6 Year Old Zachary Christie Sentenced to 45 Days in Reform School for Bringing Camping Knife to School ... to Eat Lunch With

Those of us who are parents, who raised little boys who wanted to be Daniel Boone foraging through the wilderness, independent, capable and ready for adventure, have chills running down our spines. What if our little boys had slipped their cherished Swiss Army Knives into their pockets and wound up in reform school?

Zachary Christie recently joined the Cub Scouts. He was given a camping knife complete with fork, knife, spoon and can opener for camping trips. He was thrilled. Like so many imaginative 6 year olds discovering the magic of the outdoors and the excitement of camping, he probably wanted, like any good Boy Scout, to "be prepared." So he brought his camping knife to school to eat his lunch with. Suddenly his fantasies of being ready for anything life could throw at him, including a tuna sandwich and a cardboard apple juice container, came to a screeching horrible halt.

On Tuesday, September 29th, Zachary brought his camping utensil to school to use at lunch (spoon, fork, bottle opener, and knife). As he was getting off the bus, a teacher asked him what he was holding in his hand. Zachary showed it to her and explained why he had brought it... to eat his lunch. The teacher gave the utensil to the principal, at which point Zach was suspended from school pending a school district hearing.

Are they serious? Have they totally taken leave of their senses and tossed their own powers of discretion out the window?

I went to the Please Help Zachary web site and learned that Zachary......

is a smart, happy, outgoing child who plays Little League Baseball, is a Cub Scout, studies martial arts, is actively involved in his church youth group, and is actively involved in school activities. Last year he participated in the school talent show, the science fair, and the PTA "Reflections" Art Contest, for which he won first place in the State of Delaware for his film, "What Is My Job?" Zachary reads above grade level and has very advanced math skills as well.

And if that doesn't paint enough of a model student to you read about his parents, all three of them who seem to be demonstrating a child-centric family even with divorce and remarriage ... Zachary's

mother is the Co-President of the Downes Elementary PTA, the Director of the Youth Ministry for Skyline United Methodist Church, was the homeroom parent for his class, and a full-time Project Management consultant. His step-father was the director of the school talent show, producer of the school yearbook, and coordinator for the Downes Elementary Mom's Breakfast. His father is active and involved in Zachary's life, helps out with school fundraisers and appeared with Zachary in the talent show in June.

Isn't Zachary the sort of child that Delaware's Zero tolerance policy was put in place to protect? And aren't his parents, all three of them, just the kind of parents we want to support and respect?

But he is not being protected, he is being threatened himself with a punishment originally designed to manage children who are out of control in their behavior and a threat to their school mates.

The School District committee recommended that he be ... placed at The Douglass School, a reform school for juvenile delinquents. This is the same school where they place children who have severe behavioral problems and who are guilty of such offenses as assault and battery, rape, drug offenses, concealing a deadly weapon, and more.

Apparently those in charge of dispensing this new ruling have been relieved of the necessity to exercise any form of discretion. Because if they did, it would make no sense to put a good family in such a bad position.

His parents say that....

Since there is absolutely zero chance that we will allow that to happen, [ reform school] the only hope for Zachary being able to rejoin his friends at Downes Elementary is if Christina School District Superintendent Marcia Lyles or the Christina School Board intervenes to overturn the committee's decision.

Hopefully they will. OMG.

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Comments

[ChicagoEase]

Hey, guys and gals,

'member dis l'il ditty?...'member?


Hey, Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill? (2x)

HE WENT out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun
In case of accidents he always took his mom (pronounced "mum")
He's the all American bullet-headed saxon mother's son.
All the children sing

The members of that school board who wanted to put him in reform school need to be summarily discharged. They do not have the capacity to work in the interest of the child and children that they are responsible for. Vote them out and have more of a say in the responsible education of your child.

[middlemoderate]

Schizophrenia USA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.” And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration” puts it.

Zachary’s offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s reform school.

[mlaiuppa]

The school provides appropriate eating utensils. There was no need to bring the camping knife to school.

What would have happened if he showed off his spiffy new camping knife and an older child took it from him and stabbed another child?

