re: 6 year old suspended for making a gun out of toy blocks

Should've claimed he made a hammer and sued the school.

Well there's two ways to look at this,

If th child isn't in a home of abuse, neglect, heavy drug use, etc then this should just be regular child's play.

If it isn't then the child may need to engage in play therapy led by a psychologist.

I think it's the former not the latter

This story is an example of what is wrong with our education system. This is what the child observed while in school:

quote:

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Declan said he was pulling blocks off of a structure of connected blocks shaped like a rectangle when he noticed the shape had changed.

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Instead of stimulating the kids mind by introducing the child to concepts of geometry and redirecting the focus from an object that is shaped like a gun to a more acceptable object, this is what happens:

quote:

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O'Brien said the assistant teacher noticed and pulled her son aside. She said when the teacher came back into the room, Declan was taken to administrators and given a referral with a one-day suspension.

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I'm not a teacher by profession and don't have formal training in that background but I am a parent so I am a teacher to my kids (even if they don't realize it). This seems like a lost opportunity to EDUCATE instead of disciplining due to uncompromising rules. We need more common sense and flexibility in our classrooms and less zero tolerance.

I've collected sticks that look much more convincing than a block gun. I guess I'd get suspended for that now too

ETA: I just watched the video...Gingers...so many gingers

My son's at a parochial school and he and his friends used to play cops and robbers shooting each other at recess. No issue was made of it.

Besides, being written up is considerably less than a suspension.