Nicholas Taylor, 10-Year-Old Student, Made To Sit At 'Silent Table' For 'Pizza Gun' (VIDEO)

After allegedly waving around a slice of pizza that was possibly shaped like a gun, 10-year-old Nicholas Taylor has been forced to eat lunch at the "silent table" at his Smyrna, Tenn. school for six days, WKRN reports.

According to the report, David Youree Elementary School officials said Taylor "threatened other students" with a slice of pizza that had bites out of it in a way that made it look like a gun.

Now, the 10-year-old will have to eat his lunch removed from his schoolmates -- a punishment the boy's mother, LeeAnn, told the station is "absolutely ridiculous."

"The kid across the table from him said it looked like a gun so he picked it up and started shooting it in the air," she told WKRN.

Along with the silent lunches, Taylor has also spent time with the school resource officer to learn about gun safety.

This incident comes after a 9-year-old student was suspended for sexual harassment for calling a teacher "cute" last month.

Like LeeAnn, Chiquita Lockett, the offending boy's mother, told WSOC TV she doesn't agree with the punishment.

"It's not like he went up to the woman and tried to grab her or touch her in a sexual way. So why would he be suspended for two days?"

The month prior, 7th grade student Je'Terra Bowie was suspended for allegedly touching her teacher with a pencil by accident as she reached back to stretch.

"I didn't know she stopped behind me," Bowie told WDIV. "She stopped, and I stretched back. I turned back and said, 'Sorry. I didn't mean to.'"

According to the WDIV report, other students wrote letters asserting the incident was an accident once the 7th grader left the classroom.

Comments

[rtgmath]

03:00 PM on 01/05/2012

The current fad for discipline is complete intolerance for any infraction (real or imagined) at any level. That a child could face a year's suspension for accidentally touching a teacher with her pencil is ridiculous. That a child could face suspension for a complement on how the teacher looked is ludicrous.

And has anyone noticed how the majority of these outsized punishments seem to be going to black students?

The principle of zero-tolerance treats children like automata, not like people. It is the product of a rigid and all-too-Nazi-like an attitude toward things or people that are different or do not meet expectations. It pretends that authority trumps personal liberties, and tells children that the only way to prosper is to mindlessly submit. This is dangerous for our children and our society.

[crl2010]

01:27 PM on 01/05/2012

Is this all happening at the same school? That's confusing HuffPo.

[RK Johnston]

12:26 PM on 01/05/2012

I thought that our "school lunches" were supposed to be "healthier" and "more nutritious" in this day-and-age.
So, what in the name of Sam Hill is that school doing serving pizza in the first place?
I know that you can fit many food groups into a pie--dairy, fruit & veggie, protein--but are there not far better ways to go about it?

Oh, well--to each their own.
-RKJ

[chvemn]

06:57 PM on 01/05/2012

Did you know that they consider pizza as a vegetable in school now, lobbyist hard at work.

[Adam Dray]

11:11 AM on 01/05/2012

.....it's called a level of control. Sure these are...weird cases of roudy behavior but you don't want children 'enjoying' the act of brandishing a gun even if it simply pizza..it's glorifying the weapon> ANd it's not like its a CRUEL punishment the kid has to eat lunch quietly for a week..big deal! it's called bring a book to school, he's not being SILENTLY punished the whole day just at lunch!. Also the girl with the pencil, well, that's a mixed case...sure it was an accident, but she also has to realize, she has a sharp pencil in one hand and is blindly waving it about! It COULD very easily had injured someone and ignorance is no excuse for accidents! I bet you neither of these kids will wave a pencil around 'while stretching' or make a phoney gun from a food product again!!!

