You may have already heard this story, but if not, get this....6 year old Zachary Christie was suspended from school because of a Cub Scout utensil! Zachary could also face 45 days of reform school! Imagine trying to find character witnesses at a disciplinary hearing for this case!!
Zachary recently joined Cub Scouts and wanted to take his Cub Scout utensil to school. Why? Because it serves as a knife, fork, and spoon and he was SUPER excited to use it. Would you let your six year old bring it to school? Well, if you said no, you're not the only one. The reason Zachary's "punishment" is so severe is due to an incident that occurred at this same school last year....
A grandmother sent a birthday cake and a knife to school with her third-grade granddaughter. The teacher cut the cake with the knife and served it to the students. The teacher then called the principal and informed him about the knife. The third-grader was EXPELLED for a YEAR!
Christina School District in Newark, Delaware adopted zero-tolerance policies for possession of any weapons on school grounds. Zachary's Cub Scout utensil had a knife in it, therefore, school officials had no choice but to suspend him. Are school policies going too far? He's a first grader after all! "It just seems unfair," Zachary said, while practicing his lower-case letters with his mom.
Obviously, there's two ways we can look at this situation. Zero-tolerance means....zero-tolerance, no exceptions. Think of Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings. How about trying to decipher between innocent pranks and mistakes to more serious threats. We must protect the students.
Then there's the question of....are schools going too far? Because of the zero-tolerance policy, school suspensions and expulsions have increased dramatically over the last few years. These students are then often put on the streets or other places where behaviors could worsen. In Baltimore about 12% of the city's enrollment were suspended in 2006-2007. Ronnie Casella, an associate professor of education who has written about school violence added, "There's no evidence that zero-policies make schools safer.
So, what IS the answer? Zero-tolerance? Or be flexible and "tolerate" some mishaps? Maybe programs and support groups are the answer. How about adult mentorships?
* Seventh-grade girl expelled for using a utility knife to cut windows out of a paper house for a class projects.
* 13 year old boy suspended and attended reform school for 45 days after another student dropped a pocket knife in his lap.
* 86% of public schools reported at least one violent crime in 2005-2006. Maybe this is our answer. We must protect our students....right? Do we want to take chances?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I actually had not heard of this case but after reading it I did some research. I understand zero tolerance but I highly doubt a Cub Scout was going to attack the school with a Cub Scout utensil. I think in some ways schools have gotten the wrong ideas about zero tolerance. I think the only thing Jeffery may have done was encourage more boys to become part of Cub Scouts which is a positive organization that helps boys channel their energy. I grew up in an area that absolutely needed a no tolerance policy in middle school and high school, but even my county knew that elementary school children are innocent. A friend of mine brought a old gun bullet to school for show and tell. The teacher found it inappropriate and reported it to the principal. The principal explained the danger of the bullet to my friend and he was sent back to class without his bullet. We were in kindergarten but it scared him so bad he still remembers it. The punishment should fit the age of the student in elementary school. Great Article.
ReplyDeleteDenise,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you posted this. Personally, I think that zero-tolerance policies are ridiculous and do not allow principals and superintendents any room for discretion.
Zachary is a first-grader for crying out loud! How many times to students (small children, particularly) put things in their pockets and bookbags without their parents knowledge? He was excited about his new utensil. He probably was not even aware of the policy. And if he was, at six years old, I would venture to guess that he had absolutely NO idea the ramifications that would be imposed on him. Sending him to a reform school for 45 days would probably do him much more harm than anything. Children who are in reform schools typically (not always) have many more issues than this child.
As for the third-grader whose grandmother sent a knife with the birthday cake, I think that teacher was absolutely in the wrong to use the knife and then turn the little girl in. Seriously, these are small children.
I think that our school districts do need to be cognizant of what is going on in the schools and have penalties or consequences for bringing in weapons but I also strongly believe that it needs to be on an individual basis.
I just get infuriated when school districts try to impress their "zero-tolerance" policies on small children. We need to be educating them not expelling them!
I had read this article and agree the school's punishment did not match the intent of the student. But..what would we be saying if an older child had taken the tool away and used it as a weapon and injured another student or staff member? Keep in mind younger and younger children are committing violent crimes; we could be talking about a 10 year old that stole the tool and then stabbed an 8 year old. I believe in this case the scoutmaster should have been very clear about when and where the tool should be used or displayed. The parent(s) should also have been very strict on not carrying the tool around casually. Basically I question the adults decision to leave this tool in the 1st grader's possession.
ReplyDeleteIf I sound cynical, bear in mind I count every screwdriver, hammer, exacto knife, etc. before I dismiss a class. Really.
Schools are no longer able to look the other way with the small things. It sounds crazy that a kid was suspended for a spork. However it does send a message to the rest of the school. I was a senior in high school in 1999 when the shooting in Colorado happened. People feel that they can take out what ever problem they have on a school... some people have little to know ability to deal with personal problems. Things like little kids bringing a spork to school and getting suspended seems crazy ... until the day comes that a one kid gets killed with a spork... the next day all department stores will only sell sporks to people over the age of 18. We live in a messed up world.
ReplyDeleteDenise,
ReplyDeleteI think that certain schools need to stick to the zero tolerance policy because kids are going to use it as a loop-hole to bring in items. Obviously, the cases would be different and each one handled in a different manor. The problem everyone has is the word "fair." In my opinion, nothing in this life is fair and not all things are created equally. Just because student "A" brings in a knife/fork/spoon combo doesn't mean that student "B" is capable of doing the same. The reason why it's labeled unfair for a responsible student to do such a thing is because of the potential for them to not do the right thing. Our society leans to the worse case senarios because of the craziness that has happened.
If this good kid doesn't get punished for bringing in his knife for lunch or show-and-tell, we'll have many students abusing that all over the district, state, or nation. It's a case where the teacher could have "played favorite" and called the family to come retrieve the utinsil quietyly without recourse. I think the teacher could have used that judgement to let it slide if they knew this boy was pure in thought. It's a tough situation, though.
Thanks for the blog.
Randy B.