John Steward said that his son has been at the elementary school since August and has been previously suspended for referring to the colour of another student’s skin. Mr Steward explained that he didn’t understand the incident on Friday though, requesting that the school “send something in writing” to him.
The nine-year-old had brought a replica of the One Ring from J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings to school with him after seeing the film of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies at the cinema with his family the previous weekend. During the day, he warned a fellow student that his “magic ring” could make the student disappear. The school interpreted this as a terroristic threat to the pupil though.
The parent questioned why the district had not just sent a letter home rather than suspend his son. He claimed that principal Roxanne Greer told him that threats to the safety of another child would not be tolerated, regardless of the context of the supposed threat. She declined requests from the Odessa American to comment further.
The boy’s father told the New York Daily News “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.”
The parent of the nine year old is now awaiting an explanatory letter from the school at this request. The school has agreed to “put something in the mail” about the incident and why his son was suspended from lessons because of his light-hearted fantasy-inspired talk.
