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

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.

Comments

Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

and, is this policy thing working out for you?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

More like "zero intelligence" policy.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

Not that anyone should ever actually do such a horrible thing, of course, but HYPOTHETICALLY, I would take a certain pleasure in seeing a massive doxxing campaign against principals and other officials on state payrolls who make such stupid decisions and hide behind bad policy. You know just to provide some incentive the other direction and reap a little justice at the same time. Not that I would ever advocate such a thing, because of course I wouldn't, of course.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, this is common all over the country now. Today's school system is way too much like washington dc, they don't want to be held accountable for anything, so they silence everything. They're also way too interested in pushing certain political viewpoints on the kids.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

I love people who take pot shots and don't know what the fuck they're talking about. All school districts are taking tougher stances on punishment and more and more districts across the country are adopting zero tolerance policies. Is it draconian? yes, but when you have inattentive parents who don't take the time to explain right from wrong or turn a blind eye to the kids' activities this is what you get. This is clearly one that the schools administration could deal with but their hands are probably tied by district policy. Schools need to get back to the job of teaching and inspiring our youth, not being extensions of a detention system. That means that parents, you know the ones that actually bring these kids into the world, need to get involved with their kids and start by doing some teaching at home.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[jythie]

Sad thing is, the officials are just responding to parent's complaints. If you want to go after anyone, the local PTA is probably a more appropriate subject.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[amiga3D]

There is no excuse for this kind of idiocy. When something is obviously not a threat to then treat it like one shows that the principal is an idiot. She should have confiscated the ring and told the kid to go back to class and behave. Actually a teacher should have handled it. How it ever got to the level it did is mind boggling. I know this kind of behavior goes on all the time because kids are kids. Most teachers and principals would have handled this without all the fuss, this time it was an idiot. Unfortunately you can't filter them all out, sometimes a few get through. They should fire her immediately and replace her with someone with some sense.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[kilfarsnar]

Schools need to get back to the job of teaching and inspiring our youth...

LOL! Can you imagine such a thing?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[jd2112]

Actually they should expell the kid. In fact expulsion for every minor offence. On the other hand not getting vaccinated is no reason to take kids out of school. It is after all the parents right even if it puts others at risk for actual harm. But threatening with a 'magic ring' or making a gun gesture with your hands, expell the brat.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[TapeCutter]

I would take a certain pleasure in seeing a massive doxxing campaign against principals and other officials on state payrolls who make such stupid decisions and hide behind bad policy.

Agree the story sounds bizzare, but if an angry mob of mouth breathers is your idea of natural justice then I for one am glad you are not a public servant or an educator.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not "zero tolerance" it's "zero intelligence".

Everyone knows the best way to avoid problems is to prohibit thinking.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[war4peace]

Nah, let's behead them all and be done with spending time and money. /sarcasm

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[penguinoid]

More like "zero intelligence" policy.

No, a threat is a threat. If I threaten to make you disappear, and you don't feel that I'm joking, you won't care whether I added "by using magic" as how I would do it.

Not that I'm necessarily disagreeing with you as to their having a "zero intelligence" policy.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Registered Coward v2]

I love people who take pot shots and don't know what the fuck they're talking about. All school districts are taking tougher stances on punishment and more and more districts across the country are adopting zero tolerance policies. Is it draconian? yes, but when you have inattentive parents who don't take the time to explain right from wrong or turn a blind eye to the kids' activities this is what you get. This is clearly one that the schools administration could deal with but their hands are probably tied by district policy. Schools need to get back to the job of teaching and inspiring our youth, not being extensions of a detention system. That means that parents, you know the ones that actually bring these kids into the world, need to get involved with their kids and start by doing some teaching at home.

While I agree wholeheartedly with what you say there is another reason for such policies:

By mandating certain actions the school's administration is not required to make judgement calls that could be second guessed by the district or the courts. This way, they can fall back on the "district policy" argument to protect themselves. Before someone Goodwin's this thread with the "I was just following orders" argument with the current willingness of many parents to sue at the drop of a hat zero tolerance is a better defense than judgement call.

Yes, it leads to stupid results and is really a bad idea but until parents step up we'll see more and more of this.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Registered Coward v2]

There is no excuse for this kind of idiocy. When something is obviously not a threat to then treat it like one shows that the principal is an idiot. She should have confiscated the ring and told the kid to go back to class and behave. Actually a teacher should have handled it. How it ever got to the level it did is mind boggling. I know this kind of behavior goes on all the time because kids are kids. Most teachers and principals would have handled this without all the fuss, this time it was an idiot. Unfortunately you can't filter them all out, sometimes a few get through. They should fire her immediately and replace her with someone with some sense.

Most teacher I know often handle this in class but once it gets noticed outside of class there is no longer a option of using common sense. If one kid gets a hand slap and another a more serious punishment then the school is open to a lawsuit; and if the kid escalates into more serious actions then the school and teacher are in trouble as well. Yes, this is a stupid case and I wish we didn't have these dumb zero tolerance positions but we do. It's easier on the administration of a school and politicians get to say they are taking a tough stance on XYZ and as a result stupid outcomes happen. Welcome to the new reality where judgement is bad and having punishments fit the circumstances is a distant memory.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[geekmux]

There is no excuse for this kind of idiocy. When something is obviously not a threat to then treat it like one shows that the principal is an idiot. She should have confiscated the ring and told the kid to go back to class and behave. Actually a teacher should have handled it. How it ever got to the level it did is mind boggling. I know this kind of behavior goes on all the time because kids are kids. Most teachers and principals would have handled this without all the fuss, this time it was an idiot. Unfortunately you can't filter them all out, sometimes a few get through. They should fire her immediately and replace her with someone with some sense.

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

Or should you perhaps do the right thing instead, and call into question why yet again the threat of legal liability is turning humans into robots.

Tell me, at what point will the middle finger be considered not just grounds for expulsion, but an Act of Terrorism?

Don't laugh, we're well on our way, thanks to the wrong kind of thinking.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

Let me give you a real world example to clarify the problems school administrators face. About 3 years ago a teenager girl going to the same high school as my kids was killed by someone she had accused of sexual assault. He was out on bail with a trial pending and she just started attending the high school the same week. The administrators didn't know the situation at all, nor did the local police dept. as all of this happened in another city. She was abducted on school grounds just after school had let out and he lured her by befriending her on social media. He shot her and she wound up in the river. Here's the whole story. http://www.dallasnews.com/news...

It's these kinds of incidents and the obvious outcry that creates zero tolerance policies. I agree that the administrator and teacher should have been given the alacrity to determine some other kind of punishment but I'll bet both would have been subject to disciplinary action had then not taken the action they did. It's stupid, it's dumb. Hell, have the shit I did when I was in school would have wound me up in jail by all this zero tolerance shit. My original point was that it's not just in Texas, this is all over the nation and it's getting worse. Schools now aren't places of learning, they're more akin to detention centers with lock down policies. Hell when I'd go to a school conference I'd have to give them my driver's license and they'd do a warrant check before I'd be allowed entry. I'd have to tell them "hey, you invited me here remember?"

Schools are a reflection of the communities they serve and until we start addressing the violence and problems outside the schools, they'll continue to have things like zero tolerance and lock down environments where a kid, fantasizing about sorcery gets suspended. It's stupid, dumb and disgusting but we've allowed this to happen. It's well that it happened in the US because in Saudi Arabia he'd have been beheaded for sorcery.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[spamking]

There is no excuse for this kind of idiocy. When something is obviously not a threat to then treat it like one shows that the principal is an idiot. She should have confiscated the ring and told the kid to go back to class and behave. Actually a teacher should have handled it. How it ever got to the level it did is mind boggling. I know this kind of behavior goes on all the time because kids are kids. Most teachers and principals would have handled this without all the fuss, this time it was an idiot. Unfortunately you can't filter them all out, sometimes a few get through. They should fire her immediately and replace her with someone with some sense.

My wife teaches 1st grade and handles stuff on her own most of the time. Rarely does she actually have to get the principal involved. Usually by the time it gets to them they realize there is a real problem with the kid. Some teachers just don't know how to handle stuff.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[gtall]

I think we must consider the possibility that the teacher actually believed the kid could make people disappear with his ring. This is Texas after all. Devil-Worship is breaking out and this principal decided to put a stop to it. Good for her, now if she could only use her talents on a state-wide level. Come to think of it, maybe she could politely ask to use the little boy's ring.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

Yes, it leads to stupid results and is really a bad idea but until parents step up we'll see more and more of this.

Well that's one leg of the chair. Parents want their kids protected and hence when negative situations occur, drugs, shootings or sexual misconduct, there's a knee jerk. Districts don't want to get sued and deal with all the headaches. It also creates huge budgetary issues to defend yourself and to usually make payouts to plaintiffs because "teacher didn't follow policy." Parents need to understand that there's risks in everything whether it's the vaxxers or the hover parents they can't protect their kids all the time. It's abnormal and curtails their emotional, social and intellectual growth. This kid was role playing, using his imagination and unfortunately he's now in an age where that can be detrimental to his academic achievements.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[TheGratefulNet]

'violence problems' are a red herring.

all indications are that crime has GONE DOWN over the decades, not up!

and if you're worried about your little snowflake, chances are that its someone you know that may abduct him or her, not some 'stranger danger' guy.

stop being afraid of goddamned shadows. living in fear is no way to live. man up, dammit.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[MrLint]

You have just argued that 'inattentive parents' is the reason that actual incidents should have no evaluation. Or perhaps in a rephrasing, to pay no attention to the details, in a way being inattentive, at the administrative level.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[itzly]

Come to think of it, maybe she could politely ask to use the little boy's ring.

Bad idea. She would use this ring from a desire to do good... But through her, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[gtall]

Since you bring race into it, there is a journalist I heard on NPR who studied black crime and police. The problem has little to do with white folks in the communities she worked with. Most black crime is black on black. The families living in these areas would much prefer more police protection. However, the police don't have the street level view of the crimes that are being committed. Nor can they protect witnesses very well when the witnesses live with the perps. The witnesses are intimidated into shutting up. The police, not being able to get inside information, wind up cracking down on the crimes they can see in the hopes of putting at least some of the perps behind bars. That leaves the black community feeling the police are only arbitrarily enforcing petty crimes and some how don't want to arrest the real perps.

That said, the police depts have their own internal problems. At least in parts of L.A., there are different units assigned to murders than to gang activity and the two do not communicate very well. Police depts. need to be reorganized to streamline communication, but communities must also rat out the perps in their midst. As long as the communities do not feel like police can protect them against retribution, that won't happen.

You can see a microcosm of this playing out in the prisons. These are captive populations with plenty of cops, yet inside the inmates run their own justice system and the cops cannot protect inmates from retribution. When the society gets that evil, it is very difficult to fix.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[sribe]

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...

Re:Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Stargoat]

When Rings of Power are outlawed, only outlaws will have Rings of Power.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ZeroWaiteState]

If you read the original story, he has already been suspended three times prior to this incident. You'll get a laugh out of the reasons for the other suspensions as well.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tylersoze]

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.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Grishnakh]

What if the teacher and the principal don't have that power? What if the district they're in has clear policies which force them to act this way, or else be fired themselves?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Grishnakh]

What if the policy actually requires them to treat all threats as credible, no matter how ridiculous?

And if they don't follow the policy to the letter, they get fired?

I don't know if this is the case, but it is possible that the stupidity is coming from a higher level.

Re:Yay for "zero tolerance"

[hawguy]

and, is this policy thing working out for you?

Zero tolerance is just an excuse for school administrators to not do their job -- they are supposed to be using their best judgement to make the school a safe place to learn. If they are going to keep making inane decisions while blindly pointing to inflexible policies, they may as well be replaced by robots - why use a human for the job if he's not going to use his human common sense?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[LynnwoodRooster]

Our ability to learn of crime has vastly outgrown the actual crime rate. Crimes are going down, but reporting/knowledge of the events is growing exponentially.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Andy Dodd]

If you read the article, the kid already has a suspension on file for daring to bring http://www.amazon.com/The-Book... to school.

Apparently because it had an illustration of a pregnant lady (I'm assuming, since it's a children's book, an appropriately clothed one...)

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[hoggoth]

"Young man, give me that ring."
"Ooooh... its so pretty. I could do great things with this ring. No... no... it's better if we just destroy it."
"I have passed the test. I shall diminish and gain tenure."

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[thegameiam]

and me without my mod points...

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

Expelliarmus!

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. I still don't like it, it's absurd and it needs to get changed. Which end of the elephant do we attack first, the tusks or the end that poops?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[lgw]

Take a stand, have a moral compass, do the right thing, not the easy thing. "Just following orders" when herding the children into camps is not behavior anyone would consider laudable.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[MobSwatter]

Credibility of the threat has zero possibility here. Suspension was most definitely the "Christian" thing to do.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tylersoze]

Well I do live in Austin (and I specifically moved here) so it's actually pretty awesome, except for the fact it happens to be in Texas.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[geekmux]

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...

I'm glad you used the word "qualified" here, because I have a far easier time that these scenarios qualified for the idiocy around zero tolerance policies than I do believing we actually have trained monkeys running schools.

Yes, there are some obvious cases of bad interpretation here, but that is EXACTLY what a ZERO tolerance policy is designed to eliminate, so we probably shouldn't act so surprised when the foolproof trap designed to be foolproof did its job with even a fool in charge.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tylersoze]

I should mention I grew up in Arkansas, so in comparison it's not so bad, and Austin is basically as liberal as San Francisco. If the Republicans hadn't gerrymandered the fuck out of the city we'd actually have all Democratic representation. Hell one our congressional districts includes parts of fucking Dallas, 3 hours away.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[lgw]

I love the fact that the Amazon reviews mock Kermit, Texas for this.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Jaime2]

I agree we shouldn't live in fear, but we need to keep our eyes open.

... followed by why you live in fear.

Bad things have always happened. Bad things will continue to happen no matter how much you try to control them. The idea that you will only accept a situation after you have wrung the very last ounce of risk out of it is pretty much the definition of cowardice. Bravery would be doing something despite great risk - I'm not advocating that. Rather, sending your kids to school when there is a statistically low chance of harm is simply the sensible thing to do.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Minwee]

If you read the article, the kid already has a suspension on file for daring to bring [The Big Book of Knowledge] to school.

Elementary school is no place for Knowledge, young man.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Minwee]

Schools need to get back to the job of teaching and inspiring our youth...

LOL! Can you imagine such a thing?

They already are. Just today I was inspired to place my hand on my forehead and sigh.

