Posted on 10/12/2009 5:54:24 AM PDT by reaganaut1
NEWARK, Del. Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mothers fiancé by his side to vouch for him.
Zacharys offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary now faces 45 days in the districts reform school.
It just seems unfair, Zachary said, pausing as he practiced writing lower-case letters with his mother, who is home-schooling him while the family tries to overturn his punishment.
Spurred in part by the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, many school districts around the country adopted zero-tolerance policies on the possession of weapons on school grounds. More recently, there has been growing debate over whether the policies have gone too far.
...
Education experts say that zero-tolerance policies initially allowed authorities more leeway in punishing students, but were applied in a discriminatory fashion. Many studies indicate that African-Americans were several times more likely to be suspended or expelled than other students for the same offenses.
The result of those studies is that more school districts have removed discretion in applying the disciplinary policies to avoid criticism of being biased, said Ronnie Casella, an associate professor of education at Central Connecticut State University who has written about school violence. He added that there is no evidence that zero-tolerance policies make schools safer.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It had a knife on it as well. I noticed that no one else answered your question. Funny comments though!
When they outlaw homeschools, only outlaws will have homeschool! ;)
Ditto that.
Well, at least he actually DID SOMETHING to earn his prize.
Relative???
Or a math murderer.
Walking through Tampa airpot once. I was past security and near the gates, in a gift/souvenir shop, and noticed a coffee mug. A ceramic coffee mug, next to a glass beer mug. I started looking around the store, to see what else an evil minded person could use.
Incredible!
But hey, they've checked an 85 year old womans shoes to make sure she's not carrying a nail file.
Just think, if someone did start shooting in the restaurant...your SIL would’ve made a good shield.
Thats what insurance policies are in place for.
Decades later I still have the tip of one embedded in my leg.
Eh, that still feeds the ‘frivolous lawsuit’ beast, though.
they can have my spork when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers
FGS, this country has gone mad and I’m so fed up with it.
He drove his mother's truck home; found an old ratty pair of hand-me-down turquois courdoroy pants and had to run to catch up to the rest of the grads already marching to the field. And they still tried to stop him from participating.... "because he was late!!!"
Good thing he didnt have a No. 2 pencil. Those are deadly in the right hands. :)
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Apparently they are, I once had the unpleasant experience of being introduced to a skinny little guy who had done time in prison and he solemnly assured me that he could kill any man with a sharpened wooden pencil or a ball point pen. Ever seen the movie “Casino”?
This “zero tolerance” crap really is ridiculous. I’ll bet they have no objection to students wearing leather belts even though they are perfect for strangling someone but if a kid came in with his pants held up by a piece of rope they would freak out.
Ever seen the movie Casino?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Or the latest Batman?
What an asshat. I hope he’s managing a McDonalds somewhere today.
I do, too. Right knee. My stupid little sister. ;)
Oh, you betcha! One stab in the eye, they other up the nose...scrambled brains, to put it nicely.
It really is stupid. These things happen every few months here in ‘The People’s Republik of Madistan’ a ‘gun free’ zone. Well, except for the criminal element. For some reason, THEY always seem to have the guns and the innocent victims aren’t allowed to carry so much as a can of pepper spray!
Stupid socialist aging hippies running this town!
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