FL - Student Arrested After Cutting Food With Knife

[mom3dd]

First of all thank you for your post and for you opinion!
I just personally feel a 10 year old should be more supervised . I also think the parents should be making her lunch for her and know what she is eatting and what she is putting the the lunch bag .

This is my opinion not an attack.
Oh nappy are you an enabler? Do you have control issues? We are here to teach our young not do for them. Do you have a 10 year old? A 10 year old can actually quite easily pull the wool over their parents eyes in mild sneaking things. The parents could have made her lunch while they are getting ready to take kids to school she could have slipped the knife in her lunch bag. I remember my girls not being able to use a knife with any skill so they liked the steak knives because they made cutting easy. I do not agree with zero tolerence policy but it really is due to taking the easy route no matter who it hurts. And for the others worried that this child has a juvey record it stops when they are 18 and life is hard knocks school. With her parents teaching her that she has to follow the rules and "see what happens when you take the knife that I have told you repeatedly not to bring "
And here is more fuel for you. When my girls were 6,8,and 10 they fought and cried and carried on were late for school and I couldn't do anything with them. I stopped getting up and getting them ready. They could be late for school and get kicked out it was up to them. Well long story short they were never late to school. I also refused to jump in and save them when they forgot things one time of me not saving them in the small things taught them to be prepared in the big ones. I never had to take money for lunch or lunch up to school and never had to bring school work to them. Okay sorry I am off my soap box. And welcome Nappy

 

[Mr. E]

If a 10 year old is making her own lunches, surely the parents will know what she's eating. They bought the groceries; they know what's in the kitchen.

My kids are 11 and 16 and they've been making their own lunches since they started bringing lunch to school rather than buying it, which was a year ago. They're pretty good about making sure there is a protein, a veggie, and a fruit in the lunches, as well as the treat. I think they know that if they filled it with just junk they'd be hungry again very quickly.

My younger daughter's biggest problem is forgetting her lunchbox at school.

Since this story came out, I've told them to be careful about what utensils they pack, but they've never packed anything as complicated as steak in their lunches.

 

[Paladin]

She broke the rules... she needs to be punished for breaking the rules. There are consequences for actions when one does wrong.

Well guess what? It's a stupid rule that was designed and bound to be broken. You don't traumatize a well-meaning child by suspending them and carting them off to the police.

Why is everyone so flippin' black and white with rules and laws on this message board?

 

[southcitymom]

Well guess what? It's a stupid rule that was designed and bound to be broken. You don't traumatize a well-meaning child by suspending them and carting them off to the police.

Why is everyone so flippin' black and white with rules and laws on this message board?

My favorite rule has always been that rules were made to be broken!

 

[Annie]

That's ridiculous! But you're okay with forks? Following that logic knives should be banned from restaurants because some nut may take one off your table and do harm to someone else.

ooooh wait...it's all about protecting the children.....then let's ban children from restaurants too!

You make a good point. How do you know the person at the next table cutting steak isn't going to use it to attack you? How do you know he isn't going to pick up a chair and hit you over the head? Get rid of chairs and sit on the floor. I still say use common sense. Guns should always be prohibited in school because they have no good use. I think making such a big deal of a utensel a well behaved child was using and having her arrested is ridiculous.

 

[JanetElaine]

You make a good point. How do you know the person at the next table cutting steak isn't going to use it to attack you? How do you know he isn't going to pick up a chair and hit you over the head? Get rid of chairs and sit on the floor. I still say use common sense. Guns should always be prohibited in school because they have no good use. I think making such a big deal of a utensel a well behaved child was using and having her arrested is ridiculous.

Kids have been hurt by other kids with pencils before, too. And scissors. And I'm pretty sure some first grader somewhere poked someone else in the eye with their finger. Whoever said 'smoke and mirrors' is IMO right on the money!

 

[kgeaux]

First of all thank you for your post and for you opinion!
I just personally feel a 10 year old should be more supervised . I also think the parents should be making her lunch for her and know what she is eatting and what she is putting the the lunch bag .

Hi, Nappy! Thanks for explaining your comment. I'm wondering if you have children? (Sometimes that changes our perspectives. No, that's not true. ALL the time that changes our perspectives!) I suspect that you and I are looking at this from two different viewpoints: maybe you are looking to the future when you have a ten year old? And I'm looking at it from the other end. WAY from the other end!

