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Blind boy's cane swapped for pool noodle punishment

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posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 02:41 PM
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I don't know where to start with this one... At first I thought it was a hoax.

Obviously the video report is hammed up massively, the child is clearly not walking around out of school with a pool noodle(a what?). This has been put on for the cameras and I really hope the rest of America's media isn't this simple minded. Surely this fools no one.

However, if this is real, then at some point the school made the child use a pool noodle (whatever the hell that is) in place of his cane. This to me is incredibley unethical.

I can understand taking items off kids if they are misusing them and bullying with them. Such as a hockey stick. But a blind person's cane is something else entirely.

Forgive me if I've just been taken in by a hoax. It's like something Chris Morris would write.


A Kansas City school punished a boy who was misusing his cane by taking it away, and replacing with a swimming pool noodle. The American Council of the Blind says such punishment is wrong.

Source



And for those of you who don't know Chris Morris:

edit on 18-12-2014 by and14263 because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 02:52 PM
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a reply to: and14263

I read about it earlier on reddit. It is one of those things that I don't want to believe is true. If it is true, then I feel sorry for us as human beings.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 02:55 PM
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a reply to: and14263
If this is true the people responsible aught to lose their jobs. If the boy was misusing his stick a better deterrent could have been used.But to take his stick away strikes at the basic needs of this boy and they should be ashamed of themselves.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:02 PM
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a reply to: and14263

my first thought was if that happened to my kid i would probably take the cane back and beat someone to death with it.

from the article though



North Kansas City Schools spokeswoman Michelle Cronk told the media that Dakota hit somebody with his cane while riding the bus and his punishment was to have his cane taken away and replaced with a foam pool noodle. Ms. Cronk also reportedly said that Dakota was given the pool noodle not as a replacement for a mobility device, but rather because he needed something to hold in order to avoid fidgeting. The school also reportedly said that it owned the cane and gave it to the boy at the beginning of the school year.


i dont really see the issue now.
well, if he hit a kid on accident maybe. but, if he whacked some kid on purpose then what is the big deal?
lot of variables i suppose.
how long was it taken away? why did they have a pool noodle handy?

in the end though, as crappy as it sounds, it was their cane, not his.
i dont supposed they HAVE to let him have it.

i would like to know more details.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:04 PM
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originally posted by: crayzeed
a reply to: and14263
If this is true the people responsible aught to lose their jobs. If the boy was misusing his stick a better deterrent could have been used.But to take his stick away strikes at the basic needs of this boy and they should be ashamed of themselves.


i get what you are saying, but to be fair, it was not his stick.
it was the schools and they let him use it.

either way, they said they only gave it to him to give him something to hold in place of the cane.
i get it.
maybe dude has a nervous tick if he is not constantly holding something

on a different note, and this is just personal, if my daughter was born without eyes i dont think i would have her in public school.
kids are cruel and if someone messed with my baby i would have to ruin them.
couldnt take that risk



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:07 PM
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a reply to: and14263

In the video, it says the boy did not have a cane when the school year started, so the school provided him with one. Then the mother crying and saying "I don't understand why they would take something away that he needs." Next it shows the family getting in the car to go somewhere together, and the boy is carrying along the 'pool noodle.'

I guess my question is... if their son NEEDS a cane, why did they (a) wait for the school to provide one, and (b)fail to come up with another one to use outside of school when the school confiscated the one they gave him? If it's so terrible for him to use the pool noodle, then why is he toting it around on their family outings?

Not saying the school did the right thing taking it away. I AM saying the parents did the WRONG thing not providing for their child. It can't be an issue of expense. You can hack off a tree limb and give it a decent sanding, and it would serve the purpose of a cane. Why do so many Moms & Dads expect a nanny-state to provide for their children, is my confusion.
edit on 12/18/2014 by new_here because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:09 PM
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Yeah it wasn't his cane but that noodle thing (WTF?) is degrading. Especially for a kid.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:12 PM
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originally posted by: and14263
Yeah it wasn't his cane but that noodle thing (WTF?) is degrading. Especially for a kid.


I agree, but why is the family shown going places with the boy & his pool noodle? Does the school have the corner market on canes in the world? They are condoning the school's actions by continuing to adhere to the school's decision outside of school.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:13 PM
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a reply to: and14263

i suppose.
i get it to a point
they said they gave it to him so he would have something to hold.
maybe he has to be holding something...comfort maybe?
might as will give him something that cant hurt someone else if he decides to give them a whack....