Reading the full article inspired me to try something I had never done before and now, thanks to the brave folks at Kermit Elementary School, I know that I can do an Olympic Double Face Palm.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[snizzitch]

I recommended searching for the "Even I am not above the policy..." Seinfeld excerpt. Sadly I cannot find it anywhere right now.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[jythie]

Parents do not think that far, instead they demand 'simple' zero tolerance programs and get nasty when something they think should have been banned shows up and some local news program does a scare story on it.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[nehumanuscrede]

If the district has clear policies in place concerning imaginative magical items, I would certainly love to read through them.

Can you imagine the sheer TERROR that would happen if the kid brought in some crazy artifact ? Dragon Orb or Phoenix Egg ?
They would probably end up calling in a SWAT Team. ( Or at least some high level mage to deal with it :D )

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Darinbob]

I agree. That school sounds like a place to suspend students often and for little reason. What's bad is that many schools (most?) like to classify some students as troublemakers early and then that's a label the students can't get rid of. That is, one student is more likely to be suspend or expelled for an acount that other students are only given a small warning about.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[mpbrede]

Honor role students are facing jail time for truancy for god sakes.

Living in Texas, but not having been educated here, I'd like to perhaps call your attention to two grammatical errors in one sentence. "Honor roll" and "for God's sake" Now you can see where the problem with Texas education arise. The teachers and principals were raised in Texas.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[amiga3D]

It seems like now that actual violent crime is dropping we have to invent new problems. It's like a solution in search of a problem.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ganjadude]

im actually amazing it was texas and not cali or NY

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ganjadude]

She should have confiscated the ring and told the kid to go back to class and behave.

Or, they could have had a laugh, explained to the kid that no, a ring will not make anyone disappear, and then go have a milk box in the cafeteria. That is the correct response to this.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ganjadude]

treat all threats as credible, that is in fact the right way to do things

however when you realize there is no threat, you drop it and move on.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Kiaser Zohsay]

Or should you perhaps do the right thing instead, and call into question why yet again the threat of legal liability is turning humans into robots.

Too late, we're already there. As soon as you blame the system, you are the system.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ganjadude]

in this day and age? you bring that info to twitter, and instead of insulting the school, we could rally around an unjustly fired teacher... and insult the school

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Grishnakh]

Again, you're applying common sense to the situation. You can't do that. This is a governmental agency with written policies, which must be adhered to. If the policies are stupidly written, and enforced at the highest levels, this is what we'll get.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ganjadude]

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.

this happens in NY as well, its not just a texas thing

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[angel'o'sphere]

Thousands of years ago they called it Magic.
Now we call it Knowledge.

Am I the only one who sees to what that leads?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Obfuscant]

No, a threat is a threat. If I threaten to make you disappear, and you don't feel that I'm joking, you won't care whether I added "by using magic" as how I would do it.

This. If I put my hand in my pocket, point my finger, and tell you I have got a gun, it's still a crime. The fact that this is a child only points out that we have billion dollar industries designed to create belief in the metaphysical in children. Harry Potter, Tolkein, Twilight, etc. And billion dollar industries taking fiction and turning it into reality. (I have a watch that has a more powerful computer in it than were imagined when I was born. RPi 2 is a quad-core A7 with 1 Gig RAM for $35! I can get a gun that I can use to rob you that has little chance of killing you but will completely disable you while I take your wallet.)

Not that I'm necessarily disagreeing with you as to their having a "zero intelligence" policy.

This, too.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Kiaser Zohsay]

If you have nothing to lose, then it's not really "taking a stand", is it?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Livius]

You're missing the point. Credibility is not a factor. It *should* be, but it isn't.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Grishnakh]

The policy wouldn't be specific, it could say something like "the administration must take all threats seriously, no matter how unrealistic they may seem".

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Kiaser Zohsay]

OT: excellent nick.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[mlynx]

I'll bite. I've been there. By your definition I'm one of the apparent "inattentive parents" and I think you "don't know what the fuck [you]'re talking about".

I'm there for my kids all the time. We do stuff together. We talk. We figure out right from wrong and it doesn't stop this from happening. Why, because a 12 yo lacks the maturity of a full grown adult.

Case in point, my A/B student (so not some dummy or delinquent). Placed on suspension and probation for terroristic threats.

Ignored by a kid that used to be a friend, said inflammatory things about having people ready to jump him. The twist, the kid didn't care. The kid didn't report it, it was another school official who overheard everything.

In this case, language designed to elicit a response was purposely chosen. Does a kid have the maturity level to realize the consequences of doing so? Um, no, not at 12 and not having had this experience.

Have you ever used language to piss someone off on purpose? How would you keep the emotions of an 12 year old in check while they're at school? How was the school district zero tolerance policy beneficial in preventing this from happening? What would you have done as a parent to make sure your kid never said something stupid? Do you even have a kid? If you don't have the answers then STFU!

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[larryjoe]

I love people who take pot shots and don't know what the fuck they're talking about. All school districts are taking tougher stances on punishment and more and more districts across the country are adopting zero tolerance policies.

Zero tolerance is an abomination. It teaches the exact opposite of what kids need to learn. Kids need to learn how to think, how to evaluate situations, and how to reason about the costs and benefits of available options. Zero tolerance is all about protecting schools against lawsuits and abandoning the hard job of teaching kids how to make decisions.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[oldmac31310]

'A Modest Proposal' perhaps?

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[TheGratefulNet]

The next fuckstick who mentions "why I live in fear" can get a nice kick in the ass if they like or a kick in the nutsack, your choice.

THIS is why (well, one major reason) why I decided, conciously, to not have kids. parents seem, well, a bit looney. having kids seems to drive sane adults insane.

and in this guy's case, to threats of violence.

sheesh. take a chill pill. or borrow one of your son's/daughter's.

being a parent makes you think you and your offspring are the center of the universe. you want 100% safety for your family. and the fact that it cannot be achieved simply drives you insane.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[TheGratefulNet]

its a control technique. the power class keeps the country in check by keeping us in a constant state of war or 'terror'. and there's an extra dose of fear dished out to parents by the power class; they want them to be in fear, locally (since global terror may not be enough to scare you into submission).

once you think about this, its pretty obvious.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anne Thwacks]

I think you have this backwards. Kids like that should be kept well away from that school. They can obviously learn far more almost anywhere else.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

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

As members of the executive branch of the United States (regardless of arguments otherwise, they're using congressional funds) and the requisite that all law and application thereof be "reasonable" (in the Lockean sense rather than the nonsense that issued from the penumbras of John Roberts recently in giving police cart blanche to murder with impugnity--especially in light of the fact of the writers' own case-illustrations)...

Yes.

If we did every time they'd run out of funding and the department would have to be closed as people got more and more pissed about the waste. Remember that the Constitution's founders explicitly talked about their construct's consequences being intended to lead to such absurdities to nullify concentration of power by making its excesses infeasible and unaffordable, rather than the Supreme Court's making excusese to except and to defer and to rationalized and to [it just keeps going].

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Obfuscant]

Some teachers just don't know how to handle stuff.

I bet if you asked 100 teachers this question:

• Assume you are a first grade teacher and you have no system-provided guidance for the following situation: one of your students tells another student he has a magic ring and is going to make him disappear. What do you do?

I bet that 100 out of the 100 will have the right answer. "Stop doing that Billy, and Tommy, there is no such thing. Both of you sit down and we're going to do math now..."

But then Tommy goes home and tells Momma that Billy threatened to make him disappear. Momma tells Daddy, who is a lawyer. Tommy has been traumatized and the school didn't do enough. (AKA "bullied".) Lawsuit follows. Zero-tolerance policy follows. The teachers get it right. The lawyers force the administration to create policies that don't allow interpretation, because as soon as one teacher does the right thing the lawyers point to the fact that the policy exists and THIS teacher ignored it, it becomes a case of negligence.

Now, remember that we as a society love fiction and magic and create complex fabrics that bedazzle our children. Harry Potter, to name one. Tolkien for another. And remember that when it comes to traumatizing someone, it is not what YOU believe that matters, it is what THEY believe. Psychological trauma is not an objective thing. "Hey, I knew the gun I used to rob a bank wasn't loaded and nobody would get hurt, why is this ARMED robbery?"

We're in a world where sending a text to someone that says "you're ugly" is called "bullying" and begs lawyers to step in. Zero-tolerance policies and zero-tolerance enforcements are a natural response to that legal ecosystem.

Re:Yay for "zero tolerance"

[zugmeister]

Let's keep this problem in the proper perspective. There's only 9 of them in the first place.
Unless you're an elf.
Or a dwarf.
Or a hobbit.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[MobSwatter]

Actually no, the second sentence IMO pretty much nailed it. I'm sure the parents put up a fight, but there is just no arguing with religious people.

Re:Yay for "zero tolerance"

[dbIII]

It's also a reason to stop them using their judgement and defer to people in politics with little or nothing to base judgement on. No point blaming a person who cannot use common sense without risking their job instead of an authoritarian prick that's stopping them from doing what should be their job - blame them, the people who voted for them and those that didn't bother to vote at all. You may be a bigger part of the problem than school administrators.
However, part of that falls down if the school administrators were never teachers so do not have the background to do their jobs effectively. That's one part of the US education system I've never understood, it's not a setting where an MBA is any use and someone with no classroom experience is unlikely to have much of a clue about how to run a school. It seems to me to be a symptom of incompetence to appoint school administrators who know little about schools or children.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Culture20]

this is what you get

What? Dangerous kids who bring a toy ring to school and suggest to a friend that it can (helpfully?) turn the friend invisible? I mean, there's not even any indication of malice on the part of the student toward his friend. "suggesting it can make his friend disappear" isn't necessarily a threat. It's a ring of invisibility, for Eru's sake!

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Nethemas the Great]

What does your anecdote have to do with "zero-tolerance" school policy? It has nothing to do with school administrative actions/policy for whom you state had no knowledge of the situation.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Nethemas the Great]

What do you mean? My grandparents say the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The end is neigh... etc. etc. Fox news told them so.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[billstewart]

Zero Tolerance is mostly a War on Drugs thing. (And don't believe the right-wingers when they say that political correctness is only a left-wing liberal liberal liberal Commie behaviour.)

The incident you're talking about was an outsider coming to the school; a zero-tolerance policy wouldn't have stopped it.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[shutdown -p now]

Instead of reading the headlines, go check crime statistics from your state and municipal government. Headlines are anecdotes. Stats are data. The latter is what you need to make informed decisions, the former serve only to send you into panic mode.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[shutdown -p now]

The question still stands. I don't think you can fix the "happens to be in Texas" part any time soon, so ...

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[omfgnosis]

Huh? There was literally nothing involving a firearm in this story. Neither were the other disciplinary actions the kid has faced mentioned in the article.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Sri Ramkrishna]

I totally agree. It's really unfortunate that we are in this situation...

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[omfgnosis]

No, a threat is a threat. If I threaten to make you disappear, and you don't feel that I'm joking, you won't care whether I added "by using magic" as how I would do it.

I'm gonna make you think really hard about how stupid that sounds... by using magic.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Anonymous Coward]

The christian god or afterlife has zero credibility too, but many christians still treat it as real. The "Christian" thing to do is assume the ring is real and actually can do what the boy says it will, but claim you can't possibility test it scientifically or measure it in any objective way, and you must have faith instead of physical evidence. The Christian style apologetic for the apparent lack of the ring's power may be that the ring will make the boy will disappear, but it's actually a spiritual disappearance instead of a physical one.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[spamking]

My wife actually calls the parents or whoever is listed as the contact for the child anytime there is a major issue with a kid. More often than not, the parents appreciate the call and most of the time it leads to the kid behaving better.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Jaime2]

And exactly what the fuck do you know about fear?

I too am a parent. I am much more afraid that my child will be harmed by a friend or by her own choices than by a stranger shooting up a school or a by drug dealer. These zero tolerance policies don't address any fear I have. The links you provided don't represent anything I'm afraid of.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[jason.sweet]

These kinds of policies are a result of repeated gun violence at schools. There are other factors, but gun violence is a large part of the motivation. Given the number of guns in this country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country), the likelihood of an empty threat becoming a real threat is something most school administrators are not prepared to ignore.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

Those are a subset of the things you should be concerned. We'd like to think that our schools provide a safe environment but that has changed with the society around it. Because of that we have lock down rules, zero tolerance policies, metal detectors and police on campus. I don't agree with zero tolerance policies for much of anything; drugs, guns, knives on campus would be exceptions. So there are reasons for them but it's that we have to take some adjustment back on when they're appropriate.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Coren22]

As far as I saw of the guy selling "loosies", it was resisting arrest that escalated the situation to him being manhandled to the ground which caused his asthma attack and ultimately led to him dying from it, not selling "loosies" even though he knew it was against the law and had been arrested for it previously.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[omfgnosis]

Okay then... there was literally nothing involving violence or threats in the story.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[blue trane]

The cops would have had no reason to hassle him without the law. Some cop from their union said on the radio, "we were told to enforce that law. Pressure came from above, because some community or business wanted that law enforced." (Not an exact quote, but that was the gist.)

So: first, that law should not be on the books. Second, the cops should not use deadly force or anything close to it during such minor stops.

But my main point: take away the law the cops used to harass the guy in the first place.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Coren22]

If it wasn't that law, it would have been running a business without a license. The takeaway from that incident is that resisting arrest never ends well, instead wait and sue later for police harassment.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[ai4px]

I fail to see the correlation between the girl being abducted and killed and zero tolerance policies. How would a zero tolerance policy have anything to do with the tragic death of this girl?

What have seen over the years is that the administration does not follow it's own policies and forces the school board to make them do their job by passing one more rule... the zero tolerance rule. Guess what happens then? The administration doesn't like being forced, so they apply the zero tolerance rule with zest. And what of the bad apples they should use it on? They don't now and didn't before. CASE IN POINT: My daughter was punched on the playground by a young black classmate while playing four square. The kid was "suspended" for the rest of the day. I confronted the principal about it and she said they'd suspended him for the day. When I pointed out that their policy said they had to give parents 24 hours notice for a suspension, she clammed up. I took it to the district superintendent, then to the school board. Each stood by what the principal had done - against written policy. So we went back to the police. 5 months later it was adjudicated in juvenile court. The poor kid didn't even remember what he'd done! I actually felt sorry for him. And ... even better.... his mother asked me why I had pushed this so far, why I hadn't tried to just talk to her. I told her I had asked the principal to give her my number and she wouldn't.

ANOTHER CASE: a student at the same school brought her brother's ping pong ball shooter which was broken to school for show and tell. They expelled her. After 2 months, it made the news. I looked her dad up and met with him. I showed him the definition of a firearm in SC state code of laws. She was literally back in school within 45 minutes. This school, for those interested in Alice Drive Elementary in Sumter SC.

So fuck the schools.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Virtucon]

it creates the knee jerk reactions. "Think of the children!" which IMO is the leading cause of zero tolerance policies. That along with administrators and parents who don't give a shit.

