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Posted on 04/23/2013 8:48:52 AM PDT by grundle
Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a civil rights lawsuit against a Chicago public school district on behalf of a second-grade teacher who was suspended after he displayed garden-variety tools such as wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers in his classroom as part of a "tool discussion" in his class.
Despite the fact that all potentially hazardous items were kept out of the students' reach, school officials at Washington Irving Elementary School informed Doug Bartlett, a 17-year veteran in the classroom, that his use of the tools as visual aids endangered his students. Bartlett was subsequently penalized with a four-day suspension without pay - charged with possessing, carrying, storing or using a weapon.
The complaint charges that Bartlett "suffered humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering, and lost wages, and was suspended for four days" - and asks for "nominal and compensatory damages" and for the suspension to be expunged from the teacher's record.
"This school district's gross overreaction to a simple teaching demonstration on basic tools such as wrenches and pliers underscores exactly what is wrong with our nation's schools," said Rutherford Institute Pres. John Whitehead.
"What makes this case stand out from the rest is that this latest victim of zero tolerance policies run amok happens to be a veteran school teacher," Whitehead said.
None of the tools were made accessible to the students. When not in use, the tools were secured in a toolbox on a high shelf out of reach of the students. They were used to demonstrate the proper use of tools.
Shop teachers will be executed
Indeed, it was the knife that got him suspended. However, in his defense the claim is that the prohibition applies to students (no scissors in the class room or knives in the student lunchroom available to servers?). PC runamuck - I suspect most inner city kids have them available even if they don’t carry them to school.
Not that I entirely disagree, but if you plan to show your kids a knife and boxcutter better run it by the office first for this exact reason.
Do they pat down for pens and pencils in those schools?
There obviously wasn't a hoe present or they would have jumped all over the racist/sexist angle.
If it’s a typical urban setting, these kids will certainly never see dad using a tool or be taught how to handle one. Seeing a tool might make the kids want to do some kind of work instead of becoming public charges. Oh, the horror!
When Lil’ Miss was 3, I let her use a real kitchen knife to slice cucumbers from the garden to make pickles. All ten fingers survived without a nick and no one was decapitated. No one was blown to bits when the jars were put into two pressure cookers (lids off for hot water bath, of course). Let’s count how many strikes that is - child abuse, child labor laws, garden tools, sharp knives, hot stove, pressure cookers and conservative white Christian productive taxpayer. When Lil’ Miss was older, with permission of the principal who laughed off any concern, took convict-made weapons to school for show and tell. It’s frightening how much this country has changed in the last half dozen years.
lol...we made swords, sai’s, throwing stars, anything we could fabricate out of metal that would injure another person. Metal Shop was awesome.
As always, the journalism majors and the headline writers are ignoring the facts of the story in an effort to gain ratings.
I just used an impact driver (turbo-charged screwdriver), cordless drill and a ratchet wrench in my garden.
Calling this madness is a copout. It’s not madness. It’s a liberal “mind” at work, working hard to keep the masses subjugated.
Liberalism is a mental disorder, eh?
So, I guess I’ll keep quiet about the speedsafe locking knife (Kershaw) I keep on my person while at work (school).
I said wait I have one I pulled out my 4 inch cold steel Voyager flip it open one handed cut the bands closed it one handed and put it back in my pocket all in about 3 seconds.
I looked at him and said whats a man with out a knife. Took my items and went and checked out.
You don’t live in Chicago. hee hee hee
Yep. That is the proper response. It is a tool that can be if needed a weapon. Dual use.
But the pupils are supposed to learn about tool use at Scout meetings. Then they can receive their proper dose of homosexual indoctrination along with other types of "tool use".
For that matter though, a well constructed ball point pen can also be a powerful weapon. (Machined metal case, belled top, metal ink cartridge)
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. I am not always convinced that is so.
Might mess up their mani-pedi's.
In Chicago...They make guns...
In Home Ec, they make drugs...
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