Following up on the story about little Zachary Christie and his eating utensil, via Instapundit, he will be allowed back in regular school, not reform school:
Christina vote allows boy back in school
By the start of tonight’s Christina School Board meeting, more than 150 people showed up to support 6-year-old Zachary Christie, who was suspended last week for bringing a camping utensil with a knife, fork and spoon to his elementary school that he planned to use to eat his pudding.
Before they had a chance to speak, the board voted unanimously to change its zero tolerance policy, meaning Zachary can return to school.
But then there’s Matthew Whalen,
New York Eagle Scout Suspended From School for 20 Days for Keeping Pocketknife in Car: the pocket knife was locked in the car and not even on his person, but the morons at the school went right ahead,
“They gave me the five-day suspension, because that is all a principal can suspend a student for,” he said. “And from there, they had a superintendent hearing to see if the superintendent wanted to suspend me for longer.
“But the superintendent wasn’t even at the hearing. It was the principal and the athletic director. The vice principal who originally suspended me wasn’t even there, and neither was the superintendent. They basically asked me, ‘Did you have the knife in your car?’ And I said ‘Yes, I did.’ The meeting was recorded and they told me they were going to play the tape to the superintendent.
“They asked me if I wanted to say anything, and I told them all my accomplishments and what I’ve done, and the principal even admitted that I had no intent to use the knife, that I had no accessibility to the knife.”
But school officials decided to suspend Whalen for an extra 15 days anyway, he said. And unless the decision is changed, he will not be allowed on school grounds until Oct. 21.
School bureaucrats doing their best to ruin an Eagle Scout’s last year in high school, and along with it, his college prospects. They’ll probably get promoted.
UPDATE
Don Surber:
Thank God they did not sing Christmas carols.
The Boy Scouts are an easy target. They are boys. Try suspending a Girl Scout for peddling cookies some time.
These boys were being boys and learning to be independent. The flimsy excuse of zero tolerance for weapons deserves to be declared unconstitutional. I am not a big believer in student rights — you go to school to learn, not to make political speeches. But an outright suspension and a threat with reform school at age 6 is an abuse of power.
Think of that principal with the mole in “Uncle Buck.”
If zero tolerance is an ironclad rule, then there is no need to have administrators. Everything is on automatic pilot. The school custodian could run the joint.
The students would probably be better off if the custodian did.
UPDATE, 15 October
A Reason They Do Not Wish To Tell Dept: The Scouts And The Safety Nazis Go read it all.
Various studies show that Education majors have the lowest SATs of any concentration. Their courses are very undemanding relative to other majors. I lived in a house one semester where one of the housemates was an Education major. She had a 3.8 major with 25-35 hours a week of studying. As an engineering major, I had a 2.8 major with 60-70 hours of study per week. SAT difference: I had 400-500 points over the Education major.
Why would we be surprised when such clowns get into positions of authority that they would make such stupid decisions ?
I agree with you, Gringo. One of my roommates was an ed major and I actually feared for her students – she was one of the stupidest people I’ve ever met.
A reason to home school. That Eagle should ditch the institution and finish high school by home schooling.