I also noted that if everything the boy says is 100% accurate, I hope he gets everything he deserves. At no point did I defend the principal or his actions. He may very well be wrong--if so, he should be fired. I'd just rather let someone closer to the situation who is in a position to hear all the facts to judge the situation rather than lil ol me sitting here at my computer.
Seriously why does anyone take the word a newspaper at total face value when we've seen over and over how stories are manipulated.
I'm cynical because I've been taught to be this way by my experiences with media. They are out there to sell papers, not report the news.
Serioiusly, this is a multipled sourced story. The story posted is a short story that mostly detailed one said, but the story I linked to provided every detail to the questions you asked and included many excerpts from the prinicples expulsion letter that did nothing but verify everything this kid and his parents have said. You first objection had some rationality to it, but you have fallen off that wagon.
SoftballMominVA also said: "Knives have no place in a school."
It certainly sounds like you defend the policy of denying every eight-year-old boy the ability to carry a pocket knife with him at school.
Do you have any idea how much damage can be done to a person with a sharpened pencil? What is the problem you are trying to solve by suggesting that eight-year-olds cannot be trusted with pocket knives?