Cops Called After 5th-Grade Ga. Boy Draws Picture That Teacher Thought Was Gang-Relat

[BloodEclipse]

Halloween drawing scares teacher, gets student in hot water
Jenel Few | Friday, October 31, 2008 at 12:30 am

(Photo: Savannah Morning News)
http://ads.savannahnow.com/RealMedi...x250_2.jpg/7874436646456b4d4c4f6741416b3275?x

Fifth-grader Jordan Hood thought the bloody vampire he drew in art class was scary, but he had no idea it would elicit a horrifying response from one of his teachers.
Tuesday morning, Jordan was assigned to draw a scary Halloween mask in art class.
By the end of the day, Jordan was being told he could not return to Pooler Elementary School until he passed a psychological evaluation.
"We live in an age where there is some hypersensitivity," Bucky Burnsed, Savannah-Chatham school system spokesman, said Thursday. "But the child is back in school where he belongs."
During art class Tuesday, Jordan drew a scarred vampire with bloodshot eyes and with blood dripping from its nose, mouth and down its cheeks. Art teacher Lloyd Harold helped the boy shade the sketched eyes to give the drawing an even creepier look.
"The assignment was to draw a scary mask or picture - basically a Halloween activity," Harold said.
As a final gory touch, Jordan used a red marker to write "I Kill For Blood" under his drawing.
The picture was not destined for the cover of Fangoria magazine, but it fulfilled the requirement for fifth-grade Halloween art.
However, when Jordan's homeroom teacher, Melissa Pevey, saw the drawing, she found it disturbing. Pevey was concerned enough to contact assistant principal Valerie Johnson and Campus Police.
But it wasn't blood and gore that bothered Pevey. She believed the blood looked a lot like gang-related teardrop tattoos, and she thought the words "I Kill For Blood" could be tied to an infamous Los Angeles street gang known as The Bloods.
Jordan's mother, LaKisha Hood, was shocked to find that her son's art lesson had evolved into a gang investigation.
"They told me the droplets could actually be a gang symbol for the number of people he killed," she said.
Burnsed said the district has asked teachers to be wary of anything that might be harmful to students. He also said the district has provided gang-identification training.
He did not know whether classroom teachers were trained in gang symbolism.
"The teacher was concerned and referred it to the Campus Police," Burnsed said. "(Campus Police Capt. Joan) Sasser wasn't sure that it meant anything."
So they resolved the issue by requiring Jordan to undergo psychological testing with Gateway Mental Health.
Jordan's family didn't want him to miss school, so he went in for testing first thing Wednesday morning - getting him back to school in time for the fall dance that afternoon.
Although he only lost about two hours of instruction, his mother fears the incident also might cost him a bit of innocence and trust.
"He didn't know anything about gang symbols until the teacher accused him," she said. "We moved to Pooler thinking he'd be in a more diverse school with better opportunities.
"And so far, it hasn't been a pleasant experience."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/31/national/main4560516.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

I think the teacher needs to be the one to go for a mental evaluation.

 

[indyjoe]

Assignment: Draw Scary Mask

Result: Completed Assignment TOO WELL. Must be psychotic.

This is nuts.

 

[spasmo]

Every parents nightmare.... that their kid is expelled or suspended from school over some stupid zero tolerance thing that wasn't going to be used or done in the way the zero tolerance was created for in the first place. Zero tolerance is the most ridiculous thing ever!!!!!

The teacher should have asked the boy about the picture if she was so concerned. One simple question would have worked.

 

[Pami]

The teacher should have asked the boy about the picture if she was so concerned. One simple question would have worked.

Spas.. you have a 9 year old. You know you can't trust everything kids say. (Well ok, maybe you can trust yours.. but she's just weird.)

[sarcasm]If the teacher had asked the kid about the gangs, his feigned innocence about the symbolism would surely be an act to cover it up. "A scary mask for Halloween" is obviously a convenient cover... duh. [/sarcasm]

I admit I'm at a disadvantage for not having kids of my own, but as an aunt of eight under the age of nine, at what point do we stand up to say we are over-protecting our kids?

 

[Caleb]

Spas.. you have a 9 year old. You know you can't trust everything kids say. (Well ok, maybe you can trust yours.. but she's just weird.)

[sarcasm]If the teacher had asked the kid about the gangs, his feigned innocence about the symbolism would surely be an act to cover it up. "A scary mask for Halloween" is obviously a convenient cover... duh. [/sarcasm]

I admit I'm at a disadvantage for not having kids of my own, but as an aunt of eight under the age of nine, at what point do we stand up to say we are over-protecting our kids?

All you need to know is that we past that point...it's commonplace to raise somebody else kids.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

One reason we home school is that in todays school enviroment everything is taken as a threat. A six yr old draws a picture of a gun and he's expelled without question or reproof. My 6 yr old can make a gun of anything, bread, cheese,blocks, legos, sticks. That would get him booted right off. It wasn't "the" reason but it sure was one of the reasons.

