six year old suspended

[ozarkgunner]

If this thread is already open please move it, or attach it to the one about the suspension for the 2" toy gun.
I'm sure many of you have read this article or maybe have seen it on the news. I received an email about it with the school principals email. Here is what I sent to him. Here is his email, please let him know what you think, before this happens to one of your kids. [email protected]

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Dear sir,

I am a parent in southwest Missouri. I have three kids, and they like to play. I liked to play when I was a kid. I'm sure you did as well. How many times would you and I have been suspended for "playing" when we were younger? I hope you and your school administration see the error of your ways. Your suspension of Mason Jammer for making a "gun" with his hand is as inappropriate and extreme as expelling a student for sneezing and not saying "excuse me". The suspension was uncalled for and un-necesary.
If a situation like this happens in my childrens school or to one of them, I would pull my kids from enrollment. This type of treatment of students is more extreme than communism, totalitarianism, and police states. I will be speaking to my schools principal about this situation and the with the PTA at next weeks meeting. I will be expressing my concerns about this and other situations that have occured at other schools, such as the child that was suspended for bringing a 2" Lego gun to school. I will let school authorities know that these types of reactions from teachers and school administrators is unacceptable. And if they act like this towards one of my children, or another child in the school, I will be calling for the teacher and principals removal from the school and their resignations.
An act like this towards an acction so innocent will impact the students life and school carreer for the rest of their life. A suspension for will stay on their record for life, and cause problems for them down the road, for something as simple as making a gun with your hand while playing. You will be impacting childrens lives for years. Reactions like this are going to send the message that any one with a gun is a bad person. Children will no longer want to grow up to be police officers, soldiers in our armed forces, etc. Children will no longer look up to police officers or seek them out for protection, because they will be viewed as "bad people with guns"
I want to say more, but I know you will have your hands full with the parents of this child, possibly her lawyer, letters and e-mails from the NRA, which I support, and any other level headed parent in your school.

Good luck sir.
Mark Saiz, parent/former child
Ozark, MO

 

[earlthegoat2]

This has been touched on and locked up already on here but......

Unfortunately everyone is hypercritical of anything having to do with kids, schools, and parents of said kids. Hearing about bullying at school is one thing but hearing about your kid being bullied is a call to war.

Having a student point a finger cannon at a kid is good for a chuckle but hearing about it being pointed at your kid and now you are demanding a suspension.

There is always volitility around parents and their children. There are actions that will be left alone with certain parents and ones that will be brought to the newspapers with others. School administrations are under constant pressure brought on by Columbine AND 9/11 unbelievably. Schools are trying to wipe out any hint of violence with sometimes Draconian methods. Can we blame them though? Anger comes to first for what has happened followed by sadness for why it happened.

I dont have kids and I am glad for it. Too much liability in more ways than just civil and criminal. Not having kids is my retirement fund and a decision I have not and most likely will not regret.

Having grown up in Ionia county this hits home for me.

 

[wishin]

Agree. Way over the top. Next time, it'll be about a 6 year old boy pulling a girl's hair in front of him and being accused of sexual harassment!

 

[EddieNFL]

What if the finger had went off? Could have been tragic.

 

[captainmarko]

What people don't realize is that kids, particularly little boys, will make a gun out of ANYTHING.... stick, fingers, paper towel roll, Lego, Lincoln Logs..... it doesn't matter.
When kids are suspended for something that innocuous, it has far more to do with the numbskull parents than anything else. School officials are constantly backed in to a corner by demands to "do something." They must at least give the appearance of action, lest there be some liability down the road. All because of possible litigation.

Too much TV.

Not enough time outside.

Makes a generation of over-protective, knee-jerk reactionaries. And I'm talking about the parents.

When I was growing up it was, "Are you bleeding? Is anything broken? No? Then you two shake hands, make peace, and walk it off."

All those kids should be making finger guns at each other, running through the woods, hunting frogs, getting filthy, and beating the crap out of each other. If you don't do that when you're little, you kill cats when you become a teenager and then become a real psychopath once you're all grown up.

 

[gordy]

When my son was in the third grade his teacher asked the class to write a story and draw a picture of something they did with there fathers.
My son wrote a story and drew a picture of him hunting doves with me.
The picture was very crude and the story was kinda corny, But my son was so proud of them. He took them to school. That friday I went to pick him up. There were picures and storys on the walls in the hallway. Lots of storys and pictures. You should have seen the proud parents looking and reading. But were where my sons? I asked his teacher and was told that, Your son wrote about guns and WE can't put that up for others to see. She then gave my sons story and picture to me. I asked if she had read the story? Then I asked her what she asked my son to do? Did he do it? Then I asked her what she had taught my son that day?
She stood there with the labrador look and had no idea what to say.
I put the story and picture on the fridge and bought my boy a big malt and told him that I was very proud of the story and picture. And he was upset that the other kids didn't get to read his story. I think we still have the story and picture in a box somewhere.
My son goes dove hunting with me and we have a blast.

 

[rha600]

I'd actually like to hear the story of what happened when he made the gun.

just playing devils advocate but was the boy out playing cowboys and indians (which of course would probably be illegal and not ver PC anymore either) or did he tell someone "I'm going to kill you" and make the gun "symbol"?

Personally when I hear the story I think of some little white kid in middle class suburbia, in reality it could have taken place in some inner city school filled with gang violence.

If it's the former, then the school administration should be dragged through the mud and humiliated. If it's the latter then I can understand it.

 

[wishin]

My 6 year old granddaughter draws stick pictures all the time of police with guns. She wants to be an LEO.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The kindergartens at my school are just told not to make guns out of legos and they stop. I don't know whats so hard about that.

 

[warnerwh]

The school called my wife to get our daughter when she was in the first grade because she had a toy fingernail file made out of plastic. We were shocked to say the least.
There must be a way to fight this. These teachers are doing something that should be illegal. It should be put in a balanced perspective. Maybe there's a way to sue a school district and set a precedent. The whole thing has gone too far over the line.

 

[skoro]

It's maddening, I know.

But I have to say something in defense of the schools. So many parents any more look for any opportunity to launch lawsuits against school districts that the schools have instituted these "zero tolerance" policies in self-defense.

In fact I know of a recent case where a HS principal was fired for giving a tylenol pill to a student who complained of a headache.

The schools don't initiate this insanity, they just respond to it.

 

[EddieNFL]

In fact I know of a recent case where a HS principal was fired for giving a tylenol pill to a student who complained of a headache.

World of difference between giving a child Tylenol and expelling him for having one.