Caca Del Toro
I am here to tell you that sometimes the ignorance in Texas is shoulder deep.
Aiden Steward is nine years old and seems to be constantly in trouble at Kermit Elementary School out in West Texas. If I had been suspended from elementary school for the things that Aiden has been suspended for, I’d still be in elementary school.
Aiden once brought his favorite book to school to impress his teacher, but school officials freaked out because “The Big Book of Knowledge” had a section about pregnancy and included an illustration of a pregnant woman. In another innocuous incident, Aiden referred to a black student as black, which drew yet another suspension from the school.
But last week, Aiden did the unspeakable. His family watched The Hobbit. Aiden went to school with a “magic ring.” Yes, he did.
So, Aiden brought a ring of his own to Kermit Elementary School and told his friends that they, too, could become invisible by using his ring.
Apparently, the teachers and principal believed him and they weren’t having any of this magical invisible crap going on at school. What was next? Children thinking they could fly with a cape?
So they suspended him for a terrorist threat.
Kermit’s dad was kinda stumped.
“I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,” he added. “If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.”
But the principal didn’t see it that way. She refused to comment on the incident.
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.
So I guess Light sabers, Where the Wild Things Are, and Little Red Riding Hood are not welcome at Kermit Elementary School, which, you’ll note, shares a name with an imaginary frog, dammit.
Principal Greer, I have a voodoo doll with your name on it.
Thanks to everybody for the heads up.
Everybody run! We can’t have children with imagination and a thirst for knowledge.
1The mind, it boggles. Do you have to be a confirmed child-hater before you can teach in Texas schools? That kid seems absolutely adorable.
2la mierda, caca del toro indeed.
3At least the father seems sane. It would be quite difficult to keep a sense of humor dealing with this much caca del toro.
4Another perfect example of Odessa, Tx…birthplace of Chris Kyle. I have school friends who live there now…bastions of the community…one’s hubby is an orthodontist, whose son and daughter are now on staff, too, the other owns a big pharmacy. We can’t really even have conversations about anything more current than “remember when we were on the school bus and….” or “remember the pep rally when you guys were flipping me up in the air, and I landed on my butt, and you got a busted lip from my saddle oxford on my way to the floor.” They do have lovely cross collections hanging on every damned wall in their home, however.
5Fantasizing about the powers of J.R.R.Tolkien’s One Ring is verboten in Texas, but the mythology of the Bible and impossibly long lifespans of Old Testament patriarchs is to be accepted without question?
You know, if your kid’s school is as primitive as Kermit Elementary School (what, named for The Frog?), maybe home schooling isn’t such a bad idea.
6Now it’s illegal for kids to use their imagination in Texas?
Good Grief.
7From book banners to magic ring snatchers, these pseudo-educators are but one step away from brain washing. A child’s imagination is his way of understanding the world outside and his defense against all-powerful odds. “I think, therefore I am” becomes “I must think what you tell me therefore I am not me, but you.”
8KarenJ503, you made an excellent point. Historically the Bible has caused the death of a lot more people than Tolkien ever did. And those deaths include children.
9This could all be sorted out if only Kermit The Frog Elementary School was allowed to bring prayer into the classrooms. Christian prayer where practitioners ask favors of an invisible Jesus who exists all around them. And how did he become invisible? Certainly not with no stinkin’ ring. He did it the real way, like it says in the Bible, generally a book covered in a very dark color.
I’m not going to say any more than that because even though I graduated from elementary school a long time ago, I’m a little afraid of Principal Roxanne Greer’s powers on the off chance she can place me on long distance Double Secret Probation.
10Falling off the carousel while reaching……… priceless.
11People who are open to new ideas and experiences tend to be Democrats. People whose heads are stuffed firmly up their (seat cushions) because they like the dark that prevents them from seeing or thinking anything they haven’t seen or thought before tend to be… Texas elementary school personnel.
Is this why some of our most prominent political (seat cushion) heads come from Texas, or am I confusing cause and effect?
12It sure seems that this school has it in for little Aiden. I suggest the parents find another school where he can use his imagination without worry. How sad for little Aiden. Once in this country an imagination is what help build America. Not in TX I guess. How sad the state has dumb down since Bush was governor. I remember when it was a smart state back in the early 60s. Now look at the idiots they have for politicians. It makes you wonder. But there is hope that the Juanita’s in the state will help them see the light. Just like Molly Ivins.
13Creativity and imagination have always been problematical to religious and conservative nutters’ Too bad someone can’t throw a bat bogy hex at the teacher.
14and it’s not even Banned Books (or thoughts) week.
