Six year old faces 45 days in jail for his Boy Scout "spork" utensil

[Anti Federalist]

File under: Everybody is a felon.

:mad:

It’s a Fork, It’s a Spoon, It’s a ... Weapon?

NEWARK, Del. — Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother’s fiancé by his side to vouch for him.

Zachary’s offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s reform school.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?_r=2

[dannno]

Are you equating reform school with jail?

Oh, I see.. you are... just checkin ;)

[Dr.3D]

Oh my... what ever are they going to do when they find out pencils are weapons?

[Anti Federalist]

Are you equating reform school with jail?

Oh, I see.. you are... just checkin ;)

If you can't leave, and there are bars on the windows and bunch of guys ready to thump your head if you try, then it's jail.;)

[Captain Bryan]

Oh my... what ever are they going to do when they find out pencils are weapons?

I always made that argument with my teachers. They never had a counter argument for it.

[dannno]

“There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the president of the Christina district’s school board. He defended the decision, but added that the board might adjust the rules when it comes to younger children like Zachary.


But...but....he ALL GOD DAMN MORNING to stab somebody's eye out with that knife and he didn't!! How do those rules stop kids from pulling a knife out?

and ya.. pencils can poke people's eyes out as well.

[Dr.3D]

“There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the president of the Christina district’s school board. He defended the decision, but added that the board might adjust the rules when it comes to younger children like Zachary.


But...but....he ALL GOD DAMN MORNING to stab somebody's eye out with that knife and he didn't!! How do those rules stop kids from pulling a knife out?

and ya.. pencils can poke people's eyes out as well.

I think I would rather have someone try to poke my eye out with a spork, I know a pencil would do a better job and be easier to do it with.

[mamakar]

Zero tolerance, zero intelligence. And these are educators??

[Oyate]

I'm just glad I'm not growing up in today's schools. In the mountains where I grew up, just about every male had a Buck knife--not a cheesey scout knife but a hunting knife--in a belt pouch. We took them to school where they started PILING weapons in our hands: javelins, recurve bows (with field-tipped arrows not suction cups) and we had a rifle range in the basement. Nobody got shot, stabbed, jabbed or otherwise injured from these things. We had the usual football and baseball injuries.

Man, if there was an emergency and the cops or national guard couldn't have got there in time we could have just turned out elementary schoolers out to handle the problem. I think us kids were raised with twice the sense that most adults of today have achieved. Zachary Christie knows this now.

Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.

[JK/SEA]

''Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.''

yep....

Maybe we could get a pocket constitution to this young man.

[Anti Federalist]

''Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.''

yep....

Maybe we could get a pocket constitution to this young man.

My thoughts exactly.

[Cowlesy]

I remember when you could take your scout buck-knife through the airport on your body! When I went out to Philmont Scout Ranch we all had them.

[Anti Federalist]

I remember when you could take your scout buck-knife through the airport on your body! When I went out to Philmont Scout Ranch we all had them.

What you recall is freedom, before we turned into a bunch of sniveling, fear laden pansies.

:mad:

[Captain Bryan]

''Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.''

yep....

Maybe we could get a pocket constitution to this young man.
They'll probably take that away from him too.

[Cowlesy]

What you recall is freedom, before we turned into a bunch of sniveling, fear laden pansies.

:mad:

It gets worse!

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/01/fruitport_schools_fourthgrader.html

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090917/NEWS03/909170347/-1/COMMUNITIES13

[tremendoustie]

''Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.''

yep....

Maybe we could get a pocket constitution to this young man.


Or one of these: http://securityedition.com/, with the fourth amendment printed in nice friendly red letters, so it's easy for them to read. I picked one up from a penn and teller show.

Who says it's impossible to enjoy security checkpoints? :D

[catdd]

Something absolutely has to be done about the insurance lobby.

How would they like it if every kid in America showed up with a knife tomorrow in protest of this nonsense?
What could they do?

[MelissaWV]

Only time I got in any real trouble at school... was when I brought a paring knife (citrus is messy to peel with one's hands).

Around that same time there was a girl who wasn't allowed to graduate. It seems she had been moving into her college apartment, and a knife had fallen out of one of the boxes and was in her car. Someone walked by and spotted it, and reported it, and she was charged with bringing a weapon onto campus. She didn't even know it was there and it was on the floor of her car lol.

What always got me about that case is... at the end of my senior year, a classmate hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and scraped along about a dozen cars. You're allowed to bring a vehicle on campus... but not a spork. Go figure?

[phill4paul]

It gets worse!

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/01/fruitport_schools_fourthgrader.html

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090917/NEWS03/909170347/-1/COMMUNITIES13

"That the children told adults about it was great, because it was taken care of within minutes," he said.

They are training them well these Hitler Youth!

The new America were feardom is substituted for freedom.

[pcosmar]

It gets worse!

]

It always does. :mad:

[Reason]

I know I feel safer.

[squarepusher]

It gets worse!

