7 year old suspended from school for shaping breakfast bar into "gun."

[Mattemma]

Pastry guns,paper guns,chicken nugget guns....all those kids suspended.As if that will stop someone from shooting up a school. No school is safer than before the Sandy Hook killings. I can get into my kids school NO PROBLEM. All schools do is lock the doors and hide.Yeah helpful.

What they need to do is get some actual game plan in place instead of freaking over kids making fake guns. I would happily pay towards some tasers,mace,and training of school workers,but NOOOOOOOO they find that and pop tart guns far to offensive.

It is just a matter of time before another group of kids are killed.

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, it was a "Pop" tart after all.

Sorry I couldn't resist.

I did resist the urge to make a comment about turning a poptart into a popgun, but I guess somebody was bound to go there.

My son has always had a hard time in school, but particularly in the lower grades. One time when he was in second grade, he voiced his frustration by saying that he wished he could just blow the school up, so they all could go home. That prompted a call from his teacher. She was a very sensible woman, who understood that the child was simply venting rather than threatening. She said, "I know what he's doing, but we (the school personnel) have to take these things fairly seriously. If he were a bit older, I'd have to report this."

 

[tadpole98]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/02/high-school-student-disarms-gunman-gets-suspended/

thats ridiculous!

 

[newfoundland]

We must remember that it is far easier for parents who naturally know their own child and home circumstances better than school. Imagine if one of these young lads that have been responsible for the shootings in schools recently, had talked about shooting people or blowing up the school. Parents would be the first to say, 'why did no one take this seriously/' Schools have no choice but to act on every sign of potential violence. Innocent lives may depend on the vigilance of one person who seems to be over reacting.

 

[OldGuy43]

Agreed! This no gun thing has gotten totally out of hand since 9-11. I occasionally visit the state "surplus" sale warehouse here. They have a whole room dedicated to stuff that was confiscated at the airport. Some of the things I see are ridiculous!

• A 2" tall GI Joe with a rifle at port arms (top of the list)
• An old-fashioned homemade sling shot. (Forked stick, a piece of rubber and an old shoe tongue.)
• Cap pistols (complete with the bright orange federally mandated muzzle that identifies them as a toy)
• Souvenir snow globes by the dozens
• Can openers
• Canes, crutches and walking sticks
• Golf clubs
• Sealed hotel containers of toiletries
• Empty spray bottles

Would the absence of any of these items make me feel safer? No! It does however make me question the intelligence and common sense of those doing the inspections, those who trained them and those who create the lists of proscribed items.

 

[Cold Canadian]

We all live in nations / countries that have a military who by all rights should be doing what they state that they are doing ! Protecting the people ! Set up schools to be protected by our finest ? seems like a great idea for training to me ? two years possiable posting by a school to protect out future generations ? And this teacher needs to be challenged ! irrational actions do not help any situation ! she / he should be dismissed as far as I'm concerned ! A seven year old child making a figure out of a food item ? really ?? two day suspension ??? imagine what damage has been done to this child who for the world most likely can't understand what and why he is being punished for !

 

[OldGuy43]

If you think the pastry gun thing was ridiculous read this one:

Deaf Preschooler Told to Change His Name

Here in Austin the Police Chief was on TV news the other night and announced that they were going to INSURE(!) that what happened at Sandy Hook will never happen here. That'll be a neat trick if he can pull it off.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Mixed messages they are teaching our children.

They are teaching them that self defense is not an option. Guns are bad, always..

Culture manipulation.

 

[greatblueheron]

To suspend such a young child for fashioning a gun out of a pastry is quite ridiculous but just demonstrates the heightened tension that exists in schools. This can only have a detrimental effect on the children. In any school that I have worked in until very recently the child would have been fixed with a withering look and told he was a very silly boy. The other children would have stifled giggles and that would have been the end of the matter. The other case is much more serious. A child who threatens to shoot another is being exposed to too much violence in society. This may easily be through unsuitable television programmes, careless talk by the adults around them etc.

A seven year old hasn't reached the age of discretion, they do not understand that we often speak figuratively and they understand only on a literal level. This head teacher was trying to discover whether it would be possible for the child to have access to a gun in the interest of the safety of the whole school. The parent needs to sit the child down and tell them she/he is very upset and disappointed in this behaviour. It is totally unacceptable to threaten anyone in any way. If the child has concerns about another's behaviour the correct thing to do is to speak to the teacher. Please take this seriously and don't take the attitude that it is your child just mouthing off. A sharp reprimand now, and some determined effort to exclude violence, even in the form of video games/television, may save your child and yourself from a lot of heartache.

Hi newfoundland. I appreciate your comments and for the most part completely agree. My guy certainly didn't get away with this at home either. We take making threats very seriously in our home. What surprised me (in addition to my kids poor choice) was the question from the principle. I understand why she asked, I just don't agree with it. Last time I checked I lived in a country where privacy was maintained and protected. If this question is asked of us, it needs to be asked of everyone and I doubt that happened. The school absolutely needs to ascertain whether there is a viable threat or not, but this is not, in my opinion, the way to do it.
The violence/unsuitable material my son is exposed to, such as talk of guns or play fighting, is happening at his school from the other children (namely the other child in this incident - go figure) not in our home. I'm in my son's class several times a month as a student helper and I witness this kind of talk all the time. I'm not OK with it but I'm also not in charge. As a parent I can only influence my own son's behavior, but unfortunately when you're a kid the behavior you see from other kids is often what you emulate. This kind of talk among youth is as pervasive now as it was when I was a kid; it's our reaction to it that has changed. I'm just not sure that the change in our reaction as a society is going to prevent bad things from happening. Ironically no adult witnessed the argument my son got in with the other boy, but the other boy went home, told his parents something (who knows what), they called the school and my child was questioned. And this all happened before I was notified and I have a problem with that.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin

We are now reaping what we sowed...