies initially allowed authorities more leeway in punishing students, but were applied in a discriminatory fashion. Many studies indicate that African-Americans were several times more likely to be suspended or expelled than other students for the same offenses.

Other school districts are also trying to address problems they say have stemmed in part from overly strict zero-tolerance policies.

In Baltimore, around 10,000 students, roughly 12 percent of enrollment, were suspended during the 2006-07 school year, mostly for disruption and insubordination, according to a report by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore. School officials there are re-writing the disciplinary code, to route students to counseling rather than suspension.

In Milwaukee, where school officials reported that 40 percent of ninth-graders had been suspended in the 2006-07 school year, the superintendent has encouraged teachers not to overreact to student misconduct."



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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Sun, 10-18-2009 - 1:26pm

***But, suspension is a little extreme when he didn't understand and didn't have the intent to break the rule.****


And lets not forget the ZT rule about 45 days of "reform" school, for a 6 yo. Because of course, putting a 6 yo, who wanted to show off his special toy in with kids that actually are most likely aggressive bullies, is going to truly benefit him. That'll teach him a lesson, won't it?


I imagine people with this mindset are the ones who would have taken their kids to public executions back in the day to "show them" what would happen if they did the wrong thing. Because of course, the only reason someone does the right thing, is out of fear of retribution, NOT because they were taught the RIGHT thing to do. Right? The only reason you don't steal, is you fear going to jail, not because you think it's wrong, or were taught it was wrong,



iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2004
Sun, 10-18-2009 - 9:45pm
GOD matters and family values matter. The law is the law and must be obeyed as a Christian nation. There should be more laws to forbid un Christian behavior too.z
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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Sun, 10-18-2009 - 10:07pm

Un-Christian behavior?

 


"      

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 12:01am

***GOD matters and family values matter.***


Oh, the fundamentalist Muslim argument. The same argument used to stone rape victims to death. I see where you are coming from.



iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2009
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 1:56am

~He should have known the law.~

He's six and learning a lot every day, some of which he will on occasion forget.

~There should be more laws to forbid un Christian behavior too.~

Would you share with us some examples?

Community Leader
Registered: 04-05-2002
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 8:23am
Does that "unChristian" behavoir also include judging others? I don't believe Jesus did and he actually *gasp* sat with prostitutes and sinner and didn't have them put in jail. I thought Jesus preached forgiveness, not revenge. Christian nation or not, I'm always surprised at how "holier than thou" many Christians are when it's the opposite of what Jesus preached. It seems like many modern day Christians have become the Hypocrits who Jesus preached against.










Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 8:47am
Most Republicans believe in zero tolerance until it's them or their loved one in the "zero tolerance" situation.
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Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 8:50am

So what you're saying is that every parent should frisk their children before they leave for school?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Mon, 10-19-2009 - 12:44pm

***It's not the children who are wrong, it's we nutty adults who can't rationalize a situation worth a hoot.****


No kidding. The scariest thought is, it's the adults that are supposed to be giving kids the mental



iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2004
Tue, 10-20-2009 - 2:03pm

rainbowroses, you are paranoid! "very young kids stabbing each other" or however you put it! just ridiculous! how often does that really happen? and if "very young kids" are that dangerous, what about the threat they pose to their siblings/parents/babysitters in their own home? what if a child takes a knife out of a kitchen drawer or a knitting needle from the grandma's crafts basket and stabs the babysitter?

this is like dark comedy!