Like I said, I don't agree with zero tolerance policies except in extreme cases. The case of the kid with the ring is a dumb case of a policy gone bad as is your example. Shit I'd probably doing hard time for all the spit wads I shot in my school years given today's mentality of zero tolerance and criminalizing kids being kids.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tobenemo32]

How did religion come into this conversation? Zero tolerance policies are not based on religious views.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tobenemo32]

I agree with your statement about schools not being so much a place of learning as detention. My daughter identified her former middle school as a prison. I don't feel she was exaggerating. Lack of windows in some classes, 4 minutes to get from class to class, not being let into school except 10 minutes before being tardy, except for extreme weather. In my opinion the short time between classes is meant to cut down on student interaction and any trouble that might arise.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tobenemo32]

Precious, my precious, and the principal would shrivel and would be forever drawn to the ring. ;D A side note: a gaming server I play on requires you to be respectful to players and admins, therefore using the word retarted is not allowed. I called my retarted after another called my mental abilities into question. An admin began to have a conversation about that worn not being allowed and I would be kicked. Self deprecation is not allowed, damn it!

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tobenemo32]

Dear god, we must burn that book!

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[tobenemo32]

True

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[Jaime2]

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

That's an idea. It would certainly speed up the process of getting these policies reviewed and revised and fix the "sorry my hands are tied" attitudes that people making sense keep getting stonewalled with.

Re: Yay for "zero tolerance"

[jason.sweet]

"Threat" appears mutiple times in the title, summary and story.

This is Texas!

[jellomizer]

The reason why he got expelled was because he didn't bring a gun to class. And in turn he started spouting some non-christian magic mumbo jumbo.

Re: This is Texas!

[O('_')O_Bush]

Um, this is a serious offense. There is no telling how many invisible people there might be all around us. Getting trapped in invisibility could ruin a kid's prospects for getting a job, getting married, or otherwise fulfilling their dreams.

Re:This is Texas!

[Thanshin]

"And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." - Chronicles 33:6

I don't understand why they let the boy go. He should have been executed for wizardry.

Or whatever means of punishment they use in Texas.

Oh, wait. It IS execution. Now it makes even less sense.

Re: This is Texas!

[Saithe]

Nu uh, not according to Buffy, they get hired by an unnamed black suit organization as spies. Bright, but invisible future ahead of them.

Re:This is Texas!

[quenda]

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.

Re:This is Texas!

[mysidia]

He might bring in a book on evolution.

He might give a lecture... or even worse...... participate in a debate in which he disagrees with a prominent elected government official.

Re:This is Texas!

[Pulzar]

The kid is a serial offender. Previously disciplined for referring to another kid as "black", and for bringing a book to school depicting pregnancy.

I thought you were joking. But that's really what he's been suspend for the previous two times.

That's insanity...

Re:This is Texas!

[gstoddart]

It's kind of mind-boggling, isn't it?

This tells me the principal at this school is quite possibly a complete fucking moron who is too stupid to hold this job.

For pretending he'd use his magic powers he gets suspended? Amazing.

Re:This is Texas!

[mwvdlee]

what next? He might bring in a book on evolution.

Don't be silly. This is Texas; simple behaviour cannot turn into more complex behaviour without divine intervention.

Re:This is Texas!

[MickyTheIdiot]

Suspending a kid because he has a book that talks about pregnancy isn't much above the "unga bunga" stage when it comes to education.

There is no way I'd have a child in that school after THAT incident. None at all.

Re:This is Texas!

[mwvdlee]

It's kind of mind-boggling, isn't it?

This tells me the principal at this school is quite possibly a complete fucking moron who is too stupid to hold this job.

For pretending he'd use his magic powers he gets suspended? Amazing.

Imagine what this principal would do if God truely existed and Jezus went to this school, threatening to turn water into wine and such.

Re:This is Texas!

[gstoddart]

LOL ...

Harry: "Ron, what's Seamus trying to do to that glass of water?"
        Ron: "Turn it to rum. Actually managed a weak tea yesterday, before--"
      -- Ron and Harry[src]

Eye of rabbit, harp string hum, turn this water into rum is a transfiguration spell that, purportedly, could turn water into rum.

Hey, if he can prove it ...

Re:This is Texas!

[Anonymous Coward]

I personally lived in Texas and plan to move back one day. Outside of the cities it *is* heavily Christian, pro-death, pro-gun, road kill eating groups of people and they're proud of it. Heck I married a Texan, it doesn't mean the state isn't full of mouth breathers.

Re:This is Texas!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd love to defend the south against stupid stereotypes and all, but, bleh, it's Texas, where dildos are illegal. They have to be sold as "educational tools." For, uh, showing how to put on a condom or something. To adults, of course. They'd certainly close that loophole if the First Amendment would let them.

Butt plugs are legal to sell, though, because by Texas law you can't get sexual pleasure from there.

Re: This is Texas!

[Immerman]

Well sure, it does take some practice to operate discretely while blind, but so long as you can avoid walking into anything/one you can listen in on the darnedest conversations. Not to mention the sort of infiltration and sabotage you can get away with.

Re: This is Texas!

[NotFamous]

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

Re:This is Texas!

[MickyTheIdiot]

This is right wing Political Correctness.

Re:This is Texas!

[jythie]

I actually do wonder how much the 'mumbo jumbo' had to do with it. I still encounter people who believe in the big satanic panic from the 80s and take devil magic very seriously, with 'devil' being anything other than the exact version of christianity they follow.

Re:This is Texas!

[jythie]

Kinda scary that the book was basically a children's encyclopedia.

Re:This is Texas!

[fremsley471]

Hang on, did I miss a memo? What's wrong with using the term black? What's the acceptable epithet? (oh, and just an advanced "Fuck off" to any racists with 'hilarious' replies).

Re:This is Texas!

[jythie]

I wonder if the 'black' suspension was about calling the 'wrong person' black rather than using a forbidden word. This whole thing reeks of a political vendetta with the kid as some kind of easy target. I would not be surprised if he made the mistake of questioning someone's ancestory with the suggestion they were not racially pure and it happened to be the kid of someone who already did not like his parents.

Re: This is Texas!

[Anonymous Coward]

Insensitive clod. As an engineer being invisible is my only chance getting married!

Re:This is Texas!

[gstoddart]

I would not be surprised if he made the mistake of questioning someone's ancestory with the suggestion they were not racially pure and it happened to be the kid of someone who already did not like his parents.

Well, do you have anything to back that up, or is it just the wild-ass speculation it sounds like?

I would not be surprised if you were talking completely out of your ass with neither facts nor evidence to back it up. I might not even be surprised if you beat your wife and children. I might not be surprised if you killed and tortured animals.

In this case, "I would not be surprised" is code for "I''m going to make unfounded bullshit speculation and insinuate there is a basis for it other than I felt like making shit up".

Re:This is Texas!

[Holi]

Not sure where "left-wing" comes into this at all.

Re:This is Texas!

[Holi]

I believe you meant porch monkey.

"Randal Graves: Well, I still don't think that porch monkey should be considered a racial term. I've always used it to describe lazy people, not lazy black people. I think if we really tried, we could take back porch monkey and save it."

Re:This is Texas!

[blue9steel]

Okay, so Libertarians tend to attract all kinds of crazy, but not all of us are insane.

If you ever find a party for rational people let me know, the existing choices don't seem to cover that option.

Re:This is Texas!

[Chris Mattern]

This has been going on for some time now:

"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then He made School Boards." -- Mark Twain in 1897

Re:This is Texas!

[Chris Mattern]

You've obviously not interacted with public school management much. Generally speaking, they're deathly afraid of anything anyone from any side of the political spectrum might take offense at.

Re:This is Texas!

[jellomizer]

The left-wing tend to be the group who overreacts when someone says or does something that may not sensitive to someones culture, even if it wasn't insulting.
 

Re:This is Texas!

[I'm New Around Here]

There are none. That's why you should balance two opposite ones with each other.

See sig.

Re:This is Texas!

[I'm New Around Here]

Sometimes "gentle giant" is used too.

Re:This is Texas!

[DarkOx]

What's really sad is that neither the teacher or the principle at this school could be arsed to explain to the other child who was apparently having some sort of crisis as result this boys assertion about his magic ring, that:

1) magic isn't real.

-Or- if they are to craven to have that conversation

2) that their class mates are not capable of doing magic.

I mean all you have to say to the kid is, look the other guy is fibbing, if he could make you invisible he would have demonstrated this power on himself or some object to prove it to you! So obviously its an empty threat.

Seriously if the staff at our schools can't handle teaching 3rd and 4th graders invisibility spells are not real Its no wonder the whole fractions thing does not go well...

Re: This is Texas!

[scrib]

You clearly don't unerstand magic!

Re:This is Texas!

[blue9steel]

That seems to give us an optimum mix of the worst of both sides policies, I'm not sure I'd call that a good solution set.

Re:This is Texas!

[linuxrocks123]

First, I'd like to point out we're hearing a third-hand rendition of what happened in each case. The kid told his parents told the media why he got suspended.

Black isn't a racial slur. The name of the race on the US Census is "Black or African American". The only way it could possibly be okay to suspend him is if he repeatedly and with intent to harass called someone who didn't like being called black, black. Did this happen, or is some teacher using her power to engage in a personal vendetta against a word she doesn't like but is generally considered acceptable? I don't know. Like I said, we know one side of the story.

Maybe, in this most recent case, the kid actually, for fun, tormented a superstitious classmate into thinking he was really in danger of being exiled from existence due to black magic.

TLDR: Many kids are assholes. Many teachers are assholes. Parents will never admit, due to myopia, that their kids are assholes. Schools will never admit, for legal and union reasons, that their teachers are assholes. Who was an asshole here? We'll never know. But I do assure, someone was.

Re: This is Texas!

[Immerman]

Well, as long as there's nobody nearby they can always learn to use sonar.

Re: This is Texas!

[denzacar]

Blindness by invisibility is only a problem when using SCIENCE.

Magical invisibility causes no such issues.

Re:This is Texas!

[denzacar]

This is why my partner and I make sacrifices in order to send our child to a private school.

To which deity and/or demon? And does he/she/it demand living things or only objects or food?

Re:This is Texas!

[Grishnakh]

Wouldn't it be cheaper, over the long term, to just pack up and move to a state where the public schools are decent?

Re:This is Texas!

[Sez Zero]

Kermit, TX, population of about 6000, according to Google.
Texas, population 26M.

I wish people would stop equating redneck west Texas towns with an entire state.

Re: This is Texas!

[Immerman]

Only if the spell is constructed to counteract the effect - magic only allows you to do an end-run around physics, not ignore it completely.

Ever wonder about that little bit of "shimmer" invisible people so often exhibit? That's what lets them see. By collecting a tiny amount of the light that hits their surface and focusing it onto their eyes their vision can adjust well enough to provide dim vision with minimal loss on invisibility.

And of course there's the "floating eyes" option, which done intelligently can be extremely effective. After all your eyes need only be allowed to capture light coming from in front of you, meaning the "floating eyes" need only be visible from behind - just stand with your back against the wall and you can see normally while still being completely invisible from all accessible perspectives, though you do need to be cautious that the tell-tale shadows don't fall anywhere too visible. A slight blurring effect can improve the situation dramatically as well, diffusing shadows into invisibility while also disguising your eyes as nothing more than a momentary wisp of smoke if someone does manage to get a glance at you from behind.

Re:This is Texas!

[Zordak]

Yeah, I know you think it's clever and edgy to make fun of people who read the Bible, but if you're going to do it, at least have some basic understanding. The passage you're referring to, in which Manasseh's evils are enumerated, includes "he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom." This is a reference to Molech worship, in which people literally burned children to death in the arms of golden idols. Surely even for an edgy, clever Bible-hater, that's sufficiently abominable to call him evil.

Re:This is Texas!

[itzly]

Maybe he even called them mudbloods ?

Re:This is Texas!

[Archangel Michael]

Left wing comes in whenever race is involved. Calling someone "Black" is a racial slur in some places, right up with the N word. Funniest thing I ever saw was someone calling a black guy from Britain who had never been to America (or Africa) an "African American". The liberal outrage when I pointed it out to them was almost as funny.

Re: This is Texas!

[davester666]

Of course they are all employed....by the NSA to watch us. Because we are terrorists.

Re:This is Texas!

[angel'o'sphere]

First: I doubt there are any Bible haters here. Why would anyone hate book?
Second: you seem not to know much about what you are talking about, hint: read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...
Finally: as history is written by the winners, it should be obvious that the 'child sacrifice' stories are inventions of the winners with the attempt to denigrate the other party.
For that you don't need a degree in history or religion, it is common sense.

Btw: the modern idiom/phrase "He went through the fire" literally means he was offered/shown to Moloch/Baal (and survived it)

So if you are a Bible lover and Christian, pun intended, perhaps pay attention from where your ordinary daily use of 'language' comes from before you quote the Bible misleading ;)

Re:This is Texas!

[angel'o'sphere]

What's wrong with using the term black?
20 years ago the americans invented a term called 'political correct'.
Since Then you are no longer allowed to use the word black^B^B^B^B^B, you are supposed to use the term 'afro american'.
I believe the idea behind that idea is that Obama can still be considered an African.
I wonder why you don't know that, did you live the last decades in a bush? I'm a european and even I know this stuff.
Btw: that political correctness stuff does not prevent you from shooting any black, regardless of age, gender and perceived blackness, legally even.

Now where I think about it, calling someone black likely means, you want to shoot him at the next best option.

Re:This is Texas!

[MrKrillls]

Not to worry, the educators probably can't read anyway.

Re:This is Texas!

[operagost]

Dude, "Afro American" is not approved either. It sounds like you're referring to a hairstyle.

Neither is colored, even though it is still part of the name of the most prominent African-American organization in the USA.

Re: This is Texas!

[denzacar]

Sufficiently advanced magic would simply bend and alter reality without the need for shimmering or floating eyes.
Which are artifacts of insufficiently advanced technology as well as the similarly advanced magic.

Sufficiently advanced technology would have a small flock of self-propelled and autonomously-powered pico-cams flying around the wearer of the invisibility item.
Each cam would posses many modes of vision, sound, temperature and other telemetry including but not limited to zoom, infrared, ultraviolet, smell-o-vision, microscopic vision, 360 degree dome etc. - projected directly to the inner side of the invisibility item OR into wearer's mind.

Seeing around, over or through corners would be as simple as getting the entire swarm into someone's body, floating it into their brain and causing an aneurism there.

Re:This is Texas!

[operagost]

In the article-- I know, who reads them-- the student had been previously disciplined for calling another student "black". I mean, if the other student wasn't black, that's just weird, and if he was, then it's rude but not worthy of serious punishment unless "black" is ipso facto racist.

