Suspension Upheld for Boy Who Chewed Pastry Into Gun Shape

[Purveyor]

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A judge has upheld the suspension of a Maryland elementary school student who chewed his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun and pretended to shoot classmates.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Ronald Silkworth ruled this week that the school system could reasonably consider the 7-year-old boy's actions disruptive and a two-day suspension was appropriate.

The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/1Q99eHh) that in March 2013 the Brooklyn Park second-grader nibbled his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun and exclaimed: "Look, I made a gun!"

The incident occurred less than three months after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The boy's father says he still want to clear the record of his son, who is now finishing fifth grade, and is considering his next step.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PASTRY_GUN_SUSPENSION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-16-17-19-39

[Nye Bevan]

1. When I was in elementary school the teachers ran "cowboys against Indians" games at recess.

I guess times have changed.

[CBGLuthier]

9. Let me tell you, those of us who were ALWAYS the Indian did not find it much fun.

Trouble with being a few shades redder than anyone else they knew. All the damn times they got cap guns and I got a shitty substitute for a bow and arrow.


But to be serious perhaps this violent culture that we all celebrated a few decades ago is actually not a healthy one.

[1939]

18. Very, very incorrect

That is livestock management technicians versus indigenous peoples.

[philosslayer]

2. Hopefully this young man learned his lesson.

And hopefully his father will as well.

[PoliticAverse]

8. Indeed. They need to transfer him to a different school system. n/t

[DustyJoe]

12. that'll learn him, darn criminal thug gangbangin 7 yr olds anyway /sarc /nt

[NutmegYankee]

16. Yes, a child is never too young to learn that Nazi scumbags aren't just in black and white films.

Sometimes they run schools too.

[Crunchy Frog]

19. Lesson being that pretend guns are serious business.

Real ones not so much.

[scscholar]

3. He even said it was a gun!

Violence shouldn't be accepted in any way.

[DustyJoe]

13. chewing pastry is no violence, shooting a real gun at people is violence /nt

[sarisataka]

5. Only two days?

He should be expelled, his parents fired from their jobs and the family shunned by everyone. They have to learn early there is no tolerance for this sort of foolishness.

Teaching moments are last century. We want Draconian regulation in the 21st century.

[Purveyor]

10. And do as the israelis do and bulldoze their house... eom

[SuperDutyTX]

6. wow

Suspending an (at the time) 2nd/3rd grader for chewing a poptart into the shape of a weapon seems like it would be dramatically more disruptive to the student than maybe sending them to talk with a teacher/admin, and explaining why that's inappropriate behavior.

Hopefully the father isn't dragging his kid through this silliness either.

Politics aside, we're dealing with a child's education here; it seems like a pretty significant over-rotation on the part of the school admins, unless there's something that's not reported in the link.

7 year olds are going to be 7 year olds; it's a time to teach, not expose them to zero tolerance.

[Shrike47]

7. Personally, I find the suspension idiotic, but if their rules prohibited gun references, kid loses.

[DustyJoe]

11. Should only stand if he chewed it into an AR15 or SIG /nt

[Brickbat]

14. Ban all guns. No seriously, ALL GUNS.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. Agree, because it was not clear ...

... whether the kid chewed a pop-tart into the shape of a revolver, or a semi-automatic with high-capacity magazine.

Banning all guns, as well as pop-tarts (the raw material from which guns are made), is the only safe play. For the children.

[FLPanhandle]

15. Schools have abandoned common sense and instead follow the restrictions to the letter.

Sad. No thinking allow.

[EL34x4]

21. Thinking invites lawsuits.

"How come my kid got suspended and that other kid didn't?"

Much easier to just kick 'em all out and still have a job at the end of the day.

[aikoaiko]

17. On the bright side: this story will make a great college entrance essay in a few years.

[jmowreader]

20. Come on. You KNOW why the school did this

If they don't suspend, or expel, THIS kid, they'll get sued if they expel the kid who brings a real gun to school.
"But you didn't take drastic action against Johnny Smith when he had a gun infraction. I'm going to own everything you have because I'm going to sue you for discrimination."
'Johnny Smith had a pop-tart and was pretending to shoot classmates. Your kid had a loaded Beretta and was going to kill them. Big difference.'
"No difference at all. Lawyer up."

[Dr. Strange]

22. Have to side with the school here.

It was an assault pastry. We need to stand up to the National Pastry Association. Civilians don't need pop tarts--only cops should have donuts.

[Adrahil]

23. That was a military-grade Pop Tart. NT

[PoliticAverse]

26. At least he didn't have a salt bagel. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

24. Our country needs to be ASHAMED of how we sometimes treat our children

[ChisolmTrailDem]

25. Damn. He would have gotten life in prison for these then...

[backscatter712]

27. Oh, I miss the really old toys...

Just point it in your mouth and pull the trigger, kids!

[Odin2005]

28. So kids are not allowed to even THINK about guns, anymore?

WTF happened to common fucking sense?

[Lee-Lee]

29. I swear every school administrator is a brain dead coward these days

No common sense. That same mentality is what leads to schools calling cops into the classroom to handle classroom discipline because the teachers and administrators are too chickenshit to do their jobs.