Two Boys Suspended For Pointing Pencils

By Hum
in Real World News

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Hum

Posted
Posted

A 7-year-old boy, who was suspended for two days after playing a game of make-believe with his friend, returned to school on Wednesday.

On Friday, Christopher Marshall, a second grader at Driver Elementary School in Suffolk, Virginia and his classmate were playing with their pencils, pointing them at each other and making machine gun noises when a concerned teacher pulled them into the principals' office.

"I got a call from Christopher's school at 12:30 on Friday," the boy's mother, Wendy Marshall, 34, a stay-at-home mother of five, told Yahoo! Shine. "His teacher told me that Christopher and his friend were playing with pencils, making machine gun and 'bang bang' noises. I asked if they were pointing the pencils at anyone else, if they were angry or hostile, disrupting class, or refused to stop when asked and the teacher said no. I told her that I would speak to Christopher but his teacher said she was under obligation to report them anyway."

Wendy immediately picked up her son from school and when she got there, the principal explained that due to the school's zero tolerance policy against weapons or anything that resembles a weapon, Christopher would be suspended on Monday and Tuesday, allowed to return on Wednesday. Bethanne Bradshaw, a spokesperson for Suffolk Public Schools could not be reached for comment but according to a report from Fox43 she said, "A pencil is a weapon when it is pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made" and that "Some children would consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools or shootings in the community.

Kids don't think about 'Cowboys and Indians' anymore, they think about drive-by shootings and murders and everything they see on television news every day." According to the Suffolk News-Herald, the school had received hundreds of emails and on one day fielded about 75 phone calls per hour regarding the matter. Bradshaw wrote in an email to the paper that the reaction to the incident was overwhelming. ?Opinions were very strong and mean-spirited, and often included abusive language and profanity.?

"I told the principal that Christopher's father is an ex-Marine and he was just emulating his dad," said Wendy. "Apparently the students were told at the beginning of the year that they couldn't pretend that objects were guns?there are only four weeks left in school.

Wendy took her son home and asked him to explain what happened. "He was shaking with fear and didn't understand why he was in trouble," she said. "So we reenacted the scene and I told him that he did nothing wrong."

more

Grand Master

freak180

Posted
Posted

Im with the school the kid shouldn't be emulating his dad even if he is a solider.... im sure the dad would agree. If I was a soldier and I never will be, I would not want my kid glorifying it, Plus someone could have got hurt with the pencils.

I guess your parents taped you up with bubble wrap right?
Grand Master

techbeck

Posted
Posted

Im with the school the kid shouldn't be emulating his dad even if he is a solider.... im sure the dad would agree. If I was a soldier and I never will be, I would not want my kid glorifying it, Plus someone could have got hurt with the pencils.

Ok, I am not sure if you are serious...or trying to be funny here. There was nothing, zero, zip, zilch....wrong with what the kids did. Common sense would of shown this and obviously the school has none. The kid was 7yrs old....its what kids do. If kids cannot be kids and if people cannot think and evaluate the situation properly, then I feel for the future leaders/adults of this world. Its going to get to the point where you cannot say or do anything without getting in to trouble.

Mentor

Sylar0

Posted
Posted

I guess your parents taped you up with bubble wrap right?

Nope

Ok, I am not sure if you are serious...or trying to be funny here. There was nothing, zero, zip, zilch....wrong with what the kids did. Common sense would of shown this and obviously the school has none. The kid was 7yrs old....its what kids do. If kids cannot be kids and if people cannot think and evaluate the situation properly, then I feel for the future leaders/adults of this world. Its going to get to the point where you cannot say or do anything without getting in to trouble.

Nope im serious. No such thing as common sense. I remember our teachers telling us we were forbidden from drawing pictures of guns... yes i'm serious but then I come from a sans gun nation,

Grand Master

techbeck

Posted
Posted

Nope im serious. No such thing as common sense. I remember our teachers telling us we were forbidden from drawing pictures of guns... yes i'm serious but then I come from a sans gun nation,

Well, I think it is a sad world we live in where fear and ignorance (the school) controls people and their actions.

Grand Master

techbeck

Posted
Posted

Ignorance of what? Even with the Dad I still don't approve nor should he.....

Ignorance on the school for not being able to evaluate the situation and act accordingly. We are going to disagree no matter what here and I am not going to argue this. All I know is that if a 7 year old points a pencil at me and makes noises, I am not going to be running away and hiding in a corner fearing for my life.

