Trad Gang

I found this to be totally unbelievable and was so frustrated that I had to share it.

My sister is a single mother of a 6 year old boy who is extrememly intersted in outdoors and hunting. The last time he came to visit I took him to the archery shop to shoot a little and introduce him to archery. He loved it, of course, so I bought him a little bow with a couple arrows for Christmas. My sister sends word that he's over the moon and SLEEPS with the bow at night. I figured I did well by him and was looking forward to seeing him again so we could practice.
Now, they live in Portland Oregon so maybe I should have thought about this - he ends up getting removed from his kindegarden class for talking about his bow and how his uncle uses a bow to hunt. My sister told me that she spoke with the principle and he justified the schools action because they have a strict policy regarding weapons.

Are these people crazy? The whole situation infuriates me, especially because I am ultimately the cause. I feel like they are passing judgment on the hunting population - lumping us with criminals in a broad anti-weapons policy.

Plus, the kid is 6 years old! He's excited about an activity he was able to participate in with me, who happens to be the closest thing to a father figure that he has. Man this burns me!

 :mad:

I think I would hire me a scumbag lawyer for my nephew and sue that SOB principal and the whole school system.  Might have to give up a few hunts to cover the cost, but it would sure be worth it   ;)  

Disgusting.

its a scary world we live in.  unfortunatly, this is the growing climate.  not saying you dont, but take a look at the news on any web news site and i would almost bet there is something along the lines of your experience.  our way of life is threatened everyday by people not understanding what it is we do as well as others who abuse the sport.  a six year old talking about his bow has become, to some, the future problem.  i feel your concern, its so sad.  im in iraq right now and nothing makes me more proud than to serve our nation, but i have to admitt these types of stories lower my motivation ever so slightly.  well hopefully, the school let the little guy come back without a pat down before he entered class.

So how do they discuss police officers or soldiers?

Isn't Oregon on the Left Coast?

Times are changing. It's sad.  

Your sister should point out the fact that there are schools all over the country that have archery instruction and nationally-sanctioned competitions.   www.nasp.org (http://www.nasp.org)

Really. I mean, it's odd for me if I don't see at least one gun on a rack in somebodys truck every day. I'm a redneck but I didn't think I was a yahoo and I can't imagine not being able to talk guns and bows without a threat of persecution.

The worst part is that these folks probably think they are SOOO accepting of cultural diversity. They don't even realize that they are creating a whole new cultural ideal.

That is very sad.

scott

just for the heck of it i checked a local newspaper of my old town.  look what was on the cover page today....  

http://mariettatimes.com/news/story/new21_224200722704.asp

Good Greif. They keep this up we are all going to be in trouble. Right on Bowchef!!! originated right here in Bluegrass. My two young nephews called me this week and said they made the team at their School!!!!

Huh....freedom of speech unless it is about a weapon? I think you have a right to be alarmed.

3 words, "the patriot act"
We did it to ourselves !!

This has been going on for longer then the Patriot Act has been law. The patriot act doesn't have anything to do with it. It's a knee jerk reaction to the Columbine tragedy in 1999.

it seems to me that the media plays a large roll in this.  many take what they see as a true sameple of anyplace in the us. the news has become a competition to see who can put the craziest, most dramatic, and the most dreadful thing on tv. like i posted before and others have afterwards, much of this is based on a lack of knowledge.  and like bowfiend posted at the top, the little guy was lumped into a larger pool.  in the age of liability, there is no room for sound judgement.  i think 100% of the school would accept the kid's talk if they knew better, but to those who dont know any better, a bow is the same as a glock.  after all with all the school shootings, his little bow could do the same....right?  its like a teacher of mine once asked us in class.  is the kid, who forgets his pocket knife in his pocket after cutting bailer twine in the morning to feed the cows, really a problem even though the rules are no knives at school?  its just at a new level

As Leopold said, there are dangers associated with being too far removed from the farm.  Schools generally are a mirror of the communities they serve.  I would assume that there is a general lack of knowledge regarding archery in the community and certainly on the part of the teacher and administrator at the school in question.  

One of my PE teachers ran the first 180 students through the NASP program this week.  He was pretty skeptical about the program even after the training.  Now that he has tried it out, he is talking about buying an additional set of equipment so more kids can shoot.  It is a simple matter of exposure and developing a comfort level.

