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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.
and, is this policy thing working out for you?
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.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
the school is teaching the kid that threats have consequences.
What's the consequence of threatening boys with suspension for imaginary witchcraft?
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.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
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.
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"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.
... Another case that proves the old saying - "Zero Tolerance Policy" means "Zero Intelligence Policy"
yeah I know that reading the TFA helps. But this little gem says it all - this kid is a huge trouble maker and has been suspended before. Look at the crap he has pulled:
Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: "The Big Book of Knowledge."
“He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed,” Steward said.
But the teacher learned the popular children’s encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained.
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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.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
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.
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.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
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.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
TFA says that the school is called ''Kermit Elementary School'', I was expecting the name ''Hogwarts'' - silly me!
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...
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.
Good people go to bed earlier.
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.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
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.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
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.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
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.
Look at how popular extremist Christianity is down there. No one told Texas that the supernatural is imaginary.
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.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Jesus, how awful is it for a black kid to be told that "black" is a bad word?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
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.
"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.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
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."
Some privacy policy Slashdot.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Zero-tolerance policies, in turn, require extraordinary stupidity.
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.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
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.
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.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
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.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
It's all fun and games until it's your child that gets turned invisible.
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.
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.
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.
I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!