Child expelled a year from school for bringing a toy gun to class.

[Cry Havoc]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/06/toy...ex.html?hpt=T1

Miramar, Florida (CNN) -- It's quite clear. No guns may be brought to school. Period. It's the law.

So, when Samuel Burgos brought a gun to school last November in Broward County, Florida, the zero tolerance policy kicked in, and Samuel was suspended and then expelled.

A just punishment? Did he deserve it?

Well, here's more. The gun wasn't real. It was a toy gun that never left his book bag. And Samuel -- he was 7 years old at the time.

A just punishment? Did he deserve it?

"No child should be disciplined in this manner," said Magdiel Burgos, Samuel's father. "He made an honest mistake, OK. And he's paying dear life for it, and it just isn't fair."

Samuel, now 8, has been out of school for almost a year. His parents have home-schooled him since he was expelled for bringing a clear plastic, spring-action toy gun to school, which fired plastic beads.

"He has been deprived of an education. My son made a mistake, and they kept him out a year," said Samuel's mother, Karen Burgos.

And it may be longer than that before Samuel is permitted to rejoin his classmates. A hearing will be held this month as his family fights his expulsion. Because the school board's order has not yet been finalized, his punishment could be extended into next year.

"I miss my friends," Samuel said.

Samuel spends his days playing baseball and practicing his studies with his parents. He should be in third grade now, but he's already missed most of second grade and may find himself two years behind by the time this matter is resolved.

In an interview with CNN correspondent John Zarrella, Samuel said that he was playing "army" with his friends one weekend, and he decided to hide the toy gun from his brother, so he placed it in his school bag. He went to school on Monday and said that he forgot he had the toy with him.

Samuel told one of his friends the gun was there but said he never took it out.

When the toy gun was discovered, according to school board records, the principal of Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary School West determined the gun to be a toy, but she felt compelled to report the incident to the school board. The school board classified the toy gun as a weapon because it fired a projectile device. The punishment: mandatory expulsion.

According to school records, school district Superintendent James Notter recommended the boy be expelled. Samuel was not charged criminally.

Notter did not consent to CNN's request for an interview. However, a school board spokeswoman e-mailed this statement to CNN.

"A hearing officer ruled in favor of the School Board of Broward County to uphold [its] recommendation of expulsion. ... Students have the right to personal privacy and the District is exercising responsibility of respecting this right."

Zero tolerance policies, such as this one in Florida, exist in some form in all 50 states, according to the Education Commission of the States.

In the post-Columbine world, schools have taken a hard line in increasing safety by increasing punishments. But the laws are constantly evolving, according to experts, so that the less serious, often petty cases of misconduct are not handled the same as the serious ones.

In Louisiana, a child who brings a knife to school with a blade 2 inches or longer will be expelled, except when the student is under 11 in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the Education Commission of the States.

And, in Broward County, where Samuel lives, school officials have amended their policies this school year and require mandatory expulsion only for possession of a firearm.

But it comes a year too late for Samuel. One expert said there's been a definite error of judgment, and now Samuel has missed a large part of two school years.

"This is a 7-year-old child," said Kathy Christie of the Education Commission of the States. "This is a case where it was not brandished. It's a plastic gun. ... It just seems a long time to penalize a young man like that, a long time to take him out of that educational experience."

During their son's expulsion, Samuel's parents were offered the chance to send their son to an alternative school. The school, for "at risk" kids, has about 200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

"We said this is not an option, this is unacceptable," Samuel's father said. "I cannot, as a concerned parent, send my child, to a correctional school at 7 years old, who committed a mistake."

The Burgoses worry that this blemish on Samuel's permanent record will follow him, so the family is challenging the school board's ruling. Samuel could also be penalized for not attending the alternative school, according to his attorney.

"If he applies to certain colleges and universities, they too will be aware of an expulsion that happened in second grade," said Burgos family attorney, Alfreda Coward. "They'll know that he was expelled from school for having a class 'A' weapon, and the No. 1 item on that is a firearm."

For now, Samuel spends his days at home, but he said he misses going to school and doing his homework.

While that may be hard to believe, his mother works with him and helps him with his lessons each day. But is she a good teacher?

"Nope," Samuel said. "No offense, Mom."


-----


This kind of knee-jerk idiocy is one of the primary reasons this country is going downhill. So sad. The teacher and any school official who thought this child's life should be ruined for being a child should be fired, put on probation, and serve community service. If they so much as jaywalk, throw them in jail for a year. See how they like living with a "no tolerance" policy.

[boutons_deux]

When Generosity Hurts: Bill Gates, Public School Teachers and the Politics of Humiliation

"Such practices and the cultural politics that legitimize them are apparent in zero-tolerance policies in schools, which mindlessly punish poor white and students of color by criminalizing behavior as trivial as violating a dress code. Such students have been assaulted by the police, handcuffed and taken away in police cars and in some cases imprisoned.(2) The discourse of humiliation abounds in the public sphere of hate radio and Fox News, which provides a forum for a host of pundits, who trade in insults against feminists, environmentalists, African-Americans, immigrants, progressive critics, liberal media, President Barack Obama, and anyone else who rejects the militant orthodox views of the new media extremists and religious fundamentalists. Policies that humiliate and punish are also visible in the increasing expansion of the criminal justice system used regularly to deal with problems that would be better addressed through social reforms rather than punishment."

http://www.truth-out.org/when-genero...ion63868?print

[Wild Cobra]

Zero tolerance = Zero intelligence.