Good comments regarding the media, dougers.  As for your example of the "accidental" knife on campus, we are starting to see a trend of returning to "common sense" in those cases.  The adoption of "amnesty clasuses" allows students (at least in many of the areas I am familiar with) to turn in a knife that they may have inadvertently brought to campus in cases like you have described..

Spikemaster,
Your right, my mistake, I do need to read that further.

So dose this school allow Base Ball bats....
Clubs have been around as long as archery if not longer.

The Socialist Republic of Oregon thinks it's Californicate.  Problem is it's moving up the west coast like a virus.

mike g, dont put anything else in their heads!!

My wife is a teacher in second grade. She told me I have to be sure our daughter doesn't talk about hunting at school because any talk of shooting a weapon (bow or gun) can cause a child to be put out of the school. I couldn't believe it! This is crazy!  :mad:    :banghead:

The LAW requires due process in all cases where educational privelleges are suspended for a child.  Talking about archery may get you a conversation with the principal in some overly sensitive schools, but if it gets you more than that, you have recourse.  Unfortunately, "Zero tolerance" appears to mean "zero common sense" in some places.

What the school did to your nephew was not legal. Hunting is a legal activity, as is archery. You should hire a scumbag lawyer.

Take an article about Kentucky's successful archery in the schools program and shove it down the pricipals throat. the liberal society is rampant. I tried uploading some video to googles video program the other day. It was rejected because it was about cowboy action shooting. The guns used somehow promoted hate. I feel like a stranger sometimes in America. I grew up with Roy,Gene , Hoppy and the Lone Ranger. I didn't realize they were promoting hate!

The modern litigatous America is responsible for a lot of this. To many children are being raised with fear and shown only evil on the news.

Let me tell ya grade schools here can play soft ball in school , how wacked is that ...that was one of greatest joys in grade school good old softball games!!! America is asleep...HEAR ME ..we are asleep!

That is very sad. This is exactly why can't shake the notion that hunting in America is doomed, unless we can have an about-face in the popular culture opinion of hunting and weapons in general. Of course, I'm preaching to the choir here. It's the city kids who think about nothing except what the best ipod is, who need to be reached.

Thanks for the link to the school archery program. I remember when I was in junior high, I had already been shooting for a while. My school eliminated the archery program the year before I went. I was irate!

Scary huh? I have a 6 yo boy and have had notes sent home abouth him wanting to be a soldier or a cop like dad.It infuriates some staff at the schools or maybe they just feel like heros for averting another Columbine tragedy.Its sad but thats why we need to be active in educating the non hunting public that hunting or recreational shooting ha snothing to do with wanton violence.Good luck with your nephew, dont let them get you down.

This is truly turning into a screwball country/world. Yes, these people are crazy.  Unfortunately there are more and more crazies coming into positions of power all the time.

The school had no right to remove him from his class because he merely talked about his bow.  If your sister wants to fight this, she can.  The kids have rights to speak out, and believe or not, can win.

We had a case here about a month ago where a student in school was wearing an anti-abortion tee shirt and passing out anti-abortion literature inside school.  The principal made him stop, took the literature, and sent him home to change his shirt.

Wrong move!!  The parents of the anti-abortion student got a lawyer, and after the smoke cleared, the school had to let the student continue his anti-abortion campaign.  Freedom of speech.  And that's where we are today.

-Ken

My wife teaches kindergarten here in Maryland. She is required, by State law, to report to her principal when a child talks about,draws pictures of weapons, or talks about hunting, shooting, etc. As she says, it puts a teacher in a terrible predicament because if the child is victim to, or causes harm to someone later with a weapon, she can be held liable if she did not report it. Also, she cannot ask any probing questions. Report only.

Fortunately, she teaches in a rural farming community with a long hunting heritage. Both she AND her principal understand the population and together they determine whether or not this is an issue to pursue. In seven years of working at the same school using combined common sense between her and her principal thay have called in NO weapons issues although they probably average 8 or more cases of potential child abuse or neglect per year. Makes you wonder where the real issue lies.

Bear in mind my wife is fairly liberal minded, would never shoot a weapon (I've tried many times) and does not particularly like hunting. She DOES respect the law abiding pursuits of others, including her husband!!!

