Suspended for "Willful disobedience".

The lesson here: Always blindly obey authority, or face the consequences.

So kids are not allowed to express opinions about government or politicians?

What a bunch of CRAP!!!

Alan,

I was rescearching this and found that the Surpreme Court has ruled that a child does not leave his constitutional rights at the door step of the school.

Mike

Don't be silly. That kid was expressing his PARENTS' opinion about a politician, not his own.

I can't stand adults who manipulate children into campaigning for them, no matter what the issue is. Everytime I see children at union pickets or protests I want to smack their parents viciously.

How do you happen to know what this kid's opinion is?

So its OK for schools to indoctrinate our kids but it is NOT OK parents to do so? There is something VERY wrong with this picture.

Think the boy spotted that t-shirt while shopping with his parents at the Super K-Mart and begged them to get it for him? Come on.

Melliferal,

No but it does look like he made the T-shirt himself. And how do you know that his parents manipulated him into doing anything. I think it is only natural as a child you will have some of the same opinions as your parents. They do have the most influence on you as a child. As children grow and mature they developed their own views and opinions.
Also being apart of a political or union campaign teaches them that it is up to them help mold their political and social environments. And not leave it up to some self serving politician to make these decisions. When a large group of our citizens stand up and speak out for what they want and expect from their repensatives and government. It is very hard for the politicians to ignore them if they want to win the next election.
Or are our children only to be influenced by what the fed's and the school system feed them at school. The responsibility of molding a child begins at home not at school. School is for teaching them the three R's.

Mike

You answer your own question.



And that is the time they should be encouraged to express them. You think this 11-year-old came up with the notion that "Obama is a terrorist's best friend" on his own? Ten dollars says he's subject to a near-constant stream of anti-Obama rhetoric whenever the name comes up at home.



I understand what you're saying, but I don't think it teaches children this young that at all. They go to the pickets and hold up signs because their parents tell them to. Their parents' friends then fawn all over them and their "cute" little signs and it makes the kids happy. They'll never see the changes they make; the "victory" is too abstract for them to understand.



Obviously those parents disagree that's all school is for; they also believe it's a place for them to campaign by proxy. I believe in free speech generally - even in high school, where kids -are- becoming independently aware of issues and are wanting to express their opinions, whatever those opinions may be. In fact, I will state expressly that if we were dealing with a high school junior getting in trouble for wearing the same shirt, I'd be criticising the school just as well. But this little boy's parents sent him to his elementary school with that shirt in order to stir up trouble. I will not support that; it's ridiculous.

Melliferal,

I can remember being about this kids age maybe 10 because it was the next school year after I was abused sexually by my fourth grade teacher. But anyway, it was also about the time I began to become aware of the Vietnam war and all the people that were getting killed over there. And the discord that it was causing here at home and the antiwar movement that sprang up in protest of it. I didn't really understand all the ramifications of what was really happening just that it was important.
My mother took me to the shoe store because I need a new pair of sneakers. I chose a pair that had the peace sign all over them and my parents never said a word. I wore them to school and my teacher did make a comment but did not make any big deal about it either did the school administers. Why make such a big deal with this instance. Seems to me that we have a tendency to make mountains out of mole hills.

Or is it because the teachers Union suppoted Obama.
I voted for Obama and i support this child's right to say what he feels he wants to express.
Even it is just ignorance.

mike