A five year old girl was suspended from school for the day after she brought a toy that blows bubbles to school. The toy, which is clear with red, yellow and blue parts on the inside and has a can clearly marked bubbles attached. The school classified the toy as a weapon and called the girl’s mother to come pick her up and take her home as she was being suspended. The mother who used the fake name “Emma” for the interview said the school could have called her to pick up the toy and that the suspension was unnecessary.
The principal should be deported, but no country in the world would accept the principal. (Well maybe France. Everything except terrorism scares them) I remember when my son was 8 or 9, the principal and guidance counselor called me and my wife in for as conference at the Tobyhanna School. Within two minutes, I realized the principal was a moron. Later, she said to me that my son showed violent tendencies. She said he was caught throwing rocks. At a tree. How unusual for a small boy to throw rocks at a tree. I’ve never heard of such a thing.
The principal defended the decision to suspend with the following release:
While we hear and understand the parents of this student being concerned about this discipline in light of the student’s age and type of item, this suspension is consistent with our district policy as well as how Southeast has handled similar situations throughout this school year. This has involved similar situations where students have brought items such as Nerf guns to school and also received one-day suspensions. The bringing of weapons, real or facsimile, to our schools by students can not only create a potential safety concern but also cause a distraction for our students in the learning process. Our schools, particularly Southeast because of past instances with students bringing fake weapons to school, make a point of asking parents to be partners in making sure students are not bringing these items to school. This includes asking parents to check backpacks.
Maybe we should stop drug testing welfare recipients and start drug testing school principals, school boards and superintendents.