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"Last week, it was a couple of teenagers suspended for a year for playing with airsoft guns on the front lawn. This week, it’s a second-grader suspended for a day for using his finger as a pretend gun. Yes, eight-year-old Jordan Bennett was sent home after administrators at Harmony Community School in Harmony, Florida, concluded that the gesture was an act of violence. In March, Josh Welch, a seven-year-old (yes, seven) student at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, was accused of nibbling a rectangular, strawberry-filled pastry into a gun-like shape, then stating “bang, bang.” School officials were sufficiently disturbed by this event to remove Josh from class and banish him from the premises for two days."
A friend and I were just discussing this. Her daughter is marrying a police officer. We discussed their future children discussing daddy and using the "g" word. This is just awful.
Those kids who were "playing in their yard" were really in the street, shooting and hitting other kids on their way to the school bus stop. Don't misrepresent, it demeans you point.
The older boys I think were legitimately suspended as despite their protestations, they were shooting other kids who were not on their property.
OTOH, young children (and especially young boys) play with guns because they are incorporating things that confuse them or are taboo into their play. It has to do with understanding power as well.
First of all, banning all pretend weapons actually makes war play more risky. Children often have such a burning need to resolve their mixed up feelings about violence, that they will get sneaky if it is not allowed. My experience as an early years practitioner is that banning gun play is a losing battle, however much we try to re-enforce the rule! I used to hate seeing children playing with guns, but I’d much rather children play with their created guns, under direct supervision, than do it hidden.
When I was in elementary school, we were not allowed to form pretend guns with our fingers at school.
Kids should not nibble at their food to form gun shapes, hold them up, and yell bang-bang. That's wrong, and the parents should be very concerned about it.
I don't agree with the one size fits all of zero-tolerance, and not sure the punishments were appropriate, but these behaviors are wrong and something should be said about them because it's outside the realm of what kids are allowed to do at school.
When I was in elementary school, we were not allowed to form pretend guns with our fingers at school.
Just curious, what year did you graduate?
I honestly don't know if pretend guns were allowed at school when I was a kid or not (graduated 1978). Either they were allowed, or nobody did it, because I can't remember a fuss.
Same thing here. I went to elementary school 1978 to 1985, and pretend guns with your fingers was strictly not allowed. Fake guns have a strong tendency to escalate into real fists.
You know what really is an overreaction? "a suspension involving an 'act of violence' might just doom a child’s future academic and career prospects before they really begin."
I have seen students involved in murders end up going to prestigious schools with full rides. I don't think an elementary school suspension like this is going to hurt someone's future academic and career prospects one bit.
I honestly don't know if pretend guns were allowed at school when I was a kid or not (graduated 1978). Either they were allowed, or nobody did it, because I can't remember a fuss.
Maybe you don't remember because when a kid got suspended, their parents considered it a silent shame and dealt with it at home, instead of immediately running to the national press and a lawyer.
Maybe you don't remember because when a kid got suspended, their parents considered it a silent shame and dealt with it at home, instead of immediately running to the national press and a lawyer.
No, I think it's more likely that if someone did it, they got after-school detention (assuming it was forbidden in the first place). We are talking about elementary school which for me was 1965 (Kindergarten) thru 1972 (6th grade) in suburban metro New Jersey.
And anyway, if a kid got suspended I would have heard about it from the kid himself or the from grapevine, not the parents!
A suspension is too drastic in this case for an 8 year old. Unless the child has previously existing psychiatric issues, I would go to the national press, too, if I were the parent.
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