You brought WHAT to school?!

Recently, a 9-year-old boy brought a toy gun to school. The boy is reported to have shot it at another classmate while walking to school and authorities confiscated the item on the school grounds. The boy is charged with reckless conduct and has a 10-day school suspention.

There are opposite views of reading into this basic situation. One, the student just grabbed his new toy and accidentally hit one of his classmates playing with the item while walking to school. He wasn’t thinking, just a stupid mistake. Two, the student purposefully snuck the item out of the house and waited for his classmate to show up for school, shot him, then tried to hide it from school officials. He wanted to shoot the classmate, he doesn’t feel bad about it, would do it again if he could.

I don’t think either of these situations happened, but something in between.

My thoughts on the subject(s):
(Not on the specific incident)

Please understand that the school district is an entity that is ruled by an outside board and part of the "government". As such, the district must follow certain guidelines and procedures. They cannot "read" into a situation; they are not God discerning the "thoughts and intents of the heart" and yet they are expected to do just that.

The school district is a replacement for parental authority most of the day; I think parents forget that they waive their rights to their child every time they leave the house for school. It is amusing to see parents demand that the school "fix" a situation until their child is involved, either as victim or instigator, and then the district needs to "make an exception or example" depending on their child’s involvement. I know there are teachers who take advantage of their position to demean or hurt a student as well as parents who can’t believe that THEIR child has done anything wrong, ever.

I personally don't have any problem if parents purchase any kind of guns - BB, air or real - for their children no matter what the age BUT there MUST be some restrictions and supervision. All guns toy or otherwise, must be treated with respect and even awe, because they are capable of causing death if improperly used. It is the responsibility of the parent to provide that supervision, not the school district or the sheriff’s department or the legislatures or the gun manufacturers. I know, I know, some of you are arguing about water or toy pistols, “They can’t really harm anyone.” The harm comes from a contempt or lack of awareness or seriousness.

I will also mention other school appropriate items that could be used to harm anyone, such as pencils or scissors, or inappropriate behavior. There is nothing a school district (and frankly the parents) can do with a child who will not learn or behave except remove them from the school. Positive or negative reinforcement can only go so far. If a student goes far enough to break the law then the student needs to face the punishment.

In my opinion, ALL inappropriate items ought to be temporarily confiscated by the school, including cell phones and pocket video games. Anything that interferes with a student's learning because they are using it should be removed and only returned with a parent present. Even for the high school age students. That is an autocratic view, I know.

Why?

Growing up, I knew a student who snuck novels. They would place a book under their textbook or desk and pretend to be working. (The reason I know this student so well? It was me.) The teachers should have removed the novel because it was preventing the student from paying attention to the lesson. (I was an A student, but should that matter?) Now that's a far cry from guns and gun "look-alikes", bad or violent behavior, but because the school district is placed in an authoritative position, I feel the same standards should be upheld, no matter what the item. I know of another school that has a ban against cell phones, but almost the entire student body has one and carries one. Tell me that’s not a double standard. It’s against policy, but not enforced. How can we allow leniency in one area and not in another?

I don’t have an answer for the parents, the school board or the community, but I do know the situation raises more questions than solutions. And in a small community, false and enhanced information runs rampant and views differ from where you stand.

No matter what your opinion is in this specific situation, it is no better or worse than the actual truth.