[QUOTE=foxl]Ridiculous. BELIEVEABLE, but ... ridiculous.[/QUOTE]
Actually I find it to be rather unbelievable that these are the same policymakers and people we are asked to entrust our children to for an education. Anyone who cannot think and/or reason for themselves and see the absolute ludicrousness of a "zero tolerance" policy does not need to be educating children - NT or special needs.
Been there, done that over a horse's hoofpick in my child's jeans pocket being classified as a lethal weapon by administrators who didn't even have a clue what it was... I now homeschool my older two.
entirely off-topic but recently i flew with turkish airways they had dh's shoes off, amongst other things, during the security check, yet with the onboard meal - METAL KNIVES and forks...WTH? I was SO shocked. Funny ol world eh......(sigh) would be nice... Ridiculous. BELIEVEABLE, but ... ridiculous.Yeah, I still haven't checked with the school if ds can bring a plastic knife - I keep forgetting to do that. But, he often has problems getting a banana open and I would like to be able to send one with him. But, I don't want him struggling with it for five of the 15-20 minutes they are allowed to eat! I thought a plastic knife might help, but I have been around this type of issue enough to know that I need to ask first before sending one with him!I didn't know exactly where to place this. But, I'm sure it will get moved to the appropriate place!
Read on!
Dear Subscribers:
You know, this would be funny if it wasn't so sad. However, I feel the need to share this story because (1) it's pretty humorous if you have a sense of humor like mine, and (2) it speaks volumes on the idiocy of some school districts on just how far they're willing to take their zero tolerance policy. And they say kids with autism are literal? Where did common sense go?
As if life weren't stressful enough for my friend who has three children on the spectrum, one of whom is extremely ill with gastrointestinal issues (and that's putting it mildly), today, she got a call from her school district admonishing her and her 7 year old son for carrying a weapon to school.
"A weapon?" she said. She and her husband couldn't imagine what kind of weapon their child would be brandishing in school. Did! he smuggle contraband? Was he shanking someone in the school yard with a wayward LEGO? "The knife in his lunchbox," responded the principal.
Are you kidding? The knife, a plastic cutlery tool (Wal*Mart's finest), was placed into his lunch box in order to spread mayonnaise on his bread for his sandwich. If the kid is anything like me, I don't like to put the mayonnaise on my sandwich until I eat it. I don't like to eat sandwiches that are the texture of a sopping wet sponge and I'm sure he doesn't either.
I couldn't help but think of the new KFC commercial where the woman is eating lunch with a knife and a fork as her colleagues and coworkers run around in a frenzy screaming "LUANNE'S GOT A KNIFE!" In the end, Luanne explains that she's having lunch, which requires the use of a fork, and a knife.
So we've reduced the zero tolerance policy to banishing plastic utensi! ls used to spread mayonnaise on a piece of bread? Is this a joke ? We've reduced the "sexual harassment" policies to include a 5 year old kissing another 5 year old on the cheek to show affection?
Now granted, school security is no laughing matter. After recent violent school events everyone must take security seriously. But when have we gone too far? A child cannot bring a plastic utensil to school in his lunch box? A child cannot hug another child? Big brother is watching!
Many school districts around the country are taking the zero tolerance policies a bit too far, particularly for children with autism spectrum disorders. Part of the disability's innate problem is the inability to assess when something isn't socially appropriate. Should the zero tolerance policy outweigh basic common sense? It seems that more and more often, school district personnel are abandoning all sense of reason to err on the side of overzealous and unwarranted caution.&nb! sp;
Never mind that the schools and their administrations have bigger fish to fry. Never mind that the majority of them aren't providing nearly enough services and supports for children with autism in school districts throughout the country -- WE MUST NOT HAVE FIVE YEAR OLDS SHOWING ANY SIGN OF AFFECTION. It's sexual harassment, don't you know?? And don't bring that plastic dollar store knife to school in your lunchbox!!! It's a bayonet!
How about worrying about compliance with IDEA, FAPE or LRE? Schools across the country are falling down on the job when it comes to special education and mainstreaming, yet by God, we cannot have plastic cutlery in the cafeteria. (Excuse me, the forest is over there, by the trees?)
I wonder if teachers have the same rule. It seems to me that we should have zero tolerance for the teachers as well. After all, it seems more likely to me that an adult would ! be more likely to brandish a knife than a 7 year old who could be easi ly subdued by the hordes of teachers and aides in every elementary school throughout the country. Are THEY allowed to bring knives to school?
And for that matter, I think we should move for the banning of all Fiskars, staplers, staple removers and letter openers.
In the end, I wonder where common sense has gone? When it was replaced by this idiocy? When one-size-fits-all became the norm with no exceptions in any case.
How about we start caring about the real problems in school districts? The fact that children with autism are being ignored, mistreated, restrained, and thrown into classrooms that don't provide proper supports with teachers who don't want them?
If you're going to ask a 7 year old to please step away from the knife, how about we ask the school district administrators to please step back into reality and worry about something realistic, like providing an education for ! ALL students, including those with disabilities.
Cindy Waeltermann
Director, AutismLink
Strange. Like the author said, what about all the scissors at school? And does the school cafeteria have butter knives? I'm pretty sure we did when I was growing up, but that was decades ago.....
Strange as the rule is, I could accept it, but what I could not accept is the way the principal appears to have handled it. It sounds like he introduced the subject by saying "Your son had a weapon at school today" instead of "Your son had a plastic knife in his lunchbox today. I'm afraid the school has a rule against this because it could potentially be used as a weapon."
LOL at the editorial!!!!!!!! SOOOO TRUE! I had to get a signed doctor's consent for my dd to take Motrin at school for cramps!!!!!!
Oh that is just plain ridiculous!