This is the oddest story I've come across in a while (as found on CNN):
SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey (AP) -- A sixth-grader was suspended after school officials accused him of threatening to expose a highly allergic teacher to peanut butter cookies, the boy's father said Thursday.
Now, as a teacher, I do have to admit that, every once in a while, I idly wonder if I will ever be the victim of attempted student violence. I'm not too concerned, since (1) I'm pretty well liked, and (2) I'm a big huge scary man with the power to send my enemies to an early grave. That said, you never know what will happen in this world.
But never...EVER...did I think elementary school children would sink to the level of biological warfare!
Peanut allergies never seemed to be a problem in the past. As a kid, I don't remember any huge lectures, or large take-home instruction sheets about what not to bring for lunch, or how to create a peanut-free environment. Yet here I am, twenty years later, and peanut allergies seem to have exploded to epidemic proportions. It may simply be that we have a greater awareness of the problem these days, but I can't help wondering about this apparent spike in human weakness. There are times I think that EVERYONE has a peanut allergy. Or an environmental allergy...or any number of conditions that weren't even on the radar five, ten, or twenty years ago.
Spike or no spike, it is dangerous, and one of my fellow teachers is highly allergic to peanuts...even the smell could send her into anaphalactic shock. Never in a million years would I believe that a student would try to injure a teacher by taking advantage of a potentially life-threatening condition.
And then I read the CNN story above...and I shuddered.
What is getting into the heads of these kids? On one hand, it's absolutely ridiculous, but on the other hand, it's nothing short of devious, cunning, and sadistic -- we're talking evil-Nazi-scientist sadism here. Does the child truly know what could happen? If not, there is a serious problem to address. But if the child DOES know what he's doing...then we're facing a nightmare of a problem.
...Deep, rumbling sigh...
Life was so much simpler when I was in school. At the very least, it was more innocent...
