i like my gun. my dead brother gave it to me about a weak before he went to Iraq and died. i just carry it with me because it makes me feel that hes close to me still. why cant i bring it to school? i wont threaten anyone. i just want to bring my favorite thing to school.

And we wonder why parents are home schooling! This is the most insane action, suspending sending a six year old child to reform school for bringing a Cub Scout tool to school. The public education system is just out of control. "Old timers" used to say "book smart but no common sense" and this is a perfect example! Whatever happened to the teacher taking the objectionable item, putting it in his/her desk, and giving it to the child after school or sending a note home with the student telling the parent to come pick up the item? This poor child is now under a national spotlight, that can NOT be good! Next, they'll go after girls' bobbie pins, safety pins and paper clips! Don't forget to hide the staplers!

altec, you are a moron.

jkursh, actually it's a liberal agenda of zero tolerance. and a liberal that says he's just a kid. there has been elementary stabbings before and then you liberals will question why the schools allowed this. blame the parents. a 1st grader should not have a knife anyway.

I understand wanting schools to be safe while not discriminating against those who always seem to get the short end of the stick, whether they deserve it or not. However, you need to allow for children to make honest mistakes before you sentence them to reform school. This 6 year old was obviously not using this "weapon" in a malicious way, he was using it as a utensil. I've seen sharper points on #2 pencils and somehow those are still allowed in school. If the board of education cannot use common sense, how on earth do we expect our young children, leaders of tomorrow, to use common sense. In the world they are being raised in, they wouldn't know common sense if it came up and bit them on the nose. Zero tolerance has a place, high school, middle school even, but let's allow for a little bit of latitude in elementary schools. Atleast give them a warning before suspending them for 45 days.

We are sending a message that character and prior behavior mean nothing and that there is no forgiveness within the education system - that is a scary message.

The question is...

Should 6-year-old be suspended for bringing utensil to school?
The answer is absolutely he should be suspended, not sent to reform school. A simple 1 or 2 day suspension is sufficient. We can noy have children bringing "A 3 inch knife" to school. That is a weapon no matter how you look at it. Just because the "utensil" has a spoon and fork, doesn't make it any less dangerous. The fork could be used as a weapon as well. Children get stabbed with pencils, forks, scissors, etc..all the time. Not something a 6 y/o should be in possession of without supervision.

Zero tolerance is a bit over-kill without reason and logic with every case. Punishment should be handed down, but not as extreme as reform school.

No Altec is pretending to be an idiot with a gun, when altec is actually just attempting to stir up others. way to go altec. you are a gene-ass

As a scout leader, scout mom, and teacher I feel I need to make the following statement: as a first grader, that makes him a tiger cub. Tiger cubs are not allowed to even bring knives to scouting events. Cub scouts must first earn their whittling chip and that doesn't happen until at least the wolf level (2nd grade) at that point they are allowed to carry them, but not use them and they can only be taken to approved pack functions. The earliest a scout can carry and use a knife for any purpose is the bear level which is third grade. I'm not saying he should be put in reform school for it either. At that age they don't understand the grand picture that adults are looking at. For any of you reading this who think I don't know what I'm talking about, my son was suspended from school for bringing a tiny pocket knife from Dixie Stampede to school. It had his name in it and he wanted to show his friends. The blade was hardly two inches long, but no tolerence is no tolerence. My bottom line is this, if we are going to bring scouting into this discussion then let it be known that as scout leaders we have an obligation to help our scouts understand when and where these things are appropriate to help avoid these situations. My thoughts go out to the parents, I've been there and it's rough!

Altec's point is legitimate. Rules are rules. Whoever made the zero tolerance rule should be voted off the school board but until it is changed, the kid (actually his parents) should have some consequences. Why in the world would the mother let him take that to school. Any scout knows that a 4 inch blade requires the owner to have a valid Tote N Chip card and this age would not ever receive one. Parents are at fault for letting this young of a child have a real knife. There are alternative utensil sets readily available.

Dangerous Book for Boys by Hal Iggulden, page 1 item 1 every boy is supposed to have this in his pocket, good thing it wasn't a video game controller. What next suspension for having a stick, or a piece of string...

AMEN!! This happened to my son. Never been in touble, no suspensions,..Honest mistake. Forgot it was in his pocket and what did he get?? Alternative school for 40 days...Stop being afraid of the kids...DEMAND RESPECT!!

By all the comments if he had a unloaded 22 revolver that would be ok as well? Perhaps if he was dressed poorly and wasnt very clean this would be easier to solve?

Why would someone give any 6 year old a knife and let him have it without supervision?

Typical crap responses below. Star 5.35. Jen 5.39. she was merely stating a "fact"...had this been a little black boy, there would not even be an article about this. Give me a break. Your facts? Backed by the notion that no articles are written, therefore what you state must be true.

All teachers complaining about 5 and 6 year old behavior needing to be constrained, therefore supporting sending our children to reform school? Give me a break. No tolerance needs tolerance. And Teachers need the right to discipline our children in their classrooms without fear of lawsuits or termination.

And if a teacher disciplines our children, then we as parents are responsible for the behavior and stopping that behavior.

And the answer is not a race answer, nor sending our kids to reform school. At this level, God forbid a child calls another a sissy or some other name and gets sent somewhere for 2 months! Again, give me a break!!!!

Altec was not being a smarta**, he was making a point that just because it's your "favorite thing" or you think it's innocent doesn't mean it is. Why is that so hard to understand? Everyone thinks differently which is what led to the zero policy rule in the first place.

What if one of his dumber friends had taken it and hurt someone? What if he opened the knife to show it off and a kid pushing past him got stab by accident? All of you would be "omg, so shocked" and "what was he/his parents thinking" outraged then.

The kid definitely should have been suspended. Reform school? Well if that's their rule, that's their rule. Live and learn. And his parents are stupid too. He's 6, you don't know what a 6 y/o is taking out of the house?

And yes, I'm a flag waving liberal.

u got that rit

altec's comment is the exact reason these stupid policies get put in place to begin with. Some moron like altec takes a gun to school and they try to create one blanket policy to cover their ass so they can say they took action and it won't happen again. I would think anyone with a brain could see the situations are not the same and make the appropriate call (and these are educators). When I was in the 5th grade a kid snapped my sister's bra strap at school in front of me. He got the paddle from the principal and punch in the jaw from me and that was it. He didn't get sexual charges filed or end up at a reform school. He learned not to do it again (at least to my sister). The world is getting "nuts" with this bull@!$%#.

it may have ended up in the wrong hands.

I don't totally agree...you'd be surprised how conditioned some very young children can be, with an intention to harm....however common sense says look at each individual case and for goodness sake bring in the teachers and people that "know" the child and situation...no child with innocent intentions and fully remorseful should be given 45 days while Granny gets money for bad behavior. I agree with the above that a suspension should be given, just for messaging - knives are not okay in schools...please people get a grip with Granny though.

I don't agree with reform school part, but there needed to be some form of punishment even if it was miss recess for 2 days (he's 6!!) Also, I thin the school is worried that if this was just ignored there are always posibilities that if he'd lost it somewhere and the "tool" would up in a kids hads that had ill intentions..it would be a much bigger issue.

He is 6 for goodness sakes! This is stupid!! I agree with Age, Character and intent reply!

