A four-year-old preschooler in Collinsville, Illinois has been suspended for seven days after bringing a spent shell casing to school. The boy’s mom, who doesn’t agree with the suspension at all, put a post of Facebook. The post has since gone viral.
The school says that the suspension is about more than just bringing the shell casing to school and that the boy has a history of creating make believe guns from other toys. The mom says her son is confused and thinks the school hates him and doesn’t want him there. The boy was in tears and his mom says a 7 day suspension doesn’t prove any point.
Both of Hunter’s parents claim to not know about the spent casing that the boy found in a grassy field while visiting his Caseyville police officer grandpa. Hunter found the casing and decided to take it to school and show his friends.
“I was met with a stone-faced teacher who said that my son had a shotgun bullet.” Hunter’s mom said. “I was horrified thinking, ‘where could he have gotten this?’”
Hunter’s parents got a letter from the school’s director saying Hunter had been suspended for seven days. The school’s vice president says the suspension was for more than the shell casing; that the school was simply following its discipline policy. He said he couldn’t go into further detail, citing confidentiality concerns.
“[Hunter] just was wandering around in a field and picked up and put it in his pocket and didn’t tell his parents…its paranoia,” Hunter’s mom said. “It’s something that’s become quite an epidemic where guns are automatically assumed that they’re bad…and I’m not sure how a 7-day suspension teaches my son anything about tolerance or anything about why he was wrong. It just means his school doesn’t want him there because of things he enjoys.”
The school’s vice-president e-mailed the mom and says that he was notifying the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Hunter’s parent are still undecided if they will allow their son to return to the school after his suspension.
[revad2]