Re:This is Texas!

[fremsley471]

Also European, not living in the bush; black is still the term to describe many people of colour, at least in my culture. A selection of headlines from last last six months in the very, very politically-correct Guardian newspaper

http://www.theguardian.com/us-...

http://www.theguardian.com/wor...

http://www.theguardian.com/us-...

http://www.theguardian.com/us-...

They all, unfortunately, have something else in common. But no, African-American is certainly not used with anything like the same dominance by our media.

Re:This is Texas!

[quenda]

If you ever find a party for rational people let me know, the existing choices don't seem to cover that option.

Rational politicians do not state rational opinions or policies in public, if they want to get re-elected.

Re:This is Texas!

[dbIII]

Call a Republican country club lady "trailer trash" for an example of overreaction coming from all directions. In this case the magic ring objection and objection to a depiction of pregnancy is definitely coming from the "right".

Re:This is Texas!

[I'm New Around Here]

It's gotta be better than the shitstorm we are living in right now with the Democrats and Republicans in charge of it all.

I don't agree with the Green Party on much, but at least I think the people have some honor left in them. I agree with the Libertarians on a few more things, but still think most of them are either simply nuts or, as someone put it years ago, cry-baby born-again tax-dodgers. But at least they want to leave me alone in my daily life.

So get them to form a partnership to take control from the current mess if fools, and let them have a shot. Literally, it can't hurt more than we are facing now.

Re: This is Texas!

[shutdown -p now]

You assume that invisibility spells actually work by making matter transparent, rather than simply re-emitting the absorbed photons on the other side.

Re:This is Texas!

[omfgnosis]

War on Christmas

Re:This is Texas!

[shutdown -p now]

The most hilarious (or sad, depending on how you look at it) political correctness story that I've heard actually involved a guy using the term "African American" inappropriately. You see, he happened to be from Mozambique, and he immigrated to the USA, so he used it to refer to himself. But, unfortunately for him, he was white. Apparently, a white person saying that they're African American constitutes "misappropriating a cultural identity to which he is not entitled", even if they had been born in Africa and are American citizens.

Re:This is Texas!

[stealth_finger]

Hehe it's so trendy and clever and witty to observe that a state has lots of people who don't politically agree with you, and then assume they must all be drooling idiot cavemen with large brow ridges who can barely say "unga bunga" while clubbing their lunch to death. I mean obviously whatever you believe is the definition of intelligent enlightenment, leaving no room for anyone to legitimately disagree with you. I wish I could be all smarmy like you, and I regret that I have not yet attained this state of being, and none of this post is sarcastic at all, nosiree.

Well, here's one Texan.

Re:This is Texas!

[angel'o'sphere]

Haha, the other funny thing I figured on a dating site is, Scammers from Africa set up fake accounts with usually _white_ girls in american cities. However as 'race' they select 'native american'.
That is so funny, especially as the site autofills the land of the location they enter based on the IP address. (and the scammers regularly fail to change/fix that)
So: meet Betty, white girl, native american from New York, Ghana.

Re:This is Texas!

[Coren22]

It is a teacher and principle. Education is staffed with left wing people, not right. Not everyone in Texas is a republican.

Re:This is Texas!

[Coren22]

Yeah, that one is used for people who rough up shopkeepers and punch cops. He was such a gentle giant.

Re:This is Texas!

[Zordak]

First: I doubt there are any Bible haters here. Why would anyone hate book?

I guess you would have to ask the many, many Slashdot posters who regularly mock the Bible, including the GP. (That said, there are plenty of books I hate, so it's not inconceivable.)

Second: you seem not to know much about what you are talking about, hint: read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M... [wikipedia.org]

Um, did you read the page you linked to? Because it definitely supports exactly what I was saying. Whether you believe the Bible was divinely inspired, it was a near-contemporary account. The fact that a little blurb on Wikipedia mentions that some early-20th-Century archaeologists think Molech might have been made up is hardly conclusive evidence that Molech is "obviously" an invention of the Jews to denigrate their enemies. But regardless of what you think actually happened, the author of Chronicles was definitely saying, "Manasseh was an awful person because he sacrificed children to Molech." That's a far cry from the GP's original thesis of "Manasseh was an awful person because he did the equivalent of reading Harry Potter."

Re:This is Texas!

[angel'o'sphere]

No, the page does not support what you are saying.

All modern research, I explicitly asked you to read the two relevant subsections :D, indicate that there never where children sacrificed.

Regarding "bible hating" I also mock the Bible or people who believe that a King James Bible translated from Latin which was translated from Greek which was translated from Aramaic has more than a grain of salt in it.

But regardless of what you think actually happened, the author of Chronicles was definitely saying, "Manasseh was an awful person because he sacrificed children to Molech."
No idea :D I don't read the Bible, unless I have to quote a part someone else misquoted first. And this sentence was not the question IMHO. You more or less sidetracked into that discussion.

Re: This is Texas!

[Immerman]

Well, that would be cloaking rather than invisibility, would it not?

Re:This is Texas!

[haruchai]

"Who was an asshole here? We'll never know. But I do assure, someone was"

In that case, let's mete out due punishment to all the likely assholes. The kid's suspension should stand, the other kid should also be suspended - and the school officials should be fired.

Re: This is Texas!

[shutdown -p now]

I think that cloaking in that context usually rather refers to mind-affecting spells that don't make things physically invisible, just make sentient beings believe that they're not there.

Anyway, "invisibility" just implies that the target of the spell is invisible, it doesn't specify the method by which that is achieved (and it's not called "transparency"!). Between the two, there's no way to observe the difference from the outside, so far as I can see.

Re: This is Texas!

[Keybounce]

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

Invisible people live in the Swiss Alps, wear heavy jackets to cover up when out in public, and trade stocks and commodities for a living.

There was a movie documentary about that a few years ago, what was it called again?

Re:This is Texas!

[AK Marc]

Yes, it's generally best to move to a middle-lower part of the best school district you can find. The report I saw indicated that the bad school in a good district is usually better than the good school in a bad district. So which school isn't nearly as important as good district.

Other possibilities....

[whizbang77045]

Thank goodness he didn't make himself invisible! Think of all the mischief he could create then!

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Thanshin]

the school is teaching the kid that threats have consequences.

What's the consequence of threatening boys with suspension for imaginary witchcraft?

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[BarbaraHudson]

school is for learning and teaching.

Not this school

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.

Most kids who have younger siblings or friends who have younger siblings have seen a pregnant woman, so what is the big deal? Idiots teaching others how to be idiots by example.

Where he went wrong

[OzPeter]

Seeing that this is Texas he should have just said that "God will strike down the unbeliever" and left it at that.

I'd love to see this zero tolerance policy come up against religious freedom.

Re:Where he went wrong

[MickyTheIdiot]

>The problem with that approach - whether in Texas or in Pakistan - is that the people who say that tend to seem to think that they should do God's striking for Him.

And they are sure they know what God's will is without a doubt!

Re: its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Anonymous Coward]

That's weird, I thought Texas wanted MORE Jesus in school.

Zero Tolerance Vs. Common Sense. The Showdown

[geekmux]

"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."

Ironically, his level of ignorance has triggered my zero tolerance for morons in powerful positions. Particularly those responsible for education.

Just once, just one damn time I'd like to see Common F. Sense kick the living shit out of Zero Tolerance.

Once again, we watch the fear of litigation create handcuffs and cause cranial-rectal inversion. Damn that shit gets old.

Should be obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

... Another case that proves the old saying - "Zero Tolerance Policy" means "Zero Intelligence Policy"

OMFG .. I just read TFA

[OzPeter]

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.

Re:OMFG .. I just read TFA

[OzPeter]

Here in Europe everybody would have laughed their pants off.

Assuming their pants were on in the first place.

Re:OMFG .. I just read TFA

[mwvdlee]

depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.

To be fair, The specific illustration is kinda hot: https://leonsmom.files.wordpre...

Re:OMFG .. I just read TFA

[RevWaldo]

He should ask his teacher "So the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Mary, why was that considered a miracle compared to any other child being born? I mean, specifically..."

.

Re:OMFG .. I just read TFA

[future assassin]

When I was 10 (Grade 3 or 4) in school in Poland our biology book had full male and female anatomy photos including get this, vagina and penis pictures. When I came to Canada it was like Papers please, Comrade (ie permission slips) before teachers were allowed to talk to you about sex ed and human biology.

He was also banned for a book.

[Anonymous Coward]

According to the article the same kid was also suspended for bringing "The Big Book Of Knowledge" - An encyclopedia for kid - to class.

Re:He was also banned for a book.

[srobert]

Does "The Big Book of Knowledge" allude to the "round earth" theory? Because here in Texas that might cause some controversy. We don't want Texas children influenced by the anti-Christian and anti-American world view that's being propagated by liberals.

Hard line with young Sauron.

[Chas]

Since Sauron is a Maia, he predates what we know as "creation".

So the answer to this is probably "no".

As always, Eru Illuvatar did not make himself available for comment.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[Noryungi]

Just when I thought you could not get more geeky than the punchline to this story, you, my dear ''Chas'', prove me wrong.

Thank you, kind Sir, you made my day. I am still wiping tears of laughter from my eyes.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[Chas]

No. Just widely (if not well) read, with a fairly astonishing retention number.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[tepples]

Since Sauron is a Maia, he

Maia, who?
Maia, ah
Maia, ha ha

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[HBI]

Sauron (actually Gorthaur) was a Maia under Melkor's domination, but retained free will and was able to modify his own behavior. The Valar had the choice on several occasions (the Chaining of Melkor and the breaking of Thangorodrim at the end of the First Age, at the very least) to mete out the punishments alluded to. The Valar chose not to punish him. So blaming Eru for this is rather shortsighted. He _never_ punished his Ainur. The Valar did hand out judgements, however. Eonwe specifically chose not to take any action, simply suggesting that Sauron come back to Valinor and abide the Valar's judgement. They let him walk free otherwise, to the detriment of the world.

They were really crappy guardians, truth be told.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[Opyros]

"Gorthaur" was simply the Sindarin equivalent of Quenya "Sauron". His original name was Mairon, meaning "the admirable".

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[HBI]

Hmm, I was unaware of that printed document until I just looked it up. Touche.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[HBI]

I'd also make the point that the use of Quenya by the Numenoreans was very limited. By the Sindarin almost absent, ditto the Silvan. The Noldor were the only people who made much use of it, and only amongst themselves. So you'd be far more likely to hear Gorthaur than Sauron.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[dbIII]

They were really crappy guardians, truth be told.

If not there would be no plot.

Re:Hard line with young Sauron.

[demonrob]

and this is how this kid would have turned out if not disciplined early. it's good to see the texans are learning from books.

Further down in the article...

[subanark]

He got suspended earlier for bringing a children's encyclopedia, "The Big Book of Knowledge," which had a section on pregnancy.

Re:Further down in the article...

[MickyTheIdiot]

Wow. No indoctrination going on THERE.

Re:Further down in the article...

[pr0fessor]

One of my sons was expelled from the highschool the day after the Columbine shootings because had previously owned a trench coat that he had out grown and hadn't owned for nearly a year. The expulsion only lasted half a day before someone came to our house and apologized as the principal had over stepped his authority when he expelled every student that had ever worn a trench coat to school. That was also his last year as principal.

He was also suspended for wearing a pentacle by a vice principal wearing great big honking cross. After a lengthy explanation about religious symbols used as gang signs from her I simply told her she's not suspending him and will never mention it again unless she intends to suspends every person wearing a cross. She started to try and convince me that was different and I cut her off and cautioned her that there wasn't any argument she could give that wouldn't make me want to see her fired.

Re:Further down in the article...

[hamburger lady]

hilarious. i guess since the gangster disciples use a star of david as their symbol that jewish kids can't wear those around their necks either. come to think of it, the latin GDs use a cross as well.

Re:Further down in the article...

[pr0fessor]

Latin GD was the most prominent gang in that area of Illinois which makes it a little more ironic.

The pentacle he was wearing was on a t-shirt transposed over the house of fifths similar to the cover of the guitar grimoire. Basically a chart showing the keys with a legend to help you make guitar chords.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[pla]

the school is teaching the kid that threats have consequences.

Credible threats have consequences. Threatening to magically make someone magically vanish lacks credibility.


and a pretty good lesson

"Good" lessons have a point to them. Teaching kids to fear imaginary threats does not.

Stewards of Gondor

[Sir_Eptishous]

The family name is Steward.
I think the boy was merely trying to show "show his quality"

The school got the wrong disappear as well.

[Anonymous Coward]

Some how they had the mind of

disappear = disappear as in rubbed out by the mob.

and not

disappear = as in a still there but can be seen.

Re:what's the big deal?

[Chas]

I remember getting in trouble in grade school for calling someone a homo sapiens (yes I knew I wasn't REALLY insulting the idiot kid, but HE didn't know that, but I got in trouble because he "felt" insulted.

Then again, most of my teachers in grade school were fucking assholes.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[MickyTheIdiot]

There is always someone willing to defend indefensible behavior.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Jason Levine]

I'm all for teaching kids that threats (and other mean things said) have consequences. As a father, I have to do this more often than I'd like. (Mostly from my boys getting on each others' nerves.) However, your response needs to be proportionate to the actual threat. If a child brings a gun to school and threatens another child with it - even if the gun was unloaded - suspension could definitely be considered. If a child is threatening another child with a "magic ring", though, perhaps you should just talk with the child about how it's not nice to threaten people even with imaginary objects. At most, have the child write an essay or something to drive the point home. However, a suspension over "my magic ring will make you invisible" is really going over the line.

Not the school name that I expected ...

[Alain Williams]

TFA says that the school is called ''Kermit Elementary School'', I was expecting the name ''Hogwarts'' - silly me!

Re:Not the school name that I expected ...

[Chris Mattern]

TFA says that the school is called ''Kermit Elementary School''

So I guess it's appropriate that the principal is a muppet.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[geekmux]

school is for learning and teaching.

the school is teaching the kid that threats have consequences...

Yeah, we should probably advise our youth of the legal firms taking on cases of sorcery. I hear it's a growing threat these days.

Oh wait, I forgot. You're right. Sorcery is a form of terrorism according to our government. Yeah, we should probably cover the legal liability in class.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

This isn't teaching kids to fear imaginary threats, it is teaching that threatening people, whether the threat is credible or not, is highly inappropriate, and won't be tolerated.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[MickyTheIdiot]

And despite the bozos that constantly talk about kids not being "fully formed persons," nine-year-old kids know the difference between stories and reality. If they don't then it is a mental health issue, not a displinary one. Children are PERSONS at another stage of development, not un-persons with brains that don't work.