Wow, that's incredibly ignorant. I work as a School Resource Officer in SW Missouri. Unless the child talked about bringing the weapon to school to harm someone, this was done wrong. I have dealt with weapons threats on all levels, from small kids to High School Seniors. The spirit of the law and common sense must apply. I would appeal to the school board and speak to an attorney if necessary. JMHO- CKruse

It's nice to live in backwards North Central Ohia.  A few weeks ago I did a ~2 hour talk to a group of 5th and 6th graders in a local parocial school about primitive archery.  I demoed knapping a point, mounting with sinue, and stripping and fletching using Turkey feathers.  One of my sinue backed selfbows was also passed around while I described the process of making it.
No expulsions, no finger pointing, no letters from angry parents.  BUT, I did get a pack of ~30 "thank you" notes from the class and teachers.  There IS hope!
R

I really wouldn't expect much less from a Government school. that's why I've been working 65 hours a week to keep my son in a Private school.

 It sounds like to me his right of free speech has been violated... BY THE GOVERNMENT!!

 I like the scum ball attorney approach myself. I sue the Principal and the school board.


  Rusty <><

HOW THE HEC DO THEY TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY IN SCHOOLS NOWDAYS?? Sorry for yellin

Well it looks like they would never show: Last of the Mohicans,  Patriot, Glory, Gettysburg, Saving Private Ryan ETC ETC ETC in their schools. Probably show a whole lot of Care Bears though.

Whats the address of the school? I'd like to write them a letter or two about hunter harrassment!   :banghead:      :mad:   My daughter was harrased by female students last year for showing a picture of her first deer, to the point of her almost giving up hunting. BTW she is 10 and shot it with her compound,instinctivly. I was working, but my wife stormed up there and had a meeting with her principal,teacher and the students involved. She doesn't hunt but pointed out that there are hunter harassment laws. It ended pretty quick.

I'm with Arwin. Lets send some letters.

When I was in school I actually brought my bow and a quiver of broadhead-tipped arrows to class for a speech on bowhunting. That was in Aurora, Illinois, the second largest city in this state...definitely no rural setting. And now, 20-some years later, we're throwing kindergartners out of class for so much as talking about bows? Sometimes I think a lot of people in my generation are stuck on stupid.

Socialism...

Hippies.......

Not socialism, not hippies, not some vast conspiracy.

Parents and bureaucrats.

When those two get more worried about 'safety and order' than liberty, you will always see a creeping trend to Zero Tolerance 'safety' policies which start out with 'reasonable' rules and, when those inevitably fail (and they will) move  on through increasingly severe and ridiculous rules combining parental paranoia with the bureaucratic maxim: If a bad idea fails we need to do it more and harder (with more funding).

Parents love rules because it gives them peace of mind.
Bureaucrats love 'zero tolerance' because it protects them from thinking.

The combination is ALWAYS disastrous for common sense and liberty.

(yes, I know 'not all parents are like that'  and yet.. they are.  The ones who aren't paranoid about weapons are paranoid about drugs, computers, sex education,  pick your bugbear.   WE all want to protect our children and it's almost impossible to stay rational about that.  It's not a bad instinct (it's a GOOD instinct), but it's a bad way to develop policy)

Jake
(who wishes schools would stick to education and leave social engineering to families)

Well said Jake... but Jason's got a good point too. LOL    As Ron White say's  " You can't fix Stupid"

How about Stupid Bureaucratic Socialist Hippie Parents who are paranoid about everything? They could start an organization called the S.B.S.H.P.
 :biglaugh:   I'm just poking. It is a sad issue and would still like to write them a letter.

I'm sorry that happened to your nephew. At 6 yrs old, I hope you can explain that he did nothing wrong and I hope he is not discouraged, or intimidated from archery.

Hi Ron,

First, thanks for the kind words.  Second, permit me to ramble abit ...

You're exactly right.  You CAN'T fix stupid.  (I do tech support for a living, trust me on that one  ;)  )

So, that gives us two choices:

1 Give up and learn to live with it (since you can't fix it)

or

2 Analyze the problem, find the fixable causes and FIX them.

I've found, generally, that people do not like to think of themselves as stupid and giving up at calling them that rarely promotes beneficial change.

