Parent Says Their 6-Year-Old Wasn’t Allowed To Share His Pirate Figurine For First-Grade Show-And-Tell Because It Features A ‘Weapon’
Shiver me timbers! No pirate toys allowed!
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock Given the number of school shootings the U.S. has experienced over the last couple of decades, it would make sense that school officials would want to put strict limits on what is allowed in the building.
However, one set of parents never expected their 6-year-old son’s toy to be considered an off-limits item.
The little boy was banned from bringing in one of his toys for show-and-tell since it featured a ‘weapon.’
Taking to the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, one of the boy’s parents explained the situation and even shared a photo of the controversial toy.
“My 6-year-old chose to bring a pirate figurine for show-and-tell. He was not allowed to show it because of the ‘weapon,’” the parent wrote. The weapon in question is a two-centimeter-long plastic sword attached to the figurine’s hand.
Reddit
Seems innocuous enough from the photo, but the teacher said the toy was a no-go for show and tell, likely following a school policy to avoid kids bringing in Nerf toys and Super Soakers.
The parent asked for opinions on whether or not her son’s school had a right to forbid him from bringing the toy.
Nearly every Redditor in the comments section was completely baffled by the school’s decision.
Many people argued that not only is the toy harmless, but that swords were a significant tool that pirates used back in the day and they could serve as good history lessons.
“What are they going to say in history class, they had feather dusters?” one user noted.
“It's perfectly logical. We don't want the children to start bringing swords and growing beards/losing legs due to the influence of a plastic [expletive] toy, now do we,” another user sarcastically commented.
“Well, in that case, remind that teacher that first graders are exposed to weapons every day. Like sharpened pencils,” another user wrote.
In today’s day and age, we should try especially hard to denounce violence of any kind, especially in school settings.
While forbidding pocket knives and firearms in the classroom makes sense, a plastic sword as thin as a toothpick and as big as a thumbtack should not fall under the same weapons umbrella.
The worst the pirate figurine could do to anyone in that school is have someone accidentally step on it!
Instead of banning the toy entirely, teachers could even use it as a learning opportunity to give their students a history lesson about why pirates relied on swords, and even make it a themed day based around pirates’ origins.
That being said, we don't know the school policy regarding show and tell, and sometimes it's easier for administrators to make a blanket rule that might not meet each individual circumstance but solves a bigger problem in the fairest way possible.
Show and tell as a practice has become a bit of a controversial activity among educators in recent years, with some arguing it's lost its value as a lesson in confidence and public speaking.
One teacher explained that the structured environment of classrooms when show and tell was the norm has long been replaced with "kids moving around and sharing ideas all day long." The teacher went on to say that because of this more modern approach, show and tell has devolved into bragging sessions about who has the coolest toys instead of a creative and sharing experience.
Despite differing views on the practice, in this case, it's hard to tell why the pirate figurine was banned without more details from the Reddit post, but chances are the reason behind it isn't nearly as outrageous as everyone is making it out to be.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.