Posted on 10/16/2009 10:56:47 AM PDT by broken_arrow1
Call him Mr. Zero Tolerance.
The upstate New York school superintendent who suspended an Eagle Scout for 20 days for keeping a 2-inch utility knife locked in his car is unwilling to speak to the teen's family or bend in his ruling.
Lansingburgh Central School District Superintendent George J. Goodwin, 55, said in a written statement that his district "has an established policy of zero tolerance with respect to the possession of weapons of any kind on school property or in school buildings."
But nowhere in the school district's rule book, which is published online, is there any mention of a "zero tolerance" policy, leading some to question whether Goodwin, in fact, was compelled to suspend the youth.
Seventeen-year-old Matthew Whalen, a senior at Lansingburgh High School in Troy, N.Y., says he got in trouble over a survival kit he keeps in his car that includes a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal and the small pocketknife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a police chief in a nearby town.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The idiot has one of those inspirational theme boards in his office? THAT explains everything.
Now it’s more like Troy of the Trojan Horse.
TroyBilt mowers might be actually made in Canada or Mexico.
and ban it.
The family should sue the school and the state.
The end of commonsense, a sense of discretion, the ability to discriminate, evaluate and judge based on a rational mindset instead of a mindlessly following rules without regard for any standard of reasonablity.
The difference between a Tool and a Weapon is how it is being used.
People have been Murdered by Hammers and Screwdrivers, even Rocks.
Does the School have an Industrial Arts Program.
All those Teachers are in Possession of Weapons.
I'm hoping more people are more aware than you seem to be about this = and that it is going on all over America.
A little 5 yr old boy arrested for 'sexual harassment' - kissed a little girl on the cheek. and this week, the little 6 yr old boy who proudly took his new Cub Scout camp utensil with a folding fork, spoon and GASP knife - they SENTENCED him to 45 days in REFORM SCHOOL! (aFter nationwide outrage, they decided to drop it)
My own little 8 yr old granddaughter got put in detention for having a TUMS - (She had constant problems with pain after eating - and after many years of tests and specialists, was diagnosed with Celiac disease -) It took two very determined parents and their lawyer to make the officials see the light.
These cases happen DAILY in our schools with the brain-washed school personnel
I pray more people will become aware of what our schools have become - nothing short of government indoctrination camps, with gulag rules
HSLDA lifer here... and we haven’t really even gotten started yet.
For that matter does it do home economics? Confiscate that big chopping knife!
Follow up
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/16/news/doc4ad81314b4179431263668.txt
As for his application to West Point, Whalen said that admission officials had been made aware of the situation.
“They’re trying not to let this affect his application status,” said Whalen. “It won’t be held against him.”
However, Col. Deborah McDonald, the head of admissions at the military academy, said in a recent Fox News interview that her concern would be how a 20-day suspension would impact the student’s academic standing — something that has also been a concern for his family.
Might be time for an anonymous tip to the cops.
Fire the superintendent. He has proved he cannot problem solve effectively. Being that’s the case, it’s impossible for him to perform his duties.
Finish the stupid semester as home school. Kid will probably do even better academically. And he won’t have to put up with the jealous little gay nerd who turned him in.
Shall we assume you don’t have any kids in public school? Or that you’ve never tried to take on the ‘educational establishment?’ Any notion that that is a piece of cake is seriously flawed. Even when one has a few successes in those battles, ‘they’ ultimately win the war.
In the meanwhile, why sacrifice your child’s getting a good education accompanied by your values vs. a mediocre education and the tearing down of your own family values? It is hardly cowering to educate your kids at home. The easy thing is to send your kids to public school and leave the job to others.
They can ratify the UN Rights of the Child Treaty and de facto outlaw homeschooling. Under this treaty, the government or a UN body has jurisdiction over all aspects of your child’s life, including education.
There will be blood in the streets if they try,
but they might do it anyway.
This man is the same as 98% of the school personnel in the US today = they have been brain=washed and since they are already Socialists, they believe this is right...or at least THEIR right. (Socialists care little about right vs wrong - only in what they can get away with and point to such draconian 'laws' as "Zero Tolerance"
Since we are going for the safe schools (apparently), let’s think of some other things that could be used as weapons and thus qualify for zero tolerance:
1) Pencils (If I sharpen them correctly)
2) Keys (stabbing people in the eye)
3) Scissors (God forbid that we try to cut things)
4) Forks and knives (eat with your hands)
5) The old polypropylene cafeteria trays that you could shatter into sharp pieces(polystyrene rocks!)
Eventually the list could grow to almost infinity. The lesson is that this was in his car (trunk), under lock and key, and most of all part of a survival kit that is designed to be used only in emergencies. What’s more is that he admitted to having this when asked because as a soldier and honorable person he believed in being an honest person. While I find it highly suspicious that the school would investigate his car although they had no true “reasonable suspiction” under New Jersey vs. TLO since all the people interviewed have said that this young man is an upstanding guy.
If this is what the public system is becoming, my child (one day when I have one; still in college right now) will go to a private school or get home schooled. At least then each case can be evaluated on its merits...
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