Boy, 6, faces 45 days in reform centre for bringing own cutlery to school

Published 14th Oct 2009

A six-year-old boy faces 45 days in a reform centre after attempting to eat his school lunch with a knife and fork camping set.

Zachary Christie opened up his folding cutlery after sitting down for a midday meal at his elementary school in Newark, Delaware, in the US.

In doing so, he violated the school district's strict zero-tolerance policy on dangerous instruments. He was suspended and ordered to attend a school for badly-behaved youngsters.

The six-year-old said he agreed that weapons should be banned from schools, but thinks he has been mistreated.

'It's not fair,' the youngster said.

'I took it to eat lunch with. I had not taken it before, I had absolutely no idea this was going to happen. I was not thinking about this, I was thinking about having lunch with it,' he told the NBC's Today Show.

Sikh boy excluded from school for wearing ceremonial dagger

'The teacher said 'Can I have that I am going to hand it to your teacher' and she gave it to the principal. When they called my name out I thought 'Uh oh.'

I went to the office and my mum was there and I went in. I have learned to always ask before taking something new into school, to ask anybody in the house, anybody that looks over me and stands up for me.
Zachary said he 'just wanted to eat his lunch' with the camping utensils

'I am not very nervous. I like being home schooled. I mean it is happy in some ways it is and in some ways. I am not scared to go back.'

His mum Debbie is now appealing the ruling and says she will home school her son if it is not overturned.

'She (the principal) said I needed to come to the school immediately, that Zachary had brought a dangerous weapon in to school and I needed to come and pick him up,' said Debbie.

'He would be suspended for five days pending a disciplinary action committee hearing.

'She said that he had a knife. I did not know what kind of knife it was.

'I understand why they have the policy but I do not agree with the implementation of it.

'I think they need to look at the age, maturity and intent and bring in the teacher and principal and allow them to make the first call in these circumstances.

'Looking at other schools codes of conduct their first step would have been a suspension.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

View All Nonsense News