What happened to the days of using your imagination and playing games like cops and robbers?
A school in North Carolina suspended a child from kindergarten for what they claim was a violation of policy. The child was playing a game outside with her friends—you know, using her imagination—when she picked up a stick that looked like a gun and pretended to guard a castle. Their game had to do with kings and queens and other normal things children with healthy imaginations might do.
Since the child was observed pointing the stick and simulating a shooting motion, however, she was found to be in violation of the school’s threat, assault, and harassment policy. The child was suspended from school for a day. According to the child’s mother, she felt singled out and alienated from her friends for getting in trouble. Naturally, she was outraged that her daughter was suspended over playing a harmless game. It’s absolutely ridiculous that a child that young is being subjected to consequences of that nature when she is still learning right from wrong.
Punishing a child for using her imagination won’t teach her anything but to fear playing games at school. The proper way for the school to have handled the situation would have been to explain to this 5-year-old why they don’t allow these sorts of games. It’s almost impossible to expect a child that young to be able to discern between activities that are inappropriate for playtime when the activities haven’t traditionally been frowned upon. It’s a relatively new idea to outlaw any type of imaginative play among children where guns are involved. It seems like even Nerf guns and other types of play weapons rarely exist in the toy aisle. They’re now mostly marketed with a zombie theme, because that seems more appropriate than to allow children to make up their own games.
It was unfair of the school to suspend this little girl. Schools have become completely ridiculous with their concern for political correctness and its subsequent rules, from policing what children should wear to telling them that they’re promoting violence and must face consequences. This 5-year-old girl likely faced a certain degree of trauma, because at that age, children are terrified of being in trouble. They’ll often cry if they feel like their parents will be called for something they did at school.
When asked for comment, the school said they’ll do what they can to ensure the safety of all the students and keep threats out of the learning environment. I personally believe that the school should apologize to the little girl and her mother for how they handled the situation. There was no need for them to escalate it to that level and the punishment certainly didn’t fit the crime. Hopefully, this little girl can return to school remaining confident and comfortable.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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