Excuse me, George? Could I have a word with you?

NEWARK, Del. — Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother’s fiancé by his side to vouch for him.

Zachary’s offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s reform school.

“It just seems unfair,” Zachary said, pausing as he practiced writing lower-case letters with his mother, who is home-schooling him while the family tries to overturn his punishment.
Spurred in part by the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, many school districts around the country adopted zero-tolerance policies on the possession of weapons on school grounds. More recently, there has been growing debate over whether the policies have gone too far.
But, based on the code of conduct for the Christina School District, where Zachary is a first grader, school officials had no choice. They had to suspend him because, “regardless of possessor’s intent,” knives are banned.
But the question on the minds of residents here is: Why do school officials not have more discretion in such cases?

Still, some school administrators argue that it is difficult to distinguish innocent pranks and mistakes from more serious threats, and that the policies must be strict to protect students.
“There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the president of the Christina district’s school board.

For Delaware, Zachary’s case is especially frustrating because last year state lawmakers tried to make disciplinary rules more flexible by giving local boards authority to, “on a case-by-case basis, modify the terms of the expulsion.”

Um, Excuse me, Mr. Evans. Can I call you George? I think I will. You are missing your calling, sir. You really should be on the parole board at a maximum security prison that houses covicted child rapists and murderers. I really think that you should probably pull your head from your rectal cavity, and look at the facts here. This is a six year old child, you jackass. Do you even know what "zero tolerance" even means? I bet you don't. First of all, this whole drama scene was begun over the Columbine shootings. There is a key word there, do you see it? I bet not, again. The word is "shootings". The last time I checked, a knife can't shoot someone. So, try to follow along here. I assume that the "zero tolerance" for knives is related to the guns that killed the children at Columbine? Am I correct? OK then, herein lies your problem, genius. Where does it stop? A sharpened pencil is a weapon in the hands of an angry child. A putty knife in art class is a weapon in the hands of an angry child. A stapler is a weapon....oh hell, a book is a lethal weapon if swung with enough force. Do you see where I am going with this?

Where is the genius "think tank" that came up with what defines a weapon? This is why it is clearly written that the school should use discretion when administering punishment for "breaking the zero tolerance" law. How does suspending a child, who most likely, has NO IDEA what he has done wrong, solve the problem of violence in the schools? You most likely just aided in creating a child with emotional issues when it comes to his treatment within the school environment. What did YOU take to school when you were just a 6 year old boy, George? A protractor? How about a plastic knife and fork set in your lunchbox? How would YOU have felt if you were humiliated because some jackass decided that it was a "lethal weapon". Would you be the all powerful and all knowing MR. EVANS? I bet the kids have come up with some really good names for YOU over the years. They would probably carve them into their desks, but they can't have knives. OH, but they CAN carve them with a sharp piece of plastic that they pulled from their chair. By the way, they probably picked at their chair out of sheer boredom with your curriculum. I only guess that because you CLEARLY have your head so far up the "politically correct" asses of your administration, that you most likely, don't have much time to focus on mundane things like TEACHING the kids. Just a stab in the dark, George.

Now, don't get all pouty and defensive on me here, George. The truth hurts, I know. Imagine the hurt that you are causing this child, and his family simply because you are a less than virile, neutered man. Grow a set, George, and for once in your pandering life, do what's right. Let the kid back in school. Have your stupid meetings monthly with the students and the teachers about violence and handling their emotions in an appropriate way. But PLEASE don't make an example of a six year old child because you are too stupid and scared to do the right thing. When we set the standard of what is and is not acceptible in our society off of the worst possible scenario, it is doomed to fail. You can NEVER imagine the worst, and you will end up hurting the innocent in your race to defeat the guilty. Have your secretary read that, and interpret it for you. She needs something to do other than roll her eyes at you behind your back. Have a good day, George.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?no_interstitial