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 03:17 PM
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originally posted by: new_here

originally posted by: and14263
Yeah it wasn't his cane but that noodle thing (WTF?) is degrading. Especially for a kid.


I agree, but why is the family shown going places with the boy & his pool noodle? Does the school have the corner market on canes in the world? They are condoning the school's actions by continuing to adhere to the school's decision outside of school.

That's the bit I thought was hammed up for the cameras.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 05:02 PM
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Kids got a stick and he uses it to hit people with it.
I recon no stick and no noodle, let him bump in to walls and hurt himself.

If it was my child and he was using a stick as a weapon



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 05:23 PM
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It looks like he is getting along just fine with the pool noodle. In fact I think this is a safer alternative to a cane. All blind people should be required to use pool noodles to walk around.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 05:26 PM
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I don't see the issue really. If he is hitting other students with the cane or misusing it in other ways then whats wrong with a pool noodle? Still does the same job you just cant hurt others with it.

edit: to add I went to Jr. High school with 2 blind kids and they had their canes. I never once heard of an incident where they misused the cane and as such they had them all the time. Really nice kids.

The issue I see here is age.
edit on 18-12-2014 by corvuscorrax because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 05:44 PM
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a reply to: peskyhumans

Except a pool noodle can't vibrate and resonate with sound. Blind people can use echo location to navigate.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 06:41 PM
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originally posted by: Grovit

originally posted by: crayzeed
a reply to: and14263
If this is true the people responsible aught to lose their jobs. If the boy was misusing his stick a better deterrent could have been used.But to take his stick away strikes at the basic needs of this boy and they should be ashamed of themselves.


i get what you are saying, but to be fair, it was not his stick.
it was the schools and they let him use it.


On the one hand I have to ask why he did not have his own walking stick.

On the other, would the school have taken someones prosthetic limb if they had kicked or hit someone? Do they dismember children regularly if they misbehave? So it was just unacceptable in my mind, to remove his means of 'seeing'. giving him that stupid thing 'to stop him fidgeting' is pathetic. Might as well have given him a flash light.


either way, they said they only gave it to him to give him something to hold in place of the cane.
i get it.
maybe dude has a nervous tick if he is not constantly holding something

on a different note, and this is just personal, if my daughter was born without eyes i dont think i would have her in public school.
kids are cruel and if someone messed with my baby i would have to ruin them.
couldnt take that risk


When I was in school we had many kids with disabilities, or who were challenged in some way, we had a special needs class. but we were taught to be aware of it, not to be surprised by it. We grew up with it, so it was not something to be shocked or intrigued by. I think segregation at that level, just adds to the problems people with challenges have.. :/



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 06:53 PM
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a reply to: sn0rch




On the one hand I have to ask why he did not have his own walking stick.


I thought there was an organization that donated those to people. Also, how much can one possible cost? I'd buy a kid one of those things in a heartbeat.




Might as well have given him a flash light.


Lol'd hard.



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 09:27 PM
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I'm not seeing the issue here, other than more manufactured outrage.

You don't hit people, especially not with sticks or canes. If he can't keep his hands (or cane) to himself he either needs to be removed from other people or have his cane removed.

Being blind doesn't give you the right to go around whacking people with sticks and then cry when your stick is taken away. Maybe the parents need to instil the idea that the cane is for walking and NOT for abusing other people with.

And as others have pointed out, why don't his parents just buy him a damn cane? They are dirt cheap, making the kid walk around with a noddle is ridiculous and tells me these parents are just looking for attention/money and will use their poor kid as a tool to get that.

Very rarely do I defend the actions of schools but this seems like a non-issue. If someone was using their eye glasses to go around jabbing people I'd expect those to be removed too. Now this kid is going to get the idea that he can get away with anything as long as he reminds people he is blind.



edit on 18-12-2014 by James1982 because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 18 2014 @ 10:52 PM
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a reply to: James1982

Yeah, and another thing to consider is, how hard is it to avoid being hit by a blind kid? I mean, he can't see where you are. He can't sneak up behind you very easily. I'm having a hard time seeing him running around whacking people. The whole darn story is rather bizarre.



posted on Dec, 19 2014 @ 01:09 AM
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Get your noodle wet, kid.

Those things hurt like hell if you get slapped with one full of water. And you get soaked.

So... why did he whack somebody? Did they call him a name? Tell blind jokes?

And is there video of him hitting someone with the stick? Or was it only an alleged attack? Video or it didn't happen.



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