BROCKTON, Mass. (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 Jan. 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, N.C., 6-year-old was separated from his class after kissing a classmate on the cheek.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
Whatever happened to "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?"
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Post subject: Re: WTF - First-grader suspended for sexual harassment
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:02 pm
Stone's Bitch
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:41 am Posts: 5867 Location: Providence, RI Gender: Male
tommymctom wrote:
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, N.C., 6-year-old was separated from his class after kissing a classmate on the cheek.
I loved that book when I was a kid. Never made me rip a girl's clothes off back then. If it can be traced to my current sketchiness, however, they may be on to something.
_________________ "I wish that I believed in fate / I wish I didn't sleep so late"
"The real truth about it is: no one gets it right / The real truth about it is: we’re all supposed to try"
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:38 pm Posts: 2461 Location: Austin
Yet another shining example of a zero tolerance policy.
_________________
GrimmaceXX wrote:
PATS 38 GIANTS 10 - However I do see a chance the Pats letting it all hang out and scoring 56 or 63 points. Just realize that you will NEVER see a team like this again in your lifetime.... that is until next year...... 38-0
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
Quote:
"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.
Yeah, so since he doesn't have the capacity, he didn't do it for that reason.
When I was four, they caught me in a closet with a neighbor girl completely naked, with my lying on top of her. When I was six, an older girl paid me a bag of Skittles to show her my penis.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:30 pm Posts: 7110 Location: the Zoo.
McParadigm wrote:
When I was four, they caught me in a closet with a neighbor girl completely naked, with my lying on top of her. When I was six, an older girl paid me a bag of Skittles to show her my penis.
When I was four, they caught me in a closet with a neighbor girl completely naked, with my lying on top of her. When I was six, an older girl paid me a bag of Skittles to show her my penis.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
I think the SWAT team should have shot him.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