[LeAnn Taylor]

09:26 PM on 01/05/2012

Should children no longer be allowed to play lets say water guns, paint ball or laser tag? Is that not enjoying the act of brandishing a gun? As far as the silent table being a cruel punishment. I would agree thats its not a bad punishment in itself but the table is separated from the rest of his peers and every child can see and point and laugh at the kid at the table its a version of wearing the dunce cap. Oh look at Nick he as at the bad table??? Kids can be cruel in their teasing and this affects children. My son is fine and I would have had no problem if he had been in trouble for playing with his food or being disrupted. But the letter I received from the School and the conversation I had as well it was all about threatening other students with a pizza gun. Its all about the no guns allowed rule. As I said Absolutely ridiculous. ....

[Adam Dray]

09:38 PM on 01/05/2012

School is no place for guns PERIOD, what they do at home under 'proper supervision' is a totally different thing. Mild Humility teaches rapidly and with no harm done. This child won't 'play' with guns at school anymore and he wasn't 'exhiled' from his peers....same as in school suspension.......

[CmonAlreadyWouldja]

02:20 PM on 01/18/2012

"Absolutely ridiculous"
I'll second that.

[CmonAlreadyWouldja]

02:19 PM on 01/18/2012

punishing a 10 yo boy for making believe his piece of pizza is a gun is ridiculous on every level. There is nothing rational, logical or sensible about this. You only succeed in making yourself look foolish when you try to defend it.

[ElleLuv]

11:04 AM on 01/05/2012

Wow, that poor kid. We did that and so much worse when I was a kid in the cafeteria.

[danas1girl]

09:29 AM on 01/05/2012

I am sitting her thinking about how irritated I am with people as a whole. Looking back I can see people caring about each other and helping when someone needed it. Favors were done, gifts were given, compliments were accepted and returned. Accidents happened, mistakes were made, people were properly punished and some forgiven. So what I am wondering is how did we end up how we are now?
Land is posted. You cannot speak to another person for fear of offending them and getting sued. Pretend play is scrutinized. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Hospitals turn people away every day. People get kicked out of their homes for missed or late payment. Yet we have illegal, non working people getting housing and medical care for free. (Just to name a few) Why?
I can say that in a lot of ways I am NOT proud to be an American. Yes, things are worse in other places but I truly believe that we are on our way to being just like that. Laws are passed every day that are choking our rights. My idea of America includes freedom, respect, safety, and humanity. I truly believe that we are losing all of these things.

[danas1girl]

08:45 AM on 01/05/2012

Give me a break. People need to step back and reassess the situations at hand. These kids are being punished way to harshly for such little things. The pizza incident could have simply been spoken to, told it was not appropriate. Telling your elementary school teacher you think they are cute... I am pretty sure that has happened before, and doesn't mean anything other than that child likes that teacher. He is nine. Do you really think he has a clue as to what sex is? He is probably afraid to say anything nice to anyone now. As for the pencil, how many times has someone accidentally touched another person. Billions I am sure. It happens every day. People are crammed together, constantly moving. If she didn't know they were there how was it her fault? I honestly don't know what has happened to people as a whole. No one is safe anymore. No one can give a compliment, show affection, play, talk, move or live anymore without someone punishing them for it. Where has the humanity and love amongst people gone?

[jokerdano]

01:47 AM on 01/05/2012

Their's is one thing I know for sure I have never read a story in the news that told the whole story. I'm 60 now but I can remember back when I was 9 and at lunch time we had to be quite. It sound like this kid took his pizza gun and was yelling Bang. Bang, Bang. Now he has quite time.

[gardinsprite13]

01:43 AM on 01/05/2012

This is BS the Public School system is exactly the reason why my kid is home schooled.

[danas1girl]

08:47 AM on 01/05/2012

I wish I could stay home with my kids too. I agree with you 100%

[Adam Dray]

11:13 AM on 01/05/2012

...yeah tell me how that works out IF your kid ever wants to go to an ACTUAL college instead of a community one.........and then tell me how that works out in the future with finding a job that doesn't involve wearing a given uniform...good luck!

[onemadashell]

11:52 AM on 01/05/2012

what kind of uniform do you wear? judging by YOUR posts you work fast food.

[CmonAlreadyWouldja]

02:25 PM on 01/18/2012

Well sure, cause everyone knows home-schooled kids dont score as well on tests as..oh...wait....

