When gun control advocates run a school...

[irishScott]

Kids get suspended for twirling pencils.

http://newjersey.news12.com/news/ve...nded-from-school-for-pencil-gesture-1.7613736

VERNON - A North Jersey teen says he was suspended for twirling a pencil in a Vernon class, but the school says it was more than that.

Seventh-grader Ethan Chaplin has been home from school for two days after getting in trouble in math class. He says he was just twisting around a pencil with a pen cap on it when a student behind him yelled, "He's making gun motions, send him to juvie."

Ethan says the other student had bullied him earlier in the day, and was now trying to retaliate. But the school told Ethan he was suspended, pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation.

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"I'm absolutely livid," says his father, Michael Chaplin. "I think it's gross misconduct at its finest. They took something so minimal and took it so far over the edge."

Vernon Schools Superintendent Charles Maranzano says school policy and the law requires him to investigate when anyone in a school feels uncomfortable or threatened by another student.

"We never know what's percolating in the minds of children," says Maranzano. "And when they demonstrate behaviors that raise red flags, we must do our duty."

Ethan says administrators did not listen to his side of the story. He underwent a five-hour physical and psychological evaluation, which came back clean.

He's now waiting to find out when he can return to school.

The list of reasons to avoid New Jersey just gets longer and longer. I bet New Jersey Boy Scouts would be suspended if they wore their rifle shooting merit badges to school.

 

[Newell Steamer]

It sucks that the bully pulled this off successfully.

But, once it proven it was a false accusation, he should then be arrested, no? I am sure there are plenty of witnesses who saw exactly what occured.

However, if this butterball really did make the motions for shooting someone, fuck him.

 

[irishScott]

It sucks that the bully pulled this off successfully.

But, once it proven it was a false accusation, he should then be arrested, no? I am sure there are plenty of witnesses who saw exactly what occured.

However, if this butterball really did make the motions for shooting somoene, fuck him.

Seriously? You never played cops and robbers as a kid? My friends and I made shooting motions at each other all the time during recess, strangely enough none of us have ever shot anyone. Were we all the exceptions to the fictional rule that fake violence leads to real violence?

Getting this bent out of shape over an ambiguous pencil twirl, (Just how do you twirl a pencil like a gun anyway?) God forbid a Boy Scout should show off his rifle-shooting merit badge. I wish I was being sarcastic. I bet a young Boy Scout showing off his rifle or shotgun shooting merit badge would be expelled from school and possibly arrested in the Garden State for purportedly threatening other students.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Seriously? You never played cops and robbers as a kid? My friends and I made shooting motions at each other all the time during recess, strangely enough none of us have every shot anyone.

These kids were not playing anything.

There is clearly animosity between them.

 

[smackababy]

Wasn't like a first grader suspended years ago for pointing a chicken finger at someone and saying "bang". "Oh no! He shot Jeff with that chicken finger! Get him!"

 

[spidey07]

Wow. ""We never know what's percolating in the minds of children," says Maranzano. "And when they demonstrate behaviors that raise red flags, we must do our duty.""

So doing your duty is giving him the work over for 5 hours via a psychological exam?

 

[irishScott]

These kids were not playing anything.

There is clearly animosity between them.

And clearly a gross overreaction by the school. Kids say and gesture dumb shit all the time. If he gave the bully the finger would you assume that he actually intended to shove his finger up the bully's ass?

Even if there was a gun-based gesture (with a pencil of all things), At WORST such a gesture requires a stern warning from the principle and/or a visit to the school guidance counselor, assuming the teacher couldn't handle it him/herself. A suspension and a full-on psych evaluation is completely uncalled for and in this case aided and abetted school bullying in the name of irrational paranoia.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Wow. ""We never know what's percolating in the minds of children," says Maranzano. "And when they demonstrate behaviors that raise red flags, we must do our duty.""

So doing your duty is giving him the work over for 5 hours via a psychological exam?

Sounds like quite a disproportionate response, doesn't it?

Yet, you would be perfectly OK with shooting someone knocking on your door, looking for help.

 

[irishScott]

Wasn't like a first grader suspended years ago for pointing a chicken finger at someone and saying "bang". "Oh no! He shot Jeff with that chicken finger! Get him!"

No chicken finger involved, but close enough.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...acc8d4-54fc-11e2-8b9e-dd8773594efc_story.html

 

[Newell Steamer]

And clearly a gross overreaction by the school. Kids say and gesture dumb shit all the time. If he gave the bully the finger would you assume that he actually intended to shove his finger up the bully's ass?

Even if there was a gun-based gesture (with a pencil of all things), At WORST such a gesture requires a stern warning from the principle and/or a visit to the school guidance counselor, assuming the teacher couldn't handle it him/herself. A suspension and a full-on psych evaluation is completely uncalled for and in this case aided and abetted school bullying in the name of irrational paranoia.