The bottom line is that it was inappropriate for him to bring it to school. He needed to know that because obviously his Mother was either unaware that he brought it to school or she didn't see anything wrong with him bringing it to school. Either way, she is the one that should have made sure the knife stayed home and she didn't. That left it up to the school. It is difficult for a school to make myriad policies tailor made for every child and every situation. While 45 days at the alternative school is inappropriate, acting like this kid shouldn't be held to any accountability whatsoever is also inappropriate. The last message you want to send is "I can break the school rules and Mommy will make it go away". There needs to be consequences. And if the Mother, who has already failed to do her job, prevents the school from stepping in to do her job, then other students will start bringing weapons to school. And when a kid gets hurt, the schools will be blamed for not enforcing zero tolerance.

You can't have it both ways.

[Starvemartin]

AMEN! Which word in Zero Tolerance is giving parents trouble? Granted, I don't have all the facts. Did the boy sneak the utensil to school in his pocket? Then he needs to have a good talking-to. Did he do it with his mother's approval? Sorry sweetheart, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Maybe you need to spend less time on your iPhone and more time involved in your son's education. These are the types of issues that are addressed in school newsletters, PTA and PTO meetings and one-on-one sessions with your son's teacher. Has anyone addressed how inappropriate it is for a six-year-old to even HAVE a camping knife? When I was in Scouts, I wasn't allowed to have a pocketknife until I was a Boy Scout and had passed a knife safety course. Once again, the failings of the parent have become a boondoggle for society. Teachers and school administrators have enough on their plates just trying to provide basic education with the pitiful funding we provide. They don't need to be dealing with cell phones, weapons and uncommitted parents who think that raising their child is someone else's job. Zero Tolerance doesn't mean Zero Tolerance for everyone else's child but yours. The school should 1) make a list of all unacceptable items, 2) distribute that list to every parent and 3) enforce the Zero Tolerance rule whenever it is violated.

[Ju Ayoub]

Are laws an exact result of math? I mean, what lawyers exist for, what courts exist for, if there's no interpretation of the facts? Each case HAS to be analyzed individually. I'm sorry, but this case is ridiculous, I can't believe this decision came out from a human being. Totally non-sense.

[Miguel]

The school districts across America are going to have to be swept clean of these nanny, fear-mongering, no-score-in-sports, left-leaning, power-grabbing, weakness-instilling bureaucrats. As a teacher in CA's dying public school system, I clearly state that parents would be better off NOT to send their children to these schools. It's becoming crystal clear that the public monies for education must be directed to any and all schools that do good work and not be diverted only to the corrupted teacher-un­ion-contro­lled edu-criminal wastes to which the people's tax money in now fully directed.

[Crystal221]

The School District committee needs to replace the members. It is ridiculous not to mention extremely risky to place a non violent kid in a school for kids who have committed serious crimes. That is just asking for trouble, if he does go there (hopefully his parents can prevent that) the committee better pray that he doesn't become a crime victim or come out having severe behavioral problems himself because they will be entirely to blame.


solopico, Your remark that young Zach is probably more mature at 6 than many readers of this page could also apply to you. After all generalization is not the behaviour of a mature person.

It may be hard to believe but not all liberals are the same.

[blimie]

They can't be serious? Putting a 6 year old in reform school for bringing his multi tool pocket knife. The insane are running the schools.

[LabRat]

Anyone involved in a decision to send a first grader to reform school for so much as 45 minutes because of a mistake is not just as bad as a child abuser, they *are* child abusers. Who is protecting the children from these people?

[FKIA]

When did Zero tolerance become zero intelligence?

[- Idiots -]

hmm, right about the time Zero tolerance was put into place...

[Gramto2]

I had a similar experience several years ago. My son was in 8th grade when another student tossed a pocket knife into my son's lunch box. The bell rang, and my son wasn't sure what to do about the incident. He closed the lunch box and returned it to the shelf where he kept it during the school day. Later a school secretary came to him and asked him where the knife was. He innocently told that it was in his lunch box because someone had thrown it in there right as the bell rang. He was charged with concealing a weapon and suspended from school for three days. I realize that he was older than little Zachary, but he had never been in trouble, was considered a model student, a Boy Scout as well, involved in church, etc. It was devastating for our entire family. I understand that schools must have rules to protect our children, but also think that each individual case needs to be studied and dealt with. I worked for the school district and from that point on I never felt the same dedication. Hopefully, things will work out for little Zachary. He does NOT need to go to the reform school.