This is silly. If I go to my office mate and joke that I am going to hit him with a Super Mario Bros. fireball, should I be fired? If a really believe it maybe I should be sent to the farm...

Thank you, school monopoly...

[mi]

If a moron at a local pizzeria causes you grief, you'll simply order from a different restaurant next time. But there is no such choice in the single most important sphere of all: the children education. And TFA is just one little example of it.

Since 1960-ies the per-pupil annual cost of public schools quadrupled (inflation-adjusted), while the quality of education remains the same (if it has not gotten worse). What other industry could get away with such a thing?

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[Rich0]

Since 1960-ies the per-pupil annual cost of public schools quadrupled (inflation-adjusted), while the quality of education remains the same (if it has not gotten worse). What other industry could get away with such a thing?

Well, colleges and the healthcare industry, since you're asking. :)

At least the schools don't cause too many deaths, and the first 12 years are free.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[myid]

(if it has not gotten worse).

It's gotten worse. Here are the questions and answers from the 1912 Eighth Grade Examination for Bullitt County Schools. (The staff of the Bullitt County History Museum figured out those answers.)

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[mi]

Well, colleges and the healthcare industry, since you're asking. :)

Good examples both! Although their hold on the respective markets aren't quite as monopolistic, their pay-structures is just as divorced from the immediate consumers of their services as that of public schools.

If today we upped school-loans to $1 million per year, the colleges would've upped their fees up to $1 million by September. And they would've found reasons...

Likewise, if insurers today agreed to pay twice more for a particular procedure, the price of it would've doubled overnight.

At least the schools don't cause too many deaths

Not sure, what you mean by "causing deaths", but schools definitely are places, where children are in high danger of sexual predators (far more so than churches, for example).

and the first 12 years are free

If it were free, I would've not have been talking about quadrupling of the costs, would we have?

To put us back on topic, at least, you can switch your doctor or transfer to a different college. Public school? You are stuck with it...

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[nedlohs]

The quality of health care has not remained the same or gotten worse in the last 50 years. Of course it has improved equally well in other places that haven't seen the same level of cost increases.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[nedlohs]

How does that show it is worse? Surely you'd also need a current set of questions and answers.

Or is the point that the museum staff at least one answer wrong (I stopped at that point)?

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[linuxrocks123]

Uh ... those seemed to be about on the level of eighth grade at the middle school I went to.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[myid]

Some of the questions are harder than the questions I had in 8th grade. For example,

Through what waters would a vessel pass in going from England through the Suez Canal to Manila?
Answer: ... (perhaps) the English Channel, the North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay (possibly), Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden/Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Thailand (may have been called Gulf of Siam at that time), South China Sea.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[Mr. Slippery]

But there is no such choice in the single most important sphere of all: the children education.

Really? There is no choice? No private schools, no charter schools, no home schooling?

I'm all in favor of arranging public education to grant more choice to students; smaller and more numerous schools and let a student go to any public school in their county/city/state (depending on how taxes are allocated) they like. Maybe even vouchers for secular private schools that take the voucher as the whole tuition (no public funds for religious education, no letting rich kids use tax dollars as partial payment at a school for the 1%ers), though I'm not sure on that point. But to claim that the current system offer no choice is simply inaccurate.

Since 1960-ies the per-pupil annual cost of public schools quadrupled (inflation-adjusted), while the quality of education remains the same (if it has not gotten worse).

Public schools have increased the array of services provided -- free and reduced-price meals, special education, vocational education, and services for disabled or ESL students -- in that time.

Overall, public schools have equivalent or better outcomes than private schools with the same level of spending per student.

And Texas's public school spending is near the bottom compared to other states, so trying to link this to some supposed overspending on schools does not fly.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[mi]

Really? There is no choice? No private schools, no charter schools, no home schooling?

Nope. If you have to pay for the public schools anyway — without even the option of taking any of that money to pay for the alternative, then public schools are a monopoly.

Public schools have increased the array of services provided -- free and reduced-price meals, special education, vocational education, and services for disabled or ESL students -- in that time.

Those additional services are counted in the "Total" column in the table I linked to. Their costs are relatively minor and can not account for quadrupling anyway.

Overall, public schools have equivalent or better outcomes than private schools

Yeah, because some Illiberal blogger said so, sure. But the point was not about costs so much as about the absence of choice.

And Texas's public school spending is near the bottom compared to other states

Yes, Conservative-governed states tend to waste less money. But Texas public schools are just as monopolistic as those of Massachusetts. Even worse than monopoly, actually: everybody is forced by the government to pay for them, even if you don't use them (either because you have no children or educate them elsewhere).

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[mi]

At the very least he history books are 50 years thicker.

50 years out of about 5000 years of humanity's known history? Or, ok, 2500 years of humanity's well recorded history? Please... In "exchange" neither Latin nor Greek are studied at all — do you think, that's a "fair" trade for the slight increase in the length of history to learn?

I'd even bet a HS sport team in your area has been to a university for such things as gait analysis and body-fat percentage testing.

And that improved the quality of education how?

They give out a range of electrolytes instead of just NaCl... I could go on.

Yes, any minute you come up with something to justify the four-fold cost increase, please, do go on. Thank you!

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[linuxrocks123]

Well, stuff like that is just memorization. We memorize different (and hopefully fewer) things these days. Memorization is the lowest form of learning.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[Rich0]

Fair point. It hasn't actually gotten worse, though it hasn't improved as much as in some places.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[fahrbot-bot]

Since 1960-ies the per-pupil annual cost of public schools quadrupled (inflation-adjusted), while the quality of education remains the same (if it has not gotten worse). What other industry could get away with such a thing?

The cost of living has gone up as well as the cost of supplying said education (buildings, transportation, etc), but that cannot, in any way, be used as a measure of students intelligence or desire, capacity to learn, or measures of the "quality of education". Sure, it is a teacher's job to teach, but, more to the point, it's a student's job to learn - which cannot be forced. In addition, students are being asked to learn more, and/or more in-depth, than they were in the 60s, but over the same 12-year period of time in school.

The cost of many things have gone up since the 1960s, but I doubt the quality as progressed at similar slope.

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[mi]

The cost of living has gone up as well

Hardly. The cost of living in 1960 was $29.60, or, in today's dollars $236.74. The cost of living in 2014 is quoted as 236.736.

No surprise — the table I linked to was already inflation-adjusted. And, although "cost of living" and "inflation" are different things, they are tightly correlated.

cannot, in any way, be used as a measure of students intelligence or desire, capacity to learn

It surely can not — nor has there been any attempt made to use it as such. The point is, the price of a service quadrupled while the quality remained (or even degraded).

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[fahrbot-bot]

cannot, in any way, be used as a measure of students intelligence or desire, capacity to learn

It surely can not — nor has there been any attempt made to use it as such. The point is, the price of a service quadrupled while the quality remained (or even degraded).

My point was concerning the evaluation of the "quality" of that service. Teachers can teach, but it's up to students to learn. I'm not convinced this is something in which the level of "quality" can be expected to correlate with the price of the service. Unless I misunderstood your perspective and we actually agree...

Re:Thank you, school monopoly...

[AK Marc]

What's the per-pupil cost of in-room instruction? The amount of administration has increased greatly, as has non-education costs of "school", as busing for local schools wasn't as big before as now, especially since many districts are trying to move as many students around as possible for regulatory reasons.

I've seen that when you compare in-room costs, public school is still a bargain, it's that there are so many other costs now that didn't exist before.

it should be outlawed.

[nimbius]

The one ring is no joke. Theres an entire multipart documentary on how its a bane on society and threatening to use it against another classmate is atrocious. Parents should talk to their kids about Sauron and how to properly dispose of the ring. Clearly had this kid been mentored by wizards he would have known the appropriate quest to take to rid the land of the scourge.

Here we go again

[Ol Olsoc]

As a victim of the totalitarian school system, my disdain for school administrators is proven justifiable again and again.

There is something seriously wrong with this principle. I do not know if is something that needs counseling, or psych-drugs, or whether she is mentally challenged, or merely power mad, and enjoys exerting it over little children, but no, childplay should never be punished like that. I don't think she should be allowed to be around children.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[causality]

the school is teaching the kid that threats have consequences.

Credible threats have consequences. Threatening to magically make someone magically vanish lacks credibility.

and a pretty good lesson

"Good" lessons have a point to them. Teaching kids to fear imaginary threats does not.

There is one good lesson they're teaching this boy: those with authority are not to be trusted.

lessons in incompetence

[schlachter]

It's part of the "teaching incompetence and government absurdity" in the classroom program. 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.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[P3r1$c0p3]

I second your notion. It is intended to be this stupid to make the kids think it is normal to act this way. Learning anything useful is an accidental consequence of public school. It is actually there to screw up your kids while you are away at work. Listen to John Taylog Gatto. He explains the concept so even public school students should be able to grasp it.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[ShanghaiBill]

Best the kids learn early that rational thought and reason does not exist ...

Indeed. How does it make any sense to punish misbehavior with a three day vacation spent watching TV while falling further behind academically? At my kids' school, they punish misbehavior with detention and extra work, which seems to be effective since they have had NO students disappear due to magic spells.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[TapeCutter]

Right, it's not just one random dickhead or a press beat up, it's a vast conspiracy to hasten the onset of the idiocracy! - Although I must admit your post could be taken as evidence the conspiracy is working.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[sglewis100]

Not that I agree with the school's decision, but a three day suspension is not a vacation spent watching TV. Bad parenting is a three day vacation spent watching TV. Some school activities call for detention... late to class, cutting a class, talking back to a teacher. Some activities might call for suspension (repeated offenses, violence, etc). Some call for expulsion (knifing a student). I'm not saying threatening someone with a magic spell is a call for suspension, but suspension has it's place. We see it outside of the school system too. I've seen people in an office sent home after a bad argument in a meeting gets out of control (go home, take the rest of the day, cool down). We see it in professional sports. There's a place.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[P3r1$c0p3]

I am sorry that you cant see it. Listen to John Taylor Gatto speak on it. He is much more eloquent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... It really is meant amplify the rediculous so that the precedent can be set that freaking out over nonsense is normal. Children will react to nonsense in the same way if they see that as normal. Children who have parents that use curse words often will adopt them in their own vocabularies. Children that have upstanding adults around them will adopt their behaviors as normal. Your response is evidence of how you experienced posting on online discussion boards in your formative time of doing so. You early on found the ironic sarcasm as the normal way to respond. I'd be willing to bet that you only reply to threads that you can be snarky on. It is ingrained in your behavior and you think it is original. You may be forming the words, but not the poisonous delivery. No vast coordinated conspiracy is needed if you can foster filth as normal to poison the pool of behavior. One idiot responds to something in a stupid and is shouted through the megaphone so as to interrupt the thoughts and converstaions of nonconnected parties. This noise can program the unwitting and those caught off guard. Before long you have a symphony of idiots playing in unison as normal behavior is flooded by dumb and drowns.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[lgw]

The current school system is, in fact, a massive, well-documented, openly discussed at the time "conspiracy" to train kids to be good little manufacturing workers, with learning as a secondary goal. This wasn't evil at the time: manufacturing jobs were great jobs, once, long ago. But we need engineers now, and those are the great jobs, and the whole system actively discourages the curiosity and exploration and skepticism of authority needed to develop the engineering mindset.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[Minwee]

[...] the whole system actively discourages the curiosity and exploration and skepticism of authority needed to develop the engineering mindset.

Curious skeptics might vote the wrong way. Even worse, they might ask questions about who and what they are voting for, and that can only lead to trouble.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[lgw]

Maybe so, but that's not why the system is the way it is. And I don't think our current politicians have enough foresight to be worried about this anyhow. I think it's simple inertia keeping us going on the path that made some real sense decades ago (insert union rant here).

Re:lessons in incompetence

[schlachter]

Pretty much. All across the nation, kids are discouraged from thinking for themselves, questioning the status quo, questioning authority, exploring certain topics, etc. Then you take a place like backwoods Texas with knuckle dragging Christians who dispute evolution and value magical beings over actual observations and things only get worse.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[matbury]

They may be aiming for Idiocracy but it looks like they're headed towards something closer to Scarfolk: http://scarfolk.blogspot.com/

Re:lessons in incompetence

[ubrgeek]

> which seems to be effective since they have had NO students disappear due to magic spells

Correlation != causation ;)

Re:lessons in incompetence

[omfgnosis]

If refusing to compound the punishment of your child for playful make-believe is "bad parenting", this world needs more bad parents.

Re:lessons in incompetence

[Sri Ramkrishna]

Uh, you should check out an Indian education sometime...

Hard line?

[SomeoneFromBelgium]

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

Well, I don't know. Maybe that would have fed his hatred towards elves ('allway getting away with everything'). Maybe that's just what happened.
On the other hand: it's Texas. Is their any alternative to taking the hard line?

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[TheGratefulNet]

right, threats should be outlawed.

like the last few that my boss gave me.

oh right, those are NOT illegal and NOT 'against society'.

we should just let texas leave the US and be their own country. florida, too. in fact, take most of the Old South with them. good riddance, too.

this stuff would almost be funny if it wasn't actually being taken seriously by the zero-tol automatons.

its been said many times before: what WILL we end up with, in this coming generation, when this is what teachers are allowed to do to the minds of students? it looks like we are seeing the movie 'idiocracy' actually come to be! ;(

imaginary witchcraft is ok

[schlachter]

it's not imaginary witchcraft that is the problem. I hear belief in Jesus, his witchcraft, and that of his people is encouraged. Just not Lord of the Rings witchcraft.

Re:imaginary witchcraft is ok

[MickyTheIdiot]

Have you ever dealt with a parent that belives that Harry Potter is evil and should be banned for it's "promotion" of witchcraft"?

Unfortunately, I have...

Re:imaginary witchcraft is ok

[UnknowingFool]

Yes and this same parent was a big fan of Star Wars. I don't think they like it when you point out that using your mind to move things and choke people might be considered witchcraft.
"But Star Wars isn't real!"
"Neither is Harry Potter."

Re:imaginary witchcraft is ok

[schlachter]

Neither is Jesus!

Re:imaginary witchcraft is ok

[dbIII]

The fun bit is when you tell them where the broom thing really came from and that a former monk that wrote the book on witchfinding, a "good Christian", thought it up. OK maybe not fun, because they may call you a pervert and call the cops to get you away from children.
Either way they are scared of something so artificial that it's ridiculous, but what can you do? They are being manipulated by cynical experts.

Re:imaginary witchcraft is ok

[schlachter]

hmmm....so profound...your argument is well constructed.

Re:what's the big deal?

[mrex]

If the kid felt he was bullird then he probably was bullied

I feel bullied by the stupidity of this comment.

Fucking idiots in charge of schools. AGAIN.