I agree, they should have warned this kid. Not placed him on lock down. But, if they did not react, there would have been a worse shit storm from the parents.

Part of this overzealouness is from the parents as well you know. If a school admin does not react enough to keep all the parents "happy", they will get axed. So, it's partly them trying to keep their jobs.

 

[moonbogg]

Wow. ""We never know what's percolating in the minds of children," says Maranzano. "And when they demonstrate behaviors that raise red flags, we must do our duty.""

So doing your duty is giving him the work over for 5 hours via a psychological exam?

I giggled inside when I read that part. They act like kids aren't kids anymore. They treat them like ticking time bombs, or like evil little devils or something that can't be trusted.
Also, I would argue that the kids themselves don't know what they are going to do until they do it half the time anyway.

 

[irishScott]

I agree, they should have warned this kid. Not placed him on lock down. But, if they did not react, there would have been a worse shit storm from the parents.

Part of this overzealouness is from the parents as well you know. If a school admin does not react enough to keep all the parents "happy", they will get axed. So, it's partly them trying to keep their jobs.

Seems they riled up parents anyway, namely the parents of the kid in question. You'd think they'd pick a middle ground.

 

[brycejones]

Not sure how much this says about gun control vs. just the stupidity of "zero tolerance" policies.

 

[PokerGuy]

Not sure how much this says about gun control vs. just the stupidity of "zero tolerance" policies.

..... or even worse, when those two intersect. When zealous zero tolerance idiots who are also gun grabbing nutters who view every finger shaped as a gun as a threat to the world run schools, this is what you get.

Private schools or home schooling is the way to go, I don't think many of the public schools can be saved anymore.

 

[Incorruptible]

This is the problem with the gun control idiots. They are out of control.

 

[KB]

Zero tolerance is another name for zero brains. Did the teacher see the motion? No, then its one persons word against another. Sadly in school you have no rights and innnocent until proven guilty goes out the window.

When I was in High School we brought squirt guns into school and shot each other. If the teacher caught you, you lost the gun for the year and had detention, that was it.

 

[HumblePie]

I love how the father commented on the story at the bottom.

Michael Chaplin · Top Commenter · Digital Product Development at Cambridge University Press

within 15 min of the camera crew showing up at the BOE building - the administrators who "were in meetings all day" and did not have time to see me" suddenly found their calendars clear and reached out to resolve the issue. FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS!

 

[Puddle Jumper]

What rock do they find all these unbelievably stupid school administrators under?

 

[Jaepheth]

My grandfather used to tell me of how they'd stack their .22s in the corner during school and shoot squirrels for dinner on the way home.

What rock do they find all these unbelievably stupid school administrators under?

The one labeled "Too incompetent for public sector middle management"

 

[HumblePie]

What rock do they find all these unbelievably stupid school administrators under?

This is how I heard it explained to me.... How people reach success based on how they start in school.

The very smart kids get all the great jobs. Excellent pay, and work how they want and where they want. Many of them are very successful with these jobs.

The average smart kids can't compete with the smart ones for those jobs, so to be successful they start businesses that in turn have those jobs that employee the smart kids.

The dumb as rock kids don't end up successful that often. they have a real hard time competing so when they do end up successful they do so as politicians and school board administrators.

 

[irishScott]

Not sure how much this says about gun control vs. just the stupidity of "zero tolerance" policies.

Because gun control advocates are just as decisive a factor in cases like this. The school administrators acted in this fashion because they:

1. Are rabidly anti-gun.
2. Are afraid of people who are rabidly anti-gun.

Zero tolerance was the implementation, but gun control fervor was the design.

 

[Lithium381]

obey and comply. the indoctrination is only getting more severe at a younger age. . . just get used to licking boots and you'll all be fine.

 

[BoberFett]

This must be right wing zero tolerance I keep hearing about. Because if there's one thing I know, it's how much the right wing hates guns.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

One last time, school administrators did not create zero tolerance rules. However, their jobs and, the teacher's jobs are on the line if they don't follow them. Most school administrators and most school teachers rank zero tolerance rules on par with no child left behind initiatives ie. more bull shit that gets in the way of teaching. Not to say there aren't some trying to use it for their own.political agenda. There's plenty of blame to go around, judges who never should have agreed to hear half the bullshit cases brought against the schools, risk management recommending zero tolerance rules to try to limit litigation and justify their jobs, school boards rubber stamping the recommendations because it shows the public they're trying to do something and, finally, whiny ass parents who want to control everyone around their kids but not take any responsibility.

Lest I forget, we've also got ATOT idiots trying to use the mess to make a political statement about gun control.

 

[Scotteq]

....The list of reasons to avoid New Jersey just gets longer and longer. I bet New Jersey Boy Scouts would be suspended if they wore their rifle shooting merit badges to school.

That's a pretty far reach as a comparison there, buster...



....Boy Scouts are not allowed to handle firearms here to begin with. So they won't HAVE any merit badge...