Soccer Mom from IOWA

Isn't this a glorious society? We have rubber-stamped everyone. But, of course, it's okay to bring your guns to a political rally that the President is having.....but want to put a 6 year old in reform school for carrying his swiss knife to school. Was he behaving badly with it? That would be the question I would ask. Or, maybe we could send some of these gun-toting idiots to reform school as their mental age is probably somewhere in their teens.

I had not thought about the possiblitiy of someone else using the tool in a hurtful way. The suspension seems logical, but I question the length. This kid had only one purpose for the bringing of this to school. He should be told how wrong it was, given a week at home, and then re-evaluated was he gets back to school. Putting him in a reform school where bad kids are already will just increase his chances of learning worse things. Society has got to stop punishing good people because they don't want to offend bad people. I mean come on pulling a six year old away from his friends and putting him in a place like this is just sad. Bravo to this messed up way of thinking this decreasing country has.

While I do agree that the belief that this boy intended no harm is accurate, don't for a second think that 6 year olds (or younger) are incapable of premeditated action. My wife teaches in school and you would be amazed at what "children" are capable of. I don't see the sense in either suspension or reform school in this case. This young man just couldn't conceive of his actions being anything wrong. I am 50 years old and I have seen the common sense factor decline over my life time. I have always carried a utility pocket knife and have even had it called a weapon by a co-worker at one of my jobs, but it isn't it is simply a tool that has many purposes and if killing or harming someone were my intention, I would certainly find some better way than with the simple 3 inch utility blade of my pocket knife.

I agreed with Vanity-16

I don't agree with reform school part, but there needed to be some form of punishment even if it was miss recess for 2 days (he's 6!!) Also, I think the school is worried that if this was just ignored there are always posibilities that if he'd lost it somewhere and the "tool" would up in a kids hads that had ill intentions..it would be a much bigger issue.

What was the mother thinking? It is a knife, and regardless of age... that think could it end it on the wrong hands... C'mon mom... Why would you let your kid bring a Swiss Army knife... Common sense!

Cathy M. That's a very sad attitude. I have a Concealed weapons permit and it is my right under the second amendment to carry a concealed weapon, I do not act badly with it as it is not a toy, nor is the knife the young man took to school. The potential for someone to get hurt was present because it had a knife on it. Reform school, no way. Keep it at home yes. as for your ignorant comments maybe your right to say stupid things should be taken from you. If your comments were taken you would be just another idiot with an opinion.

He's six years old and a Cub Scout. Before Cub Scouts are alowed to have a knife they are trained and must display that they know how to use it safely. This is just a matter of pride for a young Cub Scout that has earned a right within his peer group. Maybe he even believed that right extended everywhere.

The week before he probably brought some of his "Star Wars" Legos to school and next week it will probably be something else he is just as proud of. I don't believe in mandatory punishments for anything because of situations just like this. The authority in these matters must be allowed to take motive, intent and the subjects understanding of the rules into consideration or there is no justice.

Here's a good question. I know this rule is in place for the entire school but for first grade students, the schools rules were probably given to the parents on a printed sheet along with everything else they give you at the start of the school year. Weapon policies are probably not discussed in class in the first grade as most teachers wouldn't think it neccessary. Did this kid even know about the policy before this incident? I seriously doubt it.

Hopefully Grandma doesn't bring her knitting to the next PTA meeting...I'm sure they have a zero tollerance weapon rule there too and since knitting needles are long and sharp, Granny would probably face some serious time for that. Bad Nana!

this is stupid, and utterly ridiculous. he is only six. for crying out loud. maybe you should ban all silver ware if you're going to ban this. he only wanted to eat lunch....

shame on you!

CATHY M.-647265 your comments show your ignorance in this matter but it's not really your fault. The press misrepresented that entire affair surrounding the person you mentioned that was carrying a rifle at a rally in Phoenix this summer.

First of all, this did not happen at the President's health care town hall. It happened at a citizen's protest some blocks away. Second of all, ownership of private weapons is legal in Arizona and the weapon was properly displayed in accordance with Arizona law so this man broke no laws. Since he broke no laws, are you advocating punishing people simply because they do not agree with your idea of what the law should be?

Third, ABC news should have to answer for their behavior on this issue. They aired the story with the obvious intent of creating problems. They misrepresented the location of the protest by saying it was at the President's meeting. Second they only showed the man's weapon and then blatantly lied about his race saying that a white man brought an assault rifle to the President's town hall meeting. The man was an African American and a member of a patriotic group in favor of citizens rights. He notified the police in advance that he was bringing the weapon to the rally just to make sure his intentions were not misunderstood and the police supported him. If you don't believe me, the un-cut video and real interview is still available on You Tube. I suggest you look that up, watch the video and then ask ABC why they lied to you.

In fact, I'll do one better....here's the link to the interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjatqPkZdrU

The Zero Tolerance mantra always sounds soo good. It allows incompetent people to have a ready excuse for not thinking before doing something real stupid.

Of course the Principle should be jailed for a massive violation of this same zero tolerance policy assuming there is a cafeteria with spoons and forks on the school premises.

I blame the parents. He should have been taught that the knife is only to be used around the home, or cub scouts under parents supervision. If the school has zero tolerance then those are the rules.

I remember my older son brought a can opener to school, and that raised some alarms. The can opener had to be use in a science project, and he forgot to bring the note in I wrote for him, so he can pass through the metal detectors. Luckily my son wasn't suspended, but he was super annoyed with me. Oh well, I'm happy he wasn't kicked out of school for a week.

As for the little kid, the school could make some allowances, and curtail the 45 day suspense to a week. The parents are at fault.

exactly !

I agree with Karla that the tool was not inately dangerous and that the child should be suspended because there are rules against bringing knifes or weapons to school and I think that the parents should be understanding of that. But reform school is definately a bit over the top, it will not do this child well. Also, the parents should have explained that this tool was not to be brought to school.

I agree that the parents are to blame. Why did they never take the time to sit down and discuss with him that just because he got that in the scouts doesn't mean he is allowed to take it to school at all. I understand your child is only 6 but there comes a time when we as parents have to be accountable for the actions of our children.

Wonder what Paul's excuse is for the morons with the HANDGUNS?!! I own one and have the CCL but what the idiots at the rallies around the president was just plain stupid.....Just makes the majority of us normal folk look like the idiots they are.

Bottom line, rules are rules. I brought a camping knife to school when I was in sixth grade after I forgot it was in my ski jacket. I was suspended for a day as that was the minimum punishment. The kid needs to be taught that you can't bring weapons to school and if you break rules, there are consequences.

Rules are rules???? What are you crazy! Running for office soon are ya!! First graders should NOT be held to the same "rules" that older children are. What should we do, teach our children right out of diapers that our society could misread a camping tool as a weapon. YOU are exactly the type of person that condones these "rules" . Idiot!

Punishment given was in accordance with established policy and should be upheld.

This is a nutty world we live in when we have children 10 years old and younger committing violent crimes, but they are a fact of life. Did anybody anticipate past massacres in our schools? No!! Did these same "poor little boy" advocates scream at public officials for not foreseeing the dangers and preventing them? Nobody will ever convence a parent that their child did anything wrong, but it is the responsibility of public officials to protect all students. The mother should defend her son, but should also accept responsibility for her son. Our prisons are full of young men who were always good little boys.

I am a CubMaster for a Pack of about 90 boys. Since this boy is a CubScout, he or his parents should know the rules of Age Appropriate Scouting. A knife is NEVER allowed to be used by a CubScout until they enter the 3rd Grade and get trained in proper knife use know as The Whittling Chip. All Scouts should know that they follw their Akela (their leader), in this case, the school leaders. He should take his punishment and learn from it. That is what a good scout does.

