Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Your Turn
A second grader has been suspended from school after he threw an IMAGINARY grenade during recess to save the world from bad guys. Yes, now you are only allowed to sit quietly in the sand box and pretend you are an organic farmer. If you use imaginary pesticides they will probably suspend you for that too. You can see where I am on this suspension. What about you?
Absolutely utterly completely ridiculous
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, and I'll say it again - the teacher or recess monitor was way too far up in the kids' business if s/he knows the content of every imaginary game being played on the playground. Back off and let the kids play! Of course, I don't know the specifics of this particular case - I've only read the headlines. There may be more to it, but if there isn't, I think it's silly.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long before my grandson gets suspended when he starts kindergarten in the fall...
ReplyDeleteThe suspension is patently retarded. I don't think any 7 y.o. is capable of understanding any absolute of this nature.
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for kids today
ReplyDeleteIf that was the only behavior incident his boy had, then this is silly.
ReplyDeleteSo, here's a more complete write-up: Grenade Suspension
ReplyDeleteThe school has a policy against "any weapons, real or pretend."
Um, I'm pretty sure "pretend weapons" is supposed to mean bringing a toy gun to school, not throwing air
They suspended a first grader in PA for pretending to shoot a classmate with a Hello Kitty bubble gun. I get the zero tolerance policy but c'mon now. These are kids, with fake or imaginary toys. Let them be.
ReplyDeleteOh geez, really? My God, I hope they never find out that my three-year old daughter kills zombies with her big brothers in her spare time. That would probably be a hanging offense that school.
ReplyDeleteCommon sense is a thing of the past. I can remember my boys making play guns from legos.
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ReplyDeleteSchools have become politically correct to the point of idiocy. What parents actually support this crap? Why aren't parents in general complaining to their respective school boards?
ReplyDelete@SusanB - the parent SHOULD raise a fuss to the school board. That being said, if your child's school doesn't meet your standard, and you have the means, get them into a school that does! Childhood is a one-time only trip, and your kids deserve the best education you can find for them.
DeleteAs a society, we need to raise holy hell, so that all of our children get the education that they deserve.
Ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this child has military family and thinks of soldiers as heros, and now what message are we sending to him by punishing his act of imitation? I swear, reading these stories, all you can do is shake your head and wonder how we got to this point.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised at all, and yes, really stupid. Your imagination isn't even your own these days.
ReplyDeleteThis is complete horse poop.
ReplyDeleteTHIS is nuts.
ReplyDeleteDoes crap like this happen in other countries or is that particular brand of stupid unique to the US?
ReplyDeleteMy imagination was a constant companion...hell, it still is!...and this just makes me so sad.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this sh*t is getting ridiculous. Can't people use common sense and judgement on a case by case basis with something like this? Zero tolerance seems to be yet another excuse not to have to think.
ReplyDeleteI remember growing up and running amok outside playing Cowboys and Indians (which is not cool today), climbing trees, and even survived playing with the Mr. Potato Head with the tiny pieces - you know, the fun and creative one. I don't see kids playing outside anymore. They're inside on the computers or playing X-Box or watching tv. My mom wouldn't let us stay inside if it was nice out, and forget sitting in front of the tv for hours. Even when it was raining, the neighborhood kids would go outside into one of our parents cars and tell ghost stories.
Makes me consider homeschool.
ReplyDeleteI am SO glad we homeschool our kids!
ReplyDeleteI had a couple toy guns when I was young. They were just for fun. I ended up perfectly fine and I'm sure these kids will too.
ReplyDeleteTHIS they suspend a kid over but school bullying they turn a blind eye to. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteA policy against PRETEND weapons!?!?!?!? Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteTalk about the Thought Police.
How about going after the kid who consistently slams other kids in a face with a dodgeball? That gets my vote.
ReplyDeletePretend grenade *snorts*
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ReplyDelete@Prolixe, I don't envy your sitch. I internally roll my eyes at PTA meetings too often. People go overboard.
DeleteAlso, The Short One has a Minecraft after-school class! He loves it, and I enjoy seeing the "houses" he creates. He made me an art studio with a gallery on top "so you don't have to walk far, Mom".
@prolixe - you are totally right, of course - this crap does come down from "on high", and woe be to the underpaid teacher or aide who drops the ball. Experience has told me that leadership (aka the principal) in an elementary school is huge. And they, too, can be under the thumb of their bosses.
