School girl with steak knife

Alsatian · 12-17-2007, 01:43 PM

I just saw this news about a 10 year old Florida school girl taking a steak knife to school to eat her steak that she took in her lunch to school. All parties are agreed that the girl did not mishandle the steak knife in any way or threaten any one in any way, but this doesn't mean the girl isn't in big trouble. See this link for the exact details:

http://www.wftv.com/news/14858405/detail.html

According to the link, the teachers said they had no choice, policy forced them to call the police. The police said they had no choice, they had to take the girl to a juvenile detention center for observation once they were called. The school has suspended the girl from school for 10 days. The girl may face felony charges.

I'm not going to hyperventilate and get too far down the line. "Could face felony charges" doesn't mean this will happen. I hope reason and measure come into play in this circumstance. And I hope the girl is back in school tomorrow.

My question to you all is . . . how does this happen? How is it that so many rational adults can say they have no choice, they know better, but they have no choice but to do something irrational? I think it is probably due to lawyers. Lawyers tell the school that if they do not have a uniform weapons policy, they are subject to law suits; the policy must be rigorous and unambiguous; and it must define "weapons" broadly enough to get anything that could be used as a weapon, including a steak knife (I'm imagining one of those bendable, serrated edge knives). Why is the school subject to law suits if it doesn't have a policy but uses judgment and discrimination instead of some lame-brained rigorous, inflexible policy? Because other lawyers will sue the school opportunistically to get money if they don't. What did Shakespeare write would be the firstthing to dowhen rising to power in the play Richard III?

So are we in danger of being slaves to irrational and inflexible policies that are driven by the fear of law suits?

On a similar theme, but only tangentially related, in how many walks of life -- for example professional life -- are matters of judgment, discernment, and experience being turned into formulaic rules of conduct, as if a high level manager doesn't entrust his subordinates to act, rules which -- like the case of the ten year old girl with a steak knife eating her lunch, no threat to anyone -- in fact screw things up in their very inflexibility and complel rational adults to "have no choice" but to act irrationally?

Feel free to amend and extend my remarks. There is no real point of focus of this thread. Find some related topic and just tee-off on it, man! It is Monday.

vc1111 · 12-17-2007, 01:46 PM

Our schools have all fallen in line and are now marching lockstep with statutes and policies written and/or provided by legal counsel.

In other words, CYA is the rule of the day and to heck with what's right for the kids. LOL, why should their interests be considered?

Alsatian · 12-17-2007, 01:58 PM

We are a nation of laws. Until now I didn't realize that could be both a good thing AND a bad thing!

Aught Six · 12-17-2007, 02:01 PM

When I go into town tomorrow, Iwill carry asteak knifein solidarity with this poor girl.

AmateurHunter44857 · 12-17-2007, 02:38 PM

At our school we didn't have real utensils, we had plastic. They would give us ice cream at lunch and our plastic spoons would break trying to eat it. Its ridiculous how stupid our school systems have gotten.

Canuck_Buck · 12-17-2007, 03:45 PM

so are they really saying a 10 yr old girl should not eat red meat...??

8mm/06 · 12-17-2007, 03:59 PM

I have attended a few Board meetings at the district in which I work where I have been a counselor/teacher for 32 years. I usually only go to these meetings to decry the boards lack of thought and responsibility when matters of "Zero tolerance" are being enforced WITHOUT regard for actual facts. Many times only a teensy weensy amount of gray matter would be necessary to solve some of the issues that result in suspensions, expulsions, students being put on a homebound curriculum...........
It would absolutely curl your hair to see some of the decisions made by 6 adults who tiptoe around certain issues b/c they wonder how the community will react.
No cajones whatsoever and complete slaves to testing the political wind ........
I am usually angry and then saddened to see the lack of real thought put into these issues. It is just easier for them to fall back on a policy and then abdicate any responsibility to burn any calories in their heads.
I draw a hard line on drugs and real weapons. But much like the girl with the steak knife, there have been some real travesties of justice performed.

CalHunter · 12-17-2007, 07:58 PM

I believe this is when you call the parents and have them pick up their daughter. If the school absolutely insists on arresting the girl, give her a citation and release her to the parents. If the school continues to squawk, tell them adults like them can go to jail for something equally stupid. Yes, such an incident should be investigated and you need to ensure schoolkids are going to be safe but common sense does have to be applied. Even if the school doesn't have any.

sachiko · 12-17-2007, 08:28 PM

I agree the schools are overreacting to this kind of thing.

But let's be honest. Send your kid to school with a steak knife?

Here's your sign.......

Lubricious · 12-17-2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Alsatian

We are a nation of laws. Until now I didn't realize that could be both a good thing AND a bad thing!

On one hand, we freak the hell out and go way overboard on punishinga 10 yr old schoolgirl and on the other, we let illegal aliens run around free as they please. Why do we completely overlook one and hardline, no questions asked, 0 tolerance the other?