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5-year-old boy handcuffed in school, taken to hospital for misbehaving
New York Daily News ^ | January 25th 2008 | CARRIE MELAGO

Posted on 01/25/2008 5:28:47 AM PST by fweingart

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To: Surtur

My kids went to public schools and I had my share of problems...and they eventually learned that I was right, but they made the whole situation an adversarial one. The school administration are not the parent.

They attempted to commit a five year old. There are alternate schools for children with behavioral problems with a better adult child ratio. With my history, I can easily believe the school administration lost it in a power struggle with the mom. The mom may well be resisting the idea that her son was having problems.........but to be unable to deal with a five year old having a temper tantrum is outrageous. I cannot fathom a kindergartner being handcuffed and taken away by the men in little white coats to the funny farm. It is unreal.

As to calling this violent....this is not a 200lb middleschooler.....this is a kindergartener.


201 posted on 01/25/2008 1:06:59 PM PST by tioga (Beware: conservative with back to the wall. Proceed with extreme caution.)
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To: fweingart
Wonder what the 'father' has to say?

I wondered how quickly the comments would get stupid on this thread. It never occurred to me that it might be post #1.

202 posted on 01/25/2008 1:09:30 PM PST by TankerKC (You don't have to believe everything you think.)
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To: wideawake
As I noted...

If the conditions did not fit under the prior approval [...]

203 posted on 01/25/2008 1:17:08 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: wideawake; AmericaUnited
Not one of them has, to my knowledge, broken a three-quarter inch thick piece of reinforced glass in their school.

I'd bet BIG money that there is not a piece of glass anywhere in that school that is three quarters of an inch thick, or even a half inch thick.

204 posted on 01/25/2008 1:19:10 PM PST by rmh47 (Go Kats! - Got Seven? [NRA Life Member])
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To: tioga
violence
c.1290, "physical force used to inflict injury or damage," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. violence, from L. violentia "vehemence, impetuosity," from violentus "vehement, forcible," probably related to violare (see violate). Weakened sense of "improper treatment" is attested from 1596. Violent is attested from c.1340. In M.E. the word also was applied in ref. to heat, sunlight, smoke, etc., with the sense "having some quality so strongly as to produce a powerful effect."

The above definition of violence plainly says that the child's actions of breaking a door glass and knocking stuff off of the principal's desk were violence because those actions resulted in damage. Obviously, one doesn't need to be a 200 pounder to be violent.

205 posted on 01/25/2008 1:19:37 PM PST by Surtur (Free Trade is NOT Fair Trade unless both economies are equivalent.)
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To: tioga
this is a kindergartener.

The kid is supposedly 5 years old, even though he is as tall and heavy as a ten year old.

206 posted on 01/25/2008 1:20:12 PM PST by wideawake (Why is it that those who call themselves Constitutionalists know the least about the Constitution?)
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To: ELS; najida
At this point, I tend to agree with najida that there is a lot of information and history of this family that we don’t know.

Agreed. It's also encouraging that the mother pulled the kid from public school. If only that could be done with 100%, we might be in good shape someday!

207 posted on 01/25/2008 1:20:17 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: wideawake

My one nephew was a 12lb 13oz preemie.......he was big for his age all through school and is a very tall young man now. He looked years older than he should and lots of people expected lots more of him not realizing his real age. It happens.


208 posted on 01/25/2008 1:22:19 PM PST by tioga (Beware: conservative with back to the wall. Proceed with extreme caution.)
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To: r9etb

The handcuffs are one issue.

A separate issue is that they figured he was safe enough to remove the handcuffs, but nonetheless refused to release him and insisted on taking him to the psych ward.

That’s a separate issue.

It’s funny to note that so many FReepers can be rightfully cautious about the government intrusion into gun rights...yet at the same time, trust them on other aspects. At what point do you say: “Heck, no...it’s the parents’ kid, not the government’s.”


209 posted on 01/25/2008 1:24:00 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: fweingart
Wonder what the 'father' has to say?

I would think he woulda done all his talking with his fists. You handcuff my child for anything short of a crime, I dont give a shit what he did, and I'll beat your ass.

210 posted on 01/25/2008 1:26:48 PM PST by SwankyC
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To: Surtur

Violence and five year olds do not go together. You and I will not agree.......you talk about this child as if he is a criminal. Chill.


211 posted on 01/25/2008 1:28:26 PM PST by tioga (Beware: conservative with back to the wall. Proceed with extreme caution.)
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To: fweingart

He punched an assistant principal and destroyed property?

