Magic ‘Hobbit’ Ring Suspension: Fourth-Grader Suspended For Playing Out ‘Hobbit’ Magic At School
Playing out scenes related to the magic Hobbit ring led to a boy’s suspension from school. The fourth grader from Kermit Elementary School allegedly brought a ring to his class and told a classmate that his magic ring could make him disappear. According to Odessa American, Aiden Steward’s comment was viewed by school staff as “terroristic” and threatening.
The student’s father, Jason Steward, said the family watched The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies recently and that played into the incident. Steward says that the school’s principal — Roxanne Greer — informed him that threats of any kind toward another student’s safety will not be tolerated. Greer has reportedly declined to comment on the situation because she says all “student stuff is confidential.”
New York Daily News offers a glimpse into what Aiden said at school in regards to making another student disappear.
On Thursday, Aiden said he could put a ring on his friend’s head and make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins — the one who stole Gollum’s “precious” in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Mr. Steward wrote an email to the school about interpreting what his son said as a threat.
“I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence. If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.”
Steward is upset about his son’s suspension and wonders why the school removed him and not put in writing their reasons for it. He claims to have requested “something in writing” about why the boy is suspended. The school apparently told Steward that they’ll send a letter in the mail to him.
Steward insists that his son “meant nothing” by wanting to act out something something to do with “magic” Hobbit ring from a movie.
This is the third suspension for Aiden at Kermit Elementary School; two others were in-school suspensions. One of them had to do with “referring” to another student as black, and another involved him bringing a book titled, The Big Book of Knowledge. It has a lot of scientific information in it for kids, but a section about pregnancy shows an illustration of a pregnant woman. It’s said that this caused a problem for the school.
“He loves that book,” Aiden’s father says. “They were studying the solar system and he took it to school. He thought his teacher would be impressed,”
Aiden has attended Kermit Elementary since August after moving to Kermit six months ago.
Did the school overreact because the student wanted to have fun with the magic Hobbit ring? Did it warrant a suspension?
[Image via Google]