Does he even know people bring knives to school to kill? Seriously, he brought it with the intent of showing how proud he was of being a Boy Scout, not with plans to go on a bloody rampage. So he exercised bad judgment, big deal, he doesn't deserve this punishment. C'mon, he's a 6-year-old, this is definitely taking it over the edge.

45 day suspension, plus reform school for a six year old taking a collapsable spork to school that he got at the cub scouts, because he thought it was a cool gadget and wanted to show it off at show and tell??? I can't explain how frustrated I am to hear what idiots we have making these decisions.

We don't live in a binary world, not everything is black and white, so-called zero tolerance rules should not be an exuse to abrogate all judgment. Absurd heavy-handed punishments will NOT teach a kid respect for authority. It certainly isn't making us adults respect the school board's authority right now is it? No, the only thing it will do is teach the kid to rebel against the injustice...that is after all human nature.

The kid can't even read the frickin zero tolerance policy. Let alone discern that paranoid school officials would think a spork is a weapon. If any idiots think that this kid deserves a suspension, I want a zero-tolerance 5 days in jail for persons who try to bring water bottles, perfume, or lotions onto a plane because they could be bombs.

for pitty sakes it was a spoon, fork, w/knife if your a scout master than um maybe you shouldnt Give them this um weapon

your an idiot .........take the utensils give them to his parents ......explain to the child that he cant use it at school.......... problem solved........ if he was a 5th grader showing his knife off in the boys room that would be different........he was eating lunch!!!!!zero tolerance is a poor policy designed to help administrators be lazy........ make school officials think ..do we want people incapable of the simplest problem solving in charge of our childrens education..........this is why all of us are losing our rights as americans to have our basic freedoms........you cannot allow one rule to blanket every possible situation...........look at all situations use realistic judgment .......question everything if you just blindly say a rule is a rule and follow ....you not only just gave up your ability to think for yourself but you gave up every one of your basic freedoms

Amen, Sean-525709!! Glad some people still have common sense. If you think about it, most classroom utensils can be used as a weapon: books can be slammed into someone's head, pencils can be used to stab someone in the eye, rulers can be used to smack, so should we ban these as well? Guess some people want to build a plastic bubble around their kids. This poor kid wasn't even aware of a zero tolerance policy or its meaning!

Apparently not everyone heard that the mother had no idea her child was bringing the item to school. So stop the ranting that the blame lies with her. My son got in trouble in 1st grade for high fiving a classmate because zero tolerance states no touching another student. He got lunchroom detention for 2 days, this because he was sharing excitement with a classmates good grade. How far are we taking these rules. Even after I spoke with the principal she stated the students know not to touch one another. Give me a break this is out and out assinine.

The one thing I do not understand is how the cub scout program was dragged into this? I have been involved with the cub scout program for a very long time and as far as i know the cub scouts only encourage knife usage under DIRECT adult supervision. Just because the cub scouts teaches BB gun safety does not mean the parents can run out and buy their son a BB gun to take to school. My point is if you are going to buy your 1st grader a pocket knife (yes Swiss army knives are pocket knives) then you need to be responsible enough to teach your first grader when it is appropriate carry the knife. This suspension should be for the parent as well as the student that way they will both understand what zero tolerance means. (STOP BLAMING SOCIETY AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS.)

Maybe we should go with prison policies and only allow the use of plastic forks, knives, & spoons in the cafeteria, inspection of all items brought into the school, and basically no rights at all. No, wait a minute, this is a 6 year old in school. Ok, they can go out to the exercise area (recess) with the leg irons off. Why are we even having this conversation? That is what bothers me. Send the administrators to reform school, they obviously need it more than the little boy.

America- home of the weak and land of the slaves. What makes any punishment right in this situation? Just because somebody writes something down and names it a rule, doesn't mean we all become sheep and follow blindly.

Forget to put on your seatbelt? CRIMINAL

Forget to take out your pocket knife before school? CRIMINAL

Question any authority? CRIMINAL

In order for a crime to be committed, doesn't someone need to be hurt? This country has spiraled out of control, and the poor children suffer for it.

His mother should be in jail!

In todays world he is not too young to think about harming someone. Look at Bullying that stasrts at a young age and that can be considered the worst kind of harm to a young person. Open a newspaper and see what is going on or watch the news from around the nation. Young children are hurting each other everyday.

His mother should be in jail!

What?? Have you lost your mind?

they have gone too far in wanting to send him to reform school. He's only six for heaven sake! The mother should not be in jail. I think they've all learned something here. Now the leaders need to think a little more clearly.

Our country was built on discretion and a trust that citizens will use good judgment when making decisions. Sadly enough, due to many peoples’ ignorance, laziness, or simple inability to teach/train others how to think and use logic, discretion WAS going by the wayside. Fortunately the same fear-mongering idiots creating these strict laws/rules are often the ones filing the suits when things don’t go as planned.

Not only is this entire situation sad due to the boy’s age and innocent character but reading the comments on this topic are further saddening still. The boy did nothing wrong, those in charge of the district are to blame here and they are the ones needing to make the change and fortunately they are.

It is a common misconception that “zero-tolerance policies” reduce liability when in fact such policies INCREASE liability across the board for all those who write and are charged with implementation of such policies. Eliminating all choice from the decision making process when concerning removal of one’s freedom or specific freedoms that are available to all free citizens (such as public school) requires the ability to make discretionary decisions based on the totality of the circumstances.

This child had absolutly no intention of harming anyone and the utensil is a perfectly harmless piece of equipment! All he wanted to do was eat lunch with it! A pencil could do the same amount of harm. His mother is in no way to blame for the schools idiot mistake!

If you understand zero tolerance you are part of the problem. Go out and get a brain because yours has undoubtly turned to fodder with the little use its had. You probably voted for Obama.

Sorry Paul - it's NOT the press' fault that Cathy M is stupid - don't cut morons slack they don't deserve, that's why we are in the mess socially that we are in.

i definetley agree......with Robert are you out of your @!$%#ing mind why should his mother be in jail its like saying "you are ugly i hate you so go to jail" NO THAT JUST STUPID

I do not agree with you. Why should he be suspended? What he did was COMPLETELY INNOCENT! This same thing happened to my son when he was in second grade and thank god that the principle had enough common sense to realize that my son brought the Swiss army knife for showing tell. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong. Why should this little boy be punished for being a kid? They should have just explained to him that he can't bring things to school like that because of school policy and that should have been the end of it.

Hey, all you people who say he is ONLY 6...harken back to a story of a first grader (hmm 6 years old) who brought a gun to school and shot a little girl classmate in the head. Was he too young for punishment had he been caught? It's just too bad he wasn't stopped liked this kid was. In both situations the parents are to blame for not monitoring what their kids bring to school. These sorts of rules have been in place for a LONG time now so get with the program parents...time to take an active role in your kids lives.

No common sense was used when determining the punishment for a 6 year old who brought a camping tool to school. I think it would have been better for all involved if the principal and the guidance counselor had called the boy and his parents to school to discuss what is and is not an appropriate item to bring into school. There was no mention of previous behavior issues with the boy. I feel his school record should also have been taken into consideration before issuing such a harsh punishment.

