Posted on 02/11/2006 4:11:34 PM PST by 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
" Maybe there's some kind of agenda to let parents know that they can be nailed no matter how innocuous their kid's behavior, they can nail them if they want to."
You are fortunate you didn't do this in today's public school system. Why, there's folks right here on FR who today probably think you shouldn't have had a Naval/Legal career because of what you did back then.
yeah...like bottled water (could be liquor) and jackets with hoods (could hide identity) in our school system. Oh.. and letterman jackets (make it hard to id and not in dress code) have been outlawed by our school system as well. I think the motto in our school system is "it is better to LOOK good than to TEACH good" (in Fernado Llams voice).
Still, I'd cut back on those hamburger buns ~ the carbs are killers.
But nooooooo... no common sense allowed!
And just to remind the WODdies... he wouldn't have felt a high EVEN had the snorted the sugar!! You DO realize that don't you?
Let's use your stash.
Sounds like a district where Dr. T would be happy doesn't it!
Good quote. It explains a lot
I had a student who liked to push others out of line and push his weight around. I worked with his mom and dad and he had improved quite a bit and had done well in class too. But one day, his temper got the best of him and he got in a fight with a kid. He was brought back to me. I forbade him from going to music and said he had to write me a 2 page paper about fighting. He WROTE FOUR and some pretty good writing too--note we're talking about first graders here. I did tell him I would have to call his mom. I guess when he got home, he was just bauling and the whole story came out. She had to try to maintain a straight face pretty hard. She had him call his dad at work and he kept saying, "I'm so sorry dad, I'll never do it again." They did ground him too. She said she thought he had gone through enough and I agreed. It never did happen again and the kid thrived in my class, eventually reaching a 5th grade reading level.
These stories apply to only first graders I imagine. It also helps that I know where each of my students live and that I am well-acquainted with many of the parents. It also helps that I know they are good parents who will do something if there is a problem and not just blame me--they'll talk to me first.
So I probably don't think that anything I say applies here, but sometimes there are different ways to solve individual problems.
Still, I'd cut back on those hamburger buns ~ the carbs are killers.
I said it in good fun of course. The parents are the ones who choose what the kid gets. I get apple dippers and salads if requested. The focus is the achievement. It gives the kids an incentive to read better and a sense of accomplishment when they get their goal. I've seen some huge improvements sometimes in just over a month. The parents get just as excited as the kids and that's what I love to see too. When you see those little eyes gleaming from a love of learning, nothing is more precious than that to a teacher.
Well, I hope you're right.
In 1861, the CSA managed to "flip" about a half of the Republic's armed forces, including the best and brightest of it's leadership.
Had it not been for the divicive issue of slavery, which potential allies in Europe - primarily England - took a dim view of, things might have turned out quite differently.
As it was, over 660,000 American lives were lost in the attempt.
America, at the time, was about the last of the "Christian" Nations to tolerate slavery.
Moslem societies, of course, still engage in it, albeit usually on a more covert level.
IMHO, the issue splitting America down the middle now is abortion.
Just incidentally, both slavery and abortion deprive individuals of their sacred Humanity.
In one case, the criterion for dehumanization was the color of your skin; now it is being an unborn infant.
America seems to have paid an awful price for the sin of slavery - how much blood and suffering will be exacted from us when the bill for the sin of abortion comes due?
Definately. And probably more than a few kids have done just that and gone on to be productive citizen, if they weren't caught and charged with a felony.
You know, it used to be that we were allowed to make dumb mistakes during childhood and learn from them without destroying our hopes for the future. What is this kid going to learn? Well, for one thing he's going to learn to read and abide by all the 'rules' because we have zero tolerance society, regardless of age.
That perfect society is on the horizon!
forget being a teacher you need to angle for the principles job next year you rock :-)
"If you get convicted of having sugar you can be put in a state rehab program what are you going to say at the meetings?"
Actually, what they will be FORCED to say is that they are an addict. This will be the only way to complete the mandatory rehab for the probation officer. If they don't LIE, they will be found uncooperative in their rehab program. What is being taught here is that bowing down to the almighty force of government is the only answer. That doesn't even touch on the NA attendance that will follow the rehab. These kids will gain more insight in the world of drugs from attending these, than they will ever learn in school.
Thank you. Logic is in short supply on this thread. Anyone ever "joke" about having a bomb in one's bag at the airport?
Fair enough. Did your teacher ask you to bring powdered sugar from home in a plastic baggie before the experiment(s)?
"Some folks are just plain ignorant regarding childhood behaviors. The sad part is that many of them are still willing to post their ignorant tripe regarding adolescent behaviors. Then they'll give you the ole "why I've raised 12 kids and 25 grandkids" BS.
Facts are, their ignorant rants regarding how children should never lie under any circumstance proves beyond a shadow of doubt they have zero experience with children."
I would also add that it is my opinion that when adults behave such as these school administrators, well that teaches the children to lie more often and in more serious situations. They will be taught that lying is a requirement for conformity to their sentence. They will be forced into rehab and NA, then will be forced to admit to a drug addiction. That will be the only way for them to meet the requirements for their sentence.
This is doing nothing more than creating contempt for law, contempt for authority, etc. It does more damage than good. And I say this never having raised any children or grandchildren.
awww..so sorry RP.
"I have never used drugs or been around anyone who did."
I don't think you are lying, but I will call you very naive. I attended a Christian High school and started at a christian college. I knew more people that used drugs in those settings than I did in the public schools I attend. In addition, I know several regular church goers that use drugs today.
The amount of drug use in our society would probably be very shocking to you.
That is very funny. A similar thing happened with some kids at our school recently. The boys who deliberately packaged sugar and brought it to school in baggies in order to pass it off as "cocaine" and sell it to each other were caught. They were given in school suspension for a week or two. As soon as they returned to class, they had another participant who was not caught go around and threaten all the kids who could have snitched. They plan to shoot the snitch with a paintball gun. It makes me wonder if the principal should have given them a real suspension.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.