I have to say I'm baffled by this story. It's local, so many may not have heard it. Our local news has reported that a 13-year-old junior higher was suspended for 5 days for drawing a gun. No kidding. The kid actually drew a gun ... on paper. That's right. He drew a picture of a gun on some papers and the school suspended him. That, according to the school district, constituted a threat to a teacher or a student.
Talk about zero tolerance! "You drew a picture of a gun. You're suspended." How about, "We think you thought about a gun once, so you're suspended"? Or how about, "You were angry enough the other day that we think, if a gun had been handy, you might have thought about possibly using it, so you're suspended"? Seriously ... a picture of a gun?
There were no threatening comments on the doodle, no indication of anger in class, no problems with the child at all. But the simple fact that the kid drew the picture raised alarms. His father protested, and they dropped the suspension to 3 days, but that's it.
So where does it stop? Who knows? A school in Virginia has a rule that no student may touch another student ... period. How will those kids play tag, football, or any other normal game? Do we rule out all physical contact (including high fives or a friendly pat on the back) in a drive to eliminate bullies? Oh, that won't be a problem, since some schools are banning tag and other games. In fact, there is apparently a trend toward eliminating recess entirely. Mustn't let the little tykes get bumped or bruised, you know. So who needs touching? And any student who doesn't play and cannot touch but draws a gun must be a threat to society. I think 3 days isn't enough. Five was too lenient. What if drawing starts spreading everywhere? What if kids start playing? It could be an epidemic. That 13-year-old ought to be at Gitmo with the other would-be terrorists!
Sigh! And reasonable, rational adults once more give way to overreaction and overblown fears ...
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