Strollerderby : school violence

Third Grader Expelled Because He Made A Hit List

Brett Singer — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:00:00 GMT

A third grader at a Hamilton, Ohio private school was expelled because of a "hit list" that was found in his desk. The list contained the names of a teacher and several students that he said he wanted to kill.

Michael Mayo, the principal of the Immanuel Lutheran School, said that he did not believe the boy was actually going to harm anyone, but he felt that he had to take action anyway. (Maybe he could go to that Texas school where they had cage fighting. OK, that's a bad idea.)

This quote bothered me a little bit: "But this sort of thing in this day and age, you just can’t do that. It will never be acceptable." Does that mean it used to be acceptable? I know that's not what it means, but I hate it when things are blamed on "the times we live in."

Without knowing the circumstances it's hard to comment. The report says that the child had "received counselling in the past" which implies that this may not have been an isolated incident. On the other hand, it is possible to overreacted to this sort of thing when it's done by a kid this young.

When I was in 8th grade, I was rehearsing a production of "Bye-Bye Birdie" at my local Y. On the back of my script, I wrote a parody of the song "Kids" in which I made obnoxious comments about the director, an older woman with whom I frequently disagreed about certain artistic matters. OK, I'll admit -- I was an obnoxious 12-year-old. I left my script at rehearsal one day (because I couldn't be bothered to take it home and learn my lines), and the following week I was called into the administrator's office and asked if I intended to do harm to the director. I was told that she had been carrying a pair of scissors in her purse for protection since finding my little ditty. I told them that no, I had no intention of doing anything other than act like a jerk. I continued to do so and never made it to the performance (I wasn't kicked out, I just stopped going to rehearsals).

While I can't remember my song (although I'm certain it contained Mel Brooks-level hilarity) I do know that I didn't make any physical threats in it. Again, I was just being a jerky kid.

I'm not saying that this kid doesn't need counselling, but I guess I'm more inclined to be sympathetic to him than the school was. If he needs help, let's hope he gets it. If not, well, maybe he'll find a school to go to that doesn't make him want to kill everyone.

Source: Ohio Share via ParentDish

Image: sxc

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No, Seriously: School in Lockdown After 'Ninja' Sighting

Madeline Holler — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:02:00 GMT

Errrrrr. Embarrassing? A Barnegat, N.J., school shut down part of Wednesday after someone reported seeing a ninja running through the woods behind the school.

Fearing for the safety of themselves, the children and anybody appearing to descend from the ruling class of 15th Century feudal Japan, school administrators issued an immediate lockdown of the school and phoned authorities. No word on whether the local dojo was called.

Turns out, the "ninja" was actually a camp counselor in a black karate uniform armed with nothing more than a plastic sword. Haaaaaiiiiiiiya! The counselor was running late to a costume-themed day at a nearby middle school, according to the local police.

The lockdown was issued that morning and lasted for 30 minutes.

Photo: Huffington Post

When You're Afraid Of Your Own Kid

Amy S.F. Lutz — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:05:00 GMT

When they heard about the Columbine shootings in 1999, Elaine and Tom Sonnen had a very different reaction from most parents. Instead of shock, or grief, what they felt was recognition. The anger and alienation of the shooters reminded the Sonnens of their own son, Richard, who had been prone to aggressive and unpredictable outbursts since shortly after they adopted him from Bulgaria when he was four years old. The Sonnens resolved to keep a very close eye on Richard, who - although he was only ten years old - had already screamed at his parents many times that he wanted to kill them.

It turns out, the Sonnens were right to be wary. Richard continued to struggle with social and behavior problems. In eighth grade, he was diagnosed with both bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders, for which he was prescribed anti-psychotic medication. Then, two-and-a-half years ago, when he was a junior in high school, Richard confessed to his mom that he had drawn up a hit list of eight classmates he wanted to kill, and had constructed an elaborate plan on how to do it by planting bombs at strategic locations throughout his school. Subsequently, he added a teacher, his mother and his sister to the list. Richard's mother immediately had him committed to a mental institution.

When I started reading this article on CNN, I assumed there was a happy ending, since both Richard and his parents had taken their story to the press, hoping to both encourage troubled kids to seek help, and to educate their parents about what warning signs to look for. But although Richard was released from the hospital after about eighteen months of treatment, and even started college at Lewis-Clark State College with the help of a cocktail of three anti-psychotics, the Sonnens are still very concerned about their son. Shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings, Elaine Sonnen was contacted by police because of threats Richard allegedly made against his own school. Richard claims his words were misunderstood, and that he was talking about the threats that caused him to be institutionalized when he was sixteen, but his parents aren't so sure. Mental illness is something that never really goes away. The Sonnens are still so afraid of what their son is capable of that they keep an alarm on his bedroom door when he comes to visit them.

Dr. Phil Bails Girl Arrested For Videotaped Beating of Classmate

Cole Gamble — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:00:00 GMT

The Dr. Phil show has seen fit to pony up bail for one of the girls recently arrested for beating a classmate unconscious and video taping the crime with intent to post on You Tube. When asked about the motivation, staffers for the show said it is common show policy to make financial contrubtions to former guests and hopeful future guests.

Where do I spew my bile first?

This brings up a few points in my mind:

1) Ah high school, how I miss it. Times sure have changed. Now that bullies have resources like MySpace and You Tube, kids can get ridiculed, battered and emotionally crushed without leaving the comfort of their homes. I don't want to date myself, but back in my day if someone wanted to destroy you socially they simply passed a rumor around school that you had herpes. Will it ever be so innocent again?

2) What's with the trend of video recording your crimes and posting them on You Tube? Maybe it's the era of the reality show seen to its only logical conclusion. Fame is fame, right?

3) With this following fast on the heels on Dr. Phil's Ill-advised Brittany Spears intervention/publicity stunt, is it clear to everyone now that this guy, or at least his show, is bottom-feeding? Oh, and he drives a $250,000 Lamborghini. Get over that!

By the way, my Babble Buddy Brett offered this tidbit of Dr. Phil trivia: Do you know what Dr. Phil did is doctoral thesis on? Arthritis. Hmmm, maybe you should just give me a cream for my crampy hands, Dr. Phil, and stop giving me advice.

Photo: www.blog.wired.com