[jcr]

Seriously, it's time for parents to quit letting these fucking brain-dead bureaucrats pull this shit. If you're thinking of voting for any politician who takes contributions from the the NEA, then FUCK YOU.

-jcr

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[jordanjay29]

Mod this parent up, please. I can't understand why schools have gotten so trigger-happy nowadays. It's like they believe that suspension or expulsion are the only ways to deal with misbehavior, or even simple mistakes. It's going to leave these children ill-equipped for dealing with mistakes in the future, they'll either be too scared to admit them (for fear of unreasonably harsh punishment) or be unable to understand the difference between a corrective action and a punishment. What's that going to do for them in high school? College? The workforce? For their own families?

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[gfxguy]

No... people get legitimately threatened all the time, whether directly or indirectly. You're threatened with a speeding ticket if you exceed the limit; you're threatened with fines and possible imprisonment for failing to pay taxes; your boss might threaten to fire you if you don't increase your output; parents threaten to take away kid's TV watching privileges if they don't do well in school; your wife might threaten to divorce you if you keep leaving the cap off the toothpaste... it's just part of life.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[TheGratefulNet]

Credible threats have consequences. Threatening to magically make someone magically vanish lacks credibility.

hang on, this is TEXAS. bible thumpers live in (and control) that state. they make their whole world view on 'invisible sky wizards'. and they fully believe that gods and demons and angels and shit like that actually do exist!

again, we have to start with religion, if we are to blame anything, here. and, as usual, texas is 'full of it'...

remove religion and you won't have weak minds thinking about magic being actually real and fearing it.

Re:And people...

[OhPlz]

We have the best magic power rings.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mysidia]

Credible threats have consequences. Threatening to magically make someone magically vanish lacks credibility.

How can the rules distinguish between Humor/Fake/Play threats, and real Bullying?

I think any reasonable person would believe the threat to magically disappear someone would be imaginary and non-credible.

Just like you would probably laugh if your next door neighbor tried to threaten you with Thermonuclear destruction.

But what if the victim was gullible, and the kid kept coming up with new imaginary threats to intimidate him?

Such cases can't entirely be dismissed, if there is a legitimate pattern of bullying or intentional intimidation.

what's the big deal?

[jordanjay29]

Kids aren't concerned about credible threatening statements. They're concerned with how those statements made them feel. If a kid threatened me with the One Ring, I might feel utterly terrified if I didn't know what it was. If I did, I wouldn't feel scared at all, I would probably feel humored and laugh. One kid's threat is another kid's joke.

The proper lesson to the kid would be how to recognize when we've hurt the feelings of others and learn how to apologize for our actions, and in the future try not to take actions that are going to hurt feelings.

Wow. Principal Greer: Go back to Cali with that

[raymorris]

Principal Greer, please take your zero-tolerance and hyper-PC bullshit back to California.

Let me see if I understand this. Previously, he was suspended for mentioning that another kid was "black", which apparently is a violation of some idiot's "tolerance for others" policy. You can't have the kid being "intolerant", by being aware of ethnic differences. Next, he's suspended based on Greer's zero-tolerance policy. Zero-tolerance for uhm - pretending, apparently.

Re:Wow. Principal Greer: Go back to Cali with that

[jcr]

Jesus, how awful is it for a black kid to be told that "black" is a bad word?

-jcr

Re:Wow. Principal Greer: Go back to Cali with that

[mjwx]

Jesus, how awful is it for a black kid to be told that "black" is a bad word?

-jcr

It depends on the context.

If he was suspended for it, chances are it wasn't used innocuously.

In fact, knowing several teachers chances are this particular student is a right little shit, reading between the lines. The problem is they cant officially say he's maladjusted and ill disciplined without the parents suing.

OMFG .. I just read TFA

[jordanjay29]

What happens to the teachers at this school who get pregnant? Or are we back in the 19th century again?

Texans can't separate fantasy and reality

[jeffmflanagan]

Look at how popular extremist Christianity is down there. No one told Texas that the supernatural is imaginary.

Re:Texans can't separate fantasy and reality

[PPH]

This.

Nobody suspends a preacher who tells little kids that they will spend eternity in some imaginary hot place if they don't do as he says.

Re:Texans can't separate fantasy and reality

[OverlordQ]

> Texans can't separate fantasy and reality. Look at how popular extremist Christianity is down there

I know you love stereotypes, but Houston did elect an openly gay mayor. And Austin is full of West Cost liberal refugees.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[pla]

it is teaching that threatening people, whether the threat is credible or not, is highly inappropriate, and won't be tolerated.

Mighty fine world you seem to live in... Can I borrow those cool pink shades?

"Do your homework or you'll fail the test" - Threat.
"Listen to your mother or no dessert" - Threat.
"Obey the speed limit or get a ticket" - Threat.
"Don't kill people or we'll execute you" - Threat.
"Don't threaten people or get suspended" - Threat.

We live in a world full of threats, both implied and explicit. "Don't make them" lacks utility as a lesson, because it presupposes the possibility of a world without consequences.

Learning the difference between credible and silly threats, however, counts as one of the more important life-lessons a kid should pick up - Because some day, they'll need to decide whether their employer really can make them work eighteen hour days, seven days a week; whether Officer Friendly really can search them for no reason; or perhaps most apropos, whether that chain letter really can curse anyone who breaks it.

Re:what's the big deal?

[OzPeter]

who cares about the weapon.

Remember this gem from 2013? Student Suspended For Pop-Tart Gun, Josh Welch, Files Appeal With Maryland County School System

As someone else pointed out, the punishment needs to match the actual crime.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Richard_at_work]

Most kids who have younger siblings or friends who have younger siblings have seen a pregnant woman, so what is the big deal? Idiots teaching others how to be idiots by example.

Quite probably because that article also contained stuff on sex, which some parents don't want their children exposed to until later on in life (10+ of age) - once little Johnny gets lose with that book in the classroom, some kids might be going home with some awkward questions for their parents that evening, and the school doesn't want that backlash.

I remember once going on a school ski trip to Austria when I was 8 or 9, and my parents lent the group some of my collection of videos for us kids to watch in the evening (teacher approved of course). One of the films was Logans Run, which has a rather choice breast scene and the line "Lets go have sex" in it. Guess who got in trouble after that trip ;) And this was in the 1980s at a non-religious British school....

Re:Zero Tolerance Vs. Common Sense. The Showdown

[Immerman]

Oh, it's probably happened, the news industry is just to embarrassed to admit that "administrator not a complete idiot" actually qualifies as news. They have to make their audience feel good about themselves after all.

Re:Perhaps there is a reason...

[ColdWetDog]

Perhaps there is a reason that Texas takes the threat of ring wraiths so seriously? I'm imagining that there is a lot more going on in the wilderness of Texas than most of us could rationally believe.

Even Sauron isn't dumb enough to live anywhere near El Paso.

Or Dallas, for that matter.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mysidia]

like the last few that my boss gave me.

You are allowed to threaten the witholding or cessation of any gifts or benefits that you provide someone, which you are not duty-bound or legally obligated to continue to provide.

You are also allowed to threaten, promise, or warn that you will take any action that you have a legal right to take, or that you will stop doing something you are not legally required to do.

You have a legal right to eject someone from your property, so you can threaten that you will be removed with impunity. You don't have a legal right to cause bodily harm, kill, or dispel someone from existence, so the consequences will be dire if you attempt to intimidate someone to fear they will be violently deprived of fundamental rights.

Because your boss is the slavedriver, and the actions he or she can threaten are the modern whips and other tools that can be used, but generally the mere mention of the tools is sufficient and doesn't have as-severe morale-crushing effects.

Re:Fucking idiots in charge of schools. AGAIN.

[jcr]

There have been schools that were run by people who care about educating children. There are some in the United States even now.

-jcr

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Immerman]

It's important that children not learn anything about the mechanics of pregnancy too soon - *especially* not how it gets started. Such knowledge could interfere with establishing the next generation of properly compliant constituency.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[pla]

or dispel someone from existence

How about just casting "Imperius"? Unforgivable, or silly?
Does trying to cast "Dominate Monster" on a human count as racism?

If you tried to file a police report for someone threatening to "dispel [you] from existence", they'd laugh you out of the station - Right after they searched you for drugs.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

You're putting words in my mouth.... I believe the correct term for what you have done above is called "strawman".

Specifically, I did not say that anything that might be inappropriate ought to mean that it should also be outlawed. There's no law against being rude to people either... but that's inappropriate as well, and not entirely unreasonable to prohibit such behavior in certain environments, such as school.

Also, the point is not to suggest that what the kid was threatening to do could ever actually be carried out, the point is that he still said it... and he did so to in anger, to be hurtful, and overall just trying to be a bully.

Of course, you might also argue that it's unreasonable for a school to ever try to deal with bullying using such extreme measures, and I don't want to get into the merits or problems that such tactics may bring, I am only suggesting that contrary to the above assertion, the school is *not* trying to teach kids to fear things that cannot actually harm them. Names don't actually hurt anyone either, but in some places, you can still get suspended for calling someone a sufficiently rude and offensive term.

Texas Schools Suck

[Anonymous Coward]

Disclaimer: Texas resident, parent of child in Texas school, former Texas schools/university employee.

Texas is off the hook with this crap; it's shameful, really. I left the school districts because of the heavy-handedness towards employees of all stripes. Now, having said this, in the last several years I have seen and noticed this:

- If you're a homosexual student or teacher, it would take an act of God to have you disciplined or sacked from your job
- If you're black or latino, you can say or do almost anything short of physical violence and not much will happen to you
- If you're white and Christian, especially a male, student or teacher, you are being watched with renewed interest over what you may say or do to offend the homosexuals, women, and non-whites

I speak from authority on this having to attend the stupid "tolerance" classed for employees. We were told the most radical crap, that we should allow the homosexuals to be themselves, but yet Christians cannot wear a shirt that has any reference to Christianity or Jesus, but it's quite OK to wear a shirt that says "Queer and proud" or "Athiest or blatantly satantic shirts featuring mutilation and black/death metal. The political correctness has become a disease that needs to be cut from every workplace like the cancer it is.

It really is that bad. I'm abjectly politically incorrect, not a racist, and Christian, but I cannot stand idly by while the school boards wreck the schools and make my life hell just so we avoid offending some homosexuals and feminists.

Re:Texas Schools Suck

[deadweight]

Texas - Land of christian-hating PC homos? I guess it could happen, but I am surprised to say the least.

Re:Texas Schools Suck

[HiThere]

While I concede the possibility, I won't believe it without evidence from a source that I trust. It seems too unlikely, and I find it more likely that the person I don't personally know and trust has misunderstood (possibly intentionally) the situation.

OTOH, radical changes can happen with unexpected speed, so it *is* possible. (I find it expecially questionable however that satanic, i.e. religious, symbols are allowed and christian ones aren't...but possibly policy has only been generated about christian religious symbols.)

Re:Texas Schools Suck

[deadweight]

THIS is what I remember from Texas. BTW - that isn't a good thing. Any communists been after your bodily fluids lately?

Re:Texas Schools Suck

[Sri Ramkrishna]

Homosexuality is not a choice, buddy. It isn't some awesome lifestyle thing. Just because some old book that told you God said it was wrong doesn't make it true. If God objected to it, then it wouldn't show up in Nature now would it? There are several animal species that change their genders as needed. If you believe that God created the system that nature operates in, then changing genders is allowed. Since there can also be genetic aberrations (like blue eyes), then they too are allowed. So by extension, homosexuality which is also could be considered an aberration should also be arrived. Now there might be a reason for homosexuality, we don't know what.

Re:They've also outlawed freeze tag

[epyT-R]

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.

Re:what's the big deal?

[nabsltd]

If a kid threatened me with the One Ring, I might feel utterly terrified if I didn't know what it was.

If you didn't know any of Tolkien, why would you feel "terrified" by a ring?

Everyone (children, too), learns through exposure to things. They learn that hot stoves hurt you when you touch them, and that ice cream tastes good. So, where, exactly, would you have "learned" that a ring has the power to turn you invisible other than fictional stories like Tolkien? If your home life has led you to believe that magic is real, then you have a lot more problems than being threatened by a magical ring.

He should count himself lucky

[nedlohs]

The traditional punishment for such sorcery is after all death by stoning.

There was also not a police officer in the vicinity to "fear for his life".

All in all, he dodged some bullets there.

Re:Fucking idiots in charge of schools. AGAIN.

[Mr. Slippery]

If you're thinking of voting for any politician who takes contributions from the the NEA, then FUCK YOU.

...because the NEA is so strong in Texas. So very strong that per-pupil spending and teacher's salaries are near the bottom compared to other states.

As usual, union bashing is disconnected from reality.

There's a magic ring policy?

[TapeCutter]

On second thoughts, don't answer that, a link to it would be too depressing..

Re:what's the big deal?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, geld them while they are young so they are no problem later...

Before you all get on your high horses (too late)-

[wonkey_monkey]

...just remember that everything you know about this story is based on a few paragraphs written by a journalist.

There just might be more to it than what's been distilled down to a few paragraphs with the express intent of drawing your eye.

Similar Story

[Casca]

When my son was in the fourth grade here in Oklahoma, we received a call from his principal because he was, "Trying to sell imaginary tickets, to an imaginary fight, for imaginary money" on the playground at recess. If I was quicker on my feet, I would have told the principal he would receive imaginary punishment for his imaginary crime... Soooo stupid.

Re:what's the big deal?

[Jason Levine]

The kids might not recognize the difference between a credible and noncredible threat, but the adults should and should react accordingly. Suspension shouldn't be an option when the only "threat" was to make someone invisible via magic ring. At most, explain to the child how it's not nice to threaten (even if it's an imaginary threat), have him apologize (not that the apology will really be sincere, but to show that this is the proper behavior), and have him write an essay about why it isn't nice to threaten people.

Call me crazy, but adults should act like adults when dealing with children. They should use their grown up brains to devise a proportionate response, not freak out like panicky kids jumping at every bogeyman.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Holi]

"Just like you would probably laugh if your next door neighbor tried to threaten you with Thermonuclear destruction."

I don't know, my neighbor has been buying A LOT of smoke detectors lately.

Sauron Was Never Young

[Anonymous Coward]

As Maiar, he was created out of the mind of Eru Ilúvatar fully formed like the rest of the Ainur.

And the One Ring was forged some 1,600 years into the Second Age, so Sauron was already very old indeed. /Middle Earth Pedant

Re:what's the big deal?

[TheGratefulNet]

fuck that 'its not nice to threaten' bullshit.

this is clearly the ongoing pussification of america.

this generation must be so fragile, they are made of glass. I fear for the US when these kids become voting and controlling adults, years from now ;(

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[bledri]

Mod this parent up, please. I can't understand why schools have gotten so trigger-happy nowadays. ...