I've raised 5---well, the 'baby' is about to turn 17, so technically he's almost raised!---and all five were perfectly capable of packing their own lunches by age 10. They were all responsible young men, and I personally never felt like I needed to either supervise or check lunch bags. Maybe if they had not been such good, responsible kids, I'd have needed to check up on their lunches!

I'm thinking this girl's parents probably just trusted her judgement, just like I trusted my own boys' judgements.

The more I think about this, the more I think it really just boils down to the girl not equating 'steak knife' with 'weapon.' She sounds like such a good little girl, not one who would knowingly have brought the knife to school if she had known she shouldn't.

The world is getting harder and harder for young people to navigate, isn't it?

 

[bnhall]

I think that if someone would have gotten hurt with the knife, everyone would be saying that they should have punished her the first time she brought it.

I think zero tolerance is crap, too. I said that she shouldn't have been arrested. But she knew it was against the rules and she should have at least gotten talked to by the school administration so it wouldn't happen again.

Saying that someone got stabbed with a fork means forks should be banned is ridiculous. Forks (nor pencils, etc.) can not do as much damage as a steak knife. My point was that angry kids can turn innocuous items into weapons, so imagine what it would be like if all kids were allowed to bring steak knives to school.

 

[Trino]

I've just got to add to this one. I'm a former teacher who had a known gang member in my class. One day he was trying to make a drug deal in class. (Yes, in class). I sent him to the office and when he was searched, a box cutter was found in his pocket. Was he suspended? NO. His mother convinced the "Powers That Be" that he used it in his work and forgot it was in his pocket. And, what happened with the drug deal? He was suspended for 3 days, had to go to counseling. Then, he was right back in class - when he came.

Seems "justice" is administered a bit unfairly, to me.

 

[Paladin]

I think zero tolerance is crap, too. I said that she shouldn't have been arrested. But she knew it was against the rules and she should have at least gotten talked to by the school administration so it wouldn't happen again.

She did? Where does it say that this child knew it was against the rules? The article at the beginning of this thread didn't indicate anything of the sort.

 

[Trino]

She did? Where does it say that this child knew it was against the rules? The article at the beginning of this thread didn't indicate anything of the sort.

Usually, children aren't "told." At the beginning of each school year school districts issue a pamphlet to students/parents, explaining school rules. I would guess this school did so. The pamphlet handles everything from truancy to weapons to sexual harassment.

 

[southcitymom]

The more I think about this, the more I think it really just boils down to the girl not equating 'steak knife' with 'weapon.' She sounds like such a good little girl, not one who would knowingly have brought the knife to school if she had known she shouldn't.

The world is getting harder and harder for young people to navigate, isn't it?

This is the crux of the matter, I think, kgeaux - and why common sense should trump zero tolerance. A teacher or lunchroom monitor should have quietly pulled her aside after lunch, explained the "policy" and the reason behind it, asked her not to bring such a knife again, thanked her for being a good egg and sent her on her merry way.

Instead - a decent kid is made to feel like a criminal. Moronic!

We should never have heard about this incident at all!

 

[Paladin]

Usually, children aren't "told." At the beginning of each school year school districts issue a pamphlet to students/parents, explaining school rules. I would guess this school did so. The pamphlet handles everything from truancy to weapons to sexual harassment.

The article says she has done this multiple times already and that nothing was said. This sounds to me like the rule change was a recent one.

 

[Mommyofthree]

Now if she had been (even jokingly) threatening other kids with it or waving it around, that's different... but she was using it as intended. Bunch of paranoid freaks.

I totally agree. They overreacted. If she was joking around or threatening to use it then they should've immediately done something like possibly arrest her but she was using it for what she needed it for, her lunch (whatever kind of lunch that it was) and instead of getting a warning or even a light suspension she gets arrested?

I do wonder who packed this in her lunch? her parents? or herself? She definitely could've hurt someone on accident or tripped and fell with it in her hand. I think at 10 years old most kids would know you cannot bring a "real" knife to school. If the parent allowed this the parent should have actions taken against them for endangering the welfare of a child (whether their own or someone elses).

