Posted on 03/05/2010 6:52:07 AM PST by TornadoAlley3
YAKIMA, Wash.- Manuel Alvarez eats breakfast and gets ready for school. He's eager but nervous. He was expelled Monday from Barge Lincoln Elementary for making a gun with his hands. His mom says it's a hand gesture that could have easily been corrected.
"He didn't know did they talk to him about it what actions were taken to tell him this isn't allowed," Lorena Hurtado, Manuel's mother.
Manuel has a clean record never in trouble before his mother says a warning would have worked or even a parent-teacher meeting. Instead, His mom says, Manuel's afraid.
"I got a call from the School saying he's not raising his hand or speaking up. He's scared after we talked about not doing any gestures, he probably doesn't want to to do it because that could be a gesture. It might get him pulled out for two days," said Hurtado.
Manuel's mom doesn't see anything wrong with her son putting his hands like this and shooting down at the ground. She doesn't think it poses an immediate threat to the school or Manuel's classmates. We took the issue to School District employees and asked them about their policy.
"When students are at school they should be concerned about learning .safety shouldn't be a concern at school, we have a zero tolerance policy," said Dr. John Irion, from the Yakima School District.
Hurtado understands the policy, but in this case doesn't think the punishment fits the crime, especially when the student in question is in kindergarten.
"A five-year-old shouldn't be held to the same policy as a 12th grader...he is in kindergarten," said Hurtado.
Lorena Hurtado is appealing the expulsion and wants to try to clear her son's record. She says she doesn't want her five-year-old to be labeled as a troublemaker.
It’s cowardly.
Blame the lawyers, though.
If this kid actually harmed someone later and the school admin did nothing about his “propensity towards violence”,
they’d be sued.
If he didn’t say “bang”, then they should just get him for “brandishing” instead of “unlawful discharge”.
I wonder if they ban gang hand signs, or only “gun” hand signs?
we have a zero tolerance policy,” said Dr. John Irion, from the Yakima School District
Probably not.
Those making gang signs would be deemed “at risk youth” and would be given a pass. Only the good students get punished under zero tolerance.
its getting to the point that i just can’t even muster up a comment for such moronic stupidty by our educators....
Let’s just ban kids from school.
That will solve everything.
There are schools in this nation that are sooooooo horrific it would be better for a child **NEVER** to attend. This is true even if it meant the child would remain totally illiterate and innumerate! ( I **seriously** mean it!)
To suggest that rules prohibiting gun signs with fingers and thumb would somehow make a school like this more safe is like putting a band-aid on pumping hemorrhage.
MY son blows things up (including his siblings) using the pictures of tanks on his pajamas. It even says “POW!” right on there!
Top that, Manuel!
How a society destroyed itself from within.
At the same time we are bannnig little kids from school for making “guns” with their hands, we are trying terrorists in civlian courts, letting more Muslims in here, allowing our political whores to be wined and dined by Islamic Swine at our expense and paid for with our petrodollars, and submitting ot an Islamic State’s insults for calling them out on a genocidal murder of millions of Christians in the last century.
Why is the GOP silent and impotent about the systematic betrayal by the left, of what was once the world’s finest public system of education?
Can’t Republicans pick an issue and fight this crap?
DO SOMETHING REPUBLICANS. PUSH BACK.
For crying out loud. There really needs to be a push for a second track in public education. Not just “home schooling” but an entire option to get kids out of these increasingly brainless liberal indoctrination centers.
It’s almost Soviet. Really the GOP needs to wake up and start pushing back on this nonsense.
Manuel Alvarez...did the school check his citizenship status before making their decision?
ONE MORE EXAMPLE of the fact that people running our educational establishments are totally out of touch with reality.
And we allow these people to actually TEACH our kids?????
They are total lunes.
My son, almost 3, loves playing guns. I foresee issues with him in his upcoming school career. Exactly because of school stupidity like this.
That’s child abuse! (Boomer Sooner)
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