In Calvert County, the trouble began on a Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. on a 10-minute bus ride to school. A kindergartner who brought a cowboy-style cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus had no clue about what kind of lunatic world the adults who runs his school are living into. According to the family, the boy’s friend had brought a water gun on the bus a day earlier. He told his mother after the incident that he had “really, really” wanted to show his friend. The poor boy caused a school-wide panic and was suspended from the school for 10 days after showing a friend the orange-tipped toy, which he had tucked inside his backpack on his way to school, according to his family. And what ensued was an outreageous scene that you may think comes straight out of a dystopian science-fiction movie. Yes, ladies and geltlemen, the cluless kid was treated like a terrorist and had to endure a two-hour interrogation to the point he “uncharacteristically wet his pants.” [1] Oddly enough, it was only then was his mother called. They had all the public relation skills necessary to scare to poor kid to death but cleaning the urine was just not in their task description. “The school was quite obviously taking it very seriously, and he’s 5 years old,” she said. “Why were we not immediately contacted?” After what can only be described like an overeaction on the part of the school management, this “dangerous international terrorist” received a 10-day suspension for – wait for it- “possession of a look-alike gun.” [2]
The boy is 5 — “all bugs and frogs and cowboys,” his mother said. And if that isn’t insane and abusive enough, the principle actually told the mother “that if the cap gun had been loaded with caps, it would have been deemed an explosive and police would have been called in,” the Washington Post reported. [3] “I have no problem that he had a consequence to his behavior,” said the mother, who asked that her name be withheld to protect her son’s privacy. “What I have a problem with is the severity,” she said, and the way it was handled. [4] The family’s attorney appealed the suspension late Thursday, asking that the action be reversed and the child’s record be expunged. The family’s attorney, Robin Ficker, said that the age of the child is important. “Kids play cowboys and Indians,” he said. “They play cops and robbers. You’re talking about a little 5-year-old here.” If the punishment stands, it would become part of the boy’s permanent school record and keep him out of classes the rest of the school year, the family said. He would miss his end-of-year kindergarten program at Dowell Elementary School in Lusby. The issue will be examined at a disciplinary conference Friday. Kim Roof, executive director of administration for Calvert schools, said she could not comment on the case but pointed out that such incidents are fully reviewed at disciplinary conferences to determine the most appropriate outcome. [6]
