Posted on 02/03/2005 11:22:59 AM PST by 2Am4Sure
GLADSTONE, Mo. -- A fifth-grader learned a lesson the hard way, and he said he was trying to do a good deed.
Frasier McCart said he was waiting for the bus when he discovered what looked like a handgun. It was bent open.
The 10-year-old put it in his bag, bent open, and rode the bus to school. He then went straight to the principal's office and turned the gun in.
He got a day of detention for bringing it onto school property.
"I'm a citizen trying to do a good deed," Frasier said. "I'm a Scout who knows that it's wrong to leave something there that might, that could be real and go off and hurt somebody."
The gun turned out to be fake.
His mother was upset about the situation.
"To me, it kind of sent the wrong message to children trying to do the right thing," said Tracy Johnson, his mother.
The school principal said he should have said something before getting onto the bus and never touched the gun.
"We want to make sure that he's safe at all times and that the other children on that bus were safe," said Marla Wasserman, the Oakwood Manor Elementary principal.
School officials chose a light punishment because he was a good kid, but he needed a message about what he did wrong, the principal said.
"Where I think that he could have made a better decision was in not saying anything to other children and causing them concern and worry," Wasserman said.
Frasier said he couldn't help it. He just couldn't keep a secret very long, but he didn't try to use it to scare the other children, and he wasn't asking for their advice. He said he knew to give it to an adult.
He said next time he found something like that, he'd give it to his mother and miss the bus.
STOP! - Don't Touch! - Move Away! - Tell and Adult!
So if there are signs posted in a school zone which say "Drug Free Zone", please tell me how the kids get their meds into the school office without getting suspended.
Edited for truth.
No, no one suggested that. The principal said he should inform a responsible adult of the gun before getting on the bus -- perhaps the bus driver, or as the boy said, his mother -- and not touch it. Do you want kids thinking it's okay to pick up guns and carry them around, stick 'em in their bag? Do you think most kids know about gun safety? No, they don't.
The kid should have left the gun alone and told someone, an adult, about it.
That's what is, or should be, drilled into kids from an early age. We've all seen the PSAs regarding this issue. Just because the kid is a Boy Scout means nothing. He should have not picked up the gun. If there is any doubt, treat the gun as if it is real and as if it is always loaded.
Agreed. The Eddie Eagle basic message is: "Stop. Don't touch! Leave the area. Tell an Adult."
Children should use firearms, but only with proper adult supervision.
Zero-Intelligence policies strike again.
Actually, I liked "srenly" - clearly a newly minted term for the tangled mass if nearly invisible fishing line by that trade name.
It is sooo very apropos of the tangled, twisted reasoning (if I may be allowed to abuse the word 'reason') of the principal.
Why, she may very well win a NEA award for her educratic decision based on their agenda. After all, isn't their motto "Agenda Uber Alles"?
2Am4Sure
For your comments to be considered valid you would have to assume that guns are inhabited by an evil spirit. A spirit that will give life to objects of metal, or turn the person who touches a gun into a crazed killer.
The kid found a gun, put it into a bag, and gave it to authorities. For that he is punished? It is a no win situation for the child and punishment is teaching him the wrong message.
No surprise here! The hysteria is everywhere. I have a three year old whose day care has complained to us several times about his making guns with blocks and using his finger as a gun. The very things I'm sure I did when I was that age. Needless to say, I don't say anything to him. It's so ridiculous!
The kid's biggest offense was applying thought, albeit fifth-grade thought, in a "zero tolerance" zone. Who's gonna teach future generations if these hooligans don't conform?
Chills the blood just looking at him.
If that happened to my son, there is no way I would stay in that school. I would tell them to stuff it in there ear--we are outta here.
oops, "their" ear that is.
According to the article, the gun appeared to be cocked and ready to fire. Suppose it was a real gun and it went off and killed another kid on the bus? Better off believing in evil spirits in that case, I say.
bttt
How about 'zero tolerance" against stupidy. How about zero tolerance for punks in the classoom. Also zero tolerance about promoting sex, and tolerance for gays. These are the important things, not.when a kid trying to do the right thing. That scared the kid, and confused him. God help us!
Publik Skool phobia towards guns strikes again.
It's been shown time and again that kids who are taught to handle guns safely and responsibly generally turn out to be law-abiding, responsible adults, while kids who are given the image of guns being "forbidden fruit" are much more likely to use guns for crime.
Don't be an idiot. Obviously the hypothetical thug was going to turn in the gun he 'found', but he hadn't had a chance to by the time he was caught....
Why do you think the NRA is wrong to say kids shouldn't pick up and carry guns they find?
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