Interesting story... here's the link http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?no_interstitial

The funny thing is that my 6-yo joined cub scouts one month ago, and we just purchased one of these things for a camping trip. The school board should be handling these things on a case by case basis. I think it's ridiculous that they suspended him.

I was telling this story to my mother, and my 6yo heard it and asked what 'suspended' meant. So, I explained it to him, and explained that because the fork/spoon/knife thing was sharp & pointy, it could hurt someone. His response was, 'but mommy, aren't pencils sharp and pointy?".

I saw that, too. Poor kid. I hope that they straighten it out during the hearing.

That is a shame. I don't think they should have suspended him. The schools are supposed to be teaching our kids to think, and here they are blindly following a set of guidelines without thinking.

The mother should have kept him from taking it to school, though. I know not everyone will agree, but with everything that's happened in schools in recent times, we have to expect them to be a little unreasonable and it's better to err on the side of caution.

Awww! That kid looks so sweet! He wears a suit and tie to school because he wants to? These zero-tolerance policies are more like zero-brain policies! This kid should be at school. He's the kind of kid who you'd want to hold up to his classmates as a role-model. Kids at a reform school would eat him alive. The school board there are a bunch of idiots for doing this because of eating utensils. Next thing you know, they're going to outlaw pencils and rulers. Let's just wrap all our kids in bubble wrap and keep them locked in sterile rooms.

Poor little guy. I hope he gets to go back to school soon.

I think some schools nowadays are backwards...my sons school will suspend you for being tardy too many times but they'll give a bully detention I recently spoke to my sons teacher because he told me that there is this kid in the class who hit him. I wanted to have a conference with the teacher, the principal and his parents, do you know that lady told me, "Oh your child is not the only one he hits, he hits everyone and he gets detention. We've talked to his parents so they are aware of what he's doing" Excuse me, what do you mean he gets detention? and what are his parents doing about his behavior? I let her know immediately that if my son is hit by this boy again, I give him my permission to kick his a$$ and I don't want to get one single phone call from the school. I know that its not right to teach your kids to fight but I'll be damned if my child is going to be bullied and not do anything about it.

Sorry for hijacking your thread OP, but the school system in Florida is beyond backwards

KKC-

Funny you mention that.... a good friend of mine had a very similar situation (surprise....we're in Florida too). A boy in her son's class started bullying her son (biting, hitting, spitting, etc). When she talked to the teacher about it she said the same exact thing....'oh he's not just picking on your son, he does it to other kids too. He gets detention with the principal when he does those things.'

The kid/bully could care less, he still does it and his behavior hasn't changed. She ended up pulling her son out and changing schools because the administration didn't seem to think it was that serious. They met with the teacher and the principal who actually had the audacity to tell her that her son was a tattletale.

KKC I totally understand. When my daughter was in Middle School she get punched in the face by a BOY, cause she wouldn't move from the seat on the bus he wanted, they did nothing. He then threatened her at school, cause we pressed charges, they did nothing. She then got hit by a girl who was like 150 lbs., 5' 6", in front of teachers in the hall way, they did nothing. Keep in mind my daughter was like 4'8" and about 80 lbs. I told her the next time someone messes with her crack them in a face with a cafeteria tray. I told her they'll leave her alone after that. Sure enough, someone else started picking on her. She beat the mess out that girl, and I got the phone call. Her princepal told me,"We have a no tolerance policy". I was like,"Oh really?" and then proceeded to list all the things that had happen to her and he said nothing. I said,"Just like you didn't do anything about those things, I'm not doing anything to her about this. In fact while she's suspended, we're going shopping".

I have to say that I saw the family on the news this morning being interviewed, and after seeing the "utensil" I'm not thinking that the school is so much at fault as the parents are. This is one of those little things that looks like a Swiss army knife, and it opens up with a fork, a spoon, and knife, but it's a metal knife that looks like a pocketknife, not a butter knife. I don't know if the kid took it to school without telling anyone, but from what they were saying it sounds like he had it on the bus, then gave it to a teacher who asked to see it when he was getting off the bus, so he must have had it out on the bus, he was probably showing it to other kids.

I think that the school has to look at each case individually, and they were right to confiscate the thing, but not necessarily right to suspend the poor kid. On the other hand, what parent lets their kid take anything that resembles a knife to school? His mother is apparently the co-president of the school's PTA, don't tell me that she doesn't know better than to send a little kid to school with a knife. It showed the school handbook that clearly said that you can't bring anything like that to school, so unless he snuck it to school (which is possible, him being only 6) they knew that he was taking it with him? They might know that he wouldn't do anything dangerous with it, but nobody else knows for sure, and some other kid might have taken it from him and messed with it. I can see a bunch of 1st graders being interested in that and starting to grab for it at lunchtime. Anyway...

On another note, if my kid was getting harassed at school and I got the reaction from the school that you other posters got, I'd have my kids beat the snot out of the other kids, too! And my kids both have second-degree black belts, so I know they can hit pretty hard.

And it's sad that I had to tell my kids to get physical! But hey, if thats what it takes.

My oldest ended up getting into a prestigest H.S. and is now at O.D.U. We are in a MUCH better school district & life is great!

I saw the family on the Today show this morning too....and the "weapon".

My first thought was, "hey, that's no camping utensil, that's a Swiss Army knife".

Big difference between that and "camping utensils".

I guess it's possible that his Mom didn't know he took the knife to school, but I have to agree with the school's decision on this one. Somebody definitely could have gotten hurt with that thing.....even if that was not the intent of the little boy.

I did read that the mom had no idea he brought it to school.

Apparently though the school district is backing off...now that it's all over the internet and news.

The first year I worked at my school a kindergartner brought a butcher knife in his backpack to stab the principal. He was mad that Dick had given him a detention.
When his grandmother was called to school, she looked at the principal and said he must have brought it to cut his sandwich and she's sue if they punished him.
Big shocker...that kid is in jail now.

The other part of this sad equation is school districts have to put all those rules in place because of all the lawsuits that are filed and incredible amount of money awarded by juries. I don't believe that boy should have be sentenced to that reform school for that amount of time, but I'm also guessing if he accidentally stabbed another child THEIR parents would have sued the heck out of the school district.

Jodie

The times certainly have changed.

We used to whittle while waiting for the bus each night. Oh dear me, we must have had knives!!!
During hunting season, almost every truck had rifles in the gun racks so the kids could go hunting on the way home.