15My first reaction was, “Get that kid out of Texas!” but somebody’s got to stay to keep sanity and intelligence alive.
16There are many, many fabulous teacher around. Let’s not paint them all with the same brush we would use for one whacked principal.
17Wow. Have the teachers in Kermit been state certified? Can it be that these pass in Texas for “teaching professionals”
18God bless all those student in the Kermit schools as they grow up!
NP9
We don’t know who’s putting pressure on that principal. You bored? You could research the school board in Kermit and what the general views in the local paper are. I wonder who is state rep. from that area. I bet they are in Neugebauer’s Cong. district. But that is a wild guess. And that’s where the family lives. Maybe we should send them an invitation to move to Austin? No? Not enough water. Well. Hmm. They’re used to drought out there anyway.
19At least this happened before H.B. 868 might take effect. After all…this was a threat.
20…school officials freaked out because “The Big Book of Knowledge” had a section about pregnancy and included an illustration of a pregnant woman…
Of course! Everyone knows that there’s a magical sphere of purest light and magic that comes into existence and floats around when a child is conceived. The fact that there is a pregnant woman carrying the fetus is a fact they really would like you to ignore.
That “Big Book of Knowledge” is suspicious as well as it doesn’t have “Holy Bible” in the title.
21Thank God…. we have yet to pass that damned bill….. where a teacher can shoot a kid.
Heaven Help all those kids who have to attend school is this district….. where ever the hell it is.
We can only hope this little guy continues to use his wonderful mind.
Obviously…. he’s way ahead of his teacher.
22Another example of how teh stoopid is the gift that just keeps on giving.
23@Marge Wood
Marge makes some great points. And Kermit is NOT situated in any of the more progressive parts of Texas. In fact the word “regressive” first comes to mind. After “frog”.
Kermit is in Will Hurd’s 23rd Congressional District. He’s black and he’s Republican. “Black Republican” should be an oxymoron. Somehow it is not. Go figure!
24I apologize for pointing this out, but … you called poor Aiden “Kermit” … “Kermit’s dad was kinda stumped.”
I know you were excited about all this and your fingers on the keys just went crazy for green aka Kermit the Frog.
This is just too whacky for words …
25@Miemaw: that was my first thought in reading this story. Aside from the absolute idiocy of the schhol administration, the thought of that woman armed and with the “right” to use her ‘judgement’ about potential threats is frightening.
26AFM says:
February 2, 2015 at 11:31 am
It sure seems that this school has it in for little Aiden. I suggest the parents find another school where he can use his imagination without worry.
—
AFM, Kermit is a small (~5500 pop), declining, very isolated town (roughly between El Paso and Midland-Odessa, a fur piece from anywhere), desert area, with an oil and ranch based economy. If you’ve never been to such places (you’re a city dweller?) you can’t imagine it.
The Kermit school district has only one elementary, one JH, one HS, all small, unlikely there are any other schools within 100 mile radius. Such districts often serve kids from even more isolated places.
The parents are likely restricted by employment from just up and moving away.
It would probably be best for the imaginative, smart little guy to be somewhere else in a more ‘enlightened’ environment, but that is the fate of millions of kids here.
Texas has thousands of school districts and schools. Many much like Kermit, where the christofundieteabagger’s have been taking over control for many years now (I’m assuming that may be the underlying influences at work here).
(My own town is comparable in size and political environment, but growing like crazy. I have seen the schools taken over as our kids grew. Our kids couldn’t wait to get out of there, but they were widely traveled beforehand and during. They haven’t looked back, and are doing excellently (tops in a small class still gets you whiplash at a world-class uni).)
Just wait until little Aiden brings some “Harry Potter” (JK Rowling) material into the classroom… They’ll be looking for some kindling and a stake.
27Within the Kermit public school system, we know who the real terrorist is, don’t we, Roxanne?
28And in other news, duh.
29All this time Roxanne thought that the stork flew little bundles of joy into Kermit.
https://leonsmom.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/tbbk1.jpg
30Hey y’all, some serious generalizations here. I’m a Texas teacher and I think this is ridiculous! I encourage my kids to use their imaginations. Two weeks ago we had several snowflakes sighted as they were falling outside our window. Since most of my kids have never seen snow, I bravely veered off my Pearson scripted lesson and we ran outside. My class and I were running around with our tongues sticking out trying to catch the snow. Yes, I was the only bat-fool teacher out there but I didn’t care.