DeleteI had to delete the comment, I like hot water only in the shower. :b
DeleteThat's so cute about your little guy!
totally understand, prolixe. There are some awesome elementary schools out there - take heart. I've found one, and I'm hanging on for dear life - it's everything I've ever dreamed that early childhood education could be!
DeleteHow do we know this imaginary grenade was lethal? Did he go "Ba-Boom" after he threw it? Was there an imaginary casulity count? What if it was a love grenade and gave everyone happiness, rainbows and unicorns? What if was a grenade that cured all diseases? What a waste of resources. Meanwhile in other news, real criminals were committing crimes on real kids.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? So it's not bad enough that we stifle their imagination sooner or later, we're making them feel bad for pretending? This is beyond ridiculous. Little kids have fertile imaginations and play is part of growing up. All animals do it. Let's make sure we stunt them as soon as possible. Gawd I'm glad I don't have kids!
ReplyDeleteRight on Sherry! It feels very wrong to stop a child from using their imagination. That to me is sort of a book burning mentality.
DeleteComplete and utter bullshit!! So are these kids expected to sit there like little lumps and not move?! Some kids are more expressive and imaginative than others. One thing is throwing an imaginary hand grenade and another is bringing a real-life gun or knife to school. These kids are getting the weapons from the confinement of their homes and the parents are to blame for allowing easy access. Who could he possibly hurt with a non-existent grenade? Lighten up people!! UGH!
ReplyDeleteYes, I can believe it. Yes, it's completely ridiculous overly-PC bullshit, especially when so many school still ignore or, worse, tacitly condone bullying. My guess is that part of the reason for this is fear of litigation--school districts are utterly paranoid of being sued for any reason, so they think nonsensical "zero tolerance" rules will keep them safe; if, God forbid, something does happen, they can point and say "See? We have a zero-tolerance policy! Not our fault!" The irony, of course, is that they open themselves to a totally different kind of litigation by parents righteously pissed-off on their kids' behalf, not to mention the ridicule of sensible people everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWhat people need to realize, and no one wants to in this country, is that there are no guarantees in life--you can do everything right, obey every rule and policy, and follow every cultural norm, but none of it means that you'll definitely get the job of your dreams, or the partner you think you deserve, or that your kids will be forever protected from whatever boogeymen are out there, because shit happens, and that's just the way life is. Look at Sandy Hook--they did everything they reasonably could, but there's only so much anyone can do when there's a psycho w/a gun blasting a hole in the door to let himself in and shoot up the joint. Sure, we could build all our school in underground bunkers, but what kind of childhood would that be?
One of my oldest friends has taught school for many years, mainly middle and high school, and she's been an absolutely wonderful teacher, willing to go the extra mile for kids who need it, and not just in school, either; she's also lost a few students over the years, or knows of other kids who didn't survive their teens, and she's come to the sad conclusion that "you can't save all of them," because, again, shit happens. All you can do is to do your damndest to be there for them, and give them as much support as possible, and then pray that everything works out in the end.
I am grateful every day that I grew up in a time when kids played imaginative games outside. We were cowboys and Indians, we "shot" each other and "died" flamboyantly, and then we got up and did it again. We ran and climbed trees and built forts and had snowball fights.
ReplyDeleteHow long before playing with dolls becomes sexualized (because you know how you get babies!) and is also forbidden?
We are doing a colossally good job of ruining the world.
So the choice now is to home school and find play/social groups for your kids in order to avoid this kind of stupidity?
ReplyDeleteTo me, a pretend grenade is like one of those plastic toy ones. He didn't even throw a pretend grenade. The kid got suspended for THROWING AIR.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens when someone farts at that school? Suspension for dissemination of toxic gas?
Something tells me there's more to this story and that we're only hearing the parents' side.
ReplyDeleteTO me, I think the context of it is important. The fact that he thew the imaginary grenade while trying to "save the world" is a totally normally game. If he were playing with an imaginary gun and pretending to shoot his innocent classmates, I might take a little more issue with that.
ReplyDeleteI also think that fantasizing about gun play is more dangerous than fantasizing about grenades, since a kid is far more likely to get their hands on an actual gun than a real grenade.