Especially when they're not 'stupid'.  Your average weapon-fearing suburban soccer mom isn't necessarily stupid (not Einstein, but not my cousin Joe either).  She has a gap in her knowledge and experience and has filled the gap (as we all tend to do) with emotions.

Add to that the fact that some very VERY smart people have been manipulating her perceptions to further their own agendas. (if you dig deep enough 'safety' is almost always a stalking horse for something else).

So we have this poor, confused person who wants nothing more than for her children to be safe,  feels completely incapable of keeping them so because she gets TOLD constantly that the monsters under the bed are too vast and powerful for her to stop and that no one is 'doing enough' to stop them either.  Like fearful people since the stone age, she looks for something she CAN control in order to save her children from the Bad Bad Things (TM).

We see that as 'stupid' because we have the knowledge and experience to know better and fail to realize that that is because we possess that specialized knowledge (how it became special rather than common knowledge and why that's sad is a whole separate rant  ;)  )

So, she is no more 'stupid' for not understanding that  than most people are 'stupid' for not understanding that Calculus is as *beautiful* as any piece of art ever conceived by the mind of man.

She's just misguided.  This is how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Where it becomes a 'stupidity' problem is when we present her with all the necessary and correct information and she disregards it in order to stick with familiar emotional ignorance.

Ignorance (the lack of knowledge) is easily remedied.  Stupidity (the insistence on clinging to ignorance when knowledge is available), cannot be cured because it is a delusion and only the sufferer can choose to release themselves from it.

Jake
(who is perpetually amazed at the unwillingness of 'educators' to learn)

Arwin,

That's just flat out funny!  :D

But for goodness sake, don't let them organize!     :scared:    :scared:  

One thing that forever amazes me about stupid people is that they wouldn't acknowledge a fact if it fell on them out of a tree, but they can form a national organization in less time than it takes me to sneeze.

Jake
(who supposes that 'herding' is a genetic reflex for sheep minds)

Just think, our tax dollars pay for this crap.

Kids are only supposed to play video games nowadays.Didn't we know that?

Well guys....since i live 30 miles south of Portland Oregon. And Yes.....Its
"On the left coast", to answer the guy from Tennessee.......The answer to why times are changing in more populated areas is that there are more scum bags preying off of other people there than there are people stalking prey. Kids growing up now are being raised by two generations of people that think a blood trail is the juice that comes out of the package of meat while taking it from the fridge to the sink. These are the same people that call themselves conservationists, and animal actiists, and enviormentalists. Oregon used to be real country all over and had a saying, "Don't Californicate Oregon"......Its too late now folks....we've been had! Don't get me wrong here. There is still plenty of wide open spaces here, and some good down home country folks too. I consider my self one of them. But drive into the city and its a different world. These little schools in the country out here still have their share of defiant children and assorted drug issues. But the percentages are much smaller.
The cops in the cities are running scared too, and i don't blame them. The media hypes up the unknowing peope who have been raised in Condo's with alarm systems and wire mesh over there windows their whole life.....These parents of kids now days are so busy working, their kids hang out on the streets instead of learning to use an axe and how to build a fire, much less learn to hunt....HEAVEN FORBID!!!!

Now it even gets better.....Our technology is getting so carried away in the archery industry creating these new high speed arrow spitting contraptions, i belive they will have to be registered before its all over with! I'm not talking trad here guys...as you well know. But its going to effect allof the the archers out there. I just sold my new contraption, i got disgusted with the whole thing.....I don't want any part of it....If joining traditional archers in preserving this age old art form means i eat a little less veison.....so be it! Actually i think it will be just the oposite honestly. I live out in the country for a reason. My daughter was raised with a bow in her hand and cut her teeth on elk jerky.....Kids in the city now days think jerky comes in a bag with big red letters on it......unfortunately so do their folks.....Half of of them are anorexic vegetarians too......It's sad.....

I'm done guys...I put in a little more than my .02 cents worth i know, but it ticks me off!...I'd get a scum bag attourney and raise cane if it happened to my grandson....

Nuff Said ...........