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/01/fruitport_schools_fourthgrader.html

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090917/NEWS03/909170347/-1/COMMUNITIES13

my mind boggles


babygirl5299
Posted by babygirl5299
January 27, 2009, 10:50PM

A knife is a knife how ever you look at it! if you let a cake knife slide by whats next? there is no need for a child to bring that to school! and I agree with the action, if it was my child i would excpect the same from the school!i think they have got "serious" and that is why they are so stiff on any knife. I personaly wouldnt want any kid to be on the receiving end of any knife regardless of how sharp it is or is not! while it may have sounded insane it is not! there are reasons behind why the school takes the actions that they do! I know if another child tryed to stab my kid with that cake knife I would be mad as yeah!and someone would hear my roar.

[tmosley]

I'm reminded of the Simpsons halloween episode where Lisa wished for world peace, and the world was immediately invaded by aliens who's most advanced weapons were boards with nails in them, as I recall.

I know that in some parts of the South, as few as fifteen years ago, we were still trained to shoot .22 rifles in school (5th and 6th grades). I was a pretty good marksman by the end of the course (45 minutes a day in the last period of school, alternating with other activities).

[Uriel999]

At one elementary school I attended we had archery classes that I enjoyed very much. I was pretty good at it too though for some reason I just enjoyed trying to see how far I could shoot the arrows. We had regular bows and compound bows but I preferred the regular ones because they were more powerful. At least a hundred kids at a time were playing with bows and arrows and nobody got hurt. This was in the early 90s when I was like 8.

Oh now here is another story I recall from being a kid in kindergarten. We had just gotten back from Christmas vacation and I had been in Virginia. My cousin had shot off his shotgun several times during the break and let me have 3 of the shells. These were expelled cartridges. I thought they were cool for whatever reason and brought them to school once back from the break to show my friends. I showed one friend and while we and the rest of the class were sitting around on the floor for whatever reason at one point he quickly grabs one from me and gives it to the teacher narking me out. They were quickly taken away from me. Completely harmless metal and plastic that had a nice gunpowder smell...

[specsaregood]

I'm just glad I'm not growing up in today's schools. In the mountains where I grew up, just about every male had a Buck knife--not a cheesey scout knife but a hunting knife--in a belt pouch. We took them to school where they started PILING weapons in our hands: javelins, recurve bows (with field-tipped arrows not suction cups) and we had a rifle range in the basement. Nobody got shot, stabbed, jabbed or otherwise injured from these things. We had the usual football and baseball injuries.


Indeed, ever year right before deer season opened my jr. high had a weapons safety and general hunting class that was optional in the mornings before school started . We were encouraged to bring our rifles and knives to school for the class. Nobody ever used them....

[RonneJJones]

Do we really have to put up with these sorts of posts in General Politics?

The NY Times publishes this crap to scare the general public. Do we really have to parrot their fear tactics here?

[haaaylee]

I always made that argument with my teachers. They never had a counter argument for it.


I can prove pencils are weapons, i still have a piece of lead in my hand from 3rd grade.

[LibForestPaul]

Is it a single count or dual count if one brings scissors to school? ;)

[polomertz]

I remember a weapon used commonly in the locker room of my middle school was a lock stuffed inside a pillow case. We would wear our backpacks in front because it was better to get hit in the back than in the stomach. The locker room was not a friendly place. Of course we have all the same zero-tolerance bullcrap here.

http://www.helpzachary.com/

[Dreamofunity]

I can prove pencils are weapons, i still have a piece of lead in my hand from 3rd grade.

I knew a kid in middle school who stabbed someone in the head with a pencil.

He also masturbated in class.

He was later in one of my college classes, and surprisingly he turned out (or at least acted) somewhat normal.

[123tim]

Just makes me wonder.....What are the kids allowed to eat with in the school cafeterias? Does everyone eat with their hands now?

[Dr.3D]

At one elementary school I attended we had archery classes that I enjoyed very much. I was pretty good at it too though for some reason I just enjoyed trying to see how far I could shoot the arrows. We had regular bows and compound bows but I preferred the regular ones because they were more powerful. At least a hundred kids at a time were playing with bows and arrows and nobody got hurt. This was in the early 90s when I was like 8.

Oh now here is another story I recall from being a kid in kindergarten. We had just gotten back from Christmas vacation and I had been in Virginia. My cousin had shot off his shotgun several times during the break and let me have 3 of the shells. These were expelled cartridges. I thought they were cool for whatever reason and brought them to school once back from the break to show my friends. I showed one friend and while we and the rest of the class were sitting around on the floor for whatever reason at one point he quickly grabs one from me and gives it to the teacher narking me out. They were quickly taken away from me. Completely harmless metal and plastic that had a nice gunpowder smell...


I had a very nice solid cast iron replica of a Colt revolver. I took it to High School to show a friend and the school Gestapo saw it in my locker and stole it from me. To this day, I have never seen another one of them or I would buy it. It was just solid black cast iron in the shape of a Colt revolver.

