On Monday, the principal of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Westwood, OH, a Cincinnati suburb suspended a 6-year-old boy from school for 3 days, for pretending to shoot an imaginary bow and arrow at another child while the two students were at recess. The child’s parents say their son was playing Power Rangers with another child, when a teacher saw their son, a first-grader, shoot an imaginary bow and arrow at the other child. the teacher then brought the incident to the principal’s attention.

Principal Joe Crachiolo sent a letter home to parents stating in part:

I have no tolerance for any real, pretend, or imitated violence. The punishment is an out of school suspension.”

The principal later re-iterated the school’s policy, telling the Mieles he was standing firm on the suspension. The boy’s parents believe the punishment was extreme for a 6-year-old.

“I think he’s a good principal. I just think a bad decision was made,” Matthew Miele said, adding, “His imagination can go limitless places. We try to encourage that as parents,” the boy’s father said of his son.

Martha Miele, the first-grader’s mother added, “I can’t stop him from pretending to be a super hero. I can’t stop him from playing ninja turtles. I can’t stop him from doing these things and I don’t think it would be healthy to do so.”

Our question for our listeners…did the punishment “fit the crime” or did the principal over-react? Let us know what you think.

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