Of course, I work in a small conservative town so I kinda stick out. When one coworker suspected I was a democrat, she told me she was praying for me. 🙂
31My grandson, in the 4th grade in San Marcos, cannot bring grapefruit to school to eat as a snack. Apparently, there were children in his classroom who did not know what it was, and when he started peeling and eating the grapefruit (state fruit of Texas), it created a commotion. (A new student from the RGV told the kids they must be retarded, not to know what a grapefruit was.) Certainly a poor choice of words, but I wish the teacher could have used the experience as a teaching moment. Instead, she just banned grapefruit in the classroom. I told my daughter I would send a kiwi the next day, then a pommello, try to find a mangosteen and a durian to send. But she was afraid we would get him expelled!
32That poor kid. He’s growing up in a very bad environment for him.
33Michele, I certainly didn’t mean to slap every teacher in Texas schools, and I tried to phrase it so I didn’t. I don’t slap everybody in Texas when some of them do something outrageously dumb, because I know there are good people there. Then there are people like your “pray for you” co-worker who may be in another category.
I live a long way from Texas and have never been there. I know of some wonderful people in the state, JJ included, but I have to judge the average Texan by the people they elect, and hoo boy…..
34As a 17 year educator, I can honestly say this doesn’t surprise me. The “zero tolerance” zealots have removed all common sense. Essentially the rules have been written to remove all judgment from the equation. It treats every kid equally no matter the circumstance so little Johnny that brings his switchblade or real gun can’t come back and sue the district when this little boy gets a more appropriate punishment (which would be none). We have a lot of stupid parents and they’ve driven us back in fear. I could tell you numerous stories that would make your head spin.
35All that being said, what’s missing for teachers like Michele and I are courageous administrators. I don’t think that principal is stupid so much as weak. It takes courage to stand up to people that would jump to conclusions on something like this. What tears it is that this little boy has no way of understanding what is happening to him. I sure hope they have a good counselor.
36We should be so grateful anytime a child has an imagination.. May be time to hire an attorney. Hope his parents have the ability to get him out of there.
37Sandy @ #32–
Lordy, pray tell the poor kid doesn’t ever bring a kumquat or loquat into class… he’d be put on the SO list for life at least.
Kid from the RGV nailed it, many of those fundie types won’t eat (or do) anything ‘out of the (their) ordinary.
Hope you spend time in San Marcos (insert obligatory ‘Go Bobcats’ plug), it’s a great place (like New Braunfels nearby), lots of stuff to do (and eat); both have grown so effen much though.
When we lived in the Valley I grew those, and lots of other good stuff, like guavas, papayas, mangoes, avocados, Ruby and Rio Star Reds ( best grapefruits around), even had some eating bananas a few times (they have a long fruiting period that the slightest hint of frost would kill), etc., yum.
Scott, you have my sympathy and support. I’ve seen this idiocy up close too, and it is scary bad mass insanity. It flows out of fundie pulpits, radio, tv, etc., constantly; and the boobs just swallow it down unthinkingly.
38Sorry Rhea, just a long day and I’m not feeling well. Plus I had to deal with an idiot relative yesterday at a Super Bowl party. He thinks Huckabee should be the next President…need I say more?
Scott, I mourn the demise of our profession. Some of my colleagues lack the intellectual curiosity I think a teacher should inspire in students and they are actually A-OK with scripted lessons because they’re “easier” to do. I get tired of the teacher-bashing but then I read stories like this and the banning of grape fruits and can’t help but wonder what is wrong with some people?!
39@Scott, at least he has decent parents! And I was shuddering to think what a Potter book would do! I’m blaming it all on Dannee Patrick.
40So, have you ever noticed that Dannee looks ‘xactly like Buccee of the cleanest restrooms on the road fame? I think he modeled for the artist…
He has some good parents or so it seems. Unfortunately, many are not like them.
41I’ll bet that same principal would have something to say about the witch doctors of Tanzania persecuting albinos:
http://wgbhnews.org/post/can-new-ban-witchcraft-protect-albinos-tanzania
Funny how eliminating science in schools starts renewing a belief in magic. But then, this is a state where a large number of voters think prayer (to the correct God, of course) can make it rain.
42Sorry, but someone really needs to mess with Texas.
43RepubAnon, if prayer doesn’t make it rain, just gather some homosexuals together. That’s bound to cause a flood.
Michele, I was just hoping I hadn’t caused offense without meaning to. (I’m perfectly happy to cause offense when I do mean to.) As for your Huckabee-hugging relative, you might try some of the ideas here by our very own JJ:
http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2014/11/celebrate-thanksgiving-republican-family/
44“someone really needs to mess with Texas.”
Take off and nuke ’em from orbit.
45It’s the only way to be sure.