Boys, 7, Suspended for Pretending Pencils Are Guns

School says it's not okay with even play violence
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Suggested by XYandZ
Posted May 8, 2013 12:00 PM CDT
Boys, 7, Suspended for Pretending Pencils Are Guns
Apparently this counts as a weapon.   (Shutterstock)

What's the dumbest thing you ever got in trouble for in school? Because two Virginia second-graders probably have you beat. The two 7-year-olds were suspended for two days for pretending their pencils were guns in a game of make-believe, CBS DC reports. "When I asked him about it, he said, 'Well, I was being a Marine and the other guy was being a bad guy,'" says the irate father of one of the two boys. "I see it as the tail now wagging the dog."

The school, however, is standing firm, saying that the policy—which also bans such dangerous activities as drawing pictures of guns or pointing your fingers threateningly—has been in place for at least 20 years. "It’s an effort to try to get kids not to bring any form of violence, even if it’s violent play, into the classroom," a school spokesperson says. "Some children would consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools." (More school stories.)

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