[Dr.3D]

Just makes me wonder.....What are the kids allowed to eat with in the school cafeterias? Does everyone eat with their hands now?

Probably plastic ware.

[pcosmar]

Do we really have to put up with these sorts of posts in General Politics?

The NY Times publishes this crap to scare the general public. Do we really have to parrot their fear tactics here?

It was published first by,

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/12/MNM21A4B2T.DTL
Boy's camping utensil violates 'zero tolerance'

Is that relevant?

[Mitt Romneys sideburns]

Ok students, take out your safety pencils and circles of paper

[Jeremy]

Something like this happened in my high school. I was a junior at the time and this kid in my class, a senior, was searched by the vice principle. They found a knife in his backpack because he had recently been camping and used the same backpack. Never saw him again... probably expelled.

[JeNNiF00F00]

Something like this happened in my high school. I was a junior at the time and this kid in my class, a senior, was searched by the vice principle. They found a knife in his backpack because he had recently been camping. Never saw him again... probably expelled.

They probably put him in the boiler room and forgot about his ass.

[orafi]

Ok students, take out your safety pencils and circles of paper

Circles have infinite points :eek::eek::eek:

[Anti Federalist]

Do we really have to put up with these sorts of posts in General Politics?

Yes.

Stories like this are the signposts on the road to tyranny.


The NY Times publishes this crap to scare the general public. Do we really have to parrot their fear tactics here?

Scared of what, loss of liberty?

From the Times?

You're kidding right?

[xd9fan]

this story just tell me the parents of the area dont have a handle on the school
community organizing can work both way obamabots!

[catdd]

Originally Posted by stormcommander View Post
Something like this happened in my high school. I was a junior at the time and this kid in my class, a senior, was searched by the vice principle. They found a knife in his backpack because he had recently been camping. Never saw him again... probably expelled.

Guess what you were eating for lunch that week.

[oilboiler]

Go here and read more about this kid. And help if you can.

http://www.helpzachary.com/

[silverhawks]

Zero tolerance, zero intelligence. And these are educators??

No, these are indoctrinators.

CARRYING WEAPONS IS BAD, got that kids?

[The Deacon]

Anyone else surprised that law enforcement didn't make use of their Tasers here?

[newbitech]

oh come on, the mom should have known better. these parents have got to learn that sooner or later the school is not the place for them to use their children to express their political views. forget sending this kid to reform school. they need to investigate this mother and the fiance because it really sounds to me like they have some ulterior motives for sending their out of control child to the school packing steel. whats even more telling is they bring in a karate teacher for a character witness. I mean trying to intimidate the school with a man who's hands are certified deadly weapons?

this lady shouldn't complain at all because the next thing she should get is a full investigation by the department of children and families to make sure this child isn't being further abused and exploited at home. Make you wonder what the new fiance is all about. 10 bucks says he is an illegal trying to get into the country through marriage. Big ol red flag right there. She got off easy if all they are going to do is give the kid reform school. Think I want my tax money getting spent on this parents irresponsibility? And nice excuse bringing the Boy Scouts up. Most of those orgs are run by paramilitary types as well. I bet she is a tea-bagger repug "christian" too. Can't wait for all the second amendment arguments on this one..

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

''Well Zachary Christie, welcome to the movement. We'll keep a chair reserved for you.''

yep....

Maybe we could get a pocket constitution to this young man.

It's nice to see the liberty movement is attracting younger people sooner.

[ladyjade3]

Are you equating reform school with jail?

Oh, I see.. you are... just checkin ;)

Some people might equate government school with jail.

[Matt Collins]

Get the government out of the business of education. That would solve most of the problems here.


Oh, and I'm an Eagle Scout. While growing up and going camping I'd use my same backpack and realized about halfway during the week that I'd leave a knife or two inside of it... whoops. Thankfully no one knew this otherwise I'd probably have been sent to juvenile hall. I was in 11th grade during Columbine if that tells you anything.

[Matt Collins]

Some people might equate government school with jail.I definitely did. I HATED school because I felt like I was in prison.

[RideTheDirt]

Oh my... what ever are they going to do when they find out pencils are weapons?
Crayons
*waits for the news to report a new law banning pencils and introducing crayons as the new standard*

And what about fists? That is the most used weapon in high schools...

[tangent4ronpaul]

The Christina school district attracted similar controversy in 2007 when it expelled a seventh-grade girl who had used a utility knife to cut windows out of a paper house for a class project.

DANG! - when I was in 7th grade, the art teacher would hand out utility knives to use on projects. In HS, I wore a sheath knife on my belt and it was fine. Starting at about 6th grade, it would be considered unusual for a boy NOT to have a pocket knife in their pocket.

Remember that scene from Ferris Beuler's Day off when the kids are being walked through metal detectors entering school? and the guard pulled a nail file off a girl, looked at it and said "weapon" - tossing it into a big container full of combs, mail clippers, pocket knives, etc. At the time I thought it was totally over the top and kind of humorous. We aren't laughing now...

-t