Posted on 10/28/2004 6:43:59 PM PDT by Sonar5
Hi all,
I need some help and I am fuming about this. Today an incident happened at my son's school that concerns me greatly.
He is in 4th Grade and is age nine. One of his friends brought a small pocket knife to school and allegedly showed it to my son and others at their lunch table. Apparently he did not open the blade, and quickly put it away. No one was threatened. They are all friends in scouts, church, or sports.
One of the other children after lunch, not mine, told a teacher about it. I get a phone call at about 1:15 stating my son was involved in an incident at school. I ask first is he ok, the administrator says yes.
She then explains that my son and others failed to tell an adult or teacher they saw someone else with a knife at school and that she questioned my son. I asked if he was threatened, and she replied no.
She stated the student who brought it would probably be expelled. I thought that was the end of it, since my son didn't bring the knife, no one was threatened, and my son, nor anyone else held it, nor was the blade even shown.
First off, these are 9 year olds. And I'm ok with the kid that told, and whatever happens to the kid that brought it happens. My son didn't feel it was serious.
My concern is the treatment of my son as having done something wrong.
My son got home about 3:40 or so, and I immediately asked him what happened, who was involved, was he threatened, did he or anyone else hold it, etc....
He then told me he was interrogated without my knowledge inside a closed room with only him and the administrator and talked to about what he did wrong by not telling an adult, asked questions, and the administrator was writing down the responses. Two other children who did not say anything were also subjected to this interrogation, seperately.
He and the two others were then pulled out of class before recess and during recess were taken to the office where they, without my knowledge were coerced into writing false statements stating they made bad choices by not telling an adult, and one other example of making a bad choice.
All three were told if they did not bring the form signed by a parent tomorrow, they would miss recess.
So, now my son is made out to have done something wrong. By the way, the administrator signed the form at the top.
My son was never advised of his rights to call us, and have us present, was never advised why he had to write the form, and we were never notified of the form until our son arrived home.
My son is in Scouting and considers a knife a tool, and knows the difference between showing something and getting threatened. He has also been trained in the proper use of a knife, a safety circle, etc... He knew what the student did was wrong, and he knew not to bring those types of items to school.
So what would you do.
We are not signing the form, and I talked to him about his rights, and the fact he did nothing wrong, the student who told did nothing wrong, the only one who did something wrong was the student who brought it, and the way he was treated.
I then went into explaining his rights to him, and about no longer answering any questions without us present.
So put yourself in my shoes, and ask what you would do. I felt the initial incident was no big deal, neither did my son at first. Now I feel my son and we as parents were violated in our rights, as well as our sons.
BTW - I tried calling the administrator who called earlier, and tried to tell her we were not returning the form, and we feel he shouldn't have to miss recess, and be punished, and she replied she didn't like my tone, and then stated the conversation is over, and hung up on me. Nice, huh?
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards, Sonar5
Of Course I'm Joking!!!!!!!!!!!!JOKE!!!!
good for you to homeschool. I hope your wife is teaching the spelling. /kidding
I have to agree with other replies...
DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD RETURN TO THAT SCHOOL!
I am the proud parent of 2 homeschool graduates; now in college.
The best thing we ever did was pull them out of school at approx. the age of your son. They didn't miss it and never wanted to go back.
P.S. They liked having a 4 to 5 hour school day.
I'm glad somebody finally said it.
Well, since the others so far are playing along with what you want to hear, I'll say, if you think it was no big deal, then sign the dang form and act like it. The form admits to the 'sin' of not telling an adult. That's true, he didn't. It isn't a false statement.
Making a huge deal out of this will serve no purpose. None.
I think you should sign the form. Not signing will just make things hard on your son who is required to attend. So unless you have other options for schooling your child then I wouldn't make a big deal out of this for his sake.
I can kinda understand the schools position...had that been a gun brought to school and no one was notified and something did happen well we all know what we would think of the students who did know, yet did nothing about it. jmho
I've carried a pocket knife every day from the time I was 8 years old. That is until I couldn't carry one when flying. Wish I could turn back time to when a pocket knife was considered a useful tool instead of a deadly weapon.
Just look how far over the cliff we've gone. Myself and every kid I knew owned a pocket knife and carried it everywhere we went. It's a liberal psychosis.
Ping!
Since he is 9 he wont be charged with a crime. He could have refused to answer questions but the school administrators have the right to ask them. Also, school safety in certtain situations takes precedence. Kind of like submitting to a search at an airport or metal detectors in schools. Your son is 9 wont be charged with a crime and had no intent. In Florida what the other boy did would bring a 3rd degree felony charge if the knife was greater then i think 6 inches. Used to deal with these cases. Honestly, be grateful and dont lose sleep over this. If your son had been charged with a crime his rights at that point would be invoked. However, that deals only with police. Relax and dont waste your money with a lawyer unless your son is charged with a crime. However being 9 he wont. i was a criminal attorney and save your money! Good Luck!
If possible get an attorney (do you have one already, or maybe know one thru Scouts, or sports...another parent who might be sympathetic). Even without your attorney being present with you...tomorrow I would go to the school and DEMAND to see whatever paper/statement your son had to sign. DEMAND a copy of it. Speak to whoever interogated your boy...take notes of your own (if nothing else this will shake them up). Do you have a school board or board of education? Take your copy (retaining copies of everything...document, document, document!!!) and DEMAND to see whoever is higher up on the educational food chain in your district. Tape (if possible) your son's recollection of the events today (before his memory clouds). Take all of this with you when you meet with your attorney...AND, most importantly when dealing with the school, DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!!!
Good luck...keep us updated...
PaMom
Sad. I carried a pocket knife through 12 years of school. No one ever said a word.
"First off, he should have had a rifle and killed the bear...."
How does that help, exactly at this point?
What about the Superintendant or School Board? Your child should also understand that you are not defending him (he did nothing wrong) but rather the fact that they excluded you from this process and your subsequent treatment. What are you all talking about--run to the lawyer? You mean the one that you all complain about? This is a problem a parent can take on within the system itself. Take your child to school and sit there all day if you have to so they will not refuse him the recess. Get demanding! How about the intermediate school district?
Did she?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.