tuxette's Journal: news of the STUPID

Can it get any dumber than this? They should have left some e-mail addresses to the stupid people, so that the whole world could send them e-mail to tell them how stupid they are...

Pupil expelled for having scissors in sewing class

An American pupil has been expelled from school for taking scissors to a sewing class.

Jacob Finklea, 12, had taken them to his school in Indiana to make a set of pillows, but was booted out under his school's zero tolerance policy.

According to Skynews,Jacob said the teacher had told the pupils to put all their supplies on the table.

He said: "I put the scissors on the desk and she just freaked out."

Jacob's mother, Chrystal, said her son had hurt his hands while using a school set of scissors so she gave him a pair from home.

School chiefs across America have operated a zero tolerance policy since the 1999 Columbine High School killings.

A spokesman for Jacob's school in Pike Township said it "vigorously defended" the procedure.

Zero tolerance

[johndiii]

It's not universal, but it is far too widespread. These kinds of policies are bad. When my older daughter was in junior high, she had a problem with migraines, for which she had a specific medication. She knew when it was appropriate to take the medication. However, due to the school's zero-tolerance drug policy, she was not allowed to carry even one of the pills in her backpack or purse. We had to take some pills to the school nurse, and sign some forms that indicated when she could give our daughter

Re:Zero tolerance

[tuxette]

Wow...what about diabetics or kids with anaphylactic-allergies? Do they get to keep their needles?

This zero-tolerance bullshit is solely to prevent lawsuits. Lawsuits between selfish, paranoid, greedy adults. Screw the kiddies.

Re:Zero tolerance

[L10N]

I wonder about the diabetic syrinces now for quite some while.Being a full grow middle thirties man I get wondered if people think I am poppin something real hard. I tru to be descreate but whe yuor blood sugar is to high you faint or behave in a very odd way it seems a shot in the belly infront of the worl is not that bad.Or whould they rather I pass our, drool, behave like a madman? all because I have too much sugar in myblood.

Re:Zero tolerance

[johndiii]

In general, no. There's a suit currently going on (don't remember exactly where), where parents are suing a school district to allow their child to carry an adrenaline syringe. I'd guess that some school districts would permit this (probably with some documentation and forms), but probably the majority would not.

It's to prevent lawsuits, and assignment of responsibility after something does happen. They want to be able to say that they did everything that could be expected. Of course, that's not tru

Re:Zero tolerance

[TechnoLust]

I went out one morning and tried to start my truck to go to HS and the battery was dead. So I asked dad if I could drive his old truck to school. He said ok. I drove to school and reached in the back to get my bag I had slung in there. I saw dad's hunting stuff. Sure enough, under the seat there were 2 rifles and enough ammunition to take out a small village. I went to the principal and asked him what to do. He said not to worry about taking it back home, just don't go to my truck until time to go hom

Re:Zero tolerance

[johndiii]

This was before Columbine. Today I'd be screwed.

No doubt in my mind at all. They'd probably have a SWAT team take you out of class. The "one round" example was an real case, but I could not remember enough details to find and provide a link. IIRC, the student was actually expelled.

I long for a time when

[lab16]

a person is given power and authority based on his intelligence.

There are to many stupid people that have power (ie Bush).

Anybody who expells a kid for bringing scissors to school should be fired on the spot for doing something that dumb.

Once, when I was at my old high school, I brought in some bullets (yes bullets, dont ask why, I did alot of stupid stuff back then), and I didn't even get suspended (though I did get punished in other ways). And this was at a Christian school. I cringe when I here about

Re:I long for a time when

[heliocentric]

Yeah, I had a kid take a gun to school because I was going to ask out a girl that he was having secret fantasy relationships with, and thus I was cutting in on his "relationship."

He got I think a few days detention for it.

Oh, did I mention his father held a county position at the time?

Would you find it funny to learn that position was coroner?

How about this responce from the school when I inquired why Bill was riding the bus the next day: "Well, the gun he stole didn't work so you were in no real danger

Re:I long for a time when

[lab16]

I was going to ask out a girl that he was having secret fantasy relationships with,

Curious. Was this girl that he had a crush on another teacher? (you're a teacher, right?)

When I continued to inquire and talked about going to the media I was threatened with suspension for slandering Bill

If I were in your position, hearing something like this would make me want to tell the media about it a lot more. Letting the school get away with threatening you not to tell only makes them want to do stuff like

Re:I long for a time when

[heliocentric]

We were in high school at the time. I was a sophmore, Bill and Andrea were juniors.

I deeply thought about going to the media, but this a pre-columbine, back in the days when school crime never made the news. My parents and I talked about it, but at the time the school had a "name" for itself and we opted to just take the easy rode.

Between my junior and senior years my school made nation news after several students were doing ... ummmm ... genitial exercises and ummm races. Ahhh, life is all about timin

Re:I long for a time when

[lab16]

We were in high school at the time.

That definatly clears things up. I thought it was some sort of weird teacher student thing.
As for going to the media, I probably would have done that only if they threatened me, if only to prove a point. On the other hand, if they would have offered to give me money...

Re:I long for a time when

[heliocentric]

Oh, I'll write about my bad student (the one that assaulted me after class) one of these days. Stay tuned for if I get the job offer I'm hoping for and have a reduced fear of that employer. (Not that I'd mention who they were, or that they did anything wrong, I just want some distance to enhance the CYOA).

Mmmm...

[Phroggy]

Zero-tolerence policies are great, until you stop and consider what zero-tolerance actually means, and some of the disturbing implications. The school MUST expell the student, even though they know it's absurd, because to do otherwise would violate the zero-tolerance policy. They're not ALLOWED to consider what response would be appropriate; they're REQUIRED to expell the student, period, no exceptions, no matter what.

Hopefully this will get enough media attention that the policy will be changed...