[rh654]

You've got to be freaking kidding me - 45 days in reform school for taking a Cub Scout utensil to school - the kid is only in 1st Grade.

Are the "adults" in this situation just on auto-pilot - do adults these days just give up the ability to "reason" and apply critical thinking skills to each situation?

Personal Responsibility works both ways - for the parents and child but also the adults in the school - they have a Responsibility to not be zombies.

Hell - why even have these School Administrators? We could just program a computer to deal out punishment if the results are just automatic - and we could save a lot of money on salaries.

[shmowry1]

Sounds like Zachary's parents did not impress on him the responsibility of carrying a knife. I saw a picture of the "utensil" on the Today show. That is a little more than a camping utensil, it has a rather large knife and is not something that belongs on school grounds. While I agree that reform school is an overly harsh punishment, I think that his parents failed to sit him down and tell him what he can and cannot do with the knife. Maybe he knew the rules, maybe he didn't, either way he deserves to be punished. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. When I got my first knife my father sat me down and explained the responsibility I held in my hands, and if I misused it or brought it to school it was quite clear there would be hell to pay and I could tell that if the school decided to punish me, my father would go along with it. The Boy Scouts is a great program, but perhaps they need to impress on the children and their parents the responsibility that goes along with owning a knife.

[Leota2]

What this ultimately says is we should be treating children as adults. In the last few years kindergardeners have been hauled out of schools in handcuffs and jailed because teachers were not up to the job and administrators chose not to think. We have become so terrified in this country for our children that we are in essence taking childhood away. Twenty years ago the teacher would have taken the knife, explained that knives weren't allowed in school, then sent a letter home. Children make mistakes even when told certain rules. Zero tolerance?
Also; do we expect even great parents to anticipate ABSOLUTELY every eventuality that society might foist upon their six year old (even the stupid crap)? And what if the kid did it anyway because he is six, and that's what six year olds do? Any educator should understand basic child development principles. Believe me-- what we will eventually have is a country full of paranoid, drones living in a world of NO TOLERANCE with dogmatic rules in place so no one has to think
about life's quirks and missteps. Sad.

[blimie]

Some people should not be around children.

[solopico]

Are you kidding?

He's six.

[Ju Ayoub]

Are you kidding? Zero tolerance? What about that kid that was suspended for taking a knife to cut her birthday cake? You are traumatizing your kids. Suspending these innocent kids will not avoid massive killing in schools. Children with the intention of harm will take enough care to not be caught anyway. They'll enter in the building and before anybody thinks anything they'll be already shooting, punching, etc. All these killings were planned, nobody killed anybody from sudden using his lunch knife.

[fpie]

It is important to instill the idea that what Zach thought of as a tool for living is really a wepon for killing. How does anybody get through the day without a pocket knife?

[solopico]

That item is a utensil used by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

I know you liberals have real issues with these institutions, but they teach individual responsibility, not dependence on the government for every little need.

Young Zach is probably more mature at 6 than many readers of this page.

[mlaiuppa]

It may be a utensil to the boy scouts but the blade is long enough to kill a person.

All Zachary had to do was flash his utensil at school, have a 5th grade take it from him and then you have a stabbing. A possibly fatal stabbing.

And the school gets blamed for that too.

[SeenItBefore]

Why not just trot the poor kid out back and shoot him.

Zero tolerance here seems to be what the administration has for making rational and intelligent decisions.

Send the kid to reform school for this and you will have to start wondering why he has become sullen and subscribes to "Gun Nut" magazine.

BTW, when I was a kid we ALL carried pocket knives 24/7. Why? Mumbly Peg! Could keep a group of young boys occupied until supper.

[Grada3784]

Yeah, but that was before kindergarden became so cut-throat.