[Drachen]

Zero tolerance = Zero intelligence.

Cmon WC, but it's easy to be lazy. Zero tolerance = Zero time to invest is necessary.

[Wild Cobra]

Cmon WC, but it's easy to be lazy. Zero tolerance = Zero time to invest is necessary.

That's what it is. Laziness on the policy makers.

There should be no such thing as zero tolerance policies when dealing with children. I'm sorry, but either these people are flat out idiots, or never had children. Probably both.

[Oh, Gee!!]

There should be no such thing as zero tolerance policies when dealing with children. I'm sorry, but either these people are flat out idiots, or never had children.

a zero tolerance policy against zero tolerance policies

[Drachen]

a zero tolerance policy against zero tolerance policies

LOL, its not quite zero tolerance against zero tolerance since he allowed for adult zero tolerance policies. Still, great line.

[Wild Cobra]

LOL, its not quite zero tolerance against zero tolerance since he allowed for adult zero tolerance policies. Still, great line.

Old line, and I think I used it before.

[jack sommerset]

That's ing stupid.

[boutons_deux]

BigPharma is pushing hard and succeeding in selling anti-psychotic drugs to kids and babies.

eg:

Some States Drugging Incarcerated Kids To Alter Behavior

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/148425

How I LOVE to trust and respect Big Corps for all their great contributions to civilization.

aka, "we'll do ANYTHING for a buck"

[Drachen]

BigPharma is pushing hard and succeeding in selling anti-psychotic drugs to kids and babies.

eg:

Some States Drugging Incarcerated Kids To Alter Behavior

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/148425

How I LOVE to trust and respect Big Corps for all their great contributions to civilization.

aka, "we'll do ANYTHING for a buck"

How does this relate?

Are you a bot with messed up programming?

[Wild Cobra]

How does this relate?

Are you a bot with messed up programming?

I think he is...

[Spurminator]

boutons reminds me of the Bing "search overload" commercials.

[boutons_deux]

File under "Screwing Kids Up"

It's All Related, for those if us with the superior vision to see it.

ACLU sues NC school over student’s nose piercing

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/a...nose-piercing/

[Drachen]

I think he is...

I had thought that B_D was jack sommerset's mirror, but I am starting to believe that he is DarrinS' to some extent.

B_D if you want to greatly broaden a conversation like that how about I bring in a an article about biological anthropology?

We can file it under "humans" and it would still be relevant.

[jack sommerset]

I had thought that B_D was jack sommerset's mirror, but I am starting to believe that he is DarrinS' to some extent.

B_D if you want to greatly broaden a conversation like that how about I bring in a an article about biological anthropology?

We can file it under "humans" and it would still be relevant.

I am one of the few people that only have one ID on this site. In fact some dumb bags think my name is really Jack Sommerset!

[Drachen]

I am one of the few people that only have one ID on this site. In fact some dumb bags think my name is really Jack Sommerset!

I too only have one account, I wasn't saying you were each other's troll. I said mirror.

[MannyIsGod]

I actually think Boutons is really smart his delivery just sucks and he's angry at everyone. But honestly, sometimes you SHOULD be angry at everyone.

[MannyIsGod]

Plus for some reason, I love that he tells everyone to GFY.

just cracks me up.

[Drachen]

I actually think Boutons is really smart his delivery just sucks and he's angry at everyone. But honestly, sometimes you SHOULD be angry at everyone.

To me it just looks like he chooses a word (word X) at random in the thread, then brings out examples A, B, and C in article format about how the world is going to due to word X.

Generally there is a small link, but a lot of the time the only link is that word X actually appears somewhere in article A.

..... and yes B_D I know GFM

[boutons_deux]

trash talking what you THINK is thread drift? GFY all y'all

[Drachen]

trash talking what you THINK is thread drift? GFY all y'all

Ok, that was funny. In response: nope, I never THOUGHT it was thread drift. Instead I would call it thread nuclear annihilation right after it has been hit by a hypernova while being sucked into a massive black hole.

If you catch my "drift"

[silverblk mystix]

Plus for some reason, I love that he tells everyone to GFY.

just cracks me up.

Go Yourself, Friendo...

[ploto]

While the school's actions are most definitely extreme, it is also stupid of the parents to claim that he will now be two grades behind in school, especially when they were offered the option of an alternative school. They claim they are home schooling him, but then they also say it is the school's fault he is behind.

[duhoh]

BAHAHAHAHAHA!

Same thing happened to me, only with a nerf gun that shot foam darts in 3rd grade! We had to move districts after that!

HAHAHAHA!