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5-Year-Old Arrested For Candy Outburst At School
ClickonDetroit ^ | March 18, 2005

Posted on 03/19/2005 7:40:47 AM PST by ShadowDancer

5-Year-Old Arrested For Candy Outburst At School

POSTED: 12:52 pm EST March 18, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Florida school officials are apologizing for the arrest of a 5-year-old, whose tantrum landed her in the back of a police cruiser.

Officials said the girl threw books and boxes, kicked a teacher in the shins, smashed a candy dish, hit an assistant principal in the stomach and drew on the walls. She was upset when a teacher took away jelly beans she was counting in a math exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary School.

Minutes later, she was under arrest for battery. The 40-pound girl's hands were bound with plasic ties and her ankles in handcuffs.

A school superintendent said campus police should have been called. He said school officials "never want to have 5-year-old children arrested."

No charges were filed and the girl went home with her mother, who said her daughter will not return. In her words, "They set my baby up."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: banglist; discipline; donutwatch; govwatch; students; zerotolerance
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Comment #101 Removed by Moderator

To: green pastures
I just remembered the State of Florida printed Rush Limbaugh's private medical records and medications in the local newspaper, or was it a web site?

You are right, there is too many to keep track of. Thanks for adding to the list.

102 posted on 03/19/2005 5:17:39 PM PST by harpo11 (Congress We Need More Steroid in the War on Terror. Let Baseball worry about Baseball.)
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To: sweetliberty
I don't know if they ever did find the child. Thanks for adding to the list of "What the Heck is Going on in Florida?"
103 posted on 03/19/2005 5:18:43 PM PST by harpo11 (Congress We Need More Steroid in the War on Terror. Let Baseball worry about Baseball.)
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To: stuck_in_new_orleans

I'm stating a fact. A spank on the bottom would have solved the tantrum issue.

The matter of school's dicipline systems being screwed up, however, is another matter.


104 posted on 03/19/2005 5:38:53 PM PST by Happygal (liberalism - a narrow tribal outlook largely founded on class prejudice)
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To: lotusblos
The teacher was wrong to give candy to the the child for sure. Candy falls right behind cigarettes and drugs on my list of what I don't want a teacher to give my child.

Make sure any teacher your child has knows this up front. Candy is fairly common in schools these days. Mostly it is given as behavior rewards. Occasionally, it is used to make a lesson more interesting. For example, it seems fairly common for 1st grade teachers to use small bags of M&M's or skittles for the children to sort and graph the colors. I've seen bar graphs made with empty candy bar wrappers after Halloween.

Do you object to all candy or just candy as a bribe?

105 posted on 03/20/2005 11:21:52 AM PST by Dianna
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To: Dianna
" Make sure any teacher your child has knows this up front. Candy is fairly common in schools these days. Mostly it is given as behavior rewards. Occasionally, it is used to make a lesson more interesting. For example, it seems fairly common for 1st grade teachers to use small bags of M&M's or skittles for the children to sort and graph the colors. I've seen bar graphs made with empty candy bar wrappers after Halloween.

Do you object to all candy or just candy as a bribe?"

I object to candy as a bribe and I object to using treats to raise money. When I went to high school there were two or three fat kids in my entire school (450+ in the graduating class), at my daughter's high school I would estimate that less than 25% of the kids are not fat. Naturally, the school supplies over priced junk food for the kids in multiple vending machines. But, using candy as a motivator is typical of todays public school system. Take the easy path, show movies instead of teach, and continue to graduate students who need remedial reading and math classes before they can go on to college.
106 posted on 03/20/2005 3:03:33 PM PST by lotusblos
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To: NRA1995
"B**ch set my baby up...."

Someone set up baby the bomb.

107 posted on 03/20/2005 3:08:03 PM PST by humblegunner (We ain't subject to terror, but it's unwise to irritate us.)
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To: ShadowDancer

108 posted on 03/20/2005 3:08:56 PM PST by cmsgop ( RIP "Danny Joe Brown")
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To: BJungNan
In some instance you may have to handle them as you would a wrigling [sic] frenzied cat. Just get a hold of them and the remove them from the area.

And now mommy owns you, and everything that you have worked hard all your life to earn. What part of "teachers are forbidden from even touching students" do you not understand? Despite what you would "like" to see happen in a "sane" world, we live in the very insane (and grotesquely litigious) world of the here and now. So, under the present circumstances, what would you have the adult do in this situation? And are you willing to pledge your personal wealth and belongings as collateral for the teacher who follows your advice?

109 posted on 03/20/2005 3:30:51 PM PST by Charles H. (The_r0nin) (Still teaching... or a reasonable facsimile thereof...)
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To: cmsgop

It's a good thing I don't have any boys or I would swear he was mine.


110 posted on 03/20/2005 4:15:48 PM PST by ShadowDancer (As for the types of comments I make,sometimes I just, By God,get carried away with my own eloquence.)
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To: Charles H. (The_r0nin)
In some instance you may have to handle them as you would a wriggling [sic] frenzied cat. Just get a hold of them and the remove them from the area.

First, "wriggling" is the word I intended. Nothing wrong with it as I used it. Happy to have you suggest another word though.

