The mother said the principal told her that if the cap gun had been loaded with caps, it would have been deemed an explosive and police would have been called in.
Really? It seems like we're seeing a new episode like this every single week. The common threads I'm seeing in all the occurrences are:
1. The school never admits that its no toy guns policy is wrong.
2. Neither does anyone else in authority (parents, teachers, administrators, police).
The problem isn't over-zealous application of the rule. The problem is that the rule itself is insane. There's nothing wrong with kids playing with toy guns. It's perfectly normal and healthy. You're free to disagree with me on that, but you're not free to persecute my kid if I want to let him play with them.
It's pretty obvious when you look at the details of these cases -- pop tarts chewed into gun shapes, tiny toy Lego guns, tiny action figure guns, squirt guns, cap guns -- that safety isn't the issue here. If you assume that a rule's effect is in line with its purpose, then the purpose is obviously to shame children into believing that playing with toy guns is bad, horrible aberrant behavior.
I short circuited this entire process of indoctrination about 22 years ago when we started homeschooling my oldest. Most of my kids have never set foot in a traditional school setting. Especially not at very young, impressionable ages.
I can't help but believe that the indoctrination system we call the education system in this nation is beyond saving. I wasn't willing to put my children at risk on the off chance I could make a difference.
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