First Grader Punished
Suspended for Sexual Harassment
By Daniel Muniz

Can an elementary school actually suspend a first grader for three days because of sexual harassment?

That’s what happened in Brockton Massachusetts. Instead of directly dealing with the mischievous behavior of a six year old, school officials from Downey Elementary School felt that labeling this kid’s actions as sexual harassment and sending him home for it was the appropriate punishment.

What this little boy did was reach into another girl’s clothes and seemingly snap the waistband of her clothes.

And that incident is what snowballed into the child’s suspension and the principal calling up his mother to come to school to pick up him up. Even the six year old became concerned and confused at all the commotion by asking if the police were also going to get him.

Naturally, the mother was upset and furious that this school was losing its grip on reality.

And I wonder what would have happened if this incident was the other way around, like an a la Monica Lewinsky snapping her thong to President Clinton. Would school officials accuse a six year old girl of reckless and lewd behavior? And then send her home too?

Are these events simply another story of “political correctness” run amok in our education system?

Or does it suggest that this is a symptom of a much larger problem in our society?

I completely agree that the behavior of this little boy is unacceptable and it should not be tolerated at all. I also reject the commonplace assertion that “boys will be boys” so don’t worry about it.

Consequently, I am glad that such inappropriate conduct is brought to the attention of school officials and actually taken seriously, which really wasn’t the case back when I was a kid and in prior generations.
 

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Below is an interesting comment I found about this story:
 

I remember being touched and fondled in first grade by a boy in my class. He was always trying to touch my chest, hips and my legs. This memory is very vivid, and I remember him doing it to other girls in the class who had only blonde hair. I even remember his name! He tried at one point to stick his hand down my shirt and I kicked him in the shin. I then went to the teacher and told on him but as far as I know, nothing was ever done about it. He continued to harass us. We moved when I was transitioning from first to second grade, so I never knew what became of him.

So even though certain people may think it is ridiculous that this kid got punished, I don't (the severity of the punishment is a different story).

Back in those days, quite a bit of bad behavior was tolerated by too many school districts, which also included fighting, bullying, and downright sexual assault. Today there is so much more openness about such subjects that were once swept under the rug. And this openness is needed to combat discipline problems.

However, what has gone overboard is the common sense needed to deal with unacceptable behavior.

A school cannot use adult consequences on a six year old such as suspending him for sexual harassment or sending him to sensitivity training or calling the cops. Sexual harassment doesn’t exist in their world. Cooties do but not much else. As a result, these types of issues have to be dealt with in a manner that an elementary age child can comprehend. And this sort of punishment wasn’t it and it didn’t accomplish anything.

As for this incident being part of a symptom of a larger problem, you don’t have to look too hard to find plenty of adults who seem to have a very twisted view of children. I remember reading one of those “Grooms for Idiots” books that my mother-in-law gave me that explained that some people tend to think of a child as nothing more than an adult who wears very small clothes. Accordingly, a lot of people end up having some rather unrealistic expectations of what seven year olds are capable of at weddings and at receptions.

But beyond a wedding, these sorts of individuals have also become so detached from society as a whole that they only see what is in their own immediate world as the norm for our entire civilization.

Unfortunately, this leads some people to think of elementary school kids as having the faculties of adults. That is, that they think that they can comprehend the concepts and consequences of an adult world. The same also goes for middle school kids. And popular culture has already made the leap that teenagers have vastly more wisdom and knowledge than mature adults with a plethora of movies and television shows.

Yes, it is unfortunate that many adult concepts and consequences are beyond the grasp of kids. But we should stop trying to make them smaller versions of us and start treating them as children and discipline them as such. Forget the accusations of sexual harassments and the temptation to call the cops or a lawyer.

Whatever happened to teaching children about manners and responsibility?

Telling a child “no” and sending him to “time out” and then consistently sticking to that methodology whenever he or she steps out of line may accomplish far more with a first grader than treating such an incident as sexual harassment.

And whatever happened to getting a parent involved with a parent-teacher conference?

What is really needed is a coherent, common-sense approach of a school district to appropriately handle these incidents.

And to purse such an approach without pushing the panic button. Yes, kids do dumb things but they can also be taught to do the right things too, especially when they are at such an impressionable young age.
 

UPDATE After a firestorm of criticism and ridicule, the school district finally apologized.

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