 

[Bigum1969]

One reason we home school is that in todays school enviroment everything is taken as a threat. A six yr old draws a picture of a gun and he's expelled without question or reproof. My 6 yr old can make a gun of anything, bread, cheese,blocks, legos, sticks. That would get him booted right off. It wasn't "the" reason but it sure was one of the reasons.

I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of home schooling (but I certainly respect your decision), but I can see it has its advantages.

I'd love to see an AR made out of cheese!

 

[Caleb]

One reason we home school is that in todays school enviroment everything is taken as a threat. A six yr old draws a picture of a gun and he's expelled without question or reproof. My 6 yr old can make a gun of anything, bread, cheese,blocks, legos, sticks. That would get him booted right off. It wasn't "the" reason but it sure was one of the reasons.

As a former home schooler myself, I suggest getting the kid/kids involved socially with kids of his/her's age group. This why I hated homeschooling.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of home schooling (but I certainly respect your decision), but I can see it has its advantages.

I'd love to see an AR made out of cheese!

Homeschooling definitely is NOT for everyone. We are blessed in that neither my wife nor I work traditional jobs so we are both at home and able to do the homeschooling. We were involved with a student from the school where my children would have gone to school ( In Terre Haute) and learned enough about the School system here to make an informed decision about homeschooling verses the public schools available. If we were living say in the area I grew up in the children would be doing Public schools as well as supplemental homeschooling. That school system was challenging and had many benefits such as common sense. The Terre Haute school system promotes not based on educational value, but social merits, until high school. I believe this is a major reason behind the drop out rates and the inability of students to "pass" the ISTEP.

OK returning to the Op of the thread now..

My children have had issues with testing used for evaluation because of the terminology used such as "wheel" - "tire" " rim" . A 5 yr old knows a picture of a tire is the thing that goes around and may refer to it with many different words. The testing Only allowed the word they where looking for and made no exceptions.

 

[Mr.Hoppes]

As a former home schooler myself, I suggest getting the kid/kids involved socially with kids of his/her's age group. This why I hated homeschooling.

We have an extensive social network setup for our children. Home school coops are a great way for the children to interact and to grain respect for adults in a teaching position. Locally the high school system also has provision for children to participate in the public schools extra curricular activities and one class.

There are people who are not cut out for parenting and some times those parent home school. As with everything there are good and bad apples. I am sure both can be found in the home school environment as well as the public school systems.

 

[right winger]

Halloween drawing scares teacher, gets student in hot water
Jenel Few | Friday, October 31, 2008 at 12:30 am

(Photo: Savannah Morning News)


Fifth-grader Jordan Hood thought the bloody vampire he drew in art class was scary, but he had no idea it would elicit a horrifying response from one of his teachers.
Tuesday morning, Jordan was assigned to draw a scary Halloween mask in art class.
By the end of the day, Jordan was being told he could not return to Pooler Elementary School until he passed a psychological evaluation.
"We live in an age where there is some hypersensitivity," Bucky Burnsed, Savannah-Chatham school system spokesman, said Thursday. "But the child is back in school where he belongs."
During art class Tuesday, Jordan drew a scarred vampire with bloodshot eyes and with blood dripping from its nose, mouth and down its cheeks. Art teacher Lloyd Harold helped the boy shade the sketched eyes to give the drawing an even creepier look.
"The assignment was to draw a scary mask or picture - basically a Halloween activity," Harold said.
As a final gory touch, Jordan used a red marker to write "I Kill For Blood" under his drawing.
The picture was not destined for the cover of Fangoria magazine, but it fulfilled the requirement for fifth-grade Halloween art.
However, when Jordan's homeroom teacher, Melissa Pevey, saw the drawing, she found it disturbing. Pevey was concerned enough to contact assistant principal Valerie Johnson and Campus Police.
But it wasn't blood and gore that bothered Pevey. She believed the blood looked a lot like gang-related teardrop tattoos, and she thought the words "I Kill For Blood" could be tied to an infamous Los Angeles street gang known as The Bloods.
Jordan's mother, LaKisha Hood, was shocked to find that her son's art lesson had evolved into a gang investigation.
"They told me the droplets could actually be a gang symbol for the number of people he killed," she said.
Burnsed said the district has asked teachers to be wary of anything that might be harmful to students. He also said the district has provided gang-identification training.
He did not know whether classroom teachers were trained in gang symbolism.
"The teacher was concerned and referred it to the Campus Police," Burnsed said. "(Campus Police Capt. Joan) Sasser wasn't sure that it meant anything."
So they resolved the issue by requiring Jordan to undergo psychological testing with Gateway Mental Health.
Jordan's family didn't want him to miss school, so he went in for testing first thing Wednesday morning - getting him back to school in time for the fall dance that afternoon.
Although he only lost about two hours of instruction, his mother fears the incident also might cost him a bit of innocence and trust.
"He didn't know anything about gang symbols until the teacher accused him," she said. "We moved to Pooler thinking he'd be in a more diverse school with better opportunities.
"And so far, it hasn't been a pleasant experience."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/31/national/main4560516.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

I think the teacher needs to be the one to go for a mental evaluation.

