Does this look like a weapon to you? It doesn't even shoot projectile objects, just glorified air (bubbles). It could never be mistaken for a real gun. But after a 5 year old little girl suggested she and her classmate shoot each other with bubbles, it was taken as a "terrorist threat" and the girl was suspended for 10 days (later reduced to 2) from her Pennsylvania elementary school.
Further? She was ordered to undergo a
psychological evaluation during her suspension.
These things are now a permanent part of this little girl's record.
Story link.I find myself with relatively few words at this stupidity. I simply wonder,
where has common sense gone??image source
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Comments (36)
Next thing you know, Putty is going to be considered as a possible C4 threat.
if she wasn't a little nuts before all this having to go thru a psychological evaluation at 5 years old will throw her off for a while. Lol
but really, this is beyond stupid. zero tolerance shouldn't mean that kids can't play with kids toys.
She's 5. She probably doesn't even know what a terrorist is yet.
It doesn't even look like a gun. It looks like a hair dryer.
Ridiculous. If they did anything, they should have just warned the parents to not bring it in again.Are you kidding me? Kids play with toy guns all the time, I can see why bringing a Nerf gun or other more realistic toy gun to school would be a problem. But not this, and not at that age! Psychological evaluation?? She's five!
Suspension, really? Was that necessary? And a psych evaluation to boot?.... If I were her parents, I'd fight that one for sure. That bubble gun looks more like a hair dryer than a weapon, but okay.... If anything, the teacher should have just taken the toy and contacted the parents. Labeling this as an act of terrorism is just plain ridiculous. I realize in light of recent events, everyone is on high alert, but that doesn't mean fear and caution should trump common sense....
I have a problem with school systems using suspension so often as punishment. I feel it's basically robbing children of proper education. Yeah, they can make up work missed, but can never get back the class time and instruction. I realize it's necessary in some situations, but there are other ways to discipline kids.
A little boy got suspended for making a gun with his hand and saying, "Pow". He was in kindergarten and that's normal play for children that age.
People are so sensitive about the recent shootings that everyone seems to be overreacting. This sort of suspension won't change whether or not there are school shootings. It wasn't small children who shot people, it was a deranged adult not a booger licking, giggly little kid.
Just this morning, my daughter was wearing a pink hoody because it was very cold outside. The school monitor made her pull the hood off of her head to make sure she wasn't covering anything up. She's 4.
AMURIKAAAA
You have to realize it's reached frightening proportions in some areas, and this child's parents should have been bright enough to know this item would push somebody's buttons. Do I agree with punishing a child over this? No. And were the school rules made very clear? I don't know. But clearly the parents should have had a clue, if they read any thing at all. Yes, it's stupid, and no, in my time it sure wasn't like this. I'm 60, and we played cowboys and Indians, and yes, I now think it was absurd to make television shows back then that always portrayed Indians as the bad guys, with us having to shoot them. It's all relative. The schools need to be very clear about what they will and won't accept. Period. Just like the nurse keeping their medications for them.
This is just crazy!
Only in America, where we pitch fits to keep our real guns but suspend five year olds for bubbles.
This kind of thing saddens me because when I was young, I was that type of kid who was a little weird (I said I owned a house on the moon with a pet giraffe.. what? I was 7!), and I loved to write, especially horror stories. Naturally, this meant that something was wrong with me, so I got multiple risk evaluations. The result? I wouldn't show anyone my writings or pictures, and for the longest time I wouldn't do anything creative, just sat in my shell and died a little inside.
It's pretty traumatizing to get in trouble for being a kid, honestly. I feel really bad for this poor girl.
Punishing this little one is wrong on so many levels. And, the school principal should be required to take the psych evaluation..not the child. My heart goes out to this child and I hope her parents protect her from being evaluated. When are small one's going to be allowed to be innocent and carefree again? If keep unloading our fears on them, so I'm afraid it's going to be a long while.
@sarahsmurfette@xanga - I'm sure whiny parents had something to do with the schools having rules like this to begin with.
From the article linked "According to Ficker, the girl, whose identity has not been released, didn't even have the bubble gun toy with her at school."
This poor little girl got suspended for TALKING about the bubble gun!!
I honestly want to homeschool my kids. There's just too much craziness in schools these days
This really isn't anything new. "Common sense" in this regard went away a long time ago with claims of "zero tolerance" and "oh, think of the children!" Administrators are largely just responding to parental/societal demands. Keep that in mind. If they see something that can be in any way viewed as a red flag, and ignore it, and the kid grows up and shoots someone, oh, well, you should have seen this coming back when she was little and wanted to shoot her friends! Everyone has their head so far up their own ass. *sigh* Anyway... Squirt guns haven't been allowed in schools for... 15 years or so?, at least where I grew up. Can't wear a shirt w/ a pic of a gun, real or otherwise. My shirt that has one cartoon panda slapping another would probably get a kid in trouble, too, because it's violent. I'm surprised they still let kids have/use plastic forks at lunch. Or pencils, really. I mean, my god, you could stab someone!
Common sense has flown out the window!
them! I have zero tolerance for zero tolerance. It is basically zero
intelligence and it seems to be contagious.
Here’s a better idea that suspending the child – send her to a gun
safety class so she can apply for a concealed carry permit. That way she can be “safe”.
5 YEAR OLD INVOLVED IN A TERRORIST THREAT? SERIOUSLY? and i thought people in my country were not normal.
@mikewb1971@xanga - Where did I ever say that you did? Oh yeah, I didn't. Jackass.
omg. are they for real?? lol!!! aww..the poor kid!
Adults run screaming from classroom. rofl