Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: DonTron on June 18, 2010, 09:18:23 AM

Title: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: DonTron on June 18, 2010, 09:18:23 AM
Unbelievable. Where will it end?


Toy soldiers run afoul of school's weapons ban
 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Christan Morales said her son just wanted to honor American troops when he wore a hat to school decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures.

But the school banned the hat because it ran afoul of the district's zero-tolerance weapons policy. Why? The toy soldiers were carrying tiny guns.

"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate," Morales said.

Morales' 8-year-old son, David, had been assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would meet their pen pals from another school. She and her son came up with an idea to add patriotic decorations to a camouflage hat.

Earlier this week, after the hat was banned, the principal at the Tiogue School in Coventry told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any, according to Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro.

But, Morales said, the family had only one Army figure without a weapon (he was carrying binoculars), so David wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the pen pal meeting.

"Nothing was being done to limit patriotism, creativity, other than find an alternative to a weapon," Di Pietro said.

The district does not allow images of weapons or drugs on clothing. For example, a student would not be permitted to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it, the superintendent said.

The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."

On Thursday, Di Pietro and the principal met with the retired commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, at the commander's request.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio praised the school system for supporting the military in the past, including with a junior ROTC program.

But he said he disagreed with the decision to ban the hat and hoped it offered a chance for the school to review its policies.

"The American soldier is armed. That's why they're called the armed forces," he said. "If you're going to portray it any other way, you miss the point."

He said he intends to give David a medal to express veterans' appreciation that he would pay tribute to their service.

Morales said her son was inspired to honor the military after striking up a friendship last summer with a neighbor in the Army.

Banning the hat "sent the wrong message to the kids, because it wasn't in any way to cause any harm to anyone," she said. "You're talking about Army men. This wasn't about guns."

Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: MicroBalrog on June 18, 2010, 09:30:47 AM
I suggest this:

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monomachines.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2FDepartment-of-Defense-Plaque-Med.jpg&hash=d0a4a42018e54ad9fd05e753d0a699f0c6592bf5)
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: RevDisk on June 18, 2010, 09:53:42 AM
I suggest this:

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monomachines.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2FDepartment-of-Defense-Plaque-Med.jpg&hash=d0a4a42018e54ad9fd05e753d0a699f0c6592bf5)

 :mad:

How dare you show a depiction of evil bad weapons!  And you're making it even worse by having peaceful fluffy eagles carrying weapons of war!


If the school wants to ban depictions of US military persons or implications, simply remove all federal funding.  No harm, no foul, then. 
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: kgbsquirrel on June 18, 2010, 12:15:08 PM
Reminds me of the busy-body soccer moms who wanted the bronze statue of Petty Office Danny Dietz Jr. altered/banned from a park because it was three blocks from a school, had a machine gun and, ahem, "glorified violence and would cause it in children." They thankfully failed horribly.

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg686.imageshack.us%2Fimg686%2F1856%2Fdannydietz.th.jpg&hash=f52ce0fa45ba58ccfbc119a4931a90cd80a85403) (http://img686.imageshack.us/i/dannydietz.jpg/)
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: longeyes on June 18, 2010, 12:47:24 PM
The history of the world is the history of arms.

That is something the educators need to educate themselves about.
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: HankB on June 18, 2010, 12:53:17 PM
Yes, they DID limit patriotism and creativity.

And then, when found out, they lied about it, in a classic, self-rightous "CYA" move.

The teacher, principal, and superintendent all ought to be reassigned to some position where they have no policy-making or decision making authority.

Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: dm1333 on June 18, 2010, 04:51:53 PM
Sigh.  I can't believe that I want to be a teacher after retiring from my present career.  Not only would I not have given the kids hat a second thought, if confronted about it I would have told him to put the hat in his lunch box till after school was out.  What a non issue.  This does make me wonder if I am going to teach for a year or two (if I can find a job) and them move on to something else.
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: longeyes on June 18, 2010, 05:30:09 PM
The education class is too civilized to tolerate any thought of arms.  They are also too civilized to survive.  They will realize one of these days how little respect their "students" have for them.
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: brimic on June 18, 2010, 08:20:06 PM
My son got written up a few years ago in day care for pretending a banana was a gun at lunch time. Sort of reminds me of a Monty Python skit....

The next day and for the next few weeks I put a special treat in his lunch that I picked up at a local deli:

(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv635%2Fbrimic%2FPicture053.jpg&hash=d433051f764c1774398344def00d37944870f648)

I figured that if the teacher got offended, I could tell her about the 'licorice babies' that were given as treats when I was a kid- that might stun her. :lol:
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: sanglant on June 18, 2010, 11:16:51 PM
the proper badge, for the kids hat.


(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F9%2F9c%2FUS-ImmigrationAndNaturalizationService-Seal.svg%2F618px-US-ImmigrationAndNaturalizationService-Seal.svg.png&hash=09e408e5836fbb9be9093a038fc6bf658e9a4e37) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Naturalization_Service)



>:D
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: AmbulanceDriver on June 20, 2010, 06:54:26 PM
Yes, they DID limit patriotism and creativity.

And then, when found out, they lied about it, in a classic, self-rightous "CYA" move.

The teacher, principal, and superintendent all ought to be reassigned to some position where they have no policy-making or decision making authority. fired and their teaching credentials revoked.



Ftfy.
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on June 20, 2010, 06:56:54 PM
they changed their mind  reversed ruling
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: Perd Hapley on June 20, 2010, 10:46:59 PM
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv635%2Fbrimic%2FPicture053.jpg&hash=d433051f764c1774398344def00d37944870f648)


WANT!!
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: roo_ster on June 20, 2010, 11:03:33 PM

WANT!!

Me, too! 
Title: Re: School's zero-tolerance gun policy includes toy soldiers
Post by: Firethorn on June 21, 2010, 09:56:59 AM
Me, too! 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gummy+army+men&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

They're available online.  ;)