A 6 year old Ionia, Michigan boy was reportedly suspended from kindergarten for making a pretend gun shape with his hand:
When Mason Jammer, a kindergarten student at Jefferson Elementary in Ionia, curled his fist into the shape of a gun Wednesday and pointed it at another student, school officials said it was no laughing matter. They suspended Mason until Friday, saying the behavior made other students uncomfortable, said Erin Jammer, Mason’s mother. . . Jammer says her son isn’t violent, and there are other, more effective ways of teaching him not to make a gun with his hand. “Maybe what you could do is take his recess away,” suggested Jammer, adding her son doesn’t have toy guns at home. “He’s only six and he doesn’t understand any of this.”
I’ve previously schools’ “zero tolerance” polices, and the injustice which can result; however this is a new low. Here we have a kindergartener who didn’t harm anyone and didn’t possess any real (or toy) weapons. He simply made a gun shape with his hand, as countless other children do on a regular basis. Indeed, thinking back to my childhood, my kindergarten had toy guns for us to play with. In first grade, the parochial school I attended also had toy guns, and we would play cowboys at recess. (Note that I’m 25 years old as I write this article). Suspending a 6 year old boy for making a toy gun shape with his hand is simply ridiculous.
It is worth noting that the injustice of this suspension may linger with this boy for decades to come. Many professions that require the professional be trustworthy and of good character (e.g. attorney at law) have very involved background checks. In order to become an attorney, I had to submit to an extensive background check, and disclose any disciplinary actions taken against me by any school I had ever attended. Had I ever been suspended, I would have needed to disclose that fact, and then possibly go in for questioning about my character and fitness to practice law. To give an idea about the extent of the investigations that are performed, I had to disclose that I received a speeding ticket back in my sophomore year of college. The ticket was no big deal – I paid the fine and got court supervision, so the ticket didn’t even end up on my driving record (which is spotless by the way). However, when it came time to apply for admission to the bar, I had to gather pages of documentation on the matter and present it to the character and fitness committed, which reviewed it before they were willing to certify me as fit practice law.
Those who would like to politely voice their opinion on this matter to Matthew Vogel, the principal of Jefferson Elementary, can find his contact information below:
Matthew Vogel
420 N Jefferson St
Ionia, MI 48846
Phone: 616-527-2740 Extension 3305
Cases like also underscore the importance of joining the NRA. In numerous cases where students have been wrongly disciplined under misguided anti gun policies, the NRA has come to the defense of those students. If you’re not yet an NRA member, please join today.
Really??
what is our country coming too, growing up just a few years ago, every kid had his toy guns, and as we grew up we learned how to make patato guns. im pretty sure i even chewed my toast into the shape of a gun when i was younger! America has always had the freedom to own and carry guns, the 1911 is a near biblical icon in our country! this kid was just copying what he had seen his brother or a friend do earlier in the week, and hes 6, give it a break ppl, your 0 tolerence policy on weapons will soon turn into a 0 tolerence policy for teachers.
My e-mail to the principal:
First of all i do not know if you are pro or anti 2nd Amendment. That being said it is obvious that anti-gun fear is rampant in this country. When i was a kid in elementary school we played with cap guns and air guns that made noise. I played around the streets here in Seattle and on the playground at my elementary school like this. You have now installed a greater fear into this child. A fear of authority. Probably he will not only be afraid of you now but other teachers and even the Police in the future. Now you have to deal with not only his potential fear but retribution against other people for the fear you have installed in him. You call yourself and educator?????
If you’re going to send a letter be sure to properly Capitalize, we don’t need any more stereotypes to our list.
You have got to be kidding me!!! For making a gun with his fingers he gets suspended? If there is not more to this story, there should be. Maybe he had been warned several times, maybe he is a bad seed, or maybe he's just a boy who is doing the same thing little boys have been doing for years. It's this kind of stuff that makes me want to home school my kids. I guess next they'll suspend some little girl for bringing a doll to school, and acting like a single parent.
Glad i dont live in the US. Much like afghanistan the US is full of religious gun carrying nutters. You are a bunch of savages.