Posted: Feb 02, 2015 by Justin Kree
(Additional information from Rawstory)
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| Photo from New York Daily News. |
KERMIT- The Kermit School District tells NewsWest 9 that they have received phone calls from all over the nation about a fourth grader who was suspended from Kermit Elementary School (my wife's former employer - DK) because of a movie reference.
However, the question remains, is there more to this disciplinary action then what the press has been reporting?
News out of Kermit last week claims 9-year-old Aiden Steward was suspended for making "terroristic threats" after he told a classmate he could make him disappear with a magic ring -. a reference to the movie The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
According to the New York Daily News, the family recently watched the movie and Steward was just playing make-believe. Aiden’s father, Jason, told The Daily News that his son “didn’t mean anything” when he told his classmate he was in possession of the “one ring to rule them all.” “Kids act out movies that they see. When I watched Superman as a kid, I went outside and tried to fly,” he said. “I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,” he added. “If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.”
Kermit Elementary Principal Roxanne Greer told the Odessa American that she could not comment on the suspension, because “all student stuff is confidential,” but Steward said that she told him that any and all threats to a child’s safety — including magical ones — would be taken seriously by the school. He also said that he requested, in writing, a detailed explanation as to how his son’s statements constituted a “terroristic threat,” and that he was told by a representative of the Kermit Independent School District that the school would mail him a letter.
The story spread nationwide getting parents in Kermit talking. "It's kind of crazy that he got suspended from school because I don't think it was worth getting suspended," Kermit parent, Tammy Broaddus, said.
"It's Kermit, it's a great community. I've been here 43 years and it's a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's sad what's happening in our schools that it's being splashed over national news, it's even made the New York Post," Kermit parent, Mary Hellen Pando, said.
Kermit Superintendent Bill Boyd could not talk on camera because of the school district's policy. However, in a statement to NewsWest 9 he says: "We like to emphasize that our teachers and administrators are well-trained and have properly implemented the District's policy and student code of conduct and certainly do not base disciplinary placement decisions on literary or cinematic references as reported by the Odessa American."
The school district won't talk about the suspension. The statement went on to read, "The discipline of any KISD student is confidential under the Family Educational Rights of Privacy Act (FERPA). There are many good things going on in Kermit ISD that deserve far more attention than this matter, and for that reason, the district will provide no further comment," Boyd said.
With school violence on the rise around the nation, the district felt it was justifiable to take the action they did.
"It's good the district is proactive but they need to be proactive in the areas of bullying. This to me is imagination, they're just playing," Kermit parent, Sandra Bonilla, said.
The story spread nationwide getting parents in Kermit talking. "It's kind of crazy that he got suspended from school because I don't think it was worth getting suspended," Kermit parent, Tammy Broaddus, said.
"It's Kermit, it's a great community. I've been here 43 years and it's a small town, everybody knows everybody. It's sad what's happening in our schools that it's being splashed over national news, it's even made the New York Post," Kermit parent, Mary Hellen Pando, said.
Kermit Superintendent Bill Boyd could not talk on camera because of the school district's policy. However, in a statement to NewsWest 9 he says: "We like to emphasize that our teachers and administrators are well-trained and have properly implemented the District's policy and student code of conduct and certainly do not base disciplinary placement decisions on literary or cinematic references as reported by the Odessa American."
The school district won't talk about the suspension. The statement went on to read, "The discipline of any KISD student is confidential under the Family Educational Rights of Privacy Act (FERPA). There are many good things going on in Kermit ISD that deserve far more attention than this matter, and for that reason, the district will provide no further comment," Boyd said.
With school violence on the rise around the nation, the district felt it was justifiable to take the action they did.
"It's good the district is proactive but they need to be proactive in the areas of bullying. This to me is imagination, they're just playing," Kermit parent, Sandra Bonilla, said.
(No children were reported to have disappeared because of the magic ring. -DK)
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| This, believe it or not, is the profile picture for Kermit Elementary's Facebook page to this very day. At least they have a sense of humor about it. -DK |
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