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The principal was obviously not acting in the spirit of the meaning of the law. idiot. this child will probably never like school again
Another example of brainless school administration. It seems that the toy is one unit. Therefore it cannot be described as a toy gun.
Bring back common sense and compassion not fear to dictate our judgements. Cynical views of our beloved America is becoming reality.
It was toy of a police officer, they carry guns. Guns are important in law enforcement and protection we shouldn't hide that fact from kids
WTF? It is a lego toy. How could anyone make out what it was if it is less than 2"? I think the teacher had something up her butt that day
Stupid! Nobody in their right mind would be threatened by such a "gun". It couldn't possibly do any harm. What happened to common sense?
I hope that principal gets a speeding ticket for 1mph over the speed limit and then his insurance goes up for 5 years. That'll learn him!
Yes the school says no toy guns, but a 2 inch LEGO gun? Give me a break! I am sick to death of folks who only see in black and white!!!!!
Idiots. They should have called his parents explaining the rule, not torment this kid. Worry about the education system which stinks now.
The principal should be suspended pending psych eval.
#1 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 10:11 AM ESTAll I can say to the Mother and Father is.....
Sue Sue Sue.
did not have enough room to say on my comment, but i agree SUE SUE SUE. maybe the nonsense will stop.
If you encourage these parents to sue, do you know what will happen next? Some money hungry parent will encourage their kid to take a toy gun to school secretly hoping they get caught with it and get in trouble. And then they can SUE, SUE, SUE too in hopes of a big payday!
Why do parents allow their kids to take any toys to school anyway? LEAVE YOUR CRAP AT HOME! If you don't bring it, you can't get in trouble for it! It is parents not having control of their kids that is the problem.
From my perspective of the popular views of our nation, I am the devil. I am White. I am a Male. I am a Republican. I am middle class. I am everything that is not diverse in this country. I am the reason for all of the worlds ills.
At least this White Male Middle Class child now knows how the world will view him the rest of his life. He knows now he is the DEVIL. Tough lesson but at least he gets it early in life. Maybe he can make the most of his new found identity.
I have to agree with z1r2p3 in that the toys should STAY HOME...the children are SUPPOSED to be at school to learn not play with toys. Plenty of schools have toys to play with during recess, and that goes the same with the damn cell phones ipods and all that other crap...LEAVE IT HOME!!!
Obviously, toys should stay home from school. That is not the point here. The point is that a child got suspended over a tiny lego gun that was obviously a little lego toy. And to say that the parents are irresponsible because the child took the toy to school is a ridiculous stretch and assumption. Are you telling me that you have your eyes glued to your school-age child at all times? That he could never slip a toy into his backpack on your way out the door? Do you search your child's pockets and backpack when you drop him off at school? Please. You guys who are acting like the parents are bad parents for the toy getting to school are ridiculous. Your child NEVER did anything you didn't wish them to do?
yeah i agree SUE SUE SUE its not right
The accepted behavior manual, including the resulting disciplinary action for breaching it, is presented at the beginning of the year, and (required to be) signed by parents (at least where I live). No toy guns means no toy guns. I think it could have been handled differently, but parents need to monitor what they let their kids take to school. That is where the problem could have been solved.
#2 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 10:23 AM ESTI know! Lets outlaw toy guns in any size or shape! That will protect society!
There is no problem, you moron. At least not with the toy. The problem is that there needs to be an IQ test for teachers and principles. If it is not over 50, they shouldn't be allowed to teach. That way you would get rid of the morons imposing this sh*t. And yes, I said morons. These school administrators that believe that they are protecting society need to be immasculated in some manner, even if it is a woman, she is thriving on entirely too much power and someone needs to realize that and not talk about some stupid code of conduct in sme idiotic behavioral manual for little kids with toy guns. Dumba$$
This was NOT A TOY GUN! This was a toy's toy gun. Give me a break! Like one other reader said... you can't teach common sense (something this principle and the 5% of you who agree with him/her clearly don't have - either that or you dont' have children).