Most likely because parents are sue happy when their little angel is "traumatized."

Extraordinary Claims

[Akratist]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Zero-tolerance policies, in turn, require extraordinary stupidity.

Re:Extraordinary Claims

[angel'o'sphere]

No claim, extraordinary or normal requires extraordinary proof. Proof is proof. Go back to school.

Re:Extraordinary Claims

[Akratist]

Oh, just get a sense of humor already...

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[DarkOx]

I think its the other child that needs a talking to.

Its not clear from the article that Aiden had any intent in the way of assault, "the putting in of fear". As far as I can tell he was playing make believe after seeing a movie.

The fact that another 9 year old feels 'threatened' by any action which might be taken using the "magic" ring other than perhaps it being thrown at him should be of greater concern.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[nedlohs]

Also, the point is not to suggest that what the kid was threatening to do could ever actually be carried out, the point is that he still said it... and he did so to in anger, to be hurtful, and overall just trying to be a bully.

How do you know that? I see no mention of anger or bullying or trying to be hurtful.

Plus of course he'd seen the movie he knew that "disappear" means turn invisible in that context and not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D... or destroy or kill or whatever a threat might actually be.

Now sure he might be a little shit trying to scare some other kid who doesn't know magic isn't real (and given we are talking small town Texas that's not unreasonable), but I don't actually see any such claim about motivations or emotional state. So where did you find those details?

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Imagix]

Consequence of a litigious society. Here's a question for you: if this kid comes along later in life and beats the tar out of somebody, and in that lawsuit they point back to this incident and use the argument "Look! He's got a history of threatening other people. Doesn't matter that it wasn't a _credible_ threat. He threatened other kids and the school did nothing! Blame the school. Sue the principal and every teacher who ever saw the kid.", are _you_ going to spend all of the money and time to hire the lawyers to defend the school from this (and pay the "damages")? Since that is unlikely to happen, the school is forced to take action in order to defend itself from a future lawsuit.

wait a minute

[slashmydots]

It doesn't make you disappear, it makes you turn invisible. There's a big difference! Clearly the kid and the principal need to re-watch the movies.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Agent0013]

No, it is teaching the kid that you must respect their authority! Many people in positions of power, in the school system and elsewhere in society, want people to do what they tell them to without any thinking or delay. If you have an imagination and don't want to be the perfect little drone that society wants to make you into then you will run into a lot of trouble like this. This is the primary reason my wife and I have decided to homeschool.

Re:They've also outlawed freeze tag

[ScentCone]

Bumps, bruises, getting teased, and learning to deal with losing/competition are life lessons.

But those lessons are at odds with The Nanny State vision for the world, and that's the one backed by teachers' unions. What else would happen?

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

Again, this has nothing to do whether the threat is credible or not... this is first and finally about bullying, plain and simple. Name-calling is no more of a credible threat to a person's actual safety or security than a threat of invoking witchcraft may be, but when spoken in anger, or to be deliberately hurtful, there is no reason why the two should not be treated with equal severity. You can get suspended for calling a classmate by certain derogatory and highly racist terms, for example, It is treated with such severity because even though the act of speaking itself is not directly harmful, the fact is that the words themselves can still be psychologically hurtful to the person they are spoken to... not because the person necessarily believes them but because the individual is being treated as being somehow less of a person than they actually deserve. So what makes calling somebody by such a derogatory term any more "real" than threatening to use witchcraft against them? Of course, if you are advocating that we should allow children to "harmlessly" bully eachother around with such words so they might ultimately develop some callousness towards actually caring what anyone who might be a jerk thinks, then that's another matter.

Unfortunatly "common sense" isn't common...

[squash_me_quickly]

I was told by sone-one from USA, who was American:
    "Here in America, common sense is so rare that it should be seen as a super-power".

By the age of 9, one's parents should have explained that the "magic" in fantasy movies/series/books is not real. Also, the magic in "stage acts", etc. is not the same as "fantasy magic".

Every child should read "magic books" which show card tricks, disappearing acts, illusions... so that they know that "real magic", is not the same as "fantasy magic".

Re:Fucking idiots in charge of schools. AGAIN.

[jcr]

Nice try at the misdirection there, but this isn't about funding.

-jcr

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[ZeroWaiteState]

Well, in Saudi Arabia it is death by beheading.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Translation Error]

It's even worse. After looking at the article, I can't even qualify it as a threat, credible or not.

Aiden claimed Thursday he could put a ring on his friend's head and make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins, who stole Gollum's "precious" in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings."

Somehow, the school authorities took the claim of one boy that he could use an invisibility ring to make someone invisible as a threat that he would 'make the other boy vanish'. Combined with the boy's past history with the school, I have to wonder whether the authorities are really so incredibly delusional and incompetent or if this is a deliberate campaign against him.

Then this kid is way ahead already...

[denzacar]

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.

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[David_W]

You know, I wondered if there could be more to this story, like the concern was not the actual threat so much at the intent behind it. (Like, it wasn't any concerns over the "magic" angle, but that the threat was rooted in an actual desire to cause harm. Then I read this in your comment:

...the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for... bringing his favorite book to school... depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration...

Yup, that tells me everything right there. They are nuts. Remind me never to go anywhere near this school system, ever.

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[geekmux]

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.

Knowledge. You know that shit can be dangerous in a classroom. We should probably suspend anyone who brings such educational porn in from the local bookstore...

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[TheGratefulNet]

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

hang on, don't teachers usually already know about pregnancy and all that adult type stuff? this teacher just learned about it NOW?

maybe the kids should be teaching class...

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[billstewart]

Kids learning from an encyclopedia discussed pregnancy? Wow, remember the days before birth control, when the kid would have learned that from having younger siblings magically appear! Can't have that, and forget having farm animals around (except the newt that the kid turned the principal into.)

Calling another kid black? Depends on what happened.

• - Referring to an African-American kid as "black" instead of "African-American" shouldn't get the kid sent home unless he's already been told that's not how the kid wants to be described.
• - Calling an African-American kid black, using the N-word, should get him sent home for appropriate education by his parents, along with detention for some education about racism in case his parents thought that was ok.
• - Calling another kid "black" as an insult (whether he's black, white, or other) has all kinds of layers of problems, just as kids using "gay" as an insult does.

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[Sri Ramkrishna]

What does the school do if a pregnant woman comes into the school? If depictions of a pregnant women is lewd, then is the real thing worse? What happens if the mother is pregnant with another kid? Is it time for child protection services?

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[Sri Ramkrishna]

Pregnancy is only a theory, we need to show balance.

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[Coren22]

I can kind of understand the first one as some people take offense at being called black, but I don't get the second one. We are now suspending kids for bringing books written for kids into school? Because it has an illustration of a pregnant woman? Is pregnancy a banned subject now?

Re:Then this kid is way ahead already...

[strikethree]

I am flabbergasted... Just, wow...

I want to go home now. This place is NOT home.

It is NOT draconian.

[denzacar]

Is it draconian?

That's a common misconception.

Bilbo only uses the ring to fool the dragon, the ring was not made or previously owned by said dragon.
It was actually Sauron who forged the ring, as it was explained already in Lord of the Rings.

Re:It is NOT draconian.

[Virtucon]

Well at least you didn't bring up Draco Malfoy

Re:It is NOT draconian.

[dbIII]

Wrong Draco.
No it's not Malfoy either.

Re:Before you all get on your high horses (too lat

[OverlordQ]

Having interacted with the Texas school system, there is nothing unbelievable about this story.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[KingMotley]

It's all fun and games until it's your child that gets turned invisible.

News for Nerds?

[sudon't]

Stories about zero tolerance are always quite amusing. Astonishing, even, when you consider that adults are behind these policies. But just because LotR is mentioned, seems a very tenuous reason to be discussing it here. Just saying'...

Re:They've also outlawed freeze tag

[__aaclcg7560]

When I was a kid in the ealry 1970's, we couldn't flap our jackets and screamed "BATMAN!" while running on the playground. Our parents were told not to let us watch "violent" TV shows like Batman and The Three Stooges at home.

Re:what's the big deal?

[frank_adrian314159]

getting in trouble in grade school for calling someone a homo sapiens

Yeah, but did you call him a homo sapiens or a homo sapiens? Methinks grade school conversation involving that particular phrase would not come up randomly. That the phrase involved also had a word associated with impugning another's sexuality (or seen that way for most in grade school - with any luck, someday we will move beyond that particular word), would seem to indicate some sort of malicious intent. Maybe she also understood that you were smart enough to know the phrase would be received. I can see why the teacher was suspicious.

Yes, your teacher may have been an asshole about it, but, honestly, do you actually think (a) you should have gotten away with provoking another kid (albeit in a clever manner) or (b) gotten told not to be an asshole yourself? The teacher simply chose (b) - a wise choice, in my opinion. The lesson you should have learned is "If everyone around you looks like an asshole, maybe you're the asshole". In this case, I think an asshole is probably the most appropriate kind of person to transmit these important messages. But then, if it were me, I'd probably hang the other kid on trumped-up charges for being a snitch, kick both of your asses, and suspend you each for three days just to teach the rest of the class a lesson. When you came back, I'd make you X's life partner in class and leave a notation in your permanent record that would, in some way, make sure that you and X were linked for the remainder of your educational career. Maybe that's why I'm not a teacher. IMHO, the only malady your teachers were suffering from was a strange restraint or lack of imagination when it came to punishment.

PG-13

[Tvingo]

Maybe this kid wasn't mature enough to be watching a PG-13 movie at age 9. Doesn't sound like he is.

Odds are this kid is a PITA and the parents let him be and never hold him accountable.

Re:PG-13

[iggymanz]

The kid is fine, maybe you've been brainwashed by PC crowd though.

Re:PG-13

[angel'o'sphere]

What does this 'PC' mean? I stumbled over it quite often in this thread, but it cant be a personal computer.

Re:PG-13

[iggymanz]

it's a religious term, Political Correctness, a cult dealing with denial of reality and normal human behavour, and rendering taboo certain lines of discussion that are needful for a proper functioning of society. Beware the adherents, they are racist while claiming to abhor racism, sexist while epitomizing superiority of one gender over another, and intolerant of main subcultures in their home land while ignoring evil practices of favored ones.

Re:PG-13

[angel'o'sphere]

Ah, should have guessed that.
Thanx for the explanaition.

Re:PG-13

[shutdown -p now]

Let me guess, you grew up in Texas?

Did anyone notice Bill Boyd, Superintendent?

[ggraham412]

The district superintendent of this school is Mr. Bill Boyd

.

Home is behind, the world ahead. And there are many paths to tread...

16 Churches, Population 5706

[laughingskeptic]

County seat of Winkler county, one liquor store just outside the city limits ... middle of nowhere Baptist country.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mysidia]

The kid committed no crime. In the eyes of the principal, the kid violated a school policy that requires strict enforcement.

There is apparently no prosecutorial discretion on the part of the school's administration.

Threats and "racial insensitivity"

[raymorris]

Greer says they have "zero tolerance for threats" (even imaginary ones) and "racial insensitivity". Tell me where that terminology came from. Maybe the other coast. Cali is a bit busy with ACTUAL gang bangers in their schools, aren't they.

Annihilationism vs. hellfire

[tepples]

Nobody suspends a preacher who tells little kids that they will spend eternity in some imaginary hot place if they don't do as he says.

Plenty of Christian denominations would suspend a teacher of hellfire doctrine. These denominations interpret scripture to mean that dead people enter an unconscious state called "the grave" (Heb. sheol; Gk. haides) until they are resurrected during the millennial reign for rehabilitation toward final judgment. After that time, incorrigible people die a second time and enter an unconscious state called everlasting destruction from which there is no resurrection. Their bodies are burned with the garbage in the fire pit (Jerusalem Gk. Gehenna).

Re:Annihilationism vs. hellfire

[angel'o'sphere]

Aides, not Haides.
And Gehenna is a valley close to Jerusalem, not a fire pit (and it is not greek, but hebrew/semitic)

Re: Yay for

[Minwee]

Take away the ring, and what dose "I'm going to make you disappear" mean? It could mean he was threatening to kill him.

Did he mean it that way? Not likely, but a school can't take that chance.

It gets even scarier. Another kid said "Excuse me, may I go to the washroom please?" to his teacher.

He may have really wanted to go into the hallway to set off an atomic bomb he had stashed in his backpack, destroying the entire city. If only this bill had been passed the brave teacher would have been allowed to use deadly force to protect global freedom. Instead, all they could do was expel the terrorist in training.

You just can't take any chances at all.

I have no choice but to invoke Adam Sandler

[Minwee]

Sorry, but we have a zero-tolerance policy for idiocy. Now everyone has to listen to this speech.

"Mr. Greer, what you've just said... Is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point, in your rambling, incoherent response, were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Re:what's the big deal?

[Chas]

Considering I spent most of my G3-G7 years getting the shit kicked out of me in full sight of teachers who just stood there and did nothing but tell me I MUST have done something to deserve it or grab me and take me to the principal's office as the instigator when all I was doing was fighting back.

With that firmly in mind, most of the people I went to school with, and most of the teachers from those particular grades can just burn in fucking hell for all I care.

How to contact the Principle in the article

[Anonymous Coward]

The principle in question:
    Ms. Roxane Greer, KES Principal
    432-586-1020
    rgreer@kisd.esc18.net

http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/Kermit_Elementary_School/School_Info/KES_Administration/Roxane_Greer__KES_Principal

One does not simply

[nehumanuscrede]

walk into a Texas classroom and wield magical rings !
( or Pop-Tart firearms )

or exhibit any level of intelligence at the administration level . . . .

Apparently.

Re:Fucking idiots in charge of schools. AGAIN.

[fahrbot-bot]

Seriously, it's time for parents to quit letting these fucking brain-dead bureaucrats pull this shit. If you're thinking of voting for any politician who takes contributions from the the NEA, then FUCK YOU.

You realize that the NEA doesn't set local school and/or school-board administrative policies - right? They focus on things related to actual education - something Texas ranks 50th (last) among the 50 states, according to this Texas Observer article:

The Texas Legislative Study Group released its 2013 “Texas on the Brink” report at the end of last week. The report is an annual study to determine Texas’ rankings among the 50 states and the District of Columbia on health care, education, and the environment.

How’s Texas doing? Not so great: The state ranks 50th in percentage of high school graduates among its populace, first in amount of carbon emissions, first in hazardous waste produced, last in voter turnout, first in percentage of people without health insurance, and second in percentage of uninsured kids.

... Texas’ investment per student is 27 percent less than the national average

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[dwpro]

But is a non-credible threat suspension worthy? There were very few suspensions back when I was in school, and only for severe infractions. These seems incredibly over the top. I'd put this in the category punishment of detention, maybe a trip to the principal's office. Certainly not suspension.