He’s lucky he wasn’t tazed.


212 posted on 01/25/2008 1:28:37 PM PST by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: GovernmentShrinker

Yes, but not always. To say that children’s illness or condition is always the parents’ fault is ridiculous.


213 posted on 01/25/2008 1:35:35 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: Eska

Agreed...and their actions didn’t do so.

At least the kid has learned that you can’t trust the school administration and they don’t really have your best interests in mind. Sounds like it helped to bond the family more, once the kid got out of the State’s hands.


214 posted on 01/25/2008 1:37:36 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: ClearCase_guy
I usually support school discipline. However, this situation sounds like it was handled badly. Handcuffing, and dragging a 5-year-old off to a psych ward is ... ahem ... heavy-handed.

They should just have called Mommy and let the spoiled brat destroy everything in sight whil they waited for her, I suppose.

1. His mom and a school source said Dennis threw a tantrum inside the Ridgewood school at 11 a.m. on Jan. 17.

2. Dennis was taken to the principal's office, where he apparently knocked items off a desk.

3. School sources said Dennis had punched an assistant principal the day before he acted out in class.

4, The sources also said he broke glass in an office door a week earlier.

Vasquez immediately withdrew Dennis from PS 81 and enrolled him in a private school, Grand Street Settlement.

Does that give you any idea why the little nipper is hard to handle?

Now, I can't comment on this particular child, but I will say that there are kids with special needs that should not be in standard schools. Schools are not capable of handling some of these kids with physical, mental, and/or behavioral problems. The mismatch between student and school can sometimes lead to egregious mishandling of difficult situations. It's bad for everyone.

Well, I can -- what the little snot needs is a paddle applied to his butt regularly, by an expert.

215 posted on 01/25/2008 1:40:05 PM PST by Turret Gunner A20
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To: Gondring
That’s a separate issue.

Agreed. That part seemed a bit over the top ... unless (as there usually is) there's more to this story.

At what point do you say: “Heck, no...it’s the parents’ kid, not the government’s.”

It's a grey area, actually. Parents' rights over their kids aren't absolute: there may comes a point where one has to choose between the kid's well-being, and the right of the parents to raise the kid as they see fit. (I use the plural parents for purely grammatical convenience.)

A neighbor of mine is a teacher in a school with a high proportion of lower-class kids. She's a fine lady and a good teacher: smart and dedicated.

Because of her educational and career background, many of her kids have behavioral difficulties not unlike those described in this article. Some of her students' parents are truly awful ... to the point where you begin to wonder if it's not better for the kid to for the gov't to take them away and put 'em someplace safe.

216 posted on 01/25/2008 1:40:37 PM PST by r9etb
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To: fweingart
Click the pic to see how to handle rowdy kids
217 posted on 01/25/2008 1:43:28 PM PST by DocRock (All they that TAKE the sword shall perish with the sword. Matthew 26:52 Gun grabbers beware.)
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To: fweingart
Ortiz routinely picks up Dennis from class. She said she's never seen him behave in a way that would require him to be restrained.

"I was so upset. There's no reason to handcuff a baby of 5 years old, traumatize him that way," she said.


Whatever the authorities did wrong in this case (and appears there may have been plenty of errors), I think I see one potential source of the kid's behavior problems. A 5 year old child is not "a baby"....but treat him as such, and he will learn to take advantage of it.
218 posted on 01/25/2008 1:44:17 PM PST by beezdotcom
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To: AmericaUnited
You obviously must have zero experience with normal, rambunctious 5 year old boys. Unless the kid pulls a gun on the school staff, this is an extreme overreaction to fairly normal behavior.

And it should be handled in a workable way -- warn his butt good, each and every time. Do that and the number of times will markedly decrease in a hurry.

219 posted on 01/25/2008 1:45:30 PM PST by Turret Gunner A20
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To: najida
There are about 6 various types and degrees of ADD and ADHD. It’s real, just way a way overused term.

BINGO!

Even those with the different types have trouble understanding the others. For example, I know a boss who was classic hyperactive ADHD unable to understand why his advice wouldn't work for his "Primarily Inattentive" ADHD (what should be called "ADD") employee.

Even the official terminology is ridiculous, with it all being called "ADHD"...even if there's no hyperactivity. That yields us "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder without Hyperactivity."

It's also a shame that the general public doesn't realize that brain scans reveal physiologic differences between ADHD and normal folks. The different flavors of ADHD are real conditions....the problem is, as you said, overuse of the term.

220 posted on 01/25/2008 1:50:01 PM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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