Time to Take Action: 10-yr-old suspended for having shell casing
By rstreu Posted in Archived — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
(cross-posted at http://www.independentthinking.tk)
A Fourth-grader at Toy Town Elementary School in Winchendon, MA was suspended for five days for showing his friends an empty shell casing to some friends at lunch. According to the NRA-ILA (http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3975), Bradley Geslak had been given the casing — from a blank fired during Memorial Day — by a US veteren. He was given two, one of which he gave to his grandfather, also a veteren.
He was showing his souvenier off to some friends during lunch when a teacher confiscated the casing and called the boy’s mother to take him home. He’s also been told he won’t be getting the very dangerous shell casing back.
This is getting beyond the point of ridiculous, and it is time for citizens who care about freedom to step up to the plate. So frightened of another Columbine situation are school officials that children are being suspended for even drawing pictures of guns. Schools are overreacting, and creating new problems — and worse, these naive and idiotic new rules provide a false sense of security. Keeping a kid from drawing a picture, or bringing empty shell casings to school, will not prevent another Columbine. All it does is punish good kids.
It’s time to tell school officials that there are appropriate ways to safegaurd the safety of students, and that punishing them for innocent and harmless acts aren’t among them. Rather, this sort of response is a copout to the real work that needs to be done. Instead, they could actually do their jobs: educate teachers, parents and counselors on recognizing warning signs, be on the watch for actual weapons entering the premises and work with local police to provide an armed safety officer during the school day.
We who love liberty cannot any longer stand quietly by and let things like this happen. Freedom, no matter where, is everybody’s business.
Let Winchendon Public Schools know how you feel about their punishing a young boy for nothing. The school needs to give this student a public apology, and expunge this incident from his record. And, if they have it, they need to return the boy's property. Tell them about the appropriate ways to keep their schools safe. It only takes five minutes to draft and send an email — even less time to leave a voice mail.
To email Superintendent Brooke Clenchy: bclenchy@winchendonk12.org
To leave a voicemail: 978-297-0031
There is no change without action.
gun safety course as part of teaching degree requirements! They could then realize how much 'danger' an empty shell casing poses! DUH!!!!font color="#0000FF">
"40 million American households with McCain are generally happier
than those people in households that don't have McCain."
what a great title!!!!! Just have to come up with a post to go with it!! Would that be the 'Dawning of a New Conservative Era'???
first it's the shell casing... next he'll want to bring in a bullet with not shell. Before too long, he'll be bringing in firing pin or a trigger assembly. By the end of the year, he could build him self a whole gun! No, they were of course right to nip this sort of nefarious scheming in the bud.
:eyeroll:
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One thing the article doesn't mention is whether or not the family voted for the people who are currently in charge of this Commonwealth.
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In politics, you have your word and your friends; go back on either and you're dead. (Rule #11 of the public policy process)
The town itself is in the geographic midwest of the state, a semi-rural area, just over 2 miles from the New Hampshire border with population approx. 10,000 circa the 2000 census. It's about 40 miles northwest of Worcester, but more importantly it's in an area of the state (the town is the namesake of the Winchendon State Forest) where I can reasonably guess there are a significant population of hunters and sportsmen. Particularly since they were empty casings collected from a Veteran at a Memorial Day parade I can't imagine them being a cause for suspension from school. Except that this is Massachusetts and there is a reason, after all, that gun owners in this state need their own organization to protect their rights.
I can understand the teacher confiscating the shell casing and sending it home with the kid along with a minor disciplinary rebuke if the school has a "zero-tolerance" policy for weapons and paraphernalia, but suspension seems *waaay* out of line, here.
Perhaps now people can understand why I got so many eye-rolling reactions when I said I'd like to establish a rifle team at a local school district during the time I live here in MA.
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Like most towns in Massachusetts, the local government is a mirror of the State government in terms of single-party dominance, although it is worth noting that their State Senator is Steven M. Brewer, who is one of the handful of Massachusetts (D)s who is also a member of a local Rod & Gun club himself. He's also my State Senator and has a reputation for being a fair man -- I'll drop him a line to inform him of this heavy-handedness.
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My next suggestion was going to be to start sending letters to the mayor... but given the state of local government, your idea will probably be more effective.
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SUBJ: In RE: Bradley Geslak
Superintendent Clenchy:
I recently read the story of one of your students, Bradley Geslak, who has been suspended for carrying a rifle shell casing that was given to him at a Memorial Day event. Let me say that this act is quite shocking on the part of your school and your administration.
As a naval veteran, I respect deeply the sacrifices that my fellow brothers-in-arms have made to protect our freedoms. As an uncle and godfather, I hope to pass on to my family and to future generations the gifts that have been given to me— chiefly amongst those pride in our armed forces, our veterans, and our fallen heroes. I can say with a high amount of certitude that the veteran was doing the same thing by giving young Bradley the remnants of a ceremony to pay respects to those who have fallen for our freedom. Obviously, Bradley took pride in this gift and wanted to show his friends.
The suspension might be one thing. However, to refuse to return the shell to him or his family, and to consider assigning a probation officer for this is ludicrous. This little boy was proud of his country. How much pride do you think he now has in his school, which has shown a great contempt towards those gifts our uniformed heroes have given us? How do you think this will affect his life? Perhaps by showing him that pride in our armed forces is something to be ashamed of and avoided at all costs?
If you have any sense of decency, you will remove the suspension and return the shell casing — a memento from a veteran, passed on to the eventual heirs of our nation’s freedom. To do otherwise is to show your contempt towards the freedoms and the heritage that most of us cherish.
J. Nicholas Haynes
In politics, you have your word and your friends; go back on either and you're dead. (Rule #11 of the public policy process)
This just sent:
Dear Superintendent Clenchy:
After reading the story about Bradley Geslak and his suspension for having a piece of brass with him at school, I could only characterize your mistreatment of him as both thoughtless and heartless. I see from your website that your
"mission is to enlighten, motivate, and educate all who pass through our doors. We will provide a safe environment that promotes an appreciation of diversity and preparedness for the future."
That is an admirable mission statement. I cannot understand how reducing a ten-year-old boy to tears as you take a prized MEMORIAL DAY souvenir away from him and suspend him for five days enlightens or motivates him in any good way. I admit, it most assuredly educates him in the ways that adults can be rude and insensitive.
Was your school any more safe after his empty cartridge, simply a piece of brass, was taken away from him? Although you may not appreciate the sacrifices of the people who were being memorialized last Monday, it would have have added to the diversity of thought within your school(s) if you had talked about it on Tuesday. Did you do that?
I think we can rest assured that young Bradley is now better prepared for the future than he was last week. He now knows that the adults entrusted with his education can be irrational and overbearing, taking actions simply because they can and want to. He is now prepared to withdraw from them.
"Zero-tolerance" policies serve no good purpose. They are a mindless substitute for good judgement on the part of teachers and administrators, and they simply provide an excuse for school authorities to fall back on when they act foolishly. That is what your school district did in this case. I suspect that you've lost not only the respect of this child and his family but that of other people who hear of this incident, including many parents within your school district.
Sincerely,
David Howe,
Flagstaff, AZ
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Nor so polite. It amounted to:
"What gives you the right to steal from a student?"
"Always be honest with yourself. Even if you are honest with no one else."
--me
Send the kid with brass every day from now on. Heck give brass to all the kids friends make em kick em all out.
This irrational, left-wing theft of property must not stand.
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