Zero Tolerance for Deaf Child’s Name

The Education Reporter ^ | December 2012 | The Education Reporter

[Academiadotorg]

Parents of a deaf child named Hunter were told by his Nebraska public preschool that they must change his name because he was in violation of the school district’s weapons policy. To sign his name, the three-year-old crosses his index and middle fingers then wags his hands. This sign apparently appeared to school officials to represent a gun.

Grand Island Public Schools’ policy section 8470 — Weapons in Schools states: “Students are forbidden to knowingly and voluntarily possess, handle, transmit or use any instrument in school, on school grounds or at school functions that is a firearm, weapon, or looks like a weapon. . . .”

Hunter Spanjer’s family has chosen to use Signing Exact English (SEE) as their preferred means of communicating with Hunter, but he is also learning American Sign Language (ASL). At one point, the school seemed to imply that Hunter’s parents had made a mistake by choosing SEE and that they should change to the district-preferred ASL. A district spokesman said, “The school district teaches American Sign Language (ASL) for students with hearing impairments. ASL is recommended by the Nebraska Department of Education and is widely used in the United States.”

[elcid1970]

Outrageous! Petty tyrants at their worst. If a mouse appeared they would faint and/or lock the school down.

I read once that the origin of the word “gun” could have come from an early Swedish artillery piece named “Gunhilda” by its crew.

Anyway, stupidity with way too much power. The culture war is approaching as more skirmishes are breaking out.

[Rusty0604]

I don’t think so, I remember reading about this when it first happened.

[bgill]

This is the perfect case for the ADA.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The governor of Nebraska is Dave Heineman (R).

You can’t tell me that a Republican governor would miss such an opportunity to make some serious political hay over this.

What a gimmee!

[Doghunter]

I can think of a certain “sign” he could use if they won’t allow him to use his given name. It involves pointing the middle finger straight up, and can in no way be mistaken for a gun.

The stupidity in this country seems to be increasing at a astronomical rate!

[PhiloBedo]

The parents and the kid should give them the “go pound sand you bed wetting libtards”, sign, and then home school.

[FamiliarFace]

I wasn't understanding how the name signed could look like a gun when I tried to envision it from the description, so I thought maybe I had it wrong. I decided to google "hunter sign exact english language" and do an image search. Turns out I was right. "Hunter" in SEE doesn't look like a gun. These people are going overboard for no reason. Here's an example of the difference:

[1_Rain_Drop]

Unbelievable! These people are overly sensitive.
Anything remotely resembling a gun is labeled a gun.
Fine.
Can this be used against the dude in the white crib? He’s always pointing a gun. He’s a bad influence on children.

[Cyber Liberty]

To sign his name, the three-year-old crosses his index and middle fingers then wags his hands. This sign apparently appeared to school officials to represent a gun.

I don't believe this. I'd have to have it demonstrated to me. This sounds more like the school wants him to change languages, and he's already doing that so what's the big deal?

[FamiliarFace]

See post #27 for a visual. These people are nuts! It doesn’t look like a gun.