Well, it’s been dead for some time, but this is like poking its dead rotting carcass with a stick. A six-year-old Cub Scout in Delaware faced 45 days in an alternative school for bringing a folding fork, knife, & spoon, a camping utensil, to school.
The school relented, he’s now just suspended for a few days… it’s still ridiculous. He is six. Take the utensil away from him and give it to his mom at the end of the day or the next time she comes in. But oh know he must be some mass murderer hell bent on killing as many of his first grade friends as he can.
The school board made a hasty change to its strict code of conduct Tuesday night.
The seven-member board voted unanimously to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who bring weapons to school or commit other violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.
Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he brought the utensil to school with the intent of using it to eat his lunch.
The same school district reportedly expelled a fifth grader who brought a serrated knife to cut a birthday cake he brought. It was later overturned, but come on. It should have never happened!
I understand the tension that administrators face desiring to keep their students face. I was the Dean of Students for a Christian school in Northwest Indiana, and had to suspend a student who made what in my day would have been seen as a benign threat. I wanted to err on the side of caution. He was in high school. This kid was six, and didn’t realize at the time what he did was wrong.
Let’s bring some common sense back to our schools. A one-size fits all punishment is rarely an appropriate remedy.
