Parent: Fourth-grader suspended after using magic from 'The Hobbit'

Posted: Friday, January 30, 2015 4:50 pm

Odessa American oanews@oaoa.com

Posted on Jan 30, 2015 by Odessa American

http://www.oaoa.com/news/education/article_6b47c224-a8d2-11e4-8989-...

A Kermit parent said his fourth-grade student was suspended Friday for allegedly making a terroristic threat.

His father, Jason Steward, said the family had been to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” last weekend. His son brought a ring to his class at Kermit Elementary School and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear.

Steward said the principal said threats to another child’s safety would not be tolerated – whether magical or not. Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the matter.

“All student stuff is confidential,” Greer said. She referred a call from the Odessa American to Kermit ISD Superintendent Bill Boyd, who did not return a phone call.

Steward said he didn’t understand why his son was removed from school and why the district didn’t just send a letter home.

He said he requested that the school send him “something in writing” saying that the school suspended his son and why they suspended him. Steward was told the school would put the letter in the mail.

Steward said his son has attended Kermit Elementary since August. The 9-year-old has been in in-school suspension for referring to another student’s skin color and got in trouble for bringing a kids’ book about pregnancy to school.

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Texas School Takes “Magical Threats to Children’s Safety Seriously”...

Here’s one of those stories that is so utterly ridiculous that you’ll be hard-pressed to believe it’s not satire.  It should be satire, an ironic tale geared to point out how ridiculous the culture of fear in America is. Unfortunately, it’s painfully, ridiculously real.

A 9 year old boy from Kermit, Texas was suspended last week for making terrorist threats. What could a 9 year old do that was so terrifying?  Did it involve guns? Knives? A plan to blow up the school?

Nope. it involved a ring. A magical one, as a matter of fact.

Aiden Steward had brought with him to school a ring that he was pretending was “the one ring to rule them all” from JRR Tolkein’s classic, The Hobbit. The Steward family had just watched the movie a few days before this incident..

If you’ve read the book, you know that Bilbo Baggins, the humble main character, had a magic ring. With the ring, he could become invisible. So when little Aiden told a classmate he could make him disappear, the school leapt into action to prevent a potential tragedy….

Aiden claimed Thursday he could put a ring on his friend’s head and make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins, who stole Gollum’s “precious” in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings.”

“I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,” the boy’s father later wrote in an email. “If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.” (source)

However, the school was not assuaged by Aidan’s dad.  Nope, they suspended that little boy for 3 days for…wait for it…making terroristic threats.  The educator in charge of all of the students at Kermit Elementary had absolutely no option but to take action.

Kermit Elementary Principal Roxanne Greer told the Odessa American that she could not comment on the suspension, because “all student stuff is confidential,” but Steward said that she told him that any and all threats to a child’s safety — including magical ones — would be taken seriously by the school. (source)

This isn’t the first time Aiden has been in trouble. Nope, the boy is a repeat offender who has now been suspended 3 times in six months.

Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: “The Big Book of Knowledge.”

“He loves that book. They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed,” Steward said.

But the teacher learned the popular children’s encyclopedia had a section on pregnancy, depicting a pregnant woman in an illustration, he explained. (source)

Incidentally, the student that he referred to as black, was, in fact, black.

How do these people even have jobs?

These are the folks molding the next generation.  Since the vast majority of kids attend public school, it looks like we’re going to be in big trouble.

The phone number for Kermit Elementary School is (432) 586-1020. The principal is Roxanne Greer.

The Kermit Independent School District number is (432) 586-1000. The superintendent is Bill Boyd.

I’m sure they’d like your input.