Suspension of Wash. state child who talked about toy Nerf guns overturned

[The Straight Story]

6-year-old boy was suspended from the James McGee Elementary School in Pasco, Wash. for talking about his toy Nerf guns with classmates. The Pasco School District decided to overturn the suspension on Thursday after speaking with the child's parents.

On Feb. 28, Noah, a first-grader, was sent home after another student said she thought he had a gun with him when he talked about his toy Nerf guns that his family had recently bought him during a vacation.

The young girl who had overheard Noah reportedly stated that she felt her "health and safety were threatened." Noah was immediately suspended despite not actually having any toy gun, let alone a real gun, with him. Noah's father, Mike Aguirre, says he still punished his son for talking about the Nerf guns with classmates at school.

School officials said the issue is covered in the district's discipline handbook which Aguirre disputes, saying that there is no provision prohibiting students from talking about guns, toys or not.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wash-state-overturns-suspension-of-child-who-talked-about-toy-nerf-guns

[Posteritatis]

1. Gotta love zero-thought, all-kneejerk disciplinary policies. (nt)

[Jackpine Radical]

2. No shit.

I just posted this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022481661

[Squinch]

4. And the same situation exists here as exists about the one you posted. These stories are

originating with batshit crazy right wing sources and bouncing around among the ridiculous right media. For this particular one, the echo chamber consists of the blaze, freerepublic, gopusa, the right scoop, clashdaily, and infowars on the first page.

You're seriously going to put yourself into that company?

Show me some primary source for this that has ANY credibility.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Sorry, I somehow missed the fact that the ABA Journal is a wingnut site.

[Squinch]

7. The ABA journal has picked up, almost verbatim, from the wingnut sites. It is not a primary source.

The examiner often does the same. These stories are bear baiting by the right wing media.

[BAT21]

8. As asked for.

http://www.wftv.com/news/ap/education/pasco-first-grader-suspended-for-toy-gun-talk/nWj2s/

[Squinch]

10. A Florida station reporting on a Washington state incident, but oddly, when you google it, there

are no Washington state sources (I checked the first two pages of the search results.) Oddly, there are just right wing crazy sites.

Gee. That sure is strange.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. Here's another Right-Wing nutcase source: the Washington Post.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-04/local/37423071_1_toy-gun-pastry-welch

[bridgettb76]

19. I live in Pasco Washington!!

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/03/07/2302285/pasco-school-district-overturns.html|

I think your comments show just how ridiculous this story is. I can show you many posts from our local paper as well as television stations that verify this DID happen. I love that people really don't believe it. This angered me to no end. It is not a rightwing ploy, it is true and it was crap!

[Rhiannon12866]

22. Very cool!

Welcome to DU, bridgettb76! And thanks for verifying this story... I agree that half of the crazy "news" items we're hearing lately are truly hard to believe. We're glad to have you with us!

[BAT21]

13. Will the Wanatchee World do?

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/mar/07/pasco-first-grader-suspended-for-toy-gun-talk/?print

They're in WA, or how about NBC?

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51087503/ns/local_news-tri_cities_wa/t/pasco-first-grader-suspended-toy-gun-talk/

Or the Examiner.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wash-state-overturns-suspension-of-child-who-talked-about-toy-nerf-guns

Or how about The Tacoma News Tribune.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/03/07/2502699/pasco-school-district-overturns.html

I think I've made my point.

[RandiFan1290]

16. Welcome back!

[BAT21]

17. Huh?

Welcome back from where?

[The Straight Story]

9. And you know this because you visit those sites?

Because with the exception of one on that list I don't visit any. And the one I do is about once a week or when I want to see their heads explode over something.

How about you try to actually comment on the stories instead of trying to pretend they don't exist because they are also on sites you frequent but don't like?

And maybe, sometime, go to this one place called Google. Click on news. Then type in key words like "Student Suspended" - some of us actually get our news stories to post that way and don't spend time giving page hits to RW sites.

[Squinch]

11. I know this because I used google. Because the story seemed so patently ridiculous.

When I googled, the first two pages of results were filled exclusively with right wing idiotic sources picking up the story and trying to make it seem legitimate.

[The Straight Story]

15. Um, yeah it is ridiculous. I googled this story, from news not general google

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/03/07/2302285/pasco-school-district-overturns.html

Tri city herald and other sources have it as well, and they have this in that article:

District spokeswoman Leslee Caul said there is no plan to review current policies in light of the issue.


So I think I will call her Monday and tell her that she and this story don't exist because some person on the internet found the story on right leaning web sites. You might want to alert that news paper as well since apparently they are printing false stories made up by rw sites. I am sure they will appreciate your input.

[bridgettb76]

21. Thank you

One of the most intelligent things I have seen on this site so far.

[hobbit709]

3. A first grader using the terms "health and safety were threatened."?

That sounds more like a school administrator talking.

[BAT21]

5. I agree.

There is no way a 1st grader used those terms, sounds like the administrator was making it much more dramatic than it really was.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. Of course the language was that of the administrator.

And quite probably the kid was led into saying they were frightened. It's pretty easy to get kids to acquiesce to whatever adults say.

[hlthe2b]

18. Not unlike the child sent home for bringing a 2 1/2 inch butter knife...

to spread the cheese on her crackers...

Thus underscores the supreme ignorance of "no tolerance" policies--which really should be called "no common sense" policies.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Derp...these policies are derp