Zero tolerance is zero tolerance.

I tried to give you points, but for some reason it's not working. I read about that a couple of days ago, that was ridiculous.

Well, yes, since it did happen. That utensil could be considered a weapon and why did he have to bring it to the school? Aren't the school's eating utensils good enough for him?

did you see the "utensil" it looks like a pocket knife. the parents should've practiced some amount of discretion, and thought "hey, we live in a post-columbine world, I shouldn't send my kid to school with anything the remotely resembles a weapon" so, either the parents have no control over their 6 year old, or they are functionally retarded i'm not saying the rule is just, I'm saying that the rule exists, and the parents should know it.

Well, Scout utensil, as most are calling it is actually more of a Swiss Army Knife. And this 6 yr. old obviously had no bad intent in taking it to school with him. However, maybe the parents should have had the conversation with him letting him know it was unacceptable to bring it to school with him. They should have known about the zero tolerance policy. I think this whole thing got blown way out of proportion, Kinda like the girl who got expelled under a zero tolerance drug policy for giving a friend with a headache some aspirin a while back.

I don't see the link. I don't think it is working. Some boy scout "utensils" are part of a "knife" like a switch blade. If there was a pen knife with it, it should be taken away from him. It does not belong in school. To suspend him...no. Just take it away and return it to his family at the end of the day. Edit: Just saw it on the news. It does have a 3 inch blade. it does not belong in school. He was not suspended btw.

It's hard to believe this happened. It's absolutely ridiculous. For the record, I'm saying the punishment is ridiculous.

I read the story a couple of days ago and didn't understand why the school would suspend the kid. The boy was exited that he made it in boy scouts so he wanted to use it at lunch time all the school had to do was tell him not to bring it back because it had a knife in it. I feel sorry for the boy. It also reminds me of the story where a second grade boy drew a picture of a water gun fight (it even showed the water coming out) and he got suspended because the teacher thought he drew a picture of a real gun.

They don't seem to have any common sense about how to handle things. I heard they let him go back after reviewing his case. Every case should be reviewed as quickly as possible. Each situation is unique.

It is totally ridiculous. Kids are heedless. I would have been in deep do-do if the same policies applied back in the seventies. I took a pocket knife to school when I was in eighth grade and about to move to a farm. I was so proud of it that I wanted to show it to friends, just like this boy. I had no malicious intent, and the teacher who caught me with it knew it. She told me to meet her at the front door at four-thirty (after all the other kids had already walked home) and she returned it, no problem. After we moved to the farm, I forgot it was in my pocket after feeding livestock more often than not, and it went to school with me most days. That wasn't uncommon and many kids did it. We all needed something to cut haystrings with before school and many of us wore coveralls over our school clothes while we did it, lest we miss the bus.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33289924/ns/today-today_people/

Yes - I can.

Another example how authority in the wrong hands leads to absolute mindless acts. This reminds me of the idiots who do the spot checks at the airport. What is good for one has to be good for all. Stupid. There is no room for common sense any longer. They should have just confiscated the utensil and have the parents pick it up.

When I was in grade school ('80s) someone got suspended for bringing a butter knife! Big change from when my husband was in high school ('70s). He said they brought pocket knives and had shotguns in their cars to go hunting after school!

If there is a rule against it, then brealing the rule can lead to suspension. This sounds like a zero tolerance weapons ban, and I am for such a thing, not against. Be thankful the school is erroring on the side of safety.

Yes I can. I do think it a little harsh though. Simply confiscating it and calling his parents in to tell them he is not allowed it would suffice imo.

This is just another example of how school officials are blinded from using common sense in fear of "breaking a law". I saw this on the news last night and it was in response to a Zero Tolerance Policy. What happened to sensibility and judgement? The kid is an avid scouter, honor role student, and on the soccer team. Being a kid he thought it would be cool to bring his multi-tool that had utensils to school to eat his lunch. They should have let him take it home with a quick call to his parents to inform them it is against policy. Poor kid is probably made fun of at school now...

Common sense has flown out the window here. This child had no bad intentions and did not threaten anyone with the utensil. As far as considering it a weapon goes, it depends on what the definition of a weapon is in the state's statutes and whether or not the school's definition differs. Having one punishment for "offenses" that can differ so greatly in scope is ridiculous. Each case should be weighed and decided independently.

I don't know how much Boy Scout background some of the other people who posted answers have. I would guess probably not much. My brother started the program when he was 6 years old and continued with it until he aged out at 18. Pocket knives and scout utensils like the one in this story are common. But along with the tools themselves, the boys are taught knife safety and how to properly use such tools without endangering themselves or anyone else. It's part of the program. Using a knife as a weapon is not part of that mentality. The school does have a right to have a No Tolerance Policy in place. But knowing that the boy was a Cub Scout and that his utensil that everyone was so afraid of is a TOOL not a weapon, they should not have imposed the 45 day suspension in the first place. As it was, he still had to carry out a five-day suspension. As several people have already posted, the school administration and the school board should have exercised common sense. In the boy's mind, the item was his eating utensil and he had no intent to use it for harm. The punishment should also fit the intent to commit the crime, as well as the crime itself.

That punishment was blown way out of proportion. I can see them suspending him if it was intended to be used as a weapon, but in this case it was unjust and I'm glad he got to go back to school.

That is ridiculous; in my opinion.

The school had a "no tolerance" policy and based on that they expelled the kid. Of course the school is going too far with this . I think each case of "weapon" in the school should be considered in individual cases.

That's Britain these days for you.

A complete nonsense. Even though a Swiss army knife is lethal from 27 angles! You've got to laugh.

Clearly liberalism at its finest. Pathetic.

taking it a bit too far but I am not surprised, my son who is now 22 yrs was suspended from the 3rd grade for a week because he took a HALF of a PLASTIC bright orange numchuck (sp) that he found on the ground at the bus stop, the day after halloween, to school. It was a broken piece of someone's costume!!! It was a flimsy piece of plastic that "resembled" a weapon. How the hell they came up with that was beyond me. I fought and I tried but the rules were the rules. He missed a whole week of school. Thankfully this kid has been allowed to go back. How silly this world has become!

Silly.