By: Elizabeth Pray
Staff Writer
Imagine this scenario: a five-year-old girl talking to her classmates at the bus stop about playing with Hello Kitty toys. One of those toys includes a bubble gun— simply a toy that shoots bubbles out at people.
Sounds innocent and cute, right? Well, apparently, the kindergartner’s school, Mount Carmel Area Elementary in Pennsylvania, didn’t think so.
According to a Jan. 22 article from CNN.com, the young girl found herself in trouble with the principal after allegedly saying she would “shoot” one of her classmates with the bubble gun. As punishment, she initially faced a 10-day suspension from school and a psychological evaluation. The school administration branded her remark a “terrorist threat.”
Seriously, that was considered a terrorist threat? We’re talking about a device that shoots bubbles. Bubbles, as in the soapy liquid spheres filled with air that pop when they hit anything solid.
Not exactly equivalent to heavy, lead bullets that penetrate the skin.
It’s easy to understand that with the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., people are taking the talk of guns much more seriously around young children. But there’s a huge difference between a five-year-old girl’s playful talk of a toy bubble gun and a 20-year-old mentally unstable person armed with three loaded weapons.
The subsequent evaluation by the school guidance counselor concluded the girl meant no harm. She had no history of violence, inappropriate behavior or playing with toy guns or knives. In other words, she was just your typical kindergartener who was having a conversation with her classmates about playing with toys, not actual weapons of destruction.
The girl’s punishment itself is appalling. I was not even aware suspension is an option for a kindergartner. Although the article states the actual suspension was reduced from 10 days to two, the damage has already been done. This five-year-old has probably been scarred for life. I know that if I were that age, this kind of experience would have traumatized me for quite some time.
Does this mean that from now on, every time
a young child makes a remark even implying any sort of violence, even harmless, they will face the same punishment? Unless that child exhibits behavioral problems or other signs of instability, people should not take those remarks so seriously.
It amazes me how this one innocent remark by a five-year-old triggered a huge landslide of unneeded disciplinary action. The incident makes me wonder if all the recent uncertainty regarding gun violence has clouded some people’s judgment.
Has it gotten so bad that we are now taking a kindergartner’s remarks seriously? If so, it’s a big problem. Young children do not deserve this type of punishment for such a harmless remark, especially at a tender age when they’re still developing and learning about the world.
I agree that it’s important to pay attention to violent threats when they happen, especially in today’s world. But please, can we not penalize and traumatize young children in the process?