[AlexanderTaylor]

12:25 AM on 01/05/2012

Hi Folks

I am the father of this child. The reason I wanted this in the news is to raise awareness that Zero tolerance policies do not work, and should be repealed. If a child wants to shoot up a school this policy will not stop him/her m doing so.

Nicholas has never threatened anyone in a his life, and is not a bully. He's not a perfect kid and I am there when he does step out of line. I did let him know that he had done nothing wrong in my eyes, and that imagination is a good thing, and that we would fight this battle for him.

As for teaching him gun safety, I don't know what propaganda the school tried to teach him. I did let my son know that guns are not good or bad and I will be teaching him how to shoot a 22 rifle and will be teaching him gun safety to go along with his new skill.

[SoCalifTeacher]

08:34 AM on 01/05/2012

I teach in an area where sawed-off shot guns and handguns are sitting around and easily available in the homes of too many of my students. When you belong to a gang or sell drugs, having guns and shooting people. all part of an accepted lifestyle within the local commumity. Zero tolerance policies were put into place to make it perfectly clear to PARENTS that carrying a gun and bringing it to school was unacceptable. Too many children whose parents are gangbangers or drug dealers bully threaten other children by pretending to shoot at them. Everyone makes excuses when their kid breaks the rules at school. Wait until the mother of the student in Brownsville tells the media how wonderful her boy was and his bringing a gun to school and getting shot is all the school's fault.

[AlexanderTaylor]

08:47 AM on 01/05/2012

Well, not all areas of the country is as wacked out as southern California.

[Mom41]

11:23 AM on 01/05/2012

Hi father of this kid. Just be happy that 3 years from now, it won't be your child gunned down by police for bringing a bb gun to school. Hopefully, your son has learned a very important lesson that guns are not to be played with at school, or anywhere else for that matter. Sitting quietly for 6 days during lunch is well worth this huge lesson.

[AlexanderTaylor]

07:09 PM on 01/18/2012

It is only a lesson when it is something worth learning.

[notasketcher]

12:16 AM on 01/05/2012

Okay, this really has nothing to do with the story, but the story made me think of my own son. When he was born my husband and I decided that it would be best if he didn't have toy guns or any type of toy weapons. When he was two years old, he started using his crayons as guns. I have no idea where he even learned what a gun was. Perhaps some television show or movie that I didn't realize he was even paying attention to. I decided that day that he would have a toy gun when he was old enough to play with one. Now, 6 years later, we are a house of Nerf-aholics.

All of that being said, I think this poor kid was just a boy being a boy. Maybe he was a little rowdy and was breaking a rule pertaining to that, but six days of isolated lunch and learning about gun safety sounds a little extreme to me. The child would have probably learned his lesson about breaking the rules with one day of punishment.

What did the administration think he was going to do? Gun down his fellow classmates with pepperoni?!

[tatashady]

12:09 AM on 01/05/2012

Is that a school or an insane asylum? I would transfer my child out of that school. What a bunch of touchy lunatics.

[Mississippi Boy]

12:00 AM on 01/05/2012

The teacher and other school employee's involved should be fired for their disciplinary actions on these kids. Playing with food, like it's a gun, are you serious. And then making him actually go learn about weapons or gun safety. I think the school system is failing this child and the others. Parents of kids attending this school should be outraged about this.

[FinalHorcrux]

10:50 PM on 01/04/2012

Stupidity at it's finest.

[RedDog79]

09:53 AM on 01/05/2012

I agree with you but the word is its (posessive form of it) it's is a contraction (it is)

[FinalHorcrux]

06:29 PM on 01/05/2012

Yes, I realized my mistake but it was already too late. They really need to add an edit button to comments. :P

[jlf2033]

10:00 PM on 01/04/2012

Jeeez. I'm glad they weren't this insane when I was still in school. They'd have probably put me away for life for the number of violent drawings I used to do, and the bullet I used to wear around my neck, instead of just telling me to cut it out, like normal people with common sense in their heads.