Boy charged with felony for carrying sugar

suntimes ^ | February 11, 2006

[Revel]

Boy charged with felony for carrying sugar

BY JUSTINA WANG A 12-year-old Aurora boy who said he brought powdered sugar to school for a science project this week has been charged with a felony for possessing a look-alike drug, Aurora police have confirmed.

The sixth-grade student at Waldo Middle School was also suspended for two weeks from school after showing the bag of powdered sugar to his friends.

The boy, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, said he brought the bag to school to ask his science teacher if he could run an experiment using sugar.

Two other boys asked if the bag contained cocaine after he showed it to them in the bathroom Wednesday morning, the boy's mother said.

He joked that it was cocaine, before telling them, "just kidding," she said.

Aurora police arrested the boy after a custodian at the school reported the boy's comments. The youngster was taken to the police station and detained, before being released to his parents that afternoon.

"This is getting ridiculous," said the boy's mother. "They treated my son like a criminal. .. . This is no way to treat a 12-year-old kid."

East Aurora School District officials declined to comment on the case, citing privacy issues.

The district issued a written statement, which said: "The dangers of illegal drugs and controlled substances are clear.

Could get probation "Look-alike drugs and substances can cause that same level of danger because staff and students are not equipped to differentiate between the two."

The school handbook states that students can be suspended or expelled for carrying a look-alike drug.

Penalties for juveniles are decided on a case-by-case basis, but if convicted, the sixth-grader could likely face up to five years' probation, said Jeffery Jefko, deputy director of Kane County juvenile court services.

Juveniles who have prior criminal records could also be placed in a residential treatment program if convicted, he said.

Aurora Beacon-News

[Thoeting]

Can you give an example of this happening. I'm not being glib. Seriously, I've never heard of parents being shot and killed for not sending their kids to a public school.

[Pravious]

So what if somebody rolled up tobacco in some rolling papers? Is that a "look-alike drug"?

Most of my life I've had the desire to teach, and I've thought about going to back to school to get certification - but the more I think about the insane environment I'd be putting myself in, the less I think this is a good idea.

Public schools seem like the final stages of a patient on life support - at a certain point, you have to turn off the machines and say "forget about it. It's over."

[wintertime]

Can you give an example of this happening. I'm not being glib. Seriously, I've never heard of parents being shot and killed for not sending their kids to a public school. Thoeting,


Thoeting,

Because parents have never been shot and killed does not mean that police, and courts could do that to parents who are sufficiently resistant.

Just as it is very, very uncommon for a tax resister to push it that far, it would also be unlike for a parent to do this as well.....but,,,,that is the power that the state does have available.

I suggest that you check out the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association's web site. There you will find page up page of school officials sending out police and social workers. There are also a few instances of children and parent being jailed, and of the state taking court custody of the children. This HAS happened. There are the court documents to prove it.

This is what government schools are! They have the police, courts, and social workers to FORCE their will.

[wintertime]

Thoeting,

That should read:

Because parents have never been shot and killed does not mean that police, and courts could NOT do that to parents who are sufficiently resistant.

[Thoeting]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. Private schools are outrageously expensive. Typically schools that are connected with a church are the least expensive as the churches pick up the price. As an example, my in-laws belong to a Lutheran church that has a K-8 school that is free to anyone who wishes to come.

Some examples from the DC area

Bishop Ireton High School - $7,300–$11,10

Blue Ridge School- boys 9th–12th grade; $26,500

Calvary Road Christian School and Pre-school - $6,270

Hill School $9,500–$13,600

Paul VI Catholic High School, 9th–12th grade; $6,690 (diocesan Catholics), $8,750 (others)

Sydenstricker School $250–$675 a month

Public schools typically spend around 8K per student and that looks about the market average, give or take.

[wintertime]

Public schools seem like the final stages of a patient on life support - at a certain point, you have to turn off the machines and say "forget about it. It's over." (Pravious)

Pravious,

So...why are parents still sending their precious children to nut houses like this? Oh..yeah, their children go to Blue Ribbon schools ( right! sarcasm).

It's time that we start looking parents right in the eye and ask, "Why on earth would you do this to your kid?!"

[Thoeting]

Wintertime, be careful that you don't make outrageous comments that undermine your credibility. I think you have some good thoughts and ideas, but over-the-top comments place everything you say in question. You have a strong enough arguements for homeschooling from your own experiences as it is, no need to dress it up with "well, it COULD happen."

[Thoeting]

What is a "blue ribbon school?" I've never seen that statement attached to any school I've ever been at or attended. Is that something local to you?

[dufekin]

then they should ban water because it looks like vodka. and cola looks a little too much like scotch.

When I was in school, they did just that. School policy dictated that any liquid substance in the possession of a student, not sold in the school cafeteria and consumed entirely therein, was to be considered the same as alcohol. But at least they didn't press felony charges in those days--the schools never punished actual criminals because doing so would require an implicit acknowledgment of their existence.

Another school-district policy required that some off-site educrat operate the thermostat, almost invariably on "full-blast heat" no matter how hot the environs. The building didn't happen to have any water fountains, and because most of it remained under construction, had a grand total of one toilet, access to which was intensely competitive and tightly controlled.