Do you go thru your kids stuff every morning before they go to school? You can tell a kid not to take something and sometimes they still do it. I mean don't be stupid. It wasn't anything that could of hurt anyone and it doesn't even look like a real gun. He is 9, not a bloody murderer. And the gun was on a cop, not a robber. So, at least act like you have a brain and look at it from a child's point of view. He was playing with his toys not planning on taking out the student body.
You said it, Will. It is just a toy's toy gun. The responsible action would have been to take the toy away, remind the child that toys are not allowed to be brought to school, and to let the parent know to speak to their child to prevent toys from being brought to school in the future.
Sure toys should stay home, i agree whole heartedly. However something that small a kid could be playing with,and when it was time to leave stuck it in his pocket and forgot about it. To those of you who think the parents should have stopped him taking it, all i can say is we are parents who do our best, but not jailers or policemen, and things like that happen. What the crime was, is that there was no sense shown in the principal's behaviour. Take the toy call the parents, big deal!
Why do toys have to stay at home? This is a 9 year old kid that was playing with legos during lunch. What's the harm in that? That 9 year old is probably developing more useful skills playing than he is being taught in the class room. He's a little kid, they are supposed to play. If he was playing with the toy during class, then fine take it away. But he was playing during lunch! Obviously he should be paying more attention to his food, or counting the peas in his vegetables...
Look at the toy. It's not a 'toy gun'.
It's a 'small toy soldier molded to a toy gun'.
#3 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 10:23 AM ESTHow can a teacher get an education and end up so stupid? What was the point of getting an education if you cannot actually use it when teaching children?
#4 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 10:53 AM ESTthe toy is not the issue - it's how the principal heavy-handedly dealt with a concern. The principal is a callous idiot, and could have handled it with a note or phone call to the parent if so concerned.
I feel sympathy for all the other parents that entrust their kids to principal Evelyn Matroianni's tyrannical administration.
#5 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 10:54 AM ESTThe principal should simply be fired. She obviously is so lacking in cognitive abilities that she is unable to discern a difference between a tiny toy gun and a real one or a full-sized replica. Someone that dumb should never be put in charge of educating our children. Just proves that the one thing common sense isn't is common.
#6 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:03 AM ESTIt's a 'small toy soldier molded to a toy gun'.
Nope. It's separate. It clicks into the figure's hand. That's the way LEGO works.
#7 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:06 AM ESTAh, so that means this is illegal but little green army men are not? Maybe I should sue Disney because they had the army men in a number during Disney on Ice. They are a bad influence on my daughter. RIGHT The gun debate is out of control in this country.
I am NOT in the NRA and do NOT own a gun.
My 9 year old son took a smoke bomb into school! My husband had been to the grocery store where they had packs of sparklers, etc..for sale for Memorial Day last year. He left the pack in the back of his truck & forgot to bring it in the house with the groceries. When he was driving the kids to school the next morning my son had taken this little red ball out of the package and put it in his back pack, w/o my husband knowing it. When he got into school he put it in his pocket & then took it out at lunch to show his friend. When the lunch lady saw it, all Hell broke loose. My son was not trying to hide it, because he didn't even know what it was! To him it was no different than bring a Star Wars action figure into school. In my opinion, no toys should ever be brought into school but it is not enforced b/c they can play with their toys at reccess. I am lucky that my son did not get suspended, because he is a good kid, never in trouble, and gets good grades. He only lost 2 reccesses and had to write an apology note. HOWEVER, prior to this decision as punishment, the lunch lasy beraded my son to the point he was so upset and crying that he threw up. He was a mess! He felt awful that he had caused problems and got in trouble. He learned his lesson, to say the least. What these schools need to understand is that the intent of these kids is not to threaten or do any harm. They don't know the way of the world and the violence that we have. They are young, and rightly so, shielded from this horrible world we live in. Obviously if the student is older and understands that he is breaking the school rules then he needs to be punshed but 9 year olds? Really? My son plays with these legos as well...I'll need to tell him to make sure he never takes his dangerous life threatening legos to school to play with or may go to jail!!!! And don't even get me started about Halloween and the elementary schools! That is a whole other subject that in just unbelievable!