I played for the Oregon Bowhunters a couple of years ago. Drove down the coast and saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I could almost see myself hunting where Chet Stevenson "the old bowhunter" had spent so much time. The one thing that bothered me' being from the bible belt was the absence of churches. We saw very few while we were there. We all need to get our game faces on, get off the bench and get involved in the political system. I have always believed that ,in America, anything that happens, does so because we sat back and allowed it to happen. Confront this situation with truth, if you don't, your nephew will never be able to enjoy the gift that you have given him.  JB

at my high school, last year in civics class I was acused of being one of those crazy columbine highschool shooters when I mentioned I hunted in class, then some girl, who belongs to peta, kept talking about how its people like me who are going to destroy natures creatures, it made me furious!!!!!!!!

Sounds like a good time to make a call to a local radio or television station....I bet the press would have a field day with a school trying to control the free speech of a child...

This sort of thing is one of the reasons I left Minnesota in the 70's and moved to rural ND. I've never looked back. The writing was on the wall even back then.

I'm not much of a political person, but last week it occured to me that all the liberals from the Clinton Years are still in office but now the majority, and there's a darn good chance one of their clan will be elected president in 08'.  

Not a pretty picture for hunters, gun owners, and outdoors-folk...

We can only HOPE some of some of the liberals from Clinton's administration have some clout...  Otherwise there will not be any blue stem for those antelope to run in or salmon in the river for that grizzly to fish...  Say what you will about some of his personal choices, but the progress he made environmetally will not be matched for some time I'm afraid. (and unfortunately has even been reversed during the last 7 years)
I realize that I am probably in the minority in the group, being of liberal mind(read Hippie/Tree hugger/whatever if you must) but I am frustrated with many of the same things you guys mention on this forum...  
In the case of bowfiend's nephew, I completely agree that what happened is absolutely rediculous and it frustrates me that this is what things have come to in some parts of the country.  HOWEVER, it seems pretty easy to hop on the computer and bash hippies with people who already agree with you, than to take that effort and try to educate someone else who falls into the category that Jake H hit right on the head.
Just remember, bashing us goofy hipppies and leftists is pretty easy sometimes, but there are some of us really trying to make a difference. (spoken like a true bleeding heart I know...but hey)  
The apathy of the average hunter (gun/bow/whatever) is what will ultimately be the downfall of hunting.
Tradgang is a great site and I hadn't really seen a thread like what this one turned into on here yet, and I hope as a group we can discuss issues like these with the goal of accomplishing something rather than just sniping...
Just my .02 - RAY

This is so sad.  I love Oregon and considered it a possibility as a home back in 2000.  I chose Ft. Collins, CO instead and am very glad I did.

Oregon is on the left coast, but it, as is Washington State, are incredibly beautiful outdoor places.  How did the weirdos get in control of such incredible places?

Just venting.
Dave in Ft. Collins, CO

The reason and only reason Oregon seems left is becasuse of Portland and Eugene.  The two largest population centers for the state are a culture to themselves.  i.e. very left.  Most of the rest of the state is in fact very conservative.  Sadly being the largest population centers they control the political direction of the state.  When I read about what happened to his Nephew I was not at all suprised it took place in Portland.  Any other part of the state and I doubt it would have been an issue at all.
The other thing to keep in mind, is Oregon DID have a school shooting here as well back in '97 or '98.  There were fatalities.  I believe since this happened "close to home" it has put Oregon city schools on ultrasensative high alert.
Derek

This seems like a perfect court case; as it is all about freedom of speech.
Its not about violence and murder.
 Its about hunting: which is a legal and socially excepted behavior ( or it would not still exist). And its about archery- which many people have pointed out used to be a school activity- and is not an illegal act.
Archery is still a olympic sport.
The shame is that a lawsuit would put the burden of all our actions upon the 6 year old. It would be 'cameras- lights-and action'. All buzzing around the child.
It is a good question: to ask how the history of our country is taught- can they sing the national anthem..??..do they have to hum the parts about the 'rockets red glare'; the bombs bursting in air'?
If you study about Columbine; and you find the root of the hatred of the children; it was not based in the guns and the bombs they used to express it!
 Something has to be done. I do realize Oregon is 'Californias Canada'- but geesh- it really is still in the USA.
 I have a dear friend that moved to Oregon about 25 years ago; and I met her daughter at my sons wedding. Her daughter; raised in (California and Oregon cities) was freaked out over a glass of water I gave her. Why? Because she could not "taste any chemicals" in my well water!!
 Water to her "should taste like chemicals!"!
I am not sure how to fix all this - but it does seem within our reach to create a system where kids like this- get acknowledged by us in some positive way.
 Maybe just a card that we all sign- some kind of acknowledgement that they are a good person; and not what's wrong with the world.
 Cause this kid- he is sitting there wondering if he is part of the wrong in this world; afterall-- action was taken against him as if he is.
 We have enough creative people here to come up with a solution that 'accents the positive;eliminates the negative; and holds on to the affirmative- and watches out for inbetween'..whoops--------
 That dang gun toting Roy Rogers: got me singing again.
Really- there should be something we can do that adds to this kids opinion of himself.
 Nothing that has been said here so far does that; and I know that's not right!

