Melody Valentin, 5th-Grader, Scolded And Searched After Bringing Paper Gun To School

[The Straight Story]

Melody Valentin, 5th-Grader, Scolded And Searched After Bringing Paper Gun To School

A Philadelphia fifth-grader was searched and reprimanded by school officials after bringing a piece of paper that resembled a gun to school.

Last week, Melody Valentin found a paper gun her grandfather had made buried in her pocket. When she went to throw it away, a fellow classmate saw and alerted school officials who then scolded and searched her, according to Fox 29 Philly. Other students began calling her a "murderer."

Valentin says one administrator went overboard while handling the situation.

...

Tensions have run high in schools across the nation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last month. fifth grader paper gun

A 5-year-old was suspended Jan. 10 from her Mount Carmel, Penn., school after she allegedly said she would shoot a classmate and herself with her Hello Kitty bubble gun. The school deemed her a "terror threat."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/melody-valentin-fifth-grader-paper-gun-searched_n_2535689.html

[SummerSnow]

1. Oh my.What the heck?

[RC]

2. The only thing Zero Tolerance here is common sense.

[YarnAddict]

4. The thing about common sense

is that it isn't very common!

[Angry Dragon]

3. Anytime a teacher or administrator says the word 'gun'

they should be locked up

[jzola]

6. Still a fifth grader is old enough to know

what buttons she's pushing when she has a paper gun at school. My guess is she got what she wanted.

[RC]

8. The kid was throwing it away.

At least give'em credit for that.

[Angry Dragon]

12. LOL

[NightWatcher]

5. zero tollerance is stupid, but if they say no guns of any kind...NO GUNS OF ANY KIND

dont take a piece of fruit that looks like a gun
dont take a cookie that is shaped like a gun
dont bring water guns, bubble guns, marshmallow guns

It's a stupid rule, but if you want to stay out of trouble, just dont take anything gun related (or wear a shirt with a gun)

No guns, ok?

[Kalidurga]

7. What if...

you have a birth mark shaped like a gun? Or your name in sign language looks like a gun? What if you are picking up sticks and one of them looks like a gun?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. Agree. And is it going to be national news every time some kid gets scolded?

[The Straight Story]

10. Some things are so stupid and wrong they damn well should be (nt)

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. Outrage!!!!!!!!

I hear some kid got detention for talking back!!!!!!

Fire up the Wurlitzer!!! Call Fox!!!!

[Posteritatis]

15. I hope so. Maybe it'll embarrass schools enough that they permit their staff to think again. (nt)

[COLGATE4]

11. Wow. That's exactly the way

RW'ers love to think. Black and white. No grey. Interpretation No judgement.

[NightWatcher]

13. It's not black and white. It's picking your battles and keeping your head down

You send your kid to school with a water gun and waste time and effort trying to fight stupid people with their stupid rules. It's not a big deal unless you make it a big deal. Life's too short for me to argue about a squirt gun.

And Zero Tolerance is exactly that. No interpretation, no grey, no judgment calls.

[COLGATE4]

18. "Zero Tolerance is exactly that. No interpretation, no grey, no judgment calls"

My point exactly.

[Posteritatis]

14. I'd just stop at "it's a stupid rule," myself, because it is. (nt)

[Enrique]

17. Fox News again

scouring the nation's schools for minor disciplinary actions that fit their narrative.