A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
UPDATE: The superintendent of Coventry Public School District has announced that he is working to change the policy that led to the banning of an 8-year old student’s hat honoring our troops to be banned. The problem is that, as I quoted below, there is NO policy that bans the hat in the first place. Unless I missed something in reading through the policy handbook, the problem isn’t in changing a policy; it’s changing the ignorant and liberal interpretation of his staff at school. Their mentality needs a swift kick in the ass and that is all.
On another note, there is another good side to this story, according to FoxNews:
The decision prompted criticism of the school and support for Morales. On Friday, the boy received a medal from Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the retired head of the Rhode Island National Guard. Centracchio said Morales should be thanked for recognizing veterans and soldiers.
“You did nothing wrong, and you did an outstanding job,” Centracchio told the boy.
Y’all have all heard this story by now, I’m sure.
A boy in Coventry, Rhode Island had his HAT banned from the school because it contained little green Army men which supposedly violated the school’s “no-tolerance gun policy”.
In typical fashion for America’s schools, the superintendent displayed an utter lack of understanding about his own school’s policies on weapons in the school. When asked about the situation, Coventry superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro, told the family that he would not be violating the policy if he just replaced the little men with guns with guys without them. “Nothing was being done to limit patriotism, creativity, other than find an alternative to a weapon,” Di Pietro.
Superintendent Di Pietro supports the principal’s decision to ban any images and toys of troops carrying “weapons”.
The problem here is that the students ballcap did NOT violate any of the school’s policies on weapons. After a review of the policy here is what it states on the issue:
Pocket knives and any other object which may be considered a weapon is not allowed in school. A zero tolerance policy exists in the Coventry School District.
Weapons or items that could be used as weapons (including toys) are not allowed in school (zero tolerance and is often an offense that requires out-of-school suspension)
Now, please tell me what on this cap could be “used as weapons”. These are little green Army men. Is the student, David Morales, going to try and pluck someone’s eye out with a machine gunner just an inch tall and lying prone on the bill of his cap?
One of the benchmarks of the school district is to help kids “Identify rights and responsibilities of citizens, identify freedoms we enjoy.” Isn’t the second amendment and the right to keep and bear arms one of those or is the school district picking and choosing what they want to teach kids about their rights.
I understand that second grade isn’t exactly the place where history and military action is discussed, but I find it hard to believe that at some point during the year, students aren’t exposed to a photo of troops that may be carrying weapons. I wonder if the school also forbids visiting police officers from carrying their guns for fear that a child might see it.
Coventry Elementary School Principal Denise Richtarik banned a students hat for having little green Army men with weapons on it to honor our troops.
The student’s principal, Denise Richtarik (curiously not mentioned in any reports I’ve read on the issue) and Superintendent Di Pietro met with the commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, to discuss the issue with him. While praising the school district, he adamantly disagreed with the policy decision by staff.
“The American soldier is armed. That’s why they’re called the armed forces,” he said. “If you’re going to portray it any other way, you miss the point.”
What has changed in the past 100 years that children can no longer be trusted to understand what a gun is? Maybe the problem with gun violence today is that our youth are so isolated from them that they don’t fully understand them. In the 1800s kids were taught to shoot (and be safe with) guns from a very early age – normally BEFORE even old enough to attend school. Nowadays, our education system can’t even trust students to put little green plastic men with images of guns on their hats. It’s sad, really.
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Some Soldier's Mom
as I proposed on another site, then perhaps they should ban plastic farmers with pitch forks, plumbers with large wrenches slung over their shoulders, and any figurine carrying a shovel or hammer & sickle!
guns are no different a tool of an honest and honorable profession (the soldier) than the others. whatever SYMBOLISM you choose to ascribe to the implement is YOUR problem.
but I’ll bet the bullets from that tiny, itty bitty toy gun could knock your eye out!! LOL
Mew
The whole thing is stupid and I am tired of PC’ness.
When I took a gun safety class, learning from the military to call guns a weapon, the instructor kept correcting me using the argument that a pencil can be a weapon. Are they going to ban pencils, pens, objects that can be thrown as a weapon?
Personally I like that this little boy picked our Troops to honor as his class pen pal project, one article said he did it as a tribute to a neighbor that was in the Army. I wish more kids of today would remember and honor our Troops.
LL
heh heh heh You said “ass.” I’m telling Hall Monitor Steve on you.
Marc
My statement on weapons to kids when asked about it here in Canada:
“Soldiers carry guns, farmers carry shovels. both help them do their work. One protects, the other feeds, both can be dangerous if you don’t know how to use them.”
At which point I move on the the general gun safety measures.
Bob The American
Somebody needs to be sued, and lose their jobs, but not in that order.
Rock
Another example in the long, long list of ignorant things we Americans do. We tout our “Freedom”, then condemn those who provide it. I once heard a prefessor espouse: “It is WRONG to honor those who kill for a living!” To which another older professor replied: And if they did not, we would all be speaking german.”
Rock
ooops: meant “professor”. My fingers are faster than my brain.
1Fearless1
When used in away not intended the pen or pencil used for writing can be a deadly weapon! Of course the DODO heads in the school system lack the gray matter to know that!!!
Miss Ladybug
I have to third the bit about pen/pencils able to be used as weapons. Didn’t those “educators” see “The Bourne Identity”??
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Jeanette K
That is ridiculous!
NY-David
Bad/stupid interpretation of a well-intended law. The weapon on his hat bear no resemblence to a functional weapon that could cause a cop to shoot by mistake. Nothing Liberal about their interpretation at all.
NY-David
Adam
I did an article about this on my blog last week. This has to be one of the dumbest enforcements of the no weapons policy I have heard about. As the commander said Troops carry weapons, portraying them with anything other than weapons is a disgrace to them. Very well written article and I’ll keep checking back you have an excellent blog here.
Penny
I nearly passed out from screaming at my radio on the way home last week. I was listening to one of our local radio stations and this particular incident was being discussed. A teacher from Goodyear, AZ called in to defend the decision. Her rationale? Basically that a zero tolerance policy must be in place to teach children that guns are bad. Oh, really? So, the soldiers that carry guns are by association bad? How about policemen?
And, are you telling me that as a TEACHER you are incapable of teaching the difference to your students between fantasy and reality. That you are incapable of teaching them that some people should carry guns and some people shouldn’t? And, that it’s not guns that are bad, it’s people?
Teachers who support this crap should turn in their certification to teach if they feel unable to teach their students to use logic to distinguish between a toy and a real threat.
CJ
Holy Schneikies, Penny! These people are teaching our kids? Don’t they realize that guns are what gave this country its freedom? I guess they aren’t teaching that in school these days.