Fifth Grader Suspended For Bringing Swiss Army Knife To Camp

Absurdity is quickly becoming the rule, rather than the exception when it comes to our public education system. From the Daily Caller:

In early April, Braden Bandermann’s class set off on Garden Gate Elementary School’s annual, week-long pilgrimage for fifth-graders to the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco.

Before leaving, Braden did what any Silicon Valley 10-year-old faced with the perils of nature might do: He packed his trusty Swiss Army knife. As any camper knows, the multi-tool device is nothing if not versatile. Braden’s particular model contains a can opener, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, a tiny pair of scissors and a small blade.

The little blade landed the boy in big trouble.

“They called me,” explained Tony Bandermann, Braden’s father. “They said, ‘You have to come and get him. He has a weapon. He needs to be suspended or possibly expelled.’”

I got my first Swiss army knife when I was 9 years old. I was fascinated with all the gadgets. If the school was concerned, they could have taken it away and told the kid he could have it back when the trip was over.