Piranha Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Link First-grader suspended for sex harassment Thursday, February 9, 2006 BROCKTON, Massachusetts. (AP) -- A 6-year-old boy is getting a lesson on the meaning of sexual harassment long before he'll be able to spell it. The first-grader was suspended for three days for sexual harassment after he put two fingers inside a classmate's waistband, school officials told his mother, Berthena Dorinvil. The boy told her he only touched the girl's shirt after the girl touched him. Experts say only in rare, troubling cases can children that young truly sexually harass one another. "The connotation is you're getting some kind of sexual gratification, or wanting sexual gratification, or are putting pressure on for some kind of sexual gratification, when a 6-year-old doesn't have that capacity," said E. Christopher Murray, a civil rights attorney who has handled school discipline cases. Dr. Elizabeth Berger, a Philadelphia-area child psychiatrist, said this case seems to be an overzealous attempt to ensure students feel safe in school after years in which society was not attentive enough. The boy's mother called the January 30 suspension from Downey Elementary School outrageous. She said she can't even explain to her son what he did wrong because he's too young to understand. "He doesn't know those things," she told The Enterprise of Brockton. "He's only 6 years old." Brockton school officials have not commented beyond a statement from Superintendent Basan Nembirkow that said sexual harassment charges are always investigated and officials are trained to deal with them. The Brockton School Committee defines sexual harassment among students, in part, as "uninvited physical contact such as touching, hugging, patting or pinching." First-graders who repeatedly touch classmates need to be disciplined and taught what's appropriate, said Nan Stein, a senior research scientist at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. But don't call the apparent discipline problem "sexual harassment" because first-graders just don't get it, she said. There have been similar cases. In 1996, a New York second-grader was suspended for kissing a girl and ripping a button off her skirt -- an idea the boy said he got from his favorite book "Corduroy," about a bear with a missing button. Earlier that year, a Lexington, North Carolina, 6-year-old was separated from his class after kissing a classmate on the cheek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Yeah, I saw this yesterday. Burns my butt. I just don't understand this sort of "no tolerance" policies sweeping through education. How can you have no telerance for the portion of our population that requires the most understanding and guidance? These policies treat our children like little felons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 She asked for it by wearing provocative clothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 The main problem here is what's not being printed, because the school and family thought it would be in both parties best interest. Apparently, while the little boy put two fingers in the little girls waistband, he was heard yelling "You're my bitch!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Pimpin' ain't easy if you're 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Did "he put two fingers inside" catch anybody else off guard while they where reading this? I was reading this thinking he what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 Did "he put two fingers inside" catch anybody else off guard while they where reading this? I was reading this thinking he what? 1315248[/snapback] maybe for a split second Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sores Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Did "he put two fingers inside" catch anybody else off guard while they where reading this? I was reading this thinking he what? 1315248[/snapback] I like the understated Avy. Props. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I like the understated Avy. Props. 1315584[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Jeeze! Playin' doctor with the girls down the street was a lot of fun. Kill Joys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 That is plain F'kn stupid. My daughter got suspended for a day for "using a weapon". Apparently, she and another classmate were having a play sword fight in the lunchroom with plastic knives. She was 6. My wife and I went to the principle, and while we had to agree to the suspension, we told told her in no uncertain terms that she (the principle) was an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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