Parents were blamed for Harris & Klebold and they were teens. Come on people, where are the parents of a six year old in this case? Yes, zero tolerance is zero tolerance for good kids as well as the rotten ones. The last thing we need is more bleeding heart subjective judgmental whiners putting the rest of our kids at risk.

You would think that to make ALL the rules clear to everyone, that the school would send home a list of what is permissible to bring onto school grounds and have the parents sign it to confirm that they have discussed the list of forbidden items w/ their child and what the consequences for an infraction are. And you know what, had a disturbed child brought this innocent piece of camping equipment to school and stabbed a clasmate in the arm, all hell would have broken loose! The liability issues are enough to make your head hurt, which is why the extreme rules are in place.

Re: seatbelts being mandatory - have you ever seen what happens to a pumpkin when it's thrown out of a car?

I do not think that the punishment was too harsh. There are rules and laws put into place. When they are broken, you don't try to skirt the issue and get around it. Consequences are put in place for violating these rules and laws. Many people are saying, oh he is only 6 years old, but 6 year olds grow up into teenagers and then adults. When do you think many mass murderers, child molesters, etc. get started? I am not saying that this is this young man's intention but you never know.

People, is it possible that the 6-year-old kid grabbed the multi-function utensil from where he had it at home, stuck it into his pocket without his parents knowing it and just brought it to school? That's what I read from the article. Kids do this all the time with all sorts of things - particularly their favorite things - without their parents knowing.

How is any parent going to know at all times what their kids are sticking into their pockets - wherever they are at - without frisking/strip-searching the child each time? This has nothing to do with parents not having an active role in their child's life.

You teach them not to bring things like that one item to school and be done with it.

Karla

I think 45 days IS TOO MUCH. How about one day? Considering kids' short attention spans, one day will seem like a lifetime.

It is unAmerican that this punishment DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME.

I am sending these results to the idiotic school.

"You teach them not to bring things like that one item to school and be done with it."

That is part of taking an active role...you just came full circle and agreed with me, MSensei. Bravo for your thought processes.

Way back when I was in school someone came up behind me and smacked me in the head as I was going down some stairs. I didn't see who it was because it knocked me dizzy and he ran off. If we had zero tolerance back then and he was caught, he would go to reform school for bringing a closed fist to school. There are a lot of items that can be dangerous weapons - a knife, a spork, a ball point pen, a book!

These zero tolerance rules are insulting to kids, parents and teachers. A teacher or a principal who has gone through college to get an education degree ought to be able to make horse-sense decisions. The main goal of education is to ensure that kids grow up being able to think things out and make decisions that will help them survive in the real world. Zero tolerance rules are unAmerican. They are something I would expect from a third world country or one where absolute obedience overrides critical and creative thinking.

TOO YOUNG! Not in this day and age. You have heard of the six year old that beat up a baby, the six year old that decapitated an animals head! No, ma'am today a six year old is not just a baby! The world is quite different than 40 years ago. It is sad but we need to wake up and face reality!!! A six year old is very capable these days. The school says no knifes, weapons, well thats the rules. And should apply to everyone.

Golfermom- do you have kids? Have you ever seen the items that students can use as weapons? For a school board to be able to create a list of items that are permissable or against the rules to bring to school would be insane. It would take a team of engineers and students would never be able to bring anything to school.

many times a school sends something home to parents, they never sign and return it, some parent do not care (this is rarely the case), some students forget to give it to their parents or lose the papers, and some parents are single parents that come home at 10 o clock at night because of work while their oldest child takes care of the kids. There is never a way to please evryone and we must all be level headed when making reccomendations for a school board

This seems to be more of the same old same old, political correctness versus reality-comparing this to "Columbine" is like comparing a 142 IQ to a 60 IQ-it's not happening. Don't bring the Law Abiding Citizen carrying a Semi Auto Rifle Legally into this Over-Thought, Over Punished issue-. 1st Incidents are supposed to be Warnings, NOT Overreactions. Political Correctness is trying to carry a lump of feces by the clean end-it's Not Possible. If the ones mentioned get in trouble More Often, MAYBE it's BECAUSE THEY DO IT MORE OFTEN. Duh! like crying Wolf, if it quacks like a duck, etc. and commits crimes, it's Treated as a Crimimal, not a Victim. This Young Man was uninformed, not criminal. Schools, like some people i could mention here, take Upon Themselves Powers they Aren't Ready to have, and Should be Monitored-Decisions need review Whenever arbitrary, not just once in a blue moon, and Certainly Not decided behind closed doors. Overpunishing Creates More trouble, and gives the Impression of Trouble where none exists-Remember that.

AMEN, shasie...finally someone that gets it.

I would like to know if and when the school informed the children and the parents of the rule and what they consider a weapon. This is clearly a smart boy and I think if the rule had been explained to him at the beginning of the school year, with pictures of weapons, he would have realized he couldn't bring his toy to school. Shame on the teacher for being so insensitive and in my opinion cruel. I would have asked what he was doing with it, determined innocense and then just put it in my pocket and give it to his mom later. Teachers are supposed to teach and help, not brainlessly condemn the innocent.

Blueray22: When do you think many mass murderers, child molesters, etc. get started?

Oftentimes it begins when a child's world is shaken by a trauma such as being severely punished unjustly. Many criminals suffered some sort of abuse as children- whether physical, sexual, or mental.

And as mentioned previously,

Putting him in a reform school where bad kids are already will just increase his chances of learning worse things. Society has got to stop punishing good people because they don't want to offend bad people.

Not that logic will ever prevail in the public school system, but in case anyone missed it, there are plenty of sharp objects in every classroom that can be used as a weapon by someone hell bent on harming themselves or others.

As many people pointed out, a sharpened pencil is one such example.

Or a ballpoint pen.

Or thumbtacks.

Rather than coating everything with rubber and sweating the stupid crap, the emphasis should be on preventing violent behavior to the maximum extent possible.

But too many public school principals, administrators, and board members are hopeless conformists, not to mention profoundly stupid individuals.

BJK - nicely put. Nothing more needs to be said.

I am going to diplomatically disagree that this is 'gestapo levels'. Take a step back and look at the big picture. Schools have zero tolerance in place in order to provide all students with a safe learning environment. I understand people being upset in that this young man does not appear to have been a threat. That doesn't mean, however, that another student might not have been. Imagine that falling from his pocket and being picked up by the student who IS a threat, maybe even having a bad day. Accountability for all is key. I'm a teacher. I've worked in elementary schools as well as an alternative high school. I have five young children of my own. I support the school disctrict in this situation. If you start making exceptions under the guise of "but Johnny is a good boy..." you are essentially undermining the purpose of zero tolerance which is school safety. You are undermining the authority of the hard-working administrators and teachers to whom your children should look for guidance and role modeling. You are sending the message that it's ok to have these rules in place as long as it isn't for MY kids. This is, in essence, showing the child that you don't have to have a consequence for breaking a rule.

How is it obvious that there was no intent? Because he said so?

No, because his principle and his teachers vouched for his character who do you thionk would vouch for yours thinking that any 6 year old belongs in reform school!

How about sharp pencils TxSteve. We don't really know the intent of those devious killer gradeschoolers. Take away shoelaces because someone may chokes someone with them. In the lunch room make them eat with their fingers because they may kill or injure someone with a straw or eating utensil. You are part of the problem rather than part of the cure.

What about the evil scourge of paper cuts. There are thousands of dangerous sheets of paper in most schools. Oh the horror!

TxSteve.

REALLY! The kid is a 6 year old boy scout. Really hope you don't have kids of your own.

