More educational stupidity...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Christan Morales says her son just wanted to honor American troops when he made a hat decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures.
But the hat ran afoul of the district's no-weapons policy because the toy soldiers were carrying tiny weapons.
"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate because it had guns," Morales said.
Morales' 8-year-old son, David, was assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would met 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, the Tiogue School in Coventry sent the hat home with David after class. He wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the visit instead.
Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro said the principal told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any.
"The issue for us was, can it be done in a way that didn't violate the zero-tolerance for weapons?" he said. "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, it would not allow a student to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it.
The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."
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."
Honestly our entire public school system should be scrapped because of things like the above story, the misteaching of history, the highly under reported incidence of sexual predators amongst the teachers, the list goes on and on. Since you can bet this school receives Federal funding in one form or another, our tax dollars and their waste are involved in this.
I was recently reminded that until Jimmy Carter was President, no Dept. of Education existed. Maybe it's coincidence, but the quality of schools seems to have really deteriorated in the past few decades.
Here is a copy of the letter I'll send once this damned flu is gone;
Dear Mr. Di Pietro,
I was amazed to recently read of your school district’s response to a student wearing a hat adorned with toy soldiers. Since the soldiers carried weapons, the hat was deemed inappropriate. This is bizarre.
The “zero tolerance” policy of many districts towards bringing weapons onto school grounds is entirely understandable. Tragedies such as Columbine demand a response, while many might argue the merits of particular reactions any efforts made to curb school violence are better than none at all.
But really, toy soldiers with guns? What comes next, the censoring of school books showing our troops in combat gear? Perhaps there should be a total ban against any mention of armed conflict at all. It would be just as nonsensical.
I hope you and your staff will reconsider how to implement your policies in the future.
Sincerely,
My Name
I'm sure it'll be placed in a circular file. But stupidity like this has gone on for too long because too many well meaning folks just shake their heads and pass by. Nobody can criticize everything that needs correcting, it would cost a fortune in postage stamps. But the expression of some outrage is better than remaining completely mute. Mute is something I can plead guilty to for most of my life. Now, as our nation and culture become increasingly reformed according to the whims of the depraved and the ideologically driven, now more than ever the voice of John Q. Public needs to be heard.
For those who care to let this guy know your own thoughts, his address is;
Kenneth R. Di Pietro, Superintendent of Schools
1675 Flat River Road
Coventry, RI 02816
But the hat ran afoul of the district's no-weapons policy because the toy soldiers were carrying tiny weapons.
"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate because it had guns," Morales said.
Morales' 8-year-old son, David, was assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would met 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, the Tiogue School in Coventry sent the hat home with David after class. He wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the visit instead.
Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro said the principal told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any.
"The issue for us was, can it be done in a way that didn't violate the zero-tolerance for weapons?" he said. "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, it would not allow a student to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it.
The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."
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."
Honestly our entire public school system should be scrapped because of things like the above story, the misteaching of history, the highly under reported incidence of sexual predators amongst the teachers, the list goes on and on. Since you can bet this school receives Federal funding in one form or another, our tax dollars and their waste are involved in this.
I was recently reminded that until Jimmy Carter was President, no Dept. of Education existed. Maybe it's coincidence, but the quality of schools seems to have really deteriorated in the past few decades.
Here is a copy of the letter I'll send once this damned flu is gone;
Dear Mr. Di Pietro,
I was amazed to recently read of your school district’s response to a student wearing a hat adorned with toy soldiers. Since the soldiers carried weapons, the hat was deemed inappropriate. This is bizarre.
The “zero tolerance” policy of many districts towards bringing weapons onto school grounds is entirely understandable. Tragedies such as Columbine demand a response, while many might argue the merits of particular reactions any efforts made to curb school violence are better than none at all.
But really, toy soldiers with guns? What comes next, the censoring of school books showing our troops in combat gear? Perhaps there should be a total ban against any mention of armed conflict at all. It would be just as nonsensical.
I hope you and your staff will reconsider how to implement your policies in the future.
Sincerely,
My Name
I'm sure it'll be placed in a circular file. But stupidity like this has gone on for too long because too many well meaning folks just shake their heads and pass by. Nobody can criticize everything that needs correcting, it would cost a fortune in postage stamps. But the expression of some outrage is better than remaining completely mute. Mute is something I can plead guilty to for most of my life. Now, as our nation and culture become increasingly reformed according to the whims of the depraved and the ideologically driven, now more than ever the voice of John Q. Public needs to be heard.
For those who care to let this guy know your own thoughts, his address is;
Kenneth R. Di Pietro, Superintendent of Schools
1675 Flat River Road
Coventry, RI 02816
1 comment:
Holy geeee. I didn't know Army men carried weapons!!! Wow!! I thought they just ran around with telepromptors to negotiate with the non-American guys who are reallynot so bad once you get to know them.
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