It is the trend to come unless each and everyone of you infect someone else with your love of hunting, the outdoors, and our way of life. You don't have to convert them, just open their eyes to the facts. We (hunters) will die if we are not recruiting members into our ranks. I will bend over backwards to help someone out if they even show the slightest interest in archery. In the last two years I have equipped, or helped equip 4 traditional archers and 2 that were dead set on getting set up with a compound. I take new hunters out and show them what I know. I hope each and every one of you does the same. We must do this, if we are to change the negative stigma that has been placed upon us by the liberal media. They perceive us as a bunch of drunken, toothless, rednecks that like to torture animals. We have many outside elements working against us. We must get as many people involved as possible so that we have a very powerful voice to change people's perceptions. I bet if the school boards across the country had more hunters on them we wouldn't even be discussing this.

High Scool Teacher type here. They're out of bounds and you don't even need a lawyer. Go to a Baord meeting and vent a little. You'll make the paper and  admin will turn themseves inside out to not look like the idiots they are at that point. It's typical for admin to go beyond the law because they are cowards at heart and wouldn't want to actually protect the rights of kids. The safe school act doesn't even call for a ban on weapons, just the unauthorized type. With school board approval it's legal to have archery etc....

Silence gives consent.

Brian wrote:

QuoteI do realize Oregon is 'Californias Canada'- but geesh- it really is still in the USA.

Why the need to throw mud on Canada Brian?  

Even in urban (with all anti- hunting, anti-gun mindset that implies) southern Ontario, my daughter is not only FREE to talk about bows and hunting and such, but she has a very well shot-up raccoon target hanging in her locker.  

If anything, we're about 5-10 years BEHIND the US on that particular variety of insanity (oh, my God, that child has a crudely drawn picture of a gun, call a SWAT team!!!)    If anything we're catching it from the US (well, to be fair, from certain big US Cities) rather than the other way around.

You folks don't deserve that nonsense either and I've been nothing but supportive of our COMMON problem of citified idiots being scared of their own shadows, but I'll thank you to clean up your own back yard without throwing your crud in MINE.

Incidentally,  I like the US. I've always been treated well there.  You're suffering a great deal from the people you keep electing to power (doesn't matter from which party) just like WE are up here and I think that we'd do better to support each other than to point fingers.

Normally I let that sort of ignorant country bashing slide, but I'm getting pretty tired of it especially when it's as wrongheaded as this.

Jake
(who has absolutely nothing more to say on this subject and hopes we can get back to talking about how to preserve ALL our rights rather than picking on each other to the delight of our enemies)

Any of you all got 6 year old boys?  Any of them ever do something like say "I've got a bow and I'm gonna shoot you with it!"  I can picture all kinds of scenarios where a little boy could get himself into trouble talking about weapons in school.  

There are 2 sides to every story.  We have one side and you all are writing letters and calling newspapers.  Talk about kneejerk and hypersensitivity.

You all are making some good points, and it's easy to get fired up over this. Unfortunatly, I'm not only geographically seperated from the situation but also in a familial sense. If it were my son, I'd be down there in an instant raising a stink. But all I can really do is talk with my sister and hopes she handles it in such a way that may open the administrations mind to acceptance.

True John - I really don't know the details of what happened. All I know id what my sister shared with me. I DO know, however, that my son talks about that stuff all the time and I've never gotten word one from a teacher or administrator. So it makes me sad that my nephew is seemingly being deprived of something that is in his family purely because of his location.

It also saddens me that there is such a disconnect between urban and rural America. It seems that "liberal" locales, such as portland, are far more accepting of their perception of "worldly" culture than they are of what is traditionally American.

This really opens a box of worms and probably does go well beyond the idea of a kid missing a few days of school due to a disciplinary action, regardless of the offending behavior.


