[6 year old Zachary Christie]’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 now 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 the possession of weapons on school grounds. More recently, there has been growing debate over whether the policies have gone too far.
[…]
Critics contend that zero-tolerance policies like those in the Christina 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 ability of school officials to use common sense 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 had sent a birthday cake to school, along with a knife to cut it. The teacher called the principal — but not before using the knife to cut and serve the cake.
Is this happening because so many parents are not parents anymore?
Could it be the discipline at home is going away so the schools are taking up the slack? My wife is a teacher and their is definitely home life issues with many parents. Not just Discipline but other social behavior problems.
I’m just shocked the NYT is covering this. In the end, there are so many things that can be lethally used as a weapon at school that I wouldn’t be surprised to see government bureaucrats pushing for distance learning at the home sometime in the future.
There’s lots of bad parents and there’s lots of dumb teachers / schools. You can’t fix that unless you hold parents and teachers more accountable. Hopefully a child is not stuck with both.
I recall Neal Boortz citing some source on the radio during the 2000 elections, in which 48% of all teachers send their own children to a private school.
Stupid in America: http://tinyurl.com/67fzcm
A six year old should not be carrying anything more than a butter knife. They have still bad motor functions and a decided lack of care.
Now as for the device in question. His parents should be shot as they must not camp. That thing is useless!
They should have gotten him a three piece set that interlocks. How can you hold still something with the fork and cut it with the knife if the knife is on the side of the unit?
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IMO, it’s the parents. I was an evil kid but I listened to my parents, even though I acted like I didn’t, and it helped. Talk to your kids, they are listening. Kids that age don’t know any better.
geez poor kid! i brought my first pocket knife to school to show and tell, and i also brought a several cap guns and water pistols…. What happened to those days? the kid is hardly going to do a rampage through the school with a two inch knife! We have become so overprotected as a society that we frown upon a kid with a pocket knife or a boy shooting his first animal that we forget that these lessons learned as a child are important in respecting life and its limitations!
The only thing these kids are learning is a disdain for rules and the makers thereof.
Don’t be surprised if their generation decides to do away with such tyranny when they grow up.
But there’s no limit to the number of people you can kill with a fork (if they line up patiently) so this was a WMD. So the only solution is to invade the state.
If he has a spoon aswell as the knife and fork then they are justified in using nuclear weapons. Take off and nuke the school from orbit – it’s the only way to be sure.
Nothing new here folks. When I was in the 6th grade (during the early 60’s) I was accused of making a rumble chain because I caused a swing to come down. I didn’t even know what a rumble chain was. I was suspended.
“zero tolerance,” mandatory sentencing, and “three strikes” where easy for tough-on-crime conservatives to get implemented since they sounded good in theory.
But they are absurd in practice and need to be scaled back to something reasonable.
That being said, I saw this kids parents on CBS tonight and they where so irritating.
They acted completely innocent in played the total victim.
But, how stupid must parents be to let their kid go to school with a knife?
I carried a pocket knife nearly every day in junior and high school.
There where a few times I got into-it with other kids but I never pulled out my knife.
I didn’t think of it as a weapon and I never felt my life was in danger anyway.
Have times really changed that much or are we just more paranoid?
Put away the knife toting innocent, to protect the fist fighting bullies from school yard reprisals. You can bet these school officials still do very little to curb bulling. I remember my painful grade school years. When I was sequestered for being picked on by a group of spoiled white brats. And I don’t remember anything happening to the bullies.
Maybe the military has something to say about NOT discouraging this behavior. Bullies will make better soldiers. Or their victims will, some day. BTW, the leader of my grade school gang, died in a car crash (his). So no amount of “zero tolerance” is going to keep kids from harming others, or being harmed, if it’s in their nature to be destructive and violent.
And rather than dispelling children for what they carry in their pockets. They should be counciled for what evil they carry in their hearts. But I suspect there is a “hands off” policy at the request of the military. They don’t want well adjusted, peace loving kids, who solve life’s problems without violence. Can’t fight wars with ingrained attitudes like that, in the young.
So this 6 year old, will now by home schooled by his parents. Rather than being tossed in with the hard cases at the state’s reform school. Smart move. I say, keep him out of grade school altogether. One less indoctrinated by public schools (or the NFL) to have a taste for violence.
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
It’s great to see genuinely STUPID people in action. We care more about this kid and a utensil that is intended to EAT with.. I would understand if he brought a buck knife and wanted to slice cheese with it or something backwoods like that.
No one has any clarity of thought any longer in public institutions. No one has genuine BALLZ anymore to do the right thing.. It’s all about setting bogus policies and following them regardless.
I know the word “Retard” is derogatory but in this instance, it simply sums up the Adults in this situation. None of these people should hold public office jobs..
I am very glad they lifted the suspension on the kid, they need to make exceptions.
One other reply discussed a chip n tote card. I thought the same but he is not far enough along in scouting get that. This case was over turned only because the mom is co-chair of the schools PTA and for no other reason. Then it is a joke to say we will not hold Kindergarten and 1st graders to rules. Some where across the country has some 1st grader not brought pot of a pistol to school. I think the scope and intent needs to be looked at and not the grade or the parents free available time to volunteer.
We homeschool our kids and belong to a pretty large co-op (200+ kids). Next semester, I will be teaching a scouting skills class to 4th grade students. They will actually be bringing pocket knives, axes and saws to school. And, they will learn to build fires in the parking lot. I am confident that none of the students will be using any of these things as weapons, or I would not be teaching the class. So much stems from respect for authority that begins in the home. I am confident that these students will respect my authority and use the tools correctly and safely. My boys have had pocket knives since they were mature enough to handle them, age 10 for one and age 11 for the other. They carry them with them most of the time and use them appropriately.
I think it’s ridiculous that this kid is in “juvi” for carrying silverware.