And here...

[MitchDev]

I thought Texas thought they were a bunch of tough guys, but instead they suspend a kid for something that's make believe?

Fucking morons.

Regarding the book

[Falos]

Yes, it was dumb. Tell the kid off and get back to your day. Imaginary powers (much like angry trolls on a screen) are of no direct consequence - if they are, there's a few Unnatural Phenomena awards you can cash on.

I wanted to suggest that behind the he-said-she-said, the kid was probably showing off the book (the page*, even to some kids, like other generations did with dad's nudiemags or a Sear's catalog lying around. Which, again, tell the kid off and send parents a note to also tell the kid off.

*https://leonsmom.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/tbbk1.jpg, supposedly. And looking at it, you can tell their fascination was with something weird and exotic, kind of like telling Billy that one secret word that my dad muttered and it made uncle Joe gasp and I think it's a bad word and I don't actually know what "vagina" means but I'm gonna whisper it to Billy and we're gonna giggle cluelessly at something that we can at least tell is foreign and taboo and that makes it AWESOME nervous giggle goes here now keep your voice down Billy.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

Maybe not.... but is plainly calling someone by a derogatory and racist term suspension worthy? In many jurisdictions it is.

Like witchcraft, words do not have any power themselves to do harm, but the notions can nonetheless be hurtful to those that it may be used against, even if the person who is being spoken does not believe that there is any credibility to it. It is that potential to do harm that the school is trying to address... not that they suggest they should take such threats as being remotely credible.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[dissy]

This isn't teaching kids to fear imaginary threats, it is teaching that threatening people, whether the threat is credible or not, is highly inappropriate, and won't be tolerated.

I have interpreted your entire comment as an inappropriate threat against my life.

I demand you are imprisoned for life to prevent you from murdering me followed by mass-murdering trillions of other people, as that is the natural progression for this sort of thing.

So will you follow your own "morals" and turn yourself in to prison? Or are you just another hypocrite you wants zero tolerance applied to everyone BUT you?

Re:They've also outlawed freeze tag

[epyT-R]

But were they suspended for it or just given a talking to by the principal or some office administrator?

What about...

[KenHansen]

...crushing someone's head?

Re:Tell her what you think of her decision.

[Phil Urich]

While I won't disagree that personal attacks cause issues and are ethically questionable, the counterargument (and the framework under which the anonymous doxxer is likely working under) is that awareness that the wider world might come crashing down on you will affect others' actions. So even if this isn't their district, it might well affect the actions of principals and other administrators in local districts, and in general humanity would be better off if there was a counterweight to the zero-tolerance bullshit, which was that admins would fear the general public's zero tolerance for the bullshit of zero-tolerance.

Now, to be clear, I don't actually think doxxing this principal will affect the actions of any other principals, since this kind of idiocy is already showing itself to be impervious to foresight, awareness, and sensibility.

School change

[phorm]

Wow... I think in this case the best solution is to change schools. Possibly to change cities/states. Whatever qualifies as "education" there is probably more harmful than good.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[stonecutter2]

Ridicule on Slashdot.

...then nuke the site from orbit.

[bscott]

I hereby support suspension of all students found to be in possession of the necessary skeletal structure to form a "gun" shape with their hands.

Ban opposable thumbs, for the sake of the children! It's the only way to keep them safe.

Let us be honest

[reboot246]

Let's call it what it really is - bullying and child abuse. If we don't stop these zero-tolerance, we'll lose a whole generation and maybe two. The country may never recover from it.

The government likes it because it trains the younger generation to accept tyranny. Get 'em used to following stupid laws and rules when they're young, and you've got 'em for life.

Just say NO to zero-tolerance policies.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

I inferred it from the use of the word "threaten". If it was not spoken in such a manner, why would the term have ever even been used?

Picking linguistic nits

[tepples]

Aides, not Haides.

The H in "Hades" is the Latin-alphabet transliteration of the "rough breathed initial vowel" mark in polytonic Greek. It's the same place the H in "Hellenic" comes from.

And Gehenna is a valley close to Jerusalem, not a fire pit

Gehenna is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew phrase Ge Hinnom meaning "Valley of Hinnom". This valley is where Jerusalem's garbage was burned. But in any case, it remains true that the Bible describes two different states of nonexistence, "the grave" and "everlasting destruction". And neither is the same thing as the "eternal conscious torment" of hellfire doctrine.

This is fun! Can we get back to topic and pick nits on the spelling of the Black Speech engraved on the inside of Precious?

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[angel'o'sphere]

The H in "Hades" is the Latin-alphabet transliteration of the "rough breathed initial vowel" mark in polytonic Greek. It's the same place the H in "Hellenic" comes from.
Obviously.

Sou you have to decide if you want to go with the greek spelling, which is "Aides" or the way the greek pronounced it, which is "Hades".
So, "Haides" is wrong in both ways.

Well, the inscription on the ring was on the outside, the obvious one at least. I would not wonder if there was a secret (less obvious one) on the inside.

Any idea about it might have been?

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[tepples]

Touché. I'll admit that I'm only half-informed on a lot of these nits (transliteration details for an obsolete language, markings on a fictional object, etc.), and I just wanted to debunk PPH's "all Christians believe in eternal conscious torment" claim.

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[angel'o'sphere]

Well, I'm mainly making fun myself :D

What Christians believe ... well it is mostly not bases in the Bible anyway.

Sex only in the missionary position? No sex before marriage? No contraception?

Someone should show me the Bible verse/poem where that bullshit is claimed/written :D

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[tepples]

What Christians believe ... well it is mostly not bases in the Bible anyway.

You're right that some denominations cling to traditions that flat-out contradict the Bible. Others are diligent in citing scripture for their beliefs. I've found that Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, fall in the latter category. I don't agree with all of their interpretations, but I admire their diligence.

Sex only in the missionary position?

Not in the Bible. A husband and wife can use any position they agree on. Just make sure to use safer sex precautions with your spouse because you wouldn't want sexually transmitted infections to defile your "temples of holy spirit."--1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

No sex before marriage?

That's in the Bible. "God will judge fornicators."--Hebrews 13:4.

No contraception?

I think some denominations' ban on contraception comes from confusion between conception methods that prevent fertilization (such as rhythm, barriers, and antiovulants) and abortifacient methods that prevent a fertilized egg from developing. Christians who follow the Bible are free to use nonabortive birth control and should refrain from judging one another in this respect.--Romans 14:10-13.

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[angel'o'sphere]

That's in the Bible. "God will judge fornicators."--Hebrews 13:4.

That does not condemn sex out of marriage. It condemns "visitors" or "customers" or whores. (Likely because they belonged the cult of Ishtar)

In most ancient cultures having sex in mutual agreement was the base of a marriage, or in other words if non of both involved publicly revoked it, it was considered to be a marriage.

So the mere idea sex outside of marriage might be "something wrong" did not even exist.

However it seems you know the Bible quite well, which I don't :D

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[shutdown -p now]

Christians who follow the Bible are free to use nonabortive birth control

There's nothing in the Bible specifically prohibiting abortion, to the best of my knowledge. So whether abortion is Biblical or not depends largely on whether you consider it a murder or not, which in turn depends on whether you consider fetus a person or not. From a Christian perspective, this depends on when it acquires soul, which is again something not explicitly stated in the Bible. One interpretation, based on some OT quote that I can't find now, is that soul is acquired with the first breath of a newborn, and hence all abortions aren't murder. Some early Christians drew the line at certain stage of development, including such prominent ones as St Augustine. Closer to our time and place, ironically, most Southern Baptists for quite a while didn't recognize fetuses as having a soul until mid-1970s.

Re:Picking linguistic nits

[tepples]

Aristotle believed that personhood began when the unborn child was felt to kick, which was sometime within the first trimester.

In the Bible, the law of Moses treated miscarriage resulting from assault of a woman to be murder. (Exodus 21:22-23) The modern counterpart to that might be the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. But also consider the psalmist's comment that God's "eyes even saw me as an embryo." (Psalm 139:16) These might imply personhood once a placenta forms and implants.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[thegarbz]

But what if the victim was gullible, and the kid kept coming up with new imaginary threats to intimidate him?

Such cases can't entirely be dismissed, if there is a legitimate pattern of bullying or intentional intimidation.

But given the priors of being suspended for calling someone black, and bringing to school and educational book (yeah I kid you not, look it up), I'm willing to give the suspended student here the benefit of the doubt.

Not every action needs to be defended. Sometimes stupidity of the schoolboard is the simple and most obvious answer. Heck based on recent trends it seems to be becoming the only answer.

Do it!

[hcs_$reboot]

The boy should really have used the ring power and made the other kid disappear. Nobody would have dared to expel him!

Give the principal some slack

[billstewart]

After all, the kid did turn the teacher into a newt. (And because of Zero Tolerance, the fact that she got better just doesn't excuse it.)

Re: Yay for

[omfgnosis]

For fuck's sake. This ring "can make you disappear". Read TFA or at least TFS.

And while we're at it... this tablecloth can make you disappear. This foolish incantation can make you disappear. This Radiohead song can make you disappear. I'm pretty sure a little thinking can make you disappear. PEEKABOO can make you disappear!

Oh wow ...

[garry_g]

... if this weren't Texas, I'd wonder how stupid both the school AND the "threatened" pupil were ...

Re:Zero Tolerance Vs. Common Sense. The Showdown

[Rick in China]

I'm assuming the principal is a she, not a he - "Roxanne Greer" -- women in education have to have an extra hard line in policy enforcement don'cha'kno', because they're often seen as being inferior/weak by their peers.

What pisses me off here isn't the action, it's the refusal to back up their action. If she truly believes she's doing something correct and proper, why refuse to comment. Should she be allowed to refuse to comment? As a publicly funded educator who has made a decision which impacts the child of a tax payer (I'm assuming) in such a ridiculous situation......can just 'refuse to comment'? Where's the accountability, she should back her decision up with reasoning and logic not silence.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[shutdown -p now]

Another Slashdot poster gave a link to what he claims is the page from the book in question:

https://leonsmom.files.wordpre...

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[shutdown -p now]

On the contrary, that's precisely when fun and games really start!

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[stealth_finger]

So much for freedom of speech. Now, if you don't tolerate my ridiculous threats I'll give you a Kame-Hame-Ha and see how you like that. Maybe follow that up with a dose from my sonic screwdriver, not so high and mighty now are you?

I'm lucky.

[sabbede]

My schooling predates these absurd zero-tolerance policies, which is good seeing as how I told my art class that I was Jesus and sending them to hell. Unfortunately, this backfired on me and I had to give a second oral report.

Young Sauron, eh?

[grouchomarxist]

Uh oh. Peter Jackson has a new movie in development.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[Coren22]

Kermit Elementary School officials called it a threat when the 9-year-old boy, Aiden Steward, in a playful act of make-believe, told a classmate he could make him disappear with a ring forged in fictional Middle Earth’s Mount Doom.

“I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,” the boy's father later wrote in an email. "If he did, I'm sure he'd bring him right back."

It sounds more like he was offering his friend invisibility. It is the administrators that took it as a threat. The kids are friends and the wording was an offer, not a threat.

Are we so sure?

[enaso1970]

We only have his father's word that this kid has no magic powers.

Reality

[whipnet]

People who make these decisions need to be publicly called out and forced onto reality TV. *

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[jordanjay29]

Indeed. I'm waiting for some local judge to grow a backbone and dismiss a case for stupidity.

Do more research on your articles, please

[wykpisz3195]

This article was on reddit that did more research to find the kid involved has been in troubled ble for other issues. The kid had brought a kids pregnancy book with explicit photos contained and had referred to another child as a child of color. While it may appear to be as if the school officials are being tough, it's actually more about a problematic child who's parents want to catch some headlines. We as a society should start holding our children as well as the parents accountable for their actions. And really do we think in today's world that a school doesn't understand magic as imaginary? Please stop with challenging the only profession that has less new hires year over year due to many hurdles but more so now that parents want to be right rather than invest time in the children's life and learning

It would have been fine ...

[teknosapien]

if he had threatened him with a gun, it is Texas after all

Wrong Authority

[TechNeilogy]

The case should be dismissed on the grounds that the school has no governing authority. This is clearly a case for the Department of Underage Magic.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[ebvwfbw]

I have to disagree on this one. He didn't threaten the other kid. Make you disappear? Come one. How about what I used to hear - kick your ass, beat you up, take all your money... and so on - now they're threats. Almost never carried out. Make you disappear is right out of a David Copperfield show. A trick.

I suppose it also goes to show that you don't have to have a brain to be a principal. I bet she used the one she has now.

Re:Please do more research on your articles

[ebvwfbw]

Thinking back to kids I knew in elementary school, now over 40 years later, those that were in trouble have the most interesting lives now. They're someone without exception. Those that conformed are your nurses, factory type workers, well drone bees.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[AK Marc]

It's not a threat if it's an action without warning. A threat is making a negative promise "I'm going to hit you". Actually hitting someone is assault, assault and battery, or battery, or such (depending on the jurisdiction), but hitting someone isn't a threat. Neither is suspending someone.

He wasn't suspended for imaginary witchcraft. He was suspended for a real threat made (not a credible one, but a real one).

Re:what's the big deal?

[AK Marc]

It's not the threat to put a ring on you that's the threat. It's the threat to make you "disappear" (in the mob sense) that's a threat of murder. Not a very credible one, but a murder threat none the less.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mark-t]

How you interpret my comment as such may not be as relevant as how someone else interprets it who *could* imprison me for making such a comment.

The fact that there might not be anybody who is able to do that in this particular forum is wholly irrelevant.

If the school is correct in assuming that the child who said it ever genuinely believed that they could actually carry out such a threat, and not simply said while they were playing make believe (which has been alleged above, but is not definitively proven), then there is no reason that the consequences for saying such a thing should be treated with any less severity than if the consequences were more plausible. The issue at stake is not the feasibility of the threat, it is the making of the threat in the first place.

Of course, if the school is wrong about that assumption, then there's no doubt the school's reaction is out of line. The kid's father clearly believes it was just make-believe, but as I said, there is no obvious indication in the story that the child ever actually didn't intend to do what he was saying, despite the fact that he would have clearly lacked any ability to do.

Re:its not about the ring, its just a lesson.

[mysidia]

I guess my point is... all rules that try to ban something have to be quite stringent to cover all cases. When they are, they are subject to being applied improperly.

Ultimately, all justice comes down to a human being making a decision.

I would rather the rules be more limited, and if discretion is to be used, then adverse decisions should be validated by a jury of the student's peers.

Preferably, students of the same grade from another school who would be unaware of the details of the incident.

Disciplining young Sauron wouldn't have helped.

[RockDoctor]

Sauron was corrupted by Morgoth as a mature Vala.