So what happens from here? Is she allowed back to school? Or because of all the bad media its caused are the parents of other children going to be scared for their children to go to school with this child? This poor little girl is going to have a bad rap in the same school from other students and possibly even teachers that feel they need to watch her every move. I hope shes allowed back to this school and that they just move on from the incident. Does she sit in the juvenile detention center now or have to stand trial?

This whole story just makes me really angry.

Thats why I stick to sandwiches and fingerfoods for my kids for lunch. Who sends something that needs to be cut?

 

[kgeaux]

I think that if someone would have gotten hurt with the knife, everyone would be saying that they should have punished her the first time she brought it.

I think zero tolerance is crap, too. I said that she shouldn't have been arrested. But she knew it was against the rules and she should have at least gotten talked to by the school administration so it wouldn't happen again.

Saying that someone got stabbed with a fork means forks should be banned is ridiculous. Forks (nor pencils, etc.) can not do as much damage as a steak knife. My point was that angry kids can turn innocuous items into weapons, so imagine what it would be like if all kids were allowed to bring steak knives to school.

I get your point, but I wonder how you know this girl knew it was against the rules? I'm thinking she did NOT know, since she'd brought the knife in the past and no one had corrected her.

 

[nappy2]

Hi, Nappy! Thanks for explaining your comment. I'm wondering if you have children? (Sometimes that changes our perspectives. No, that's not true. ALL the time that changes our perspectives!) I suspect that you and I are looking at this from two different viewpoints: maybe you are looking to the future when you have a ten year old? And I'm looking at it from the other end. WAY from the other end!

I've raised 5---well, the 'baby' is about to turn 17, so technically he's almost raised!---and all five were perfectly capable of packing their own lunches by age 10. They were all responsible young men, and I personally never felt like I needed to either supervise or check lunch bags. Maybe if they had not been such good, responsible kids, I'd have needed to check up on their lunches!




I'm thinking this girl's parents probably just trusted her judgement, just like I trusted my own boys' judgements.

The more I think about this, the more I think it really just boils down to the girl not equating 'steak knife' with 'weapon.' She sounds like such a good little girl, not one who would knowingly have brought the knife to school if she had known she shouldn't.

The world is getting harder and harder for young people to navigate, isn't it?

Hello kgeaux

First of all thank you for your post .

I wrote what I think I would do in this situation . But what I know is this school handled this totally wrong ! This school did not need to treat this girl like a criminal , They should of cut her meat up for her and took the knife and explained to her why she is not allowed to have these kind of things at school and then they should of called the parents and told them what happend and had them pick the knife up . But no they couldnt do that they had to make a big show and call the cops .

I honestly dont know where this world is going and whats going to happen!

Once again thank you for your post

 

[Trino]

The article says she has done this multiple times already and that nothing was said. This sounds to me like the rule change was a recent one.

These types of rules have been in place for quite some time. For years schools have been running scared about weapons. My guess is that adults were not observant of her using a knife. (Who is, if she's using it to eat?) Someone finally noticed it, and she was suspended.

 

[Trino]

Hello kgeaux

First of all thank you for your post .

I wrote what I think I would do in this situation . But what I know is this school handled this totally wrong ! This school did not need to treat this girl like a criminal , They should of cut her meat up for her and took the knife and explained to her why she is not allowed to have these kind of things at school and then they should of called the parents and told them what happend and had them pick the knife up.

It's called ZERO TOLERANCE. No "weapons" for any reason. A knife, according to a school's definition is a weapon, no matter if it's not used as one. There was an incident a few years ago where a h.s. girl was suspended for having a knife in her car - not even inside the building. The school parking lot was school property. ZERO TOLERANCE.

 

[txsvicki]

My grandkids' school uses those styrofoam containers and plastic forks now. I don't think those things will cut anything. That could be why the girl brought a knife to school or maybe even to cut an apple

 

[nappy2]

It's called ZERO TOLERANCE. No "weapons" for any reason. A knife, according to a school's definition is a weapon, no matter if it's not used as one. There was an incident a few years ago where a h.s. girl was suspended for having a knife in her car - not even inside the building. The school parking lot was school property. ZERO TOLERANCE.

'


Thank you for your post !

I just think they could of handled this without calling the cops .