#8 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:06 AM EST"HOWEVER, prior to this decision as punishment, the lunch lasy beraded my son to the point he was so upset and crying that he threw up."
Sue the Lunch Lasy directly, for Child Abuse. That might fix that. If enough people sue the people who perform the action bad actions that stress us and our children maybe they will stop. These people are afraid of law suits that might..occur so much, they strip our liberties. We need to sue them to regain our Constitutional rights from knee-jerk reactionaries whatever the political flavor.
And then when they are afraid that they will get their pants sued off, they will be afraid to enforce the rules when it actually counts. Great idea. The "lunch lasy" simply needs a stern talking to.
No wonder the education system is in trouble. When ther person in charge cannot use at least one iota of common sense, how do we expect her to run the school. she should get sued by the parents and fired. what an idiot!
#9 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:08 AM ESTThe problem we have is extremists on both sides of every argument. I agree she completely over reacted, but if she does not administer the policies of the school board, they will fire her for that. It puts the principal in a no win situation. These stupid policies are an over reaction to school violence in the first place.
I am 60 years old and it is a wonder that we were all able to grow up. We carried pocket knifes when in grade school, we had BB guns to play with when we got home. I don't recall that we had a big amount of injuries. My goodness we did not even wear helmets to ride bikes. We climb trees we play until dark and on and on.
Teach our children responsibility and give those who dis-obey a punnisment.
Too damn many rules and too many people that feel importance to follow those rules. Get back to teaching our children and do your job.
so irritating
#10 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:13 AM ESTI am an Industrial Technology (shop) teacher and I carry an "illegal" pocket knife (1 1/2" blade) at all times. Come to my construction lab - I have more than enough edged tools on the pegboard to make any knife carried by a student look like a tooth pick. How do you teach common sense? If anyone has a suggestion I will certainly listen, but most of my students seem incapable of grasping the concept.
All teachers should be able to carry a knife like that "(1 1/2" blade)." It could save a life.
A boy lost his life in Sacramento CA on a playground during recess when the cord around his sweatshirt hood became entangled on a slide. He strangled to death as the teacher supporting him was unable to free him from the slide nor keep him from choking having been prevented by law to carry a simple pocket knife which could have cut him free.
Echoing the call for "Common Sense" that the NEA is lacking. (National Education Association) "The Teachers Union"
The purpose of 'no toy guns' is to prevent anyone mistaking it for the real deal. It's not to contribute to the complete obliteration of ANY concept of a gun from our entire culture. Do their Weekly Readers have pictures of our troops carrying guns? We have a ban on nativity scenes in public schools, yet we allow Hispanic children named Jesus to attend. COMMON SENSE
#11 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:14 AM ESTDo YOU know what you're talking about....the rambling lost me....!
Well, I guess I can put it at the elemetary level:
If the policy of absolutely no guns extends to 2" Lego toys, it should also extend to pictures of guns in the Weekly Reader and other publications allowed. But that would be incredibly stupid, don't you think?
If the rules say no Jesus in school, will they expell kids named Jesus? But that would be stupid, too.
I can follow the analogy. What's your reading level?
I can see both sides but as the mother of a teacher, if the kids aren't taught at home to respect the school's rules, situations such as these will continue to contribute to a larger problem. Teachers are unable to spend their time teaching because they are constantly disciplining children who don't seem to think the rules apply to them and this is as young as second grade students. Don't allow your children to bring toys to school so it isn't an issue and let's give all the students an opportunity to learn.
#12 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:21 AM ESTYou can teach kids to respect the rules, but if the school lets kids play with their toys at recess and these are toys that the kid plays with at home, who is to say that he realized that his toy was a danger to society. There has to be a point when someone that is educating our children starts using some of that education and think for themselves. When I was in school, if we had something that we wasn't supposed to, the teacher would take it from us and give it back at the end of the day and tell us not to bring it back. There was no fuss, no threat of suspencion unless it was dangerous (and a 2" lego toy is not). the ones that educate should also think for themselves.