TXSteve - your one of the problems - what are you paranoid - did you have a bad childhood - all they've managed to do was to prove how ridiculous this rule is - if they truly had zero tolerance then they would have to suspend most teachers - check their purses to make sure there isn't anything in their and they'd have to go back to color crayons because pencils and pens are both sharp and could be used as weapons - no jackets or umbrellas brought to school because those could also be used as weapons-wake up people and actually have some commonsense.

C'mon, Gade. really? Shoelaces serve a purpose, it's to keep your shoes on. Pencils are for writing with. The school proveds utinsils for eating with. He had no business taking it. And all I asked was how Deborah "knew" that the child had not intention of doing anything malicious with the knife.

And LOL at sporty spice. You're sure drawing alot of conclusions from one simple question. How does Deborah know that that little boy wasn't going to do something with that knife besides eat with it? You don't know about my childhood any more than you know about his.

TXSteve...you are an idiot!! He is 6 years old!!! Probably is very proud to have a "tool" that he earned in Cub Scouts and I doubt very seriously that he had intent to harm any of his schoolmates. I agree with Gade12 about sharp pencils! Those could easily be stabbed into anyone and cause great harm or even death!! I can't believe people like you!! You should just keep your idiotic comments to yourself!!

yes and the forks are sharp so should they take the forks away? even plastic forks can be dangerous... geeze

Good point thunderspirit!!! Our "officials" are running wide open with their "authority!!

Paper should be banned too! Papercuts are so vicious!

TXSteve-this kid has many teachers who know his personality, they would know if this student had horrible intentions. Even at 6 years old, if he had bad intentions, he would know enough not to walk off the bus in plain sight with it...he obviously knew enough not to let his mother know he had it on him...i work in a school, when a student has negative intentions, they do not flaunt them...be realistic.

This is insane, a six year old that is a proud Cub Scout and the school over-reacts. Why? It is easier for the school to do this than make decison that might upset a parent. Gutless and we wonder why kids do not respect the school or the teachers.

Thank goodness. A voice of reason. I was beginning to think I was alone in my opinion.

Here comes the race card!! For the sake of Pete, give racial invections a REST.

I'm sorry I don't even understand your comment. Are you suggesting a black six year old armed with a spoon/knife/fork implement is more dangerous than a white child? A cute child is less dangerous than an ugly child? What are you saying exactly?

You know, children sometimes carry equipment that can be misused by others. Maybe we shouldn't allow them on the bus with their drumsticks for band! Those metal lunchboxes could be weapons in the wrong hands. And how about those heavy backpacks?

I feel as though it's not a race thing! Everyone LOVES to toss that into the mix, yet it does not call for it! You said you are teacher or a sub. than maybe you should teach your students that no matter what the color of your skin you CAN NOT take something to school that can possibly be use to harm someone by you or anyone else! And as for the reform school i think that its a bit much for any child no matter if he or she is black, white, brown, pink, purple, or green! So there is your answer of what if it were a little black or white boy, it's not always got to do with race!!!!!! Thank you and have a great day:)

I'm guessing pens, pencils, compasses and rulers should also be banned as these could also be used as weapons. Again, shame on the school for emposing such an extreme punishment!!!! And reform school . . . come on!!!!!

I agree with Marti, most anything can be used as a weapon in schools nowadays. And as for the color of the childs skin or whether he is ugly or cute is ridiculus. At least these parents have their son in a positive program that intructs the boys in how to serve others, and to have morals. As a mother of a Cub Scout and also the Committee Chair for our local pack, I applaud these parents for promoting Cub Scouts and the school district should be ashamed of their enforcement of rules that should have exceptions. My OWN personal opinion is that all schools should implement scouting as a requirement in their cirriculum, maybe then you would have children with a basis of duty to God and their Country, to always do their best, help others before self.

Carol, I think you had a great point to make but discredited yourself after bringing up the topic of race. Sometimes people only hold themselves back because of assumptions and perceptions of what others may be thinking. Children this age, regardless of who they are, do not understand what can be perceived as a weapon. A small suspension, to learn a hard lesson, probably was in order, but not reform school. He has no proven history of intentions to harm others. Reform school will probably scare him for life.

Carol - I am so glad you aren't a substitute teacher for my kids! What a wacko! This boy is fine. No punishment should be given. Simply tell the child not to bring it in again. Possibly a note home to the parents.

These are the comments that get things going crazy, & YOU are a substitute teacher, I certainly hope my grandson doesn't have you in his school.

Come on, a black kid? Really? I guess that the Asian kids don't fall under racial profiling because all they do is study. What about the Hispanic children? Cut the baseball team. They have bats. When the American public stops using the race card we can get back to discussions about issues, which is what this article is about.

On a side note.

1. The dumb on the right should stick to the issues that are important to them. And stop complaining that a black man is president.
2. The dumb on the left can stop pulling the race card to those on the right who bring up issues, not race.

The last time I looked this was America with American Issues. Not issues with one party or the other, not issues with one race or the other. Let's all go back to the table together, regardless of party or race and start working on solutions to our issues at hand.

Do you honestly think that the color of the hard working six year old really makes that much a difference? I mean I know that our country has it's problems with treating minorities well and that there are tons of stereotypes but I think any six year old that speaks that articulately and wears a tie to school would be seen in the same light. I know it wouldn't have made a difference to me what color the child's skin is, or for that matter what the child's sex was, it is simply wrong to punish him this much. If it had just been a suspension then maybe people wouldn't be so upset but to send any six year old to reform school is preposterous!

Reform school is where kids learn how to be bad but NOT get caught instead of being bad and getting caught anyway!

Thanks for your comment Carol. I agree this tool could have been used by another child or the child could have been "just playing" with it and hurt another child. Zero tolerance means Zero tolerance. The parents need to take the responsiblity that they lacked when they gave the child the tool and explain that this is something that is not taken to school. As a substitute teacher as well, I have seen many students bring items to school that should be left at home. These items are not dangerous but still are not school appropriate, for example a psp. If the school allows this student to go unpunished then another student with malicious intent could bring a knife to school and say, "oh I didn't know." It is a slippery slope and that is the reasoning behind the Zero Tolerance policy.

I totally agree with this comment.

A similar situation happened at our school.. my daughter is in first grade also, and a little boy brought a hunting knife to school (much bigger than a camping knife). Our school district also has a zero tolerance policy, however, after the principal USED HIS HEAD, questioned the little boy, found there was NO INTENT, just normal unwise decision making process of a six year old. He then called every parent whose child had been shown the knife and offered to hold a meeting to discuss. ALL parents involved felt there didn't need to be any further meeting...the boy was reprimanded, given an afterschool suspension and told to write an essay (with his parents help) about why it is dangerous to bring knives to school. He felt horrible about it and his parents made him apologize the next day to all the students that he showed it to.

A 45 day suspension and reform school is absolutey the most appalling thing I've ever heard of to do to a six year old of ANY color. Whoever brought race into this has their own agenda...

I didn't realize that we had a black president. I thought he was a mulatto.

To Carol: Could your life become any more fearful? Why aren't we in charge of our children? Why would I fear my child? The way they are raised today the parents have no clue about where they are or what their behavior is. Children are allowed to speak rudely and no one corrects them, and act horribly. And the parents think it's cute. Parents have lost control of their children, and maybe that is why they fear them. I for one remember raising my kids. Depending on the severity of the misbehavior they were scolded or sat down or spanked. Since, God forbid, no one wants to punish their children and set guidelines and discipline them, perhaps we do have a right to be afraid of our children. Had I been that teach, I would have taken the knife away from the child, given it to his parents, and asked them to be more careful about letting him bring to school what he could accidentally hurt himself or someone else on. Reform school - crazy!

