Posted on 10/12/2009 9:10:49 AM PDT by IbJensen
Zachary Christie with his mother, Debbie, his father, Curtis, and the Cub Scout utensil that got him suspended from school.
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.
Zachary’s 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 was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s 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.
But, based on the code of conduct for the Christina School District, where Zachary is a first grader, school officials had no choice. They had to suspend him because, “regardless of possessor’s intent,” knives are banned.
-snip-
“Zachary wears a suit and tie some days to school by his own choice because he takes school so seriously,” said Debbie Christie, Zachary’s mother, who started a Web site, helpzachary.com, in hopes of recruiting supporters to pressure the local school board at its next open meeting on Tuesday. “He is not some sort of threat to his classmates.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
all common sense is lost. The damage being done to this child is immense and for that, the administrators should be held accountable. And just for grins and giggles, a raid on the teachers lounge might be instructive.
Good to see that all their single folders have locking blades. I have a nice scar on middle finger where a BSA non locking folder closed up on me when I was a kid.
I love the THUD!!! Great pic!
Good Lord, It’s time to clean the schools and get back some common sense.
She had been suffering since a baby with severe stomach problems...(pain after meals...following a bout of rota-virus.
However, years of specialist and tests, from Florida to Canada to Texas (Military) could not pinpoint the problem.
My daughter, researching on her own, suggested to the 'experts' that it might be "leaky gut syndrome" - She was ridiculed.
The only relief for my little granddaughter was Tums, taken after eating. She was 'found' to have one in school, brought to the principals office and grilled like a criminal before her parents were notified and, who, when they got to school, found her shaking and crying. No amount of common sense prevailed and she was assigned to the detention class for real problem kids - and no amount of supporting testimony from her teachers, who knew and loved her, prevailed.
My daughter and husband showed up at the 'hearing' the next day WITH a lawyer - the school officials were furious: "There is no need to have a lawyer!" However, having the lawyer changed the outcome quickly.
My little granddaughter was returned to her regular class - but traumatized and afraid of school.
Fast forward one year - and more useless tests with specialists - a move to Florida and a chance encounter with a Natureopath at a health fair who was offering free blood diagnoses tests.
He offered to do one on my daughter - she asked him to do her little girl instead. He took a drop of blood, put it through his test, and knowing NOTHING about her history, asked her: "Does your tummy hurt after you eat?"
BINGO... Coeliac disease aka "leaky gut"
He prescribed a gluten free diet - which worked immediately.
When my daughter told her regular pediatrician, the reaction was a snooty: "Well, I guess if it's still working in a couple weeks, you'll know."
That was 9 months ago. My granddaughter is thriving and has no more pain. (If it had continued to go undiagnosed, it could have eventually killed her. And the kicker is that, with a history of having had rota-virus, which can be a precursor to Coeliac disease, there was NO DAMN EXCUSE for all those 'experts' to have missed it.)
Naturopathic doctors, in Florida and most states, must also have a regular medical degree. Any yet, insurances won't cover it not would the proposed gov't plan.
Why?
Well, let's see. Thousands and thousands of dollars were spent on the 'experts' and tests - without results - while one simple blood anyalsis was all it took to pinpoint the problem.
Follow the money?
This is totally ridiculous. Perhaps a new school board election is in order.
Perhaps he'll come out of reform school knowing how to field strip a .45 auto.
If it’s a choice between putting an innocent little boy in “reform school” or keeping him out to home school him, I hope the parents are able to find a way to do the latter. Screw those idiots.
And don’t forget, the Cub Scouts are on the liberal ($***) List because of the Boy Scout organization ban on homosexuals. So the same people who can’t use common sense about this dangerous “weapon” in school also hate the Boy Scout organization and everything it stands for. That too could have given them incentive to make an example of this boy.
Wake up all you Sheeple who suggest it's the boards fault - it is, but they are only following FEDERAL guidelines = it's across the country...and the dumba*s educators have swallowed whole their Zero tolerance training...
You cannot fix it locally. You cannot fix it PERIOD.
The only answer is to take the kids OUT of public school. Homeschool, private school, online school, combination.
But get your kids out of the federal indoctrination camps.
Good thing he didn’t draw a picture of a gun or he would be facing prison.
IMHO:
Taking an average back pack that is taken to school on any given day and you will probably find at least5-10 items that can be made into a weapon. Rulers(wood/plastic/metal), compasses,pens,pencils,buckles and others.
Experiment by giving said back pack to a con in prison and see how many lethal things he can make.
That would be way too upscale for the little cretins, but he could possibly learn how to break in and steal yours if they kept him in there long enough. The last place a decent kid should be is reform school, they are finishing schools for criminals.
When the Congress decided not to buy any more 105s Republic Aviation took a real hit. They had to lay-off 10,000 workers on LI. They did it Christmas Eve 1963 (iirc).
While I do not agree with this zero tolerance crap I cant help wondering how this little guy left the house with the knife. I always made it clear to my kids (while they attended a public hell-hole) that x, y, and z were not permitted at school.
Two words to the school officials: Molon Labe.
“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.”
Why doesn’t she just homeschool him all the time???
I went to the website and signed the petition and wrote an email to Zach and cc’d it to the school officials and board members listed.
There is a survey about Zero Tolerance policies, and I did not like the available answer set of the last question — I am against a Federal law banning them because the Federal government has no legitimate authority in re education under the federal government’s charter to us. But I am against ALL zero tolerance, and that includes mandatory sentences and mandatory co-charges.
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