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I was kicked out of middle school for having a kickass butterfly knife in my backpack. I forgot it was there, I had got it that weekend at the flea market from

I was kicked out of middle school for having a kickass butterfly knife in my backpack. I forgot it was there, I had got it that weekend at the flea market from Nazi Bill. My bag fell on the floor, the sound of metal my teacher heard made her think it was a gun. This was in then 90's. I'm curious if 10 days is too lenient too.

artninja1988 3y ago
Things change. Why would you give them a harsh punishment for what I'm sure the middle-schoolers thought was a silly prank. Just optics?
- happymellon 3y ago
  Two things here. Sexual harassment is never a prank. Suspension isn't a punishment for the kid, it's to remove them from disturbing other children.
  - deprecative 3y ago
    Just to continue this: it is the school's responsibility to ensure their students (and faculty) are safe. It is not their responsibility to punish anyone beyond that scope. If there is to be punitive punishment that would come from the legal system. Though, personally, it'll be interesting to see what crime was committed in the making of the content. To me this sort of behavior isn't unexpected. It's yet another example of technology outpacing geriatric capacity.
    - happymellon 3y ago
      Interesting that I got downvoted, and I completely agree with you. If there was something bad commited here then the legal system should be able to hand out punishment for "revenge porn" or sexual harassment, or whatever they feel fits the crime. But suspension is not punishment. Shitty kids will still see this as extra holiday to cause trouble elsewhere.
      - deprecative 3y ago
        Not sure why you were downvoted but I can only imagine it might because folks mistook what you said? I don't know. Suspension is a punishment only in that it removes them from the environment so they cannot harm others. The legal system will need to be involved. All of that said, these kids seem to be quite young. I doubt much will actually happen to them legally - and that's probably fine. As long as the kids learn their lesson and never do it again. I hope this also is used as a teaching moment for everyone that we now need to contend with images that are created not only of adults but of children.
        happymellon 3y ago
        > As long as the kids learn their lesson and never do it again. How would they learn that, if they just got a few days off school? Does Florida have teaching centres for kids excluded from their normal schooling? In the UK we have CPNs and ASBOs for 10+ who do things wrong, such as graffiti or potentially this, which would involve court mandated support groups or community service. Knowing that as a society, we don't accept this behaviour would be much better than a suspension which would imply that society doesn't care, just school.
justinclift 3y ago
> a kickass butterfly knife in my backpack Just to point out, that's a deadly weapon. And "a kid at school with a deadly weapon" has led to tragedy many times over the past decade(s).

artninja1988 3y ago

Things change. Why would you give them a harsh punishment for what I'm sure the middle-schoolers thought was a silly prank. Just optics?

happymellon 3y ago
Two things here. Sexual harassment is never a prank. Suspension isn't a punishment for the kid, it's to remove them from disturbing other children.
- deprecative 3y ago
  Just to continue this: it is the school's responsibility to ensure their students (and faculty) are safe. It is not their responsibility to punish anyone beyond that scope. If there is to be punitive punishment that would come from the legal system. Though, personally, it'll be interesting to see what crime was committed in the making of the content. To me this sort of behavior isn't unexpected. It's yet another example of technology outpacing geriatric capacity.
  - happymellon 3y ago
    Interesting that I got downvoted, and I completely agree with you. If there was something bad commited here then the legal system should be able to hand out punishment for "revenge porn" or sexual harassment, or whatever they feel fits the crime. But suspension is not punishment. Shitty kids will still see this as extra holiday to cause trouble elsewhere.
    - deprecative 3y ago
      Not sure why you were downvoted but I can only imagine it might because folks mistook what you said? I don't know. Suspension is a punishment only in that it removes them from the environment so they cannot harm others. The legal system will need to be involved. All of that said, these kids seem to be quite young. I doubt much will actually happen to them legally - and that's probably fine. As long as the kids learn their lesson and never do it again. I hope this also is used as a teaching moment for everyone that we now need to contend with images that are created not only of adults but of children.
      - happymellon 3y ago
        > As long as the kids learn their lesson and never do it again. How would they learn that, if they just got a few days off school? Does Florida have teaching centres for kids excluded from their normal schooling? In the UK we have CPNs and ASBOs for 10+ who do things wrong, such as graffiti or potentially this, which would involve court mandated support groups or community service. Knowing that as a society, we don't accept this behaviour would be much better than a suspension which would imply that society doesn't care, just school.

justinclift 3y ago

> a kickass butterfly knife in my backpack Just to point out, that's a deadly weapon. And "a kid at school with a deadly weapon" has led to tragedy many times over the past decade(s).