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.
I would make something with MY hands, mostly the middle fingers, and show it to the school................
Silly school
Clearly the only logical solution is to ban thumbs and index fingers at school. We won’t be able to control little kids from making gun gestures so let’s just make it to where they can’t make them anymore.
That will make us a much safer and peaceful country.
As Biden would say: One word..Home Schooling
“we have a zero tolerance policy,” said Dr. John Irion, from the Yakima School District.”
Yep. Also zero common sense. What’s next, expelling kids for what they think? Oh, silly me - didn’t Homeland Security mention they were working on that?
Hands should banned from schools.
When fingers are outlawed, only outlaws will have fingers.
I wonder how many of those at the school actually wet their pants at the sight of this kid making a gun out of his hand?
From Jane Fonda to Jack the Ripper, every successful criminal in history has had opposable thumbs.
There, fixed it.
Did the kid say "bang" when he made the gun with his hand? If so, better lock him up.
However... frankly it would depend on the circumstances and what the context of the situation was.
If he was playing a game on the playground and using his fingers as a gun to pretend to shoot bad guys or something.. then this is beyond silly.
However... I can just see an inner city school with really bad kids where some bully wanna be gangster is sitting in class picking on someone he hates by whispering after school your dead! while making a gun with his fingers pointing at the other boy and slowly dropping his thumb and making a shooting sound.
That sort of thing in an environment like that would scare the bejesus out of me, and should be taken VERY seriously.
Smart move by the school.
I mean, what if the kid had shot someome with a virtual bullet?
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