“Changing the world, one student at a time.” That’s what the marquee in front of Fred A. Anderson Elementary School in North Carolina says.
Too bad the changes aren’t for the better, as a nine-year-old, dressed up in his duck hunting garb for “Camouflage Day” at school (!) discovered a shotgun shell in his pocket from an outing with his dad and brothers the weekend before. He made the mistake of pulling it out where a teacher could glimpse it and, faster than you could say “Pull!” the straight-A student netted a five day suspension.
Granted, shotgun shells are not exactly what you want kids bringing to school. But there’s no indication (or even accusation) that it was intentionally brought, or that the kid was playing with it or intentionally endangering anyone. His mom admits she should have checked out the clothing (duh), and the school as abruptly realized that maybe “Camouflage Day” is a bad idea.
So why suspend the kid for five days?
Because, school officials say, they have “no choice,” based on county school board regs.
“Changing the world, one student at a time.”
How do you think Jonathan Cross has been changed?