On one particularly warm mid-winter day, we had just received a new student whose family relocated from Vermont. By lunch time, the cafeteria already had sold out of liquids, and she was showing obvious signs of severe heat stress aggravated by dehydration. Once we brought her situation to the attention of the principal, she did manage to recover with the assistance of a bucket of ice. (The school nurse declined to come to work, and given the rules and the condition of the building, no one else could even get her a drink of water.)

In the principles of school rules, punishments inflicted should apply collectively rather than to the individual criminal. Because schools cannot target drunkards directly, they instead punish the broader collective of those in possession of any liquid beverage. Another principle tells us that in a fight between a bully and victim, the victim must receive a stronger punishment for being bullied than the bully. This principle mainly protects bullies, gangs, and drug dealers who operate on school property, thus creating a haven for juvenile delinquents and other criminals.

[wintertime]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. Private schools are outrageously expensive.

Thoeting,

The following are the costs of private schools. Oh...and why the prejudice against schools that have a religious affiliation?

By the way, the tuition at my alma mater, St. Joan of Arc, in inner city Philadelphia was a mere $2,383 for the 2002/2003 school year. This is, indeed, less than the cost of babysitting for a pre-schooler.

http://www.cato.org/dailys/09-08-03.html

The most recent figures available from the U.S. Department of Education show that in 2000 the average tuition for private elementary schools nationwide was $3,267. Government figures also indicate that 41 percent of all private elementary and secondary schools -- more than 27,000 nationwide -- charged less than $2,500 for tuition. Less than 21 percent of all private schools charged more than $5,000 per year in tuition. According to these figures, elite and very expensive private schools tend to be the exception in their communities, not the rule.

Many people may think private schools are expensive because the costlier private schools also tend to be the most well known. For example, many in Houston have heard about St. John's or Tenney High School, where tuition runs over $13,000 a year. But fewer Houstonians have likely heard of Southeast Academy, Woodward Acres, or Pecan Street Christian Academy, all of which charge less than $3,000 per year, well below the city's private school average of $4,468.

Average private school tuition in other cities tells the same story: a large number of moderately priced private schools with a few very expensive, well-known exceptions. Median private elementary school tuition in Denver is $3,528. In Charleston, $3,150. In Philadelphia, $2,504. In New Orleans, $2,386.

[wideminded]

"Look-alike drugs and substances can cause that same level of danger because staff and students are not equipped to differentiate between the two."

I'm not following the logic here.

[wintertime]

Wintertime, be careful that you don't make outrageous comments that undermine your credibility. I think you have some good thoughts and ideas, but over-the-top comments place everything you say in question. You have a strong enough arguements for homeschooling from your own experiences as it is, no need to dress it up with "well, it COULD happen."

Thoeting,

If parents are sufficiently resistant of government school authorities, police, court orders, and the department of child welfare, it WILL happen. Parents are not stupid and not likely to push it that far any more than tax resisters do.

It is long past time that we properly describe the power that government schools have over our lives. See message #108.

[Thoeting]

I had no prejudice against any school. I googled private schools and tuition and then posted Catholic, Christian, traditional and military. The list was much too long to post in its entirety. I did not post the most expensive or the least expensive, but a sample from the middle and a bit out on each end. I even mentioned that I knew of a Lutheran K-8 school that is FREE to anyone. FREE is a good price. It beats 50% off every day. So, how did I show a prejudice? Again, you toss around accusations that dilute your argument.

Your post supports what I said however, the schools connected with a church tend to be cheaper. Those that stand alone tend to be more. It averages out.

[Thoeting]

Cyclical arguments are tiring. Your logic is so filled with holes I don't know which one to address first. Therefore, I will not address your logic or lack thereof.

[mysterio]

Do they advertise it as cocaine?

They sell little baggies one isle over. I think we can make the connection. It's time to nail the Kroger cartel once and for all.

They sell oregano, too. That's fake pot.

[Thoeting]

Cute. Are you in middle school? Your arguments bear a striking resemblance to those created by my sixth graders.

[wintertime]

On one particularly warm mid-winter day, we had just received a new student whose family relocated from Vermont. By lunch time, the cafeteria already had sold out of liquids, and she was showing obvious signs of severe heat stress aggravated by dehydration. Once we brought her situation to the attention of the principal, she did manage to recover with the assistance of a bucket of ice. (The school nurse declined to come to work, and given the rules and the condition of the building, no one else could even get her a drink of water.)( Dufekin)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&


Dufekin,

This is CHILD ABUSE. What you have described of your school with the lack of water, and toilets is CHILD ABUSE.

If a private facility, such as a day care, private school or day camp, did this to children the owners would be rightfully arrested.

It is long past time that government school bureaucrats are held to the SAME child abuse standars, and standards for a safe environment, as are parents and those in private businesses.

[mysterio]

You had better get cracking. I bet you most of those kides live in houses that are just bursting with fake drugs like sugar. And sandwich baggies. Time to get the DEA to kick in some doors.

[wintertime]

Cyclical arguments are tiring. Your logic is so filled with holes I don't know which one to address first. Therefore, I will not address your logic or lack thereof. Thoeting,

Thoeting,

It is of no importance whatsoever if you address my arguments. What IS important, is that citizens begin to see government schools for the oppressive, police threat enforced, unconstitutional institutions that they are.

It is long past time that the language surrounding government schools changes.

[Thoeting]

I'll leave you in charge. You seem to have more ideas of how to handle it than I do. Enjoy. I have your back, really.