And to Carol again? What the hell are you talking about what if it had been a black child instead of a cute white child? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you inferring that the black child would have killed somone with the knife? Or are you inferring he would have been sent to prison, not reform school, because he was black? Just what are you saying? I would love to know.

You seem to have a slight case of paranoia going on anyway.

Wow. I was on an airplane and cut the $#!# out of my thumb with a plastic knife, I also know from seeing those movies with Hannibal Lecter that a teaspoon can be as "deadly" a weapon as this child's pocketknife. I mean, we all know how scary the swiss-army can be with their knives and such! Couldn't they just taser the child and have done with it? Welcome to the idiocracy everyone.....enjoy your eternity here!

It is not about race. It is about who the child is, his personality and character, that should be taken into consideration. If it where a cute little black boy or asian or hispanic and they spoke just as innocently as this child we would advocating for the same thing: suspension and reinstate no reform school. However, if the child had a history of bad behaviour and consistently violent, then yes, they should consider age and reform school. This case however is that of a six year old, at that age it would be rare to see violence to the extent of seriously harming other children.

He is a six year old boy, his color should not be and issue. So what if another 6 year old picked it up and they happened to be black? Does that mean because he's black he harbors evil thoughts? It's people who think like that that keep this country in the 'dark' ages. 5 days suppension is enough. Let the child return to school!

What if it got in the "wrong hands"? Don't you think those "wrong hands" could find something else to do evil with if they really want to? And who are these "wrong hands"? Maybe the 5 year olds?

And did anyone ever tell these 6 year olds what would happen if they brought a "weapon" to school? Should they be punished for rules they weren't told about? And you can blame the parents, but as the mother of 4 boys I can tell you that you can't always know what's in their pockets unless you want to strip search them before they go out the door. This kid probably never even thought about the knife being on that tool...he obviously wanted to use the spoon and fork.

You know, though, if they send him to reform school he can probably get some great tips about how to use that knife from some of the kids there. It will probably change his outlook on things forever. Might even make him mad enough at the school system to want to come back with a gun instead of a spoon and fork! Unless all the rest of the kids there are also there for offenses by spoon...

We'd better wake up and start using our common sense, before we lose it entirely. I'm not so sure we haven't already.

I'm sure what Carol was saying was that if the pocket knife would have been caught in the hands of little 6 year old black boy, his sentence would be less than equal to what this "cute little white boy" might already be experiencing. This 6 year old white boy seems innocent, but again if another older kid got a hold of the pocket knife what would have been the circumstances? Although the zero tolerance may sound harsh to the majority of white people out there, I think it's about time a school district stepped up to the plate to address previous equity issues. If the Board looks at this boy's case and says he's innocent and lightens the sentence - I sincerely hope that they do the same to another innocent boy who is not a "cute little white boy." I would never allow my children to take a pocket knife to school, and it doesn't matter whether it was an all encompassing gadget used when going camping. Cub Scouts earn their Toten' chip card and are trained to respect the rules to protect others. The boy must have known this, but he still took it to school. Explain that to the Board?

No, he won't learn anything like that in reform school. All the kids there are innocent too. They only brought that gun for show & tell. And the pipe bomb? It was just a science experiment. They never planned on using any of them.

How about that Home Alone kid in "The Good Son", and the kid from The Omen...bad things can come from little minds, too.

That is what should have been explained to the parents (and possibly the boy). Maybe make the boy miss a recess or two. Suspension? Way too harsh for a six year old that had no idea he was doing wrong. Unfortunatly today people would rather panic first instead of thinking "let me explain to this kid WHY this is wrong and see if he understands." That's the most I would demand in ways of punishment. Explain to the parents what happened. I saw a lady post on here that the mother should have known he had it. Obviously that person has never had children. I am amazed at the ammount of credibility that people who have never had children have when it comes to their votes in making this sort of policy rather than the common sense that those who have learned have. Simple stuff, people. It's simple stuff. I have not met a six year old yet, be they black or white, girl or boy, that has any intent to harm another child. Sure they argue and sometimes fight but even in fighting there's no true intent for lasting harm. THIS policy i can see for maybe junior high or high school but at that age? And Reform school to boot? Stupid. Outright stupid.

Why on earth do people like you have to bring race into everything you hear or read about. If the young man had been black the out come should be the same.Explain what could have happened and let it go.He is only six . Unless someone like you was in charge forbid.

If I was a teacher I COULD NOT say I would be proud of the students turned out in the past because they are making the laws we live by. Each generation gets more racial and evil. What happened to respect for others? Golden rule ( if any teacher know what that is any more) Everything today is very racial oriented! promoted by our teachers, news media, government and a lazy give me self centered society. Until we reverse these challenges it will continuely get worse. We need a GREAT revival of attitudes in this country to again become a winning nation globally.

Why are those days gone? Isn't a tool a tool? What changed? The tool? I think not! Probably society changed-We all want everyone safe and secure- but we don't want to take responsibility for our actions- We want to teach our children right from wrong, yet we don't take the time to question a school policy that is intrinsically ignorant!?! Common sense is dead-and until we start taking back some of the responsibilities we have given up to bureaucracies like school boards, public officials and the like, it will remain dead- and the America we were proud of will fade and die with it. It's a socieital illness- one we can only cure by personal responsibility.

You know Carol-1402415, sometimes a computer is an "ugly" weapon in the hands of people that do not think before they speak. The idea that the public response to this issue would be different depending on the child's race is not only wrong, but irresponsible and bigoted.

For or against the issue of suspension, apparently NO ONE thinks this is an issue of race but you. Maybe you should search your own heart for the answer because therein lies the question of race.

I am so tired of hearing about black and white. It doesn't matter if the kid is purple!. He is 6 years old for goodness sake!

What does the color of the boy's skin have to do with anything? Why are you calling his spork a weapon. I carried a weapon in Iraq, a real one that could kill people. Not a spork: you are either ignorant of what the definition of a weapon is or you being inflammatory to make your point...and let's not forget your racisim.

"What if" what if".....we can what if all day long! This is stupid! I don't blame the parents, I dont blame the boy! He was being a 6 year old!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell him not to do it again, explain why...and MOVE ON!!!!!!

oh no not the attck of the utensils.

Hey carol - are you raising your children to be suspicious of every one of color - just wondering - by some of the comments I'm reading it sounds like there are a few more paranoid people out their. How about we start raising our children with respect, honesty and fair play. Oh wait that would actually mean some parents would actually have to step up to the plate and parent - not depend on the schools to teach morals that should be taught at home. The child we are talking about is one who didn't think of the consequences of his actions with the tool because he wasn't thinking that way - he wasn't thinking I'm taking this to school to stab someone - he was thinking I'm taking this to school to use the spoon and fork at lunch - never every child is evil, but it appears a fair amount of adults are.

What a comment!!! ha!!! thats called racist if a white person was to say the same about a cute little black boy, or Hispanic boy! That was way out of line!!!!

I think Carol was insinuating that the media would treat this differently - as in since it is a white kid, people are up in arms, but if it had been a black kid, there is no story, no stink to make.