Thanks for all the posts - and letting me know that I'm not just a crazy redneck.

QuoteReally- there should be something we can do that adds to this kids opinion of himself.
Nothing that has been said here so far does that; and I know that's not right!  

I like Brian's suggestion.  Rather than making a stink, which really isn't our position to do, why not do something to enforce a positive image of archery to this little boy?  Send him a card or maybe a small piece of archer equipment you don't use or might be fun (indian headress, fun little target, etc.) Feel the love!

As a teenager, I almost always had a gun and/or bow in my car and ALWAYS had a pocket knife in my jeans. I grew up on a farm and the knife was a tool I used every day while doing chores. Most of my friends did exactly the same thing. The guns were for hunting, the knife was for work. If we had disagreements, we argued. There were times when the argument failed, and we settled those with our fists. No one thought of going to get a gun or pulling a knife. They were not the proper tools.

For my friends and I, every waking moment was spent thinking of, talking about, or doing some form of hunting or fishing. If I would have been suspended for talking about weapons, I never would have gotten out of elementary school.

Now I am a teacher, and I am appalled at the type of things mentioned in this thread. Common sense is a thing of the past apparently. Zero tolerance is the buzzword most often used by schools in an attempt at looking tough on violence. Zero tolerance frees administrators from the responsibilty of actually thinking, a painful thing for many of them.

Make no mistake, our constitution is under serious attack. If we allow part of it to fall, the rest will soon follow.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
This statement was used as a motto on the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania (1759). It holds true today as well.

As a public school administrator it is so affirming to read the high regard with which that position is held (tongue super-glued to cheek).  There are some interesting and thoughtful comments here right alongside of some gross generalizations.  

Every decision that a public school administrator makes is subject to public scrutiny and is bound to make someone unhappy.  Consider the topic at hand.  If the administrator at the school in question did a 180 and decided to initiate an archery program on the campus of his/her school, there would be a group of people on another internet site bashing them for making such an irresponsible and unsafe decision.  It really is a fun job.

The best way to handle this situation is to rationally and politely approach the administrator in a face-to-face meeting.  From my perspective, that works best if done before you call the newspaper, hire an attorney, etc.  People in all walks of life are fallible.  Most folks are generally more willing to admit a mistake or see your point of view if you don't rip their head off in the process.

Take a serious look at your local public school and I have to bet that you will find that the majority of the folks there are hard working and dedicated individuals.  If not, ease on down to my neck of the woods and I will show you how it is supposed to be. ;o)

Jake: calm down. Geographically Oregon is north of California; as Canada is of the USA.

Thanks Talondale- I should hope that we can reach out and touch when its needed....

Well, just as an illustration of the difference between MT and Oregon...in my son's Darby preschool class, it's common for kids to bring in hunting "trophy" pictures for show and tell.  

And at my other son's preschool class, on of his teacher's (female) was proud to show me her 24 pound spring gobbler!

Jake she might be able to talk about those things now, but in Canada preachers can't talk about homsexuality because it is considered hate speech. How much longer will she have those rights in that sort of climate. that's the bottom line of this thread. We have do deal with these issues now before the "door" is thrown open to the the total liberal agenda.

Isn't it nice to live in a free country where freedom means we are free to have our own ideas as long as they agree with the social elitists making the rules....

There were several occasions where I accidentially took my pocket knife to high school.  All I had to do to stay out of trouble was take it to the principles office and then I could pick it up after school was out.  And the only word said was thanks.

When I was in high school we had a rifle team and had a rifle range: in the basement of the school...

ya know, I have not been out of High School very long, im in my 3yr of college, and our school had a rule in the handbook that "students are allowed to possess a knife, only if the blade is 4" or less."  most pocket knives fit this description. We all had a knife on a clip in our pocket...the teachers actually liked that we had a clip because they could see it.
Our rural community we got away with alot...driving tractors to school, 4-wheelers on school property, hell we were allowed to shoot our bows on school property. we all carried a shotgun, and most of us shot every day (weather permitting).
Ya know, that was how it was back when our dad was in school. and i am really thankful that was how it was when i graduated 3 years ago. It was easier to have a shotgun in the truck, or a knife on your hip, than to have a pack of smokes in your shirt pocket.