Second-Grader Kyle Walker Suspended For Drawing a Gun

[WhiteFeather]

I know there are several threads on similar subjects but this New Jersey school district are just "nutz" look at sketch in link, read the closing paragraph

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbe...t_suspe_1.html

Second-Grader Kyle Walker Suspended For Drawing a Gun
Still, a School District's 'Zero Tolerance' Gun Policy Could Be Tougher

Residents of Dennis, N.J., can sleep better knowing that second-grader Kyle Walker was kept out of school last Thursday. While on the school bus, the seven-year-old reportedly drew a picture of a person pointing a pistol, which he then gave to a fellow passenger. When that child's parents saw the offending image, they called school officials and swift action was taken.

Kyle's mother, Shirley McDevitt, says they overreacted by suspending her son for a day. Moreover, she wants it removed from his permanent record. She told the local paper that "when a child draws at that age, they're not drawing with thought." Her son, she said, "cried the night he was suspended ... because he thought he was going to miss a school field trip."

The drawing itself appears to be a stick figure rendering in pencil with one figure "shooting another stick figure." More disturbing, however, is that the armed figure has a "smiley face" and the name "me" written above it. The stick figure victim is also smiling -- eerily, with the name of the classmate (David) to whom he bequeathed his sketch.

Conceivably, then, this innocent drawing is actually an artful death threat.
Kyle claimed that the image was of a water pistol and not a real gun, but as the district noted, that's no excuse. After all, today's water pistols could be tomorrow's water balloons -- or even water cannons. And there are precedents for his punishment, such as a 2000 suspension of kindergarteners who used their hands as guns while playing cops and robbers.

The question is, does his punishment go far enough? While some parents and civil libertarians may not agree, the safety of our children mandates living up to our zero-tolerance policies -- not 0.2-tolerance or 0.1-tolerance, but 0.0-tolerance. Rules are rules, and that means suspending children for pretending to have guns, talking about guns or drawing guns. In fact, if it were possible, why not punish our second-graders for thinking about guns? By monitoring and correcting those whose minds stray into inappropriate areas, we not only ensure a safe and fair learning environment, but a better future for America.

[God's Country]

Sometimes it's amazing that I can still even own a gun.

[brewguy]

they should probably put the kid and his extended family to death to prevent them from lashing out.

[RocketFoot]

I don't even know what to say! My kids draw guns, killing aliens and army stuff...I guess they're gonna be serial killers when they grow up!

By monitoring and correcting those whose minds stray into inappropriate areas, we not only ensure a safe and fair learning environment, but a better future for America.

Smell that? Smells like Bull Sh!t

[BUCKMARK]

A year or so ago my daughter had to write down her spelling words, then put them in a sentence. One of the words was AIM.

She wrote: I took AIM at the target with my new gun.

My wife and I bought her one of those pink Crickett .22 rifles just a few weeks before.

I waited for the phone to ring.....

Nothing.

[LorDiego01]

By monitoring and correcting those whose minds stray into inappropriate areas, we not only ensure a safe and fair learning environment, but a better future for America.

WOW.

Orwells is rolling on his grave.

Tought-Police... in America...

who could have ever thought?

[Chazman321]

A year or so ago my daughter had to write down her spelling words, then put them in a sentence. One of the words was AIM.

She wrote: I took AIM at the target with my new gun.

My wife and I bought her one of those pink Crickett .22 rifles just a few weeks before.

I waited for the phone to ring.....

Nothing.

So how do you like those Crickett .22's? I was thinking of buying one for my daughter when she gets older (she turns 4 in Feb.)...

This article shows to prove that some people are plain stupid... This is the kind of person that gets beaten up, and then sues the police because they weren't there to stop the attack...

ChazmanIdon'tdostupidwell321

[BUCKMARK]

The Crickett is a decent little rifle. I think they are great for those little kids that cant hold up a "youth model" rifle. very short and light. Her gun extracts and runs just fine. She can break small balloons at 25 yards from the bench, and she LOVES to shoot it. She likes the fact that it's pink and that it is HER gun...not a loaner from dad.

I broke a few balloons with it @ 100 yards which is some task since it is so short. If I put my shoulder on the stock, I can't get any decent sight picture. I hold it out like a pistol to shoot it.

For a $100 rifle that will only be shot for a few years before being retired or passed down....I dont think you can beat them!

I still have the old Hamilton single shot .22 that I got as a very young child...I hope she hangs on to this pink Crickett forever also.

[vic2367]

well this did happen in NJ,,,what would you expect ?

[jsb889]

I had a similar situation, only the punishment was just a visit to the guidence counselor with the teacher and the drawings were a lot worse. That was before Columbine, I was in I think 4th grade. Gradeschool, either way. I could see that...

This, I can't. It served NO purpose whatsoever. If it was to teach the kid not to draw that stuff, what kind of lesson is a kid going to learn being suspended? They didn't even try to find out why he might have done it. All he needed was told what he did wrong, why it was wrong, and not to do it again.