Seriously?? You people do not give children enough credit!!! My God they are a lot smarter than you all think. That child KNEW what he was doing and that he WASN'T supposed to take that to school. They can also be very sneaky, so the mom may not have known that he took it to school. But she should have made sure that he knew the rules. Race is not an issue and should never be one. The rules are there for a reason, granted I think that for a first offense reform school is a little harsh for any age. The suspension on the other hand was a proper punishment, like someone else said they do get suspended for less. If you want to blame someone for all of the problems with kids and society today...everyone should look in the mirrior. You are a product of your environment! The parents need to teach these things (manners, respect, right and wrong, and how to make PROPER choices), everything STARTS AT HOME!!! Everyone needs to quit blaming the teachers, politicians, and whoever else and starting taking responsibility for their OWN actions and their OWN children!

I've shared my own home with people from all over the world, of every race, and I happen to know that black people eat with forks, spoons, and knives, too. What if a Chinese kid brought in chopsticks? Couldn't they be stolen by a black kid who might use to put someone's eye out? ;-P Sheesh, Carol, what are the requirements of becoming a substitute teacher in your state? Ability to fog a mirror?

Alice,

But you don't know what Carol the school teacher was insinuating. Only she does. And the article was about a child and did not point out even a hint about race. If it did then Carol and you would have been correct to attack the media and our society. But let's leave those posts for when that time comes. Until then, let's concentrate on the issues.

Please knock it off with the stupid racial stereotypes. I don't care what color the kid is, what religion he is, how rich he is, etc... there should be no discussion about this innocent act (notice I said ACT not RACE) of his and certainly no reform school and other crazy punishments they're giving the poor kid. USE YOUR COMMON SENSE PEOPLE, it's a CHILD we're dealing with here, not a POTENTIAL MURDERER!!

WHERE AND WHY WOULD YOU BRING RACE INTO THIS!!! There is more reverse discrimination in this country than folks care to admit, how narrow minded of you!!

Carol is exactly right. The voting on this issue would be vastly different if the picture were of a child who isn't cute and white.

It's sad, but true.

For us to conquer racism, we have to confront it.

Mrs. Greg (You are a Today Mom according to your profile). 2nd time you are posting about race. How about confronting it when it comes up, or are you arguing that we should not have any articles about white children??? It's people like you who bring up the race card when it is not in the article that make it a race issue to confront. The rest of us appear to be color blind and hopefully we judge people on character, ethics and stick to issues.

cdahl,

So, Carol absolutely had to mean something bad with her post? There is only a 100% chance that hers was a racist comment?

What if it had been a black boy, instead of a "cute little white one".

It's funny how some people won't let the race issue die, even when it is not there. As Greg mentioned, its sad but true. What is sad but true is the fact that until people quit bringing up race when there is not an inkling of race in the article it will always be an issue that is impossible to deal with. If race is in the article, justifiable deal with it then and only then. This is not about Carol having to point out something mean, its about sticking to the point of the article which is, Is reform school too sever for a 6 year old child who brought a swiss army knife to school?

It's not about forwarding our personal agendas. Something many in this country seem to be good a doing, be da*ned with the rest of us.

Carol

Hey.....I've seen plenty of "cute little black" ones! I'm old enough to remember when Micheal Jackson was one.

Have you all gone mad? Where in the world did race enter this picture?? I'm so sick of hearing from people like you on every issue. If you have nothing intelligent to say, keep quiet.

Just wanted to mention that as addressed in this article, zero tolerance was enacted because of the disproportionate levels of punishment for minorities. It didn’t come out of the blue as most of you are saying. But your responses make an excellent case for the reason behind the zero tolerance policy. i.e. jumping to conclusions based on past experiences and demeaning a person who is simply stating well documented facts. Please realize that this type of behavior is why they started this policy in the first place.

Carol,

Hopefully, you aren't encouraging racist thinking to your students and own children.

I'd be furious if you were my child's teacher.

You need to look in the mirror and think about your own comment if you think you aren't a racist.

why does race have to be brought into this. WHY!! because people like you want to keep racism alive

What difference does color make? NONE! Gender? NONE! A child is a child, and ignorance apparently rampant. I stand by the comment I made earlier!

Thanks Carol...that wasn't racist ...she was merely stating a "fact"...had this been a little black boy, there would not even be an article about this, he would be out of that school for the rest of the year!!!!! That was her point!!!

NO! This policy has been in effect for a while, the reason this "cute little white boy" raised enough awareness is because his parents cared enough to do so. If we bring the issue of racism into everything, then race will always be an issue. I understand you are saying that people would have reacted differently had it been a black kid, i dont think so, maybe some, but not all. Just as some, but not all, are turning this into an issue of race.

Ok well this racial BS should have nthing to do with it! I think this kid was honestly innocent but in this day and age you never know! And parents are warned about this weapon stuff all the time so why suspend the kid when the mom is to blame? And also the weapon can get into the wrong hands. Since when does a school not supply sporks??? LOL

I agree with the first comment. If a cute black six year old took a weapon to school everyone would be screaming that the school was not doing enough. We are supposed to take the kids word that he meant no harm. Like kids can not lie? If you treat a kid like a moron.... he grows up to be a moron. Just because he is six does not mean you cannot treat him like an adult. I think the parents were stupid for not teaching the kid to leave the weapon at home? Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. If the school district makes an exception now it sets a precedent for the next case to be repealed. I think 45 days of reform school is way to little. I also think he should be kicked out of the cub scouts for doing something so harmful (and dumb). If he does not get the proper punishment now he will never learn right from wrong. He'll think it is okay to bring a gun to school or a bigger knife because he got away with it the first time. If I did have a kid in that class I would be very concerned over my child's safety if he is let back in.

The zero tolerance started because of school teachers' racist behavior. This rule was not on a whim. So race is involved at the core of this issue. Teachers can not be trusted to voice an opinion on this. They will always protect their little monopoly over your children.

Think about the teachers we have all met in our life. 99% are ignorant small minded dictators. The teachers are hypocrites. I feel sorry for the 1% who are not.

If you think you are free just try to up and go on a vacation with you children one week without notifying the school. They will be all over you.

The constant mention of 'common sense' is laughable. If it were 'common' everyone would have it. Clearly, this is not the case.

Efawhs - when is the last time you were in an elementary school? Times have changed, drastically! What used to be considered innocent child's play is no longer always the norm. Just a few years ago in Flint, MI a 6 year old boy shot and killed his 6 year old classmate. Take a look at the types of crimes being committed by elementary school-age children, and you just may retract your comments.

Zero tolerance came into existence to ensure that there were no favors being done for students. For example, if the star quarterback brought a knife to school, he would receive the same consequences as the troublemaker who brought it to school. Since then, as times have changed, zero tolerance is still in place, but has not changed with the times.

This is unfortunate because, in theory, it makes sense. In reality, there must be room for judgement calls by teachers, principals, etc... While some districts offer this, most do not. Is best practice to deal with these situations on a case-by-case basis? Absolutely. Is it realistic? Absolutely not! I challenge any non-educator to spend a week (heck, even a day) in a classroom or as a building principal (especially you 'Only One Voice') and see how many mistakes you make. Maybe you would even find some appreciation for the things we do and the responsibilities we take on each day.

Remember that allowing room for judgement calls also means allowing room for human error. We are all human, and none of us our perfect. I don't know what type of job you have, but I'm willing to bet you've made an error somewhere along the way.

