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Texas Boy Suspended For "Threatening" Classmate With the One Ring

Posted by samzenpus on from the one-ring-to-rule-the-playground dept.

An anonymous reader writes Nine-year-old Aiden Steward has been suspended by officials at a Texas school after he allegedly threatened to use his magic ring to make another boy disappear. His father says the family had watched The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies last weekend. His son brought a ring to class and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear. "I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend's existence," Aiden's father wrote in an email. "If he did, I'm sure he'd bring him right back." Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the school's zero tolerance policy on magic rings. It may seem easy to make fun of Principal Greer in this case, but it does make one wonder how many elves could have been saved if someone took a hard line with a young Sauron.

9 of 591 comments (clear)

  1. Yay for "zero tolerance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    and, is this policy thing working out for you?

    1. Re: Yay for "zero tolerance" by sribe · · Score: 3, Informative

      Should you fire the person that is likely legally bound to make a very nonsensical call?

      No. You should fire the person who is legally bound to respond to credible threats, but who doesn't have any fucking sense about what is obviously a completely non-credible threat.

      Similar thing in CO a few years back, where administrators are required to deal with students who bring weapons onto campus, and/or students who use even fake weapons to threaten other students. But somehow an administrator thought that a marching band member's wooden rifle sitting in an unoccupied locked car qualified...

    2. Re: Yay for "zero tolerance" by tylersoze · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually as a parent of two children in the Texas school system I know exactly what I'm talking about. This is a school system that criminalizes truancy for instance. You and your child can literally be sent to jail for your child being *tardy* too many times. 3 tardies is the equivalent of absence, so basically being 30 seconds late to class too many times can get you put in jail. Honor role students are facing jail time for truancy for god sakes. It's utterly ridiculous, we're having to stress over making sure to get the kids on time every morning. There is literally "no intelligence" involved.

    3. Re: Yay for "zero tolerance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It has ever been thus. US History goes real light on certain topics, like French involvement in the Revolutionary War (the Continental Army was almost a sideshow) and the use of the Army against striking workers. Things like the Maine, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and Perry's trip to Japan tend to be reported uncritically. Similarly with the phrase "manifest destiny". Every country's history is whitewashed, but the US is particularly good at it.

  2. Re:This is Texas! by quenda · · Score: 5, Informative

    The kid is a serial offender. Previously disciplined for referring to another kid as "black", and for bringing a book to school depicting pregnancy.
    If they don't do something, what next? He might bring in a book on evolution.

  3. OMFG .. I just read TFA by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Informative

    yeah I know that reading the TFA helps. But this little gem says it all - this kid is a huge trouble maker and has been suspended before. Look at the crap he has pulled:

    Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: "The Big Book of Knowledge."

    “He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed,” Steward said.

    But the teacher learned the popular children’s encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.

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  4. Re: This is Texas! by NotFamous · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've personally do not know of ANY unemployed invisible people. Now that's math!

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  5. Re:They've also outlawed freeze tag by epyT-R · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, they really have outlawed and/or regulated it in several states, because it encourages "anti social" behavior.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
    http://www.nydailynews.com/new...

    Why are we letting the government regulate stupid shit like this? So are the kids supposed to stay inside and play video games instead? Bumps, bruises, getting teased, and learning to deal with losing/competition are life lessons.

  6. Then this kid is way ahead already... by denzacar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Best the kids learn early that rational thought and reason does not exist if the words threat, school, sex, gay, religion, race, and more are used in a sentence.

    From TFA:

    He's already been suspended three times this school year.
    Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: "The Big Book of Knowledge."

    "He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed," Steward said.

    But the teacher learned the popular children's encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.

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