The link below is to an article posted at “thestate.com” concerning a 10 year old boy who was suspended for having a weapon on school property. The weapon was a broken pencil sharpener.
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/521009.html From this link you can access the original article as well as a copy of the police report describing the incident.
As the article states, the pencil sharpener was the type many school children carry in their supply boxes. The problem was that the sharpener was broken. The article goes on to say that a teacher at his school saw the boy with what seemed to be a small razor blade, and reported it to the assistant principal. The sheriff’s police were called and the boy was, apparently, taken into custody.
The article also contains a copy of a letter sent home to parents by the school after the incident, explaining what happened and assuring the parents that their children are safe when at school. This letter goes on to suggest that some of the assertions made in the article were incorrect, including that the pencil sharpener accidently broke in school. Other inaccuracies could not be challenged for reasons of “student confidentiality”, according to the letter.
Give me a break! The letter by the school is an obvious attempt to cover their ass after making the incredibly stupid decision to report this to the police, and then being subjected to media scrutiny that makes them look justifiably foolish. The police report is most amusing in contrast to the gross over-reaction by the school administration. Unless the student in question had been a problem in the past, the reaction of the school was worse than excessive, it was incompetent. The article, as well as the police report, implies that the student was so upset he was crying at the meeting with the adminisrator and the police The boy was suspended for two days.
The police report concludes that the student meant no harm and only intended to use the “blade” to sharpen his pencil. The school is unconvinced, stating that they are keeping the weapon pending a hearing to see if any further actions need to be taken.
Has common sense been completely flushed down the crapper? Are schools so afraid of being accused of doing something wrong that no one can make a rational decision anymore? Has it come to the point where rules and regulations are so restrictive that an administrator has no choice but to treat petty problem this way?