Grand Master

Rippleman

Posted
Posted

Now kids cannot be kids huh...yea, I love how the world is turning out...

kids can be kids still, just because they can't emulate a gun doesn't mean that's not being a kid.

All I know is that if a 7 year old points a pencil at me and makes noises, I am not going to be running away and hiding in a corner fearing for my life.

No one would run away, its preventive behavior conditioning that is preemptive in nature.
  • Xerax and freak180
  • Like 2
Grand Master

Growled Member

Posted
  • Member
Posted

Ignorance of what? Even with the Dad I still don't approve nor should he.....

Maybe the teacher should have taken the boys aside and told them what they did was not allowed in school and please not do that again?

  • Sartoris, Xerax and statm1
  • Like 3
Grand Master

techbeck

Posted
Posted

One last comment...glad the mother of the kid told him he did nothing wrong. I played with toy guns as a kid and went around the neighborhood acting like I was shooting my friends. No want I wanted to shoot someone for real. Probably because I had good parents that taught me right from wrong, real from fiction.

What a different world this is tho...

Grand Master

Stoffel

Posted
Posted

Im with the school the kid shouldn't be emulating his dad even if he is a solider.... im sure the dad would agree. If I was a soldier and I never will be, I would not want my kid glorifying it, Plus someone could have got hurt with the pencils.

You got to be kidding right? When you were young you never played cowboy and indian, or you acted out one of your favorite cartoon shows like GI Joe or Thundercats?

Boys do this all the time.

And the fact that you come from a country with no gun culture has nothing to do with it.

Ignorance on the school for not being able to evaluate the situation and act accordingly. We are going to disagree no matter what here and I am not going to argue this. All I know is that if a 7 year old points a pencil at me and makes noises, I am not going to be running away and hiding in a corner fearing for my life.

When they pointed at me and made noises, I stuck up my thumb, aimed my index finger and shot back :)

Maybe the teacher should have taken the boys aside and told them what they did was not allowed in school and please not do that again?

That would be the more sensible thing to do if you really would have an issue with boys being boys

  • freak180 and psmoked
  • Like 2
Grand Master

Dinggus

Posted
Posted

Im with the school the kid shouldn't be emulating his dad even if he is a solider.... im sure the dad would agree. If I was a soldier and I never will be, I would not want my kid glorifying it, Plus someone could have got hurt with the pencils.

You don't want your child to look up to you? Also, what's wrong with being a soldier?

  • statm1 and WAQT
  • Like 2
Grand Master

ATLien_0

Posted
Posted

Im two fold on this. While part of me is saying, they are just kids, and well I remember having fun like this when I was a kid. However in this day in age, violence is glorified a lot, kids are being exposed to it much more. Yes there is a Zero tolerance policy It would seem appropriate for the Teacher to be able to talk to the kids and at least explain why they shouldn't do that before taking to the principles office.

Grand Master

Nick H. Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted
Nope im serious. No such thing as common sense. I remember our teachers telling us we were forbidden from drawing pictures of guns... yes i'm serious but then I come from a sans gun nation,

I went to school in the UK and there was nothing stopping us from drawing whatever we wanted. Perhaps it was a simpler time when kids could still be kids though.

With that in mind, given that this took place in the US I can sort of see where this is coming from. With the recent shootings happening it's understandable to be on edge. At the same time though, I'm pretty sure if you used your head you could tell the difference between a child just having fun and a child that may be...disturbed.

  • MightyJordan
  • Like 1
Grand Master

TheLegendOfMart

Posted
Posted

It's bloody stupid to micromanage political correctness, especially to this degree. Our schools are turning into a sissified world akin to that in Demolition Man.

You can't blame them considering the kind of gun culture you guys have, the amount of school/university shootings and the fact that kids have "my first gun" and parents who leave their guns unlocked could easily bring one into school and shoot someone.

If they want to stop this, they need to get the media to stop producing such violent content.

