5-Year-Old Cited for Sexual Misconduct for Taking Off Pants on Playground

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Good grief.

http://www.care2.com/causes/5-year-old-cited-for-sexual-misconduct-for-taking-off-pants-on-playground.html

Being a five-year-old is kinda weird. You are no longer considered a toddler, though some of your clothes may have a “T” for toddler after the number. Still, you’re not quite a big kid, an honor that seems unfairly awarded to those in the first grade. Sensible isn’t a word that is often described for a five-year-old’s actions, largely because decision making is based on impulse rather than logic.

This is the mindset that kindergartner Eric Lopez was in when he was on the playground at school in April. While playing with a group of kids at Ashton Ranch Elementary School in Surprise, Arizona, one of the students told him to pull his pants down. It’s unclear what Eric’s initial response was. However, the other student said that if Eric didn’t do it, he would do it for him. So Eric pulled his pants down. This is perfectly logical for a five-year-old.

For the principal and the Dysart Unified School District, it was not.

After witnessing the incident, a teacher took Eric to the principal’s office. It was there that the principal reportedly discussed the incident and why what he did was wrong. Then the principal pulled out a form, and checked off that Eric had been talked to and had told his side of his story. Eric was then told to sign his name on the document. He only signed his first name, because that’s all he knew how to do.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/5-year-old-cited-for-sexual-misconduct-for-taking-off-pants-on-playground.html#ixzz36brlB5dm

[leftyohiolib]

1. schools have to be very careful people will sue them over anything

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. I hope the boy's family sues the schools socks off.

[leftyohiolib]

3. see damned if they do damned if they dont

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Or, an admonition to the kid and a call to his parents would suffice.

[leftyohiolib]

19. til he does it again this time the parents find out he's done it before and the school did

nothing about it last time now they sue.

[lunatica]

6. self-delete

responded to the wrong poster

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Methinks, you replied to the wrong post.

Or, misread mine. I think the parents of the kid should sue the school does not indicate that I support the school.

[lunatica]

8. You're right! I meant to reply to leftyohiolib

I will self-delete and reply to the correct person. You're actually one of my favorites!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. No problem. I've done it myself many times.

When I was a kid, I got "switched" more than a few times right here in 'Murka. And, it was still legal then.

[lunatica]

9. It's interesting that your concern is for the school

When I was in a British school it was perfectly normal and acceptable to get corporal punishment by any and all teachers for any 'offense'. Among the offenses were talking out of turn, not addressing the teacher as 'sir' or 'ma'am', not standing when a teacher entered the room, questioning or disagreeing with a teacher and sometimes just standing up to a teacher and refusing to extend a hand to be whipped with a ruler, or questioning the imminent action of corporal punishment.

Maybe you think the school was in the right.

[leftyohiolib]

20. i think that the school has to protect itself from lawsuits

[lunatica]

22. You may call youself a liberal but in my opinion no liberal

would say what you say. Or feel it for that matter. Just my opinion.

[leftyohiolib]

23. im not saying that i think this is just, i dont, i think it's overly harsh and completely

unnecessary. zero tolerance didn't just pop up out of nowhere

[HooptieWagon]

5. That's ridiculous.

A 5 year old isn't going to know better. When I was a kid, my younger brothers and I would play in a flooded ditch in front of our house after a rain. My youngest brother, about 5, would get his pants so wet and heavy they wouldn't stay up. So he would take them off. Neighbors would call our mom, she would walk out to street with shorts or bathing suit to put on him. No big deal, no scolding, no signing a confession, etc. This situation is blown way out of proportion. Principal should have simply told the boy not to remove his pants, sent him back to class, and then discussed it privately with parents.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. filing this one under = Are you fucking kidding me !? ... that file is huge, btw.

Growing bigger every day.

[liberalmuse]

12. How is that possible?

First of all, you don't want to label a kid like that, because labels can have a huge influence on children for the rest of their lives. Second of all, a child that age isn't even capable of "sexual misconduct". Making him sign a paper he's unlikely to understand is pointless. Is it really so hard to make wise decisions on a case by case basis? Have our minds become so feeble that we can only implement zero tolerance and by-the-book policies with little or no regard for the human beings said policies will impact?

Then again, we're a country that is okay with convicting children as adults, and not too many people seem to have a problem with this. We're a country where immigrants and other Americans gather together on the 4th of July to scream at displaced women and children, dehumanizing them by referring to them as "illegals", a word they like to spit out with such contempt that it's cringe-inducing, while truly believing this makes them Patriotic and noble, rather than the cruel, inhumane and ugly human beings they are. I am seriously beginning to think that we as a country are going collectively insane. When a country starts treating children they way we do, then that country is on the path of losing its soul and everything that makes it good.

[newfie11]

13. The world gets crazier everyday

Did anyone talk to the kids that told him to pull his pants down.

For Pete's sake if their all 5 years old just tell them it's not allowed and tell parents to.
That should be the end of the story! This is not a big deal.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. This zero tolerance bullshit makes me so so glad I'm not a kid in this insane era of America

The school administrators who devise and implement these policies instead of using common sense need to be pointed to and humiliated for the rest of their lives the way this kid will be, when called a sexual offender for this petty shit.

[TransitJohn]

15. Good. Catch the pedophiles early.

Pulling his pants down around all those elementary school kids. Hopefully he's on the sex offender registry for life.

[hunter]

16. In my kindergarten being a "man" was peeing through the chain link fence in the playground corner...

... whenever the supervisors were not paying attention.

I never got into any trouble for that.

But I did get in trouble for building a "campfire" in the sandbox.

Wax paper milk cartons are easily ignited and burn well.

[TeeYiYi]

17. Blaming the victim...

...a 5 year old victim. Actually, victimized twice; once by the bully and again by the adults that he's supposed to trust. Sad.

TYY

[riderinthestorm]

21. Ikr? Bullied by the kids on the playground and HE'S the one who gets in trouble?? nt

[Initech]

18. Got to love the sheer stupidity of zero tolerance laws.