Reminds me of a conversation with my husband last week... 3 yr old son chased & 'shot' his sisters with an invisible pretend gun. (I was traumatized in the 90's by an HBO gun special and have a strict no guns policy at home, real or toy.) I told him "No fake shooting your sisters Dude" and my husband told me that while he supports my no gun stance, he does not think it's okay for me to tell son how or what he can pretend. Guess I was getting too carried away...
ReplyDeleteFWIW, My dad is a hunter and had guns around my whole life, I am not anti gun, just anti gun in home with children. Sadly I didn't even realize how excessive I was being until my hubby called me on it. Not kidding about the HBO movie (5 American guns, 5 American kids or something similar.). I watched it the same week as HBO's HIV special and the band played on. My roomate told me if she came home one more day that week and found me crying watching HBO again that she was gonna cancel it! (I was only 19 at the time!)
DeleteToo bad the 2nd amendment doesn't cover a "well-imagined militia."
ReplyDeleteWish we would spend as much time focusing on that ACTUAL problems of violence in our society instead of the make believe ones.
When I was in 7th grade we had those lockers that only 5 feet ish so chest high. Of course I was talking and not paying attention went to close locker grabbed the girl next to me boob right in front of principle and got sexual harassment.
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with anything but schools suck.
It sounds like someone was watching for exactly this, the teacher must really have it out for the kid. I can see where there is concern, but it's all about context and the situation.
ReplyDeleteCall the Imagination Police! Where are the Air Throwing Patrol?
ReplyDeleteBringing realistic toy guns to school is one thing, but as VIPBlonde is pointing out, the kid threw AIR!
Air.
I'm so sad for kids today. Thank god my son is now 17, when he was in elementary all his drawings were battles with guns (Star Wars style), aiming bananas at people, etc. Also I want to note I allowed toy guns but his best friends' parents did not so of course I hid them if they came over, and they were far more obsessed with guns than he ever was. This country is getting insane, but still it's easy to buy real assault guns.
ReplyDeleteWe are getting crazier and crazier...
ReplyDeleteYesterday, my first-grader told me about a friend of his who brought a tiny water-gun to school and put it in his desk. (You know the kind - those cheap, little plastic ones that always seem to leak everywhere!) After hearing about yet another young child getting suspended in the D.C. area for toy-gun nonsense yesterday, I told my son to just quietly tell his friend to take the water-gun home today. I've also had to lecture my son not to say "bang" or even use the word "gun" at school because they're so over-reactive around here.
ReplyDeleteI hate stupid people.
I promise you will never be able to stop kids from pretending what they want to pretend. They will turn Legos, tinker toys and Lincoln logs into guns if that is how they want to play. Take away all of those things and they will take the right bites out of a sandwich and turn that into a gun. I agree tat it is the principal that sets the tone for the school. Find one that you respect and admire, if they have a sense of humor then even better. Always be an advocate for your child.
ReplyDeleteWhat if I imagine Penises?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't that principal be fired? How does (s)he still have a job? How do those parents let that person run the school?? This is exactly what that parent was talking about in the congressional hearing yesterday. Stop the crazies - and it's not the kid throwing air!
ReplyDelete@Mama Ray - if it makes you feel better, when AIDS became a "thing" in the 80s, my mom was convinced my newborn brother had AIDS. Nevermind the fact she did not have AIDS.
ReplyDeleteI just remember we had just got our 1st apartment and it was the 1st time I had HBO. So many deep documentaries all in the same week! Am I the only one who watched those? I just remember crying thru the entire program thinking I will never allow guns in my house if I ever have kids... Then my roommate put me on HBO restrictions for being too much of a downer and we returned to our normal partying 24/7. Ah, to be 19 again! ;)
Delete(Kidding of course, I'm pretty happy with 36!)
Soon you won't be able to Fart without getting suspended or sued. I'm glad the kid was playing outside and not on his butt playing video games
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ReplyDeleteRidiculous. Kinda like the mom here in Toronto who tried to make the local school remove beautiful oak trees because IF their acorns dropped, and IF her son picked one up and ate it, he would die from his nut allergy. (Guess she'd never heard of an Epipen). She was basically harassed out of her mind by the public when she went to the press. Maybe teach your kid NOT TO EAT THE ACORNS. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteZero tolerance policies like this are just a shield to hide the administrators and teachers: incompetence; sloth; and cowardice. Imposition of a rule like this should be prime-face evidence for their removal from office and permanent revocation of their teaching and school supervision licenses.