I agree the teacher needs to be evaluated.

 

[techres]

As always, it's all in the dialogue. The kid should have written:

BBBRRRAAAAAIINNNSSSS!

Zombies are far more acceptable than vampires.

Oh, and this is a great example of implanted fear. Had the teachers not recently received "gang awareness education", they would have not been ready to pounce like they were. Zero tolerance is stupid, but especially when fear gets added intentionally.

 

[JetGirl]

Zero tolerance is stupid, but especially when fear gets added intentionally.

Absolutely.
A year or so ago some large football player upperclassmen were making really rude and inappropriate comments to my not so tall and sort of slim daughter. When one of them touched her hair she flung his arm away and said, "If you so much as TOUCH me, I will rip off your friggen arm and beat you with the bloody end!!"
...And *I'm* the one that got a 10pm call from the principal about my kid making death threats. To the Hulk.
Whatever.
I told him the *other* side of things and then there was a full blown investigation even though we never said another thing. The SCHOOL DISTRICT pressed charges on them and those kids all have "records" now.
Apparently, parents aren't needed for anything these days. Just our wallets are.

 

[Rookie]

Last year my son had his first day of kindergarten. The teacher went around the room asking the kids what they had done over the summer. When it was my son's turn, he proudly told her that his dad had let him shoot guns. The teacher flipped out and started yelling at him, telling him that if he ever mentioned the word gun again, she would call the police and have him arrested!!!

My son came home that day crying about what had happened, and, after hearing what had been said, I went to the school. Needless to saying, I was livid. I walked into the principal's office and told her to get the teacher in there. When the teacher arrived, I laid into her telling her that I don't care what she believes - her job is to teach my child, not convince him of her beliefs. I also let her know that if she ever yelled/intimidated my son again, that I would show her what intimidation was. I then, not so politely, told her to get out of the principal's office. The principal was sitting there dumbfounded.

After she left, I told the principal that if she couldn't handle her teachers then I would do my best to make sure she found a new job. She no longer works there...

 

[Caleb]

Last year my son had his first day of kindergarten. The teacher went around the room asking the kids what they had done over the summer. When it was my son's turn, he proudly told her that his dad had let him shoot guns. The teacher flipped out and started yelling at him, telling him that if he ever mentioned the word gun again, she would call the police and have him arrested!!!

My son came home that day crying about what had happened, and, after hearing what had been said, I went to the school. Needless to saying, I was livid. I walked into the principal's office and told her to get the teacher in there. When the teacher arrived, I laid into her telling her that I don't care what she believes - her job is to teach my child, not convince him of her beliefs. I also let her know that if she ever yelled/intimidated my son again, that I would show her what intimidation was. I then, not so politely, told her to get out of the principal's office. The principal was sitting there dumbfounded.

After she left, I told the principal that if she couldn't handle her teachers then I would do my best to make sure she found a new job. She no longer works there...

Pwnt!

 

[cdyptrsn]

I went to school with a kid who got kicked out for wearing blue jeans and San Fransisco 49ers sweater. School that he was in a gang

 

[Zephri]

Have a friend that got expelled because a girl that hated him lied about him going to bomb the school, sad that some one can get kicked out of their education because of a lie.

 

[BennyBlown2v]

As a former home schooler myself, I suggest getting the kid/kids involved socially with kids of his/her's age group. This why I hated homeschooling.

OT:

Yeah, I was home schooled too and they had social/educational programs at the local YMCA so I did that for a year or two when I was 11-12yrs. The kids at all those home school coops were always effing weirdos though lmao - so I tended to stay away from those. I skipped all of high school thought and just started college part time at 16, so I just socialized with adults - who were still stupider than me rofl.

That picture is hilarious, if a kid drew that and I was his art teacher I would just start laughing and put it up as a good example of a scary picture I love the "i kill for blood" that is awesome

 

[Donnelly]

Last year my son had his first day of kindergarten. The teacher went around the room asking the kids what they had done over the summer. When it was my son's turn, he proudly told her that his dad had let him shoot guns. The teacher flipped out and started yelling at him, telling him that if he ever mentioned the word gun again, she would call the police and have him arrested!!!

My son came home that day crying about what had happened, and, after hearing what had been said, I went to the school. Needless to saying, I was livid. I walked into the principal's office and told her to get the teacher in there. When the teacher arrived, I laid into her telling her that I don't care what she believes - her job is to teach my child, not convince him of her beliefs. I also let her know that if she ever yelled/intimidated my son again, that I would show her what intimidation was. I then, not so politely, told her to get out of the principal's office. The principal was sitting there dumbfounded.

After she left, I told the principal that if she couldn't handle her teachers then I would do my best to make sure she found a new job. She no longer works there...

I...love...this...post!!!!
Someone tell me how to give rep points.

 

[dburkhead]

I...love...this...post!!!!
Someone tell me how to give rep points.

In the bottom left of each post there's a little icon of a scale balance. Click on that to give rep points.