Yeah its totally the medias fault.............................. :no:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen

      By Usama Jawad96 · Posted

      Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen by Usama Jawad Microsoft Edge may not be the most popular browser out there, but it does receive quite frequent updates that sometimes bring surprising new features and axe others that are not as popular. Now, Microsoft has detailed some of the new security enhancements that it has introduced in Edge for Business, typically used by commercial customers. Microsoft has emphasized that security features are baked into Edge for Business and offer native integration with security and governance tools like Defender and Purview. Browser sessions are governed by default on managed devices but can also be governed through dedicated work profiles on unmanaged devices. An important aspect in this area is controlling the use of shadow AI. We have talked about this before, but it essentially restricts employees from using unsanctioned AI apps through data loss prevention (DLP) policies, with Edge redirecting them to trusted AI services like Microsoft 365 Copilot. This feature, available as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license, ensures that confidential data never exits AI boundaries set by your organization in Purview. Additionally, Microsoft also has strong DLP policies for contractors. Contractors leveraging a Entra ID-joined work profile provisioned by their contracting company on a device managed by their actual employer can be restricted from downloading files locally. In such scenarios, the file is saved on the contracting firm's OneDrive rather than being downloaded locally. Another useful Edge security feature disallows copying and pasting from unmanaged locations and apps. Similarly, DLP policies can be configured at a granular level to restrict screenshots or downloading of files from certain locations. In the same vein, IT admins can block the installation of extensions, hosted apps, themes and scripts, and control if users can install extensions from external locations. They can also enable the installation of specific extensions and allow users to request access to certain extensions, so that they can be managed on a case-by-case basis. Finally, Edge for Business now has an on-device AI model that uses computer vision to see what's on your screen and block potentially malicious content immediately. This does not rely on site reputation, as it simply monitors what is being displayed on your screen, which means that it is effective against malicious content that takes over your screen and employs scareware tactics. Since this is an on-device AI model, it does use your system's resources, so it's enabled by default only on devices with at least 2GB of RAM and four CPU cores. You can find more details in the Microsoft Mechanics video here.
    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start

      By thartist · Posted

      Could you come up with a slightly less depressing background for Tux instead of that gray gradient? Doesn't have to be cheerful, just less of a downer...
    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start

      By zikalify · Posted

      Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start by Paul Hill Credit: Larry Ewing It has been a few weeks since the release of Linux 7.1, and in that time, the Linux 7.2 merge window has been open, where developers can submit their features and patches ready for the upcoming release. That window is now shut, and the release candidate phase has begun so that new features can be tested and further fixes applied. According to the founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, this week’s release candidate looks “reasonably normal”. Although we are super early in the release candidates, this is a good sign as it makes it more likely that an eighth release candidate will not be needed. Torvalds even mentioned that the update’s stats are only larger than they really are because there was another AMD header drop with a third of the patch just being AMD GPU register definitions, which aren’t big changes but make the code contributed look larger overall. In addition to this, he noted that just over half the patch is drivers, even when excluding the AMD register dump. The rest of the changes are spread out over architecture updates, tooling, documentation, and core kernel updates. In the next week, Torvalds says that he will be chilling out, taking the week “mostly off”. Despite this, he will be reading emails and keeping up with things, so if he is slow responding, now you know why. He said he is hoping for a calm week, but we will just have to see if the second release candidate is actually like that. We should expect seven or eight release candidates before Linux 7.2 is released, so expect it around the end of August. If you missed it a few weeks ago, be sure to check out our coverage of Linux 7.1's release.
    • Why it's almost impossible to produce a smartphone in the United States

      By Asgardi · Posted

      Ridiculous claim that the labor cost difference of $6000 annually would increase cost per phone by $200. The employees produce 3 phones per month or what?
    • Sparkle 2.20.1

      By Copernic · Posted

      Sparkle 2.20.1 by Razvan Serea Sparkle is a free, open-source Windows optimization tool designed to make your PC faster, cleaner, and more private. With Sparkle, you can easily debloat Windows by removing unnecessary apps and services, disable Microsoft tracking to enhance privacy, and apply performance tweaks to boost speed. Its cleaner removes junk and temporary files, while every change is safe and fully reversible. Sparkle also features a modern, user-friendly interface with automatic updates, making system maintenance simple. Explore over 39 tweaks, from disabling telemetry and hibernation to optimizing network and game settings, all aimed at customizing and enhancing your Windows experience. Sparkle supports Windows 10 and 11. Sparkle 2.20.1 changelog: You can now change the Animation Direction from Up, Left, or Off. Added configurable animation direction (Up, Left, Off) for improved accessibility Added TTL caching to the system info backend Refactored tweak application flow to await NvidiaProfileInspector Improved IPC listener cleanup to correctly remove specific listeners Fixed online status not updating after successful network requests Updated system info tests to support backend caching Removed electron-toolkit utils dependency in favor of internal is.dev helper Fixed unwanted files and folders being included in application bundles Download: Sparkle 2.20.1 | Portable | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) Links: Sparkle Website | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Zeynel earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      JKR earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      496
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      246
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!