ReplyDeletePolicies like this one show the complete and absolute failure of the teachers colleges and the education departments in colleges and universities to recruit, educate, and send into the field competent teachers and school principals.
"Pretend to be an organic farmer'" :-) ha!
ReplyDelete@Robin TMP - Very well said.
Of course, it's ridiculous. At least he was trying to play "save the world" and not "let's blow up these m f-ers."
Come on guys! If you throw an imaginary grenade then someone else will throw another imaginary grenade and next thing you know we have an imaginary war!! Completely ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteThis would go in the pussification of America files that George Carlin talked about. It's embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's the fault of all of the nation's teachers. They're the ones who dictate *state and district policy* on such matters, because they're incompetent, cowardly sloths who need permanent revocation of their teaching licenses.
ReplyDeleteYou want to gripe about a stupid policy? Don't bother talking to the teacher - they have zero power over policy. Talk to the principal? A little more, but not really. Go higher - school board, district superintendent, state superintendent (and many don't even have in-class experience). THEY are the ones who create the policies, and teachers and playground duties have to enforce them, no matter how ridiculous the policy. And if they don't - the parents can sue.
Oh, and have a chat with some of the parents in your community - the school board is usually all parents, and they help craft the policies. If someone is griping about an acorn (like @Lynette mentioned), it's because a parent complained and/or threatened to sue.
/rant off
Kinda like the mom here in Toronto who tried to make the local school remove beautiful oak trees because IF their acorns dropped, and IF her son picked one up and ate it, he would die from his nut allergy.
ReplyDeleteThis is mind boggling.
Lynette, I totally agree with you. I was horribly allergic to milk and eggs as a child. I knew, even in preschool, not to eat the birthday cupcakes. Children can be accountable for what they put in their mouths by the time they go to school.
ReplyDeleteMy little sister had a soy allergy. I remember her at three handing me a box and lisping "does it have soy?"
DeleteThe mom then accused other parents and people who spoke out against her of "bullying her like they did her son". At some point lady, you can't protect them any more. She truly didn't think she was off base asking for the trees to be removed. Frankly, I was surprised so many people spoke up, with all the political correctness nowadays.....
ReplyDeleteBeyond stupid. Common sense isn't so common anymore.
ReplyDeletePeople are nucking futs. Enough with the imaginary problems. Worry about why our system spits out kids who can barely pass basic math instead of imaginary grenades.
ReplyDelete@elle Kay - My husband quotes that from GC all the time and would agree.
ReplyDelete@prolixe - Thank you! I hate seeing people bash teachers.
I've always thought firm zero-tolerance policies go overboard.
ReplyDeleteAbsurd.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretend. It's what kids are supposed to do. Can the school system do anymore to banish imagination? Some folks need to lighten the hell up.
ReplyDeleteThis kinda stuff makes me feel so hopeless for my poor kids. But then seeing the comments here -- it seems 100% of us agree this is a dumb reason for suspension -- gives me hope again.
ReplyDelete"Imaginary grenades don't kill people, people kill people"
ReplyDeleteFor a country that rants about being the 'freeist' nation, they sure are a paranoid, imprisoned bunch.
Hudson Joe you need to learn a little more about the education system in the US before you make defamatory statements against teachers.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe this, kids run around playing all sorts of tjings real and imagined. What gets me is that we hear so much about playing outside and kids not wanting to pretend anymore, this poor child does just this and gets suspended for it! I hope that the parents do not let this lie and they go after the school. He was Saving the world from bad guys after all, what if this kid is our next super hero and now he has been punished.
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ReplyDeleteThis politically correct stuff is just ridiculous period! The world is not an evenly measured, fair place especially when you are dealing with kids. Little boys are wired for this sort of thing. Helicopter parents who try to control their kids thoughts and actions all of the time are responsible for the amotivational, ambitionless budding narcissists that we see today in our youth. People can complain about this sort of thing, yet ridiculous political correctness is alive and well. Someone is nurturing it and apparently there are a lot of "someones" do it.
ReplyDeleteInstead of getting your undies in a bundle about a kid imagining to be a super hero how about teaching them to be a decent person who respects themselves as well as others. I don't think you will ever have to worry about a kid playing with imaginary hand grenades if you manage to instill those values in them first. It's freaking ridiculous!!!!