He walked into the men’s room at school to wash his hands and overheard two boys making plans to run away from home. My son didn’t say anything, he just went to leave the bathroom. As he was leaving, one of the boys pulled a pair of sissors out of his pocket, held it to my son’s neck and told him if he said anything about what he’d heard, they would kill him.
My son shoved the other kid away and went straight to the principal’s office. He told the principal not to use his name when dealing with the other kids.
I am an assistant Brownie leader, so my son meets me at the Brownies after school. He told me what happened. I went to the principal to find out what was going on.
I was told that the kid was suspended for a day and he had to speak with the guidance counserlor before returning to class. I told the principal that I was still concerned and he said that I didn’t need to worry because my son is much bigger then the other kid.
I’m still trying to find out if I can file a poilce report, but I don’t want to press charges on the kid. I don’t know him or his family, but they live in my neighborhood and my kids ride the bus with him. From what my kids tell me, this child needs help, not punishment.
My son will yell out that he hates me, when I ground him, out of anger. But, according to my kids this one will tell anyone listening that he hates his mom, hates his dad, hates his life and his sister. The sissors he used in the men’s room were stolen from the art teacher.
My son is afraid of this kid now, he’s afraid to ride the bus. I told him I would speak to the kids parents, but he doesn’t want me to.
The kid is only 11 years old and I hope he can get whatever kind of help he needs.
I am concerned as to why this child had only been suspended for one day. He had a weapon and as far as I am concerned- attempted to use it. What kind of neighborhood does this school lie in? Any principal who would suggest that the problem is solved because the child threatened is larger- should be fired immediatly. Your child was threatened and other children, including this kid in question, could also be in danger. I do not think going to this child’s parents is a good idea. It seems as if this child has severe problems at home which could be a result of an abusive lifestyle. I would go to the police and ask counseling on what you should do. Keep the school involved in this as much as possible, if the principal will not help, speak to one of the counselors.
Also, it is more than understandable that your son fears the confrontation of riding the bus with this child. He is afraid of alienation by the other children. Explain to him that if he hides from this kid, itll be noticed- he should ride the bus and not be afraid of this kid, itll blow over. He did the right thing by going to the principal, sounds like you raised him right.
I am sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds like you have a balanced grasp of the situation and are trying to walk a thoughtful line. I don’t want to interject with an uninformed opinion, only to offer support.
Earlier this week a 12 year old student was given a 3 day holiday for bringing a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition magazine to school, but brandishing a deadly weapon gets only 1 day. Huh…
The kid in question should have gotten at least 3 seperate punishments. One for stealing the scissors from a teacher, one for carrying it concealed with intent to use it as a weapon, and a big one for actually using it to threaten another student. If it was a hunting knife I’m sure that the punishment would have been bigger, but scissors will make you just as dead if an accident happened.
I say that you should file a police report. Talking to the parents isn’t going to do squat if the kid doesn’t respect them, so maybe a visit from the boys in blue will set him straight.
Make sure to write a letter to the principal reviewing wwhat had happened!
If you write him a letter “for record purposes” and let him know that you are keeping a copy of the letter yourself, he will be more likely to be responsive in this situation since he will better understand his legal position. We would all like to think that a principal cares about all of his students and always acts in their best interest, but sometimes it takes a little bit of extra pressure to make sure they do their jobs. A letter-writing parent is certain to be seen a responsible parent, and a force to be feared! If you were to write him a letter and anything wrong should happen in this matter, Heaven forbid, then he would be particularly vulnerable since he couldn’t claim ignorance.
When I read stuff like this, I find myself thinking “what would Gary do?” Gary is the principal at the school I teach in, and I’ve found him to be incredibly concerned about the kids and willing to do whatever it takes to solve problems (and I’m not just saying that because he wrote me a nifty letter of recommendation).
Gary would have had the sherriff out there within an hour of your report. He would have had that kid suspended for several days, then on in-school suspension until he was satisfied that the kid was no threat to your son. I could easily see him starting expulsion proceedings against the scissor wielding kid. The closest we’ve had to anything like that is a middle schooler who brought a handful of live bullets to class and showed them off.
I’m going to second Anonymous Coward and yoyo3500. Your principal sounds like he’s trying to keep things quiet so he doesn’t have to deal with a bunch of angry people. Make sure he understands that your anger outweighs this option. File a police report and get a copy, then send - by registered mail - a letter explaining to him what your expectations are: that your son will be safe on the school bus and at school and there will be no reprisals from the scissor wielder. Send a copy of that letter to the superintendent and the school board.
I know your son is embarrassed and wishes this would all go away, but it won’t, and you’re the one who will keep him safe by making a big noise about it now. Good luck.
I’m not a parent, but I would think the bottom line here is to follow through so your son knows that you care about his safety; self-esteem and all that.
