Thursday, September 12, 2013

Kids in Calvert Get Suspended For Gun Gesture

9/12/13

Gun gesture leads to suspension for Calvert six grader; county rethinks weapons policy

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/gun-gesture-leads-to-suspension-for-calvert-sixth-grader/2013/09/08/7c27335c-15b9-11e3-a2ec-b47e45e6f8ef_story.html

 Donna St. George. (2013, September 8) Washington Post

2. Category of Problem: Gun/ Weapon Policies

3. Level: County/ Potentially National Level

4. Why is this important to families/ individuals or how does it affect individuals/ family?

When reading this article, it is very clear that this issue directly effects the young students as well as their parents. The kids that this article includes, are being persecuted for doing something they did not know was wrong. Their parents are being over powered by the school district and having to fight for their children to rid their records in some cases.

4. My Views:

In my eyes there is a problem caused from the strict policies in these schools. These are young kids that most likely do not know it is bad to point their finger in a gun shape or talk about guns. The truth is, it is not that bad. Yes, of course it would not be recommended to use these actions at school, but these students do not know any better. Young kids do not always do the "right" thing, especially in public places. This may not even be their fault. Some parents are not very strict or may not even think to mention what they should not do at school. This type of issue brings up a situation to the parents sometimes they did not even know existed. On top of all this, these students are being punished for causing no physical harm and in some instances being suspended from school. In these cases, the kids are not even aware of why they are getting in trouble. In my opinion, the schools have been handling this issue the wrong way. I understand they are trying to be extra cautious because of the recent shooting in Connecticut, but it has been taken a little far. I would like to point out that all of the instances they referred to are young boys, ages 7-11 years old. These boys are probably playing video games and hunting outdoors and using guns as a weekly past time activity. They are not the ones bringing real guns to school. Obviously, there does need to be regulations on what is okay in school, but they need to be clear and a lot more realistic. They might start out by sending a flyer home to help remind parents to talk to their kids about be more careful with there public actions. I do not quite understand why these schools have taken such dramatic measures. These kids are in school to learn and if they are being reprimanded for their mistakes, they will never be able to learn from their mistakes. I just think the schools need to be more reasonable with these young kids and teach them the right ways instead of punishing them for actions they do not even know are wrong.  

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