OK, that side point aside let's wriggle into the rest of your reply.

And now mommy owns you, and everything that you have worked hard all your life to earn. What part of "teachers are forbidden from even touching students" do you not understand?

If you can't touch the student, remove all the other kids from the classroom and leave the kid in their alone. That will have the same effect as removing her.

Despite what you would "like" (what are the scare quotes about?) to see happen in a "sane" world, we live in the very insane (and grotesquely litigious) world of the here and now. So, under the present circumstances, what would you have the adult do in this situation? And are you willing to pledge your personal wealth and belongings as collateral for the teacher who follows your advice?

Yep, I would do that. I'm sure if they did it my way the problem would be resolved. In my job I have to deal with the seemingly impossible and contradictory all the time. Solving what no one on the team can solve is exactly my job description.

I'm curious, is solving a wiggling 5-year-old in your (a teachers) job description? If not, they why do someone else's job?

111 posted on 03/20/2005 11:28:01 PM PST by BJungNan (One of these days I will actually read the article before posting!)
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To: cmsgop
Don't you just hate people that can't do "the finger" right. Stupid kid.


112 posted on 03/20/2005 11:30:08 PM PST by BJungNan (One of these days I will actually read the article before posting!)
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To: sweetliberty; harpo11
And don't forget, "misplacing" a child in foster care. Did they EVER find that kid, by the way?

No, they never found her but the foster mother was just convicted of killing her.

113 posted on 03/20/2005 11:37:39 PM PST by bad company (Stupid SHOULD hurt)
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To: bad company

D*mn. I didn't know that. Thanks.


114 posted on 03/21/2005 5:12:34 AM PST by sweetliberty (Somebody please pull the death brigade's feeding tube!)
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To: ShadowDancer

I could see my 3 1/2 year old doing something similar, if she was in a particularly bad mood (i.e. from a lack of sleep, or sick, or whatever). In fact, she's hit other kids and teachers, and thrown a couple of things.

Make no mistake, I consider that type of behavior to be UNACCEPTABLE from my 3 1/2 year old, let alone a kid 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years older than that. My wife and I have punished her for that in various ways, and the frequency has dropped considerably (which is probably due at least as much to the normal maturation process as to our punishments). BUT...

NO FREAKING WAY will I EVER tolerate any school official having my kid arrested and bound for nonsense like this. The kid in this article was a brat, no doubt, and did a bunch wrong - but she was 5 YEARS OLD. How about calling the parents and having them deal with it? How about suspending her for a week or two? This utter lack of judgment and concern about the effect of such treatment on a small child deserves a lawsuit (or a good beating for the principal from Dad, but that's probably not legal). I say that as someone who is NOT in favor of any kind of abuse of the legal system.


115 posted on 03/21/2005 12:23:56 PM PST by Ancesthntr
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To: ShadowDancer
Arresting 5 year olds?

No wonder cops aren't respected anymore.

116 posted on 03/21/2005 12:24:56 PM PST by Dan from Michigan (Mark Sanford in 2008!!)
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To: MaryFromMichigan
My daughter is 5, and yes, at times she does throw tantrums.

Would she ever physically go after a teacher, much less a Police Officer? Not a chance in hell...

I agree that calling the Police was extreme. I do realize that the school personnel's hands are tied. My reaction would have been to remove the child from the class, (ever heard of being sent to the office?) then call the parents to come get them.

Trust me, if this had been my daughter and I was called, she would have much rather seen the police show up than me.
117 posted on 03/21/2005 12:38:58 PM PST by cspackler (There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.)
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To: Dan from Michigan
Please officers! Protect us from the formidable 5 year old tantrum throwers!

While at the same time pedophiles are kidnapping our daughters from their bedroom windows and slaughtering them.

Arresting and cuffing a 5 yo is absurd, under ANY circumstances imo.

We as a country have got to get our priorities straight.

PS: Bring back the school paddle and use it when needed. If a parent doesnt sign a form allowing it their kids dont go. I bet the cops were embarrassed to be put in this ridiculous position.

118 posted on 03/21/2005 12:49:00 PM PST by No Blue States
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To: Ancesthntr
Most kids will try the physical side of things when they are learning what behavior is acceptable or not. The difference is, the FIRST time my daughter tried it, I didn't talk to her, I didn't try to "explain" to her why it was wrong... I put the hammer down on her and made it clear beyond a doubt that it was not going to be tolerated. She quickly understood that we are not equals in the house, and that her mother and I are in charge.

It never happened again. Oh, she still has the normal tantrums of a 5 year old, and those things we do "talk about" and discuss. But hit a teacher or a Police Officer? Never.
119 posted on 03/21/2005 12:50:20 PM PST by cspackler (There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.)
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To: Happygal
However, a quick spank on the bottom might have solved the 'tantrum' issue.

Agreed. I still remember when I was in elementary school, my parents would tell my teacher every year, in my presence, that he/she had their permission to use corporal punishment on me if I got out of control. That permission worked wonders in helping me control myself. :-)

120 posted on 03/21/2005 12:52:30 PM PST by TChris (Lousy homophobic FReeper troll, religious right, VRWC member)
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