So dumb

[thyme4change]

www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2012/05/07/20120507colorado-boy-suspended-racy-line.html

My 7 year old son loves this song. I'm surprised he hasn't been taken away by the "I don't know what the hell is going on the world, but I'm determined to fix it" police.

AURORA, Colo. -- A 6-year-old boy is back at his suburban Denver school after being suspended for three days for reciting a racy line from a popular song.

D'Avonte Meadows, a first-grader at Sable Elementary School in Aurora, returned to class Monday after serving out his suspension.

D'Avonte was accused of sexual harassment and disrupting other students for allegedly telling a girl "I'm sexy and I know it," a line from a song by the popular duo LMFAO. He was suspended Wednesday.

The boy's mother, Stephanie Meadows, says she met with school officials Monday and they agreed to consider changing their findings from "sexual harassment" to "harassment" because of his age. It wasn't immediately clear what the change would mean for D'Avonte, and school officials declined to comment.

Stephanie Meadows says the allegations went too far, and her son was singing in the lunch line, not to the girl.

[Deleted]

My 3 year old neighbor sings that song. He told my daughter yesterday that her bike was sexy.

[Deleted]

How many times did he say it? No, I don't think it was sexual coming from a 6 year old. Calling it sexual harassment seems like it could have been one of those absurdly applied zero tolerance policies. But calling it harassment seems like they are acknowledging it wasn't sexual, but his behavior was still inappropriate.

And to me, that means he persisted in saying it after he was asked to stop / after he had clearly upset her / past the point of acceptable behavior. So, I'll allow that even if he didn't know what the song meant, he may have been behaving in a way that even a 6 year old knows isn't okay.

[Deleted]

I don't think a 6 year old really understands the meaning of that song.

[Deleted]

LOL, I do remember getting in trouble for singing "Can't Touch This" and pointing to inappropriate areas!

[Wizard of Id]

May 8, 2012 7:33:28 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

I don't think a 6 year old really understands the meaning of that song.

some 26 year olds don't understand the meanings either

[Deleted]

"no shirt, no shoes, and I still get service".... what's not to understand?

Dork moment - when I changed the words and sang it to DS:
"I got pee pee in my pants and I'm not afraid to show it, show it show it..... I'm Baby and I know it!"

[Formerly SK]

OK...I realize I'm completely clueless about pop culture, but how does the group LMFAO say their band name? Do they just say the letters or do they say out every word? It's such a long name...do they truncate it like "Lmphao?"

[justme]

It's an acronym, so you just say the letters. It stands for Laughing My Fucking Ass Off...or at least that's what I know it to mean.

[Abby Normal]

Calling it sexual harassment seems like it could have been one of those absurdly applied zero tolerance policies. But calling it harassment seems like they are acknowledging it wasn't sexual, but his behavior was still inappropriate.

If he would have followed it by saying "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" while gyrating his hips- that would have been sexual.

[Peace Of Mind]

May 8, 2012 7:34:22 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

LOL, I do remember getting in trouble for singing "Can't Touch This" and pointing to inappropriate areas!

Jen, LMAO!!! I agree that it's dumb that he got in trouble for singing that song. He doesn't know what the words really mean and it's a catchy tune. This is another example where common sense is not used in schools today and then people wonder why kids are so confused.

A warning would suffice and then the parents or school faculty could have a chat with him about it. Unless he is a future EEer and he'll continue to do it.

[Peace Of Mind]

May 8, 2012 8:57:44 GMT -5 Formerly SK said:

OK...I realize I'm completely clueless about pop culture, but how does the group LMFAO say their band name? Do they just say the letters or do they say out every word? It's such a long name...do they truncate it like "Lmphao?"

On TV and the radio when they are mentioned just the letters are used.

[Tiny]

The thing with this is we don't know how the kid was using the song -- a little kid can use just about any benign phrase as a cruel weapon towards another kid - it doesn't have to be a sexy song lyric. A little kid can use a benign phrase to disrupt a class (saying/singing it over and over - or using it to answer a teachers questions...) Not every little kid in a classroom is well adjusted and problem free.

[8 Bit WWBG]

This reminds me of that Friends episode where Joey says he can make anything sound dirty. Then he says "grandma's chicken salad" and makes a face.

[dancinmama]

The song in question is used in an M&Ms commercial where one of the candies is singing it and dancing, so it is entirely possible that the boy learned the song by watching Saturday morning cartoon. I feel very badly for him because the suspension is probably very confusing to him. What could possibly be wrong with repeating a song he heard on a candy commercial and how can you explain why it was "inappropriate" to someone his age?

[Deleted]

May 8, 2012 13:03:27 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

The song in question is used in an M&Ms commercial where one of the candies is singing it and dancing, so it is entirely possible that the boy learned the song by watching Saturday morning cartoon. I feel very badly for him because the suspension is probably very confusing to him. What could possibly be wrong with repeating a song he heard on a candy commercial and how can you explain why it was "inappropriate" to someone his age?

confusing, maybe, but you can bet he was loving his 3 day vacation that no other kid got.

[dancinmama]

May 8, 2012 13:05:10 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

May 8, 2012 13:03:27 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

The song in question is used in an M&Ms commercial where one of the candies is singing it and dancing, so it is entirely possible that the boy learned the song by watching Saturday morning cartoon. I feel very badly for him because the suspension is probably very confusing to him. What could possibly be wrong with repeating a song he heard on a candy commercial and how can you explain why it was "inappropriate" to someone his age?

confusing, maybe, but you can bet he was loving his 3 day vacation that no other kid got.

At that age I doubt it.

And coincidentally the commercial was made specifically to promote brown M&Ms and the little kid was black. A small red M&M strips off his red shell to expose the chocolate brown color underneath singing "I'm Sexy And I Know It". It might not have anything to do with it at all....and then it might.

[973beachbum]

May 8, 2012 13:03:27 GMT -5 dancinmama said:

The song in question is used in an M&Ms commercial where one of the candies is singing it and dancing, so it is entirely possible that the boy learned the song by watching Saturday morning cartoon. I feel very badly for him because the suspension is probably very confusing to him. What could possibly be wrong with repeating a song he heard on a candy commercial and how