NYC School Stops 9-Year-Old Menace With 2-Inch Toy Gun
Demonstrating their zero-tolerance policy towards LEGOs, a school in Staten Island almost suspended 9-year-old Patrick Timoney for playing with a tiny plastic toy gun at lunch. The principal swiftly detained the boy and alerted the parents, who are fuming a the overreaction. Still, the boy says he’s learned his lesson and agreed to give up his criminal ways: “I’m never bringing a toy to school again.” |NYDN|
by Bucky Turco on February 4, 2010 at 9:45 am
Editor-in-Chief:
It's nuts! Often it seems that schools' zero tolerance rule means more than principals and teachers protecting their own derrieres. When it involves a small toy, the rule empowers those who have sadistic/bully personality traits.
Patrick's mother has been quoted as saying "If there's a real threat, why not call the Police Department?" Mrs. Timoney, be careful what you wish. Last spring elementary school teachers did call the police. Believe it or not, they had an 8-year-old autistic girl arrested, handcuffed and taken in a police car to jail. Talk about traumatic! And, the terrible reason? The little girl refused to take off her favorite jacket. It's true. These teachers felt so enraged that this child did not do what she was told to do, and that she resisted when several teachers forcibly held her down on the floor, leaving buises on her legs, while they attempted to remove her little jacket. It was as if they were saying: "We'll show you! How dare you resist me." You can imagine how terrified the little girl must have been. Unbelieveable! Ethic Soup blog has a good post on this at:
http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/07/autistic-8yearol…