It is not even a toy gun as it is not of proper size. There are earrings larger than the small object that caused the ballyhoo. The school principal- most assuredly- is an overpaid moron not deserving of such a position. I am available for hire.
#13 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:26 AM ESTThis was clearly a teaching opportunity and it was sadly missed. Perhaps school systems could assemble students once or twice a year and remind them what is acceptable to bring to school and what is not. Then maybe young innocent children won't be sitting in an office crying and afraid and now scared to go to school.
#14 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:33 AM ESTI wish there had been a less severe warning given to the boy, somewhat less dramatic than a formal suspension threat. But on the whole, I think it was ridiculous that it became this traumatic for the student.
#15 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:34 AM ESTThis is silly. I agree, no guns means no guns but it seems it was handled very poorly by an administrator that overreacted. However, I was not there and I only know what the story says. Per that story, I don't think we should ask a nine year old to fill out statements. I can only imagine what the poor kid endured and how he had thought he did something seriously wrong.
This should have been something where the teacher just took the toy away and gave it back to him at the end of the day and communicated to the parents that it would be best if that particular lego toy did not return to the school. The parents can then handle the situation with their child in a manner that is non threatening and nobody gets upset.
Now if the toy returns and the parents disagree, then things could get ugly. I do agree that no guns means no guns and as one poster said, where do you draw the line? 2", 3", 4", 5"? Do you accept "integrated" weapons and only single out stand-alone weapons. It's frightening to think of the possibilities.
What's key here is how the administration handles the situation. In this case, I think they were right to reference the rules but their enforcement was ridiculous. As my parents always used to tell me, you catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar. Yes, there is a time and place for vinegar but kids are going to make mistakes and in my opinion, this was a very destructive way to deal with that mistake.
#16 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:38 AM ESTThis situation was handled very poorly. The principal abused her authority and proved that 'bullies' aren't only found on the playground. A simple "Please put it away", followed by a quiet and brief explanation probably would have sufficed.
#17 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:46 AM ESTThe administrators must be Liberals!!
#18 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 12:05 PM ESTMost educators are liberals - you can't work that hard for that little money with no respect unless you really believe in helping kids. I help my son's classroom every Friday for 3 hours, and his teacher does a good job and really tries hard. Not all teachers are good, but most are.
If he raised his thumb and pointed his for-finger, that would be a MUCH larger threat. A classic abuse of authority case. And to think someone like this has the job of molding our childrens minds. WTF !!!!!! SUE SUE SUE
#19 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 12:06 PM ESTStill giving kids toy guns, huh? I was walking to the mailbox the other day and 3 boys no more than 8years of age were playing with toy guns when I heard one say to the other, I want to play with the shotgun. Give me the shot gun. All I could say was, hmmmm.... So no matter the size of the gun, we are conditioning the kids minds and that it's okay to play something that is a replica of a killing machine.
#20 - Thu Feb 4, 2010 12:08 PM ESTYou should read the book "Playful Parenting" by Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D. He does a very thorough and interesting job of explaining why children will play with toy guns no matter if they have plastic replicas or not (they'll make them out of sticks, crackers, etc.) and why it's important for the parent to be part of this play in order to teach valuable lessons and direct the play so that it doesn't become out of hand. Playing is how children "think" about issues and situations. Playing "gun" games is how children start processing things such as aggression, being a hero, protecting others, and so on. Simply banning the child to take part in such play won't really stop it if they really want to do it (they'll find a way when you're not around), but taking part and directing it in a healthy way can really help a child learn about their feelings and use of healthy power.
yup and yep.
it's to me a part of how kids explore and learn how to understand and deal with the world around them.
also as i have guns it also helps me to teach my kids responsible gun practices and ownership.
and before anyone says it yes yes i feel having guns in a home with kids is fine as long as the appropriate precautions have been made.
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This proves you can't legistlate common sense.