Knives

[electricblue]

With the knife amnesty going on at mo,my sons school has informed us that after the hols the class must take in a SHARP KNIFE for cooking,a class of 14 year olds,carried around all day,is it just me or is it just plain bloody ignorant,no knife,no cooking,,,

[Goodsoulette]

That sounds crazy to me. They used to keep knives at school for us to use when I was there. Did they send letters out or has this been word of mouth??

[electricblue]

A list of ingredients sent out complete with knife included,and confirmed by head on phone when i rang to refuse!!

[spk]

Thats disgraceful isnt it? Im not surprised you rang to refuse electricblue. Sometimes the education system scares me it really does

[Lonnie]

I'd take that letter of ingredients round to the police station, and ask them to have a word with the school.

[Oneeyedvic]

So who would be complaining if a student broke into the home economics room, got a kitchen knife and proceeded to stab their fellow pupils?

No wonder schools and teachers are in such a mess - they really can't win.

[vehelpfulguy]

I would show this to the local paper, or even a national paper.

This is the sort of thing the papers love.

Nothing like a few headlines in the paper to encourage a headmaster/misstress to change their mind.

[Alibobs]

I can't believe this! It's one thing having the knives in the school and the pupils learning how to use them responsibly but as for carrying them around all day........I'm not suggesting they are going to stab each other, it could be somthing as simple as a child tripping over with a knife in their bag or reaching into the bag to get something else.

I agree - let the local police/schools liaison officer know

[Pippa68]

Absolutely awful ~ my kids have food tech (I can't get used to calling it that..it used to be home economics!) and they have never had to take utensils in to school, let alone knives!

A pupil at my sons school was recently expelled for having a flick knife in his bag. They have a zero tolerance policy which obviously means they aren't ever asked to take knives in for food tech.

I would certainly make a stand ~ I understand that teachers are in a no-win situation an awful lot of the time, but this is madness.

[kags]

I agree with oneyedvic - the school just can't win. If they supply the knives they will be blamed, if they ask the students to bring them in then they are condemned. I really don't think that any child turns into a knife wielding criminal just because they have a cooking knife in their possession.

[horselady]

Be interesting to hear what a policeman would say if he happened to stop any of the lads from your son's class on the cooking day. Can you just imagine the lad trying to make the copper believe he was only carrying the knife for a cookery lesson. I agree with the others, make a fuss and stand up to this.

[gessoo]

I can see your point oneeyedvic and kags, but I have to agree it's plain stupid asking kids to bring sharp knives into school, not particularly because of any criminal activities, but purely because of accidents and silly fooling around. I certainly wouldn't let a child take a knife into school - who knows what could happen. At least if the school keeps them under lock and key the children will (hopefully) only be using them under supervision.

[electricblue]

Thanx for backing me,i just don't see why they have to take a knife in especially after all the news lately,its not the first run-in i've had with them but this is definately over the most ignorant reason i've ever done it,by time the holidays are over they're gonna wish they'd never said it!!

[PhilBy]

What size is this sharp knife have they been told to bring in?

[electricblue]

Just a 'Sharp knife'.

[Oneeyedvic]

So, when are we going to also ban kids taking in cricket bats, rounders / baseball bats etc. Better not let them have marbles either - they can hurt if thrown. And what about chemistry lessons - did you know that if you mix ceratin chemicals together they will react and even casue explosions!

If an average 14 year old can't be trusted with a kitchen knife then there really is something wrong.

Yes, there may be accidents and there may be someone who uses it inappropriately. But guess what? Most kids at some point will behave inappropriately and hurt themselves or someone else. They should be dealt with and punished appropriately. However, kids also need to be taught responsibility and (seeing as more and more kids are getting obese and obviously not learning how to cook by their parents) how to cook.

I thought it was just the media and government who blow things out of proportion - looks like its parents as well.

[gessoo]

Vic, I don't think this has been blown up out of all proportion. It is totally irresponsible for a school to request that sharp knives should be brought into school. It wouldn't have been allowed in my school and it was over 40 years ago that I went there. All sorts of things can cause accidents, I would agree and I would never suggest that conkers, marbles, cricket balls, etc. etc. should be banned, but sharp knives are a completely different matter and knife crime is very much on the increase.

I would certainly take it up with the School Governors, but wouldn't take it to the press.

[gessoo]

My child was taught to cook by both myself and the school and used sharp knives from an early age, initially under supervision. I am not an over protective Mum and do believe that children have to learn to cope and accept responsibility. At no time would I have allowed my son to take a sharp knife into school. The school should have it's own supply of sharp knives - certainly the ones I worked in (in Norfolk) always had them and I helped to teach cookery in one of these schools.

[Oneeyedvic]

At 14 I remember having a set of scalpels for biology which was kept in my briefcase until class. My wife also remembers having to take a potato peeler in - and trust me she can do some damage with that! Amazingly neither I or my wife stabbed anyone with it.

ALL violent crime levels are up - not just knife attacks. And am not sure (and haven't really got the time to check at the moment -) but I am guessing that the majority of knife attacks are the 16-25 year age group.

So should a 16 year old attending college not be able to take his knives with him? What about a trainee chef working as a temp in a restaurant. Believe me - if you leave a nice set of knives in a restaurant or at college they have a high chance of going missing.

Maybe we should start arranging armed police officers to escort these people............or maybe we could have a sense of proportion.............nah - lets just have mob mentality and call it an outrage that 16 year olds can legally buy kitchen knives!

[gessoo]

Vic, as you know from my previous postings on AB I am far from having a 'mob mentality'. I see no reason either why a school can't keep sharp knives for cookery lessons, craft work etc. The school is just trying to save money. I am also very aware of a situation that arose in my son's school where a 13 year old took great delight in slashing all the clothes in the kid's cloakroom with a knife smuggled in from home. I don't think cookery lessons at school can be compared with trainee chefs at College, etc.

[Oneeyedvic]

"I see no reason either why a school can't keep sharp knives for cookery lessons, craft work etc" - so you are happy to make the school responsible for keeping 'potnetial weapons' on school property in a place where children know where they are.

"The school is just trying to save money." - yes there you have it in a nutshell. How disgusting that is. Lets get children to bring in knives from their own home and not spend extra money which can go on something else!

"13 year old took great delight in slashing all the clothes in the kid's cloakroom with a knife smuggled in from home." - so if he had smuggled the knife out of a cooking class it would have been different how exactly?

Do kids carry scissors anymore? I know I certainly had one of those when I was at school.