So, before we pull the race card, jump on the bandwagon, or start throwing stones - maybe it's best that we recognize a few facts:

1 - We don't know the whole story and probably never will. We know what the media chose to report. Next week, most of us may not even remember this story.

2 - We can't possibly know the intent of the child, the family dynamic, the principal's responsibility in this situation, etc... so why are we judging based on this limited information?

At the end of the day it would be nice if we could all exude a bit more tolerance and understanding and stop being so ridiculously judgmental.

"All professions can boast, but a teacher taught them all."

Typical crap. Star. she was merely stating a "fact"...had this been a little black boy, there would not even be an article about this. Give me a break. Your facts? Backed by the notion that no articles are written, therefore what you state must be true.

All teachers complaining about 5 and 6 year old behavior needing to be constrained, therefore supporting sending our children to reform school? Give me a break. No tolerance needs tolerance. And Teachers need the right to discipline our children in their classrooms without fear of lawsuits or termination.

And if a teacher disciplines our children, then we as parents are responsible for the behavior and stopping that behavior.

And the answer is not a race answer, nor sending our kids to reform school. At this level, God forbid a child calls another a sissy or some other name and gets sent somewhere for 2 months! Again, give me a break!!!!

Carol, you ignorant slut...the only thing I was ever stabbed with in school was a very sharp #2 pencil that was impaled about three inches into my leg. Good thing it was only my leg! As for all you retired teachers, substitute teachers, current teachers.. whatever, that are caterwauling on and on about what would happen if one of those crack snortin' 5th graders were to get hold of that camping knife... Egads! Did it ever occur to any of you simpering liberal wenches that those 5th graders have access to much more dangerous items in their mom's own kitchen than a friggin' camping knife? You people need to get a reality check.

Jennifer1409600, Do you also think that if someone is caught driving without their seatbelt they should get 11 months 29 days in jail? Otherwise they will think driving under the influence is ok?

Are people deliberately misreading? Carol's point (and not to speak for her but it was clear from what she wrote) is that since the child is white and "sometimes wears a suit" to school posters are automatically assuming less punishment/innocent.

She's simply asking that if the child were black with dreads and wore whatever to school would posters automatically be giving the benefit of the doubt too. It's a valid question. And sadly I think the answer is a big no.

And she didn't bring up "the race issue", the article did. The school board and community flat out stated that the zero policy rule was started because, depending on your color, some children were punished more harshly than others for the same crime/incident.

I wish some people would use critical reading skills when responding to posts vs. just arguing without trying to understand the other person's view.

What was it that you were suspended for? Bringing a gun to school that you were only going to use for show & tell? Or bringing grandpa's WWII hand grenade "because it's neat". Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. I'm sure it was voted on by the school board and was not just arbitrarily implemented. And it would have been brought to the parent's attention and should have been explained to the kids. It's the parent's fault for not knowing that their kid was about to go psycho on a classroom full of kids.

To TxSteve,

Uhhhh, when did this kid "go psycho on a classroom of kids?" And you don't have a clue why Sigridrose was suspended but your awesome and fear-based imagination sure did paint some wild pictures. It's gotta be fun being you. Is it possible that, maybe, you didn't really read the article but MUST, as a concerned and righteous citizen, you MUST comment with your 2 bits o-wisdom? Weird that you would be from Texas, (hence the "TX"?), where, it seems, state governors interfere with investigating cases of people being executed for something that they possibly didn't even do??? My apologies to the rest of Texas!

Gimme a break! If you are such "zero tolerance" then I suppose you NEVER go faster than the speed limit!! Good for you!

This case proves that "educators" aren't interested in educating. The teacher and principal of the school could have used the situation as a "teaching momemt" for all the kids in the school.

More adults falling back on the lame and criminal "I was only following orders" excuse.

Don't let it get to you too much Clan. TxSteve seems to garner his information from movies and tv hype. From the way he looks at things we should remove all rocks from the world because my friend Joe stubbed his toe on one a week ago. I don't see him putting up statistics saying that's even remotely rare that six year olds cause the kind of harm he's spouting. Nothing concrete. Just his own fear comming out in droves. Common Sense, man. Paranoia and fear is taking over many people's common sense.

To the member of the clan,

Well I doubt he was suspended for bringing lilies to his teacher, clanmember. And where did I say that he did go psycho on the class? That zero tolerance police potentially saved someone's life. And your assumption that I was from Texas because of the Tx just makes you a moron and nullifies all future arguements. So my apologies to the rest of the clan because of your stupidity.

and LOL to joe, what does zero tolerance have to do with speeding. There is not a zero tolerance for speeding. And how certain are you that the teachers are not using this as a learning experience?

TxSteve,

In regard to your comment addressed to clan. Again, you show your ignorance. Amazing.

TxSteve - you are truly a moron - the kid is "6" how many 6 years old have you heard going "Psycho" on anyone. Get a grip and go back on your meds.

Wow, SportySpice has an attitude against anyone with a different opinion. So, what age is it exactly when people start getting evil thoughts and achieve the ability to act on them? Is it 7? 8? 13? What is the magic number? You must know because you are 100% positive that no 6 year old on the planet has ever harmed another person.

TxSteve:

REALLY?! Have you had a meeting with your mental health care professional lately? No? I believe it's time to call and set up an appointment....please do it...SOON.

The only reason you're here is to rile people up and get a rise out of them. You thrive an drama. You're being a jacka@@ and you know it. And you do it just because you can...you like the attention it provides. How sad...

I agree, TxSteve just enjoys the attention. As for the student, he had plenty of character witnesses. If a student has an intent to harm someone, they wouldn't have walked off the bus holding it in their hand. Even at six years old, they know that much. Zero tolerance began in place for drugs in the highschool levels and people got wild with it. Zero tolerance could be appropriate for a middle or highschool where students have the ability to use common sense, but at the age of 6, they are not fully cognitively developed and do not have the ability to appropriately use common sense.

And no one should ever use a 45 day suspension and reform school to "teach a lesson". It is inappropriate at any level. If a student has a severe enough problem to require that large of a punishment, they need counseling and alternative schooling.

Blaming the PARENTS? you must not be a parent to have the gall to say that. i am not yet a parent myself but even I know that kids will make mistakes, even the straight A's all sports athletes, the geeks that keep to themselves and graduate with honors, everyone. ESPECIALLY a young child. As a parent, who has time in the morning to strip search them as they walk out the door? If you have the luxury of time and can watch every move your child makes 24/7...Hurray for you! You are one lucky person to have time but your child would be unlucky to have a parent who could never trust them...grow up people!

That parent's mistake could have cost another child his life if the wrong child got ahold of it. Why don't you volunteer in the school system so that you understand what is really going on in the schools. Why was the 6 year old allowed to have a pocket knife at all? I can't believe the parents are using Cub Scouts as an excuse. I agree with the Cub Scout Master that 6 year olds do not have pocket knifes. The parents need to be investigated for lack of supervision and neglect by whoever investigates child abuse in Delaware. I am also tired of all the comments about spoons and forks. The school is concerned about it because it is a knife! We're supposed to accept the parent's statement that there were no ill intentions when these are the same parents saying it involves his being a Cub Scout, when we now know that Cub Scouts do not encourage 6 year old to carry knifes. If you were a teacher would you want to be responsible for a class of six year olds carrying knifes and all it takes is one second for one of them to harm each other whether intentionally or by accident. I hope the school administration is not as irresponsible as the parents. Administration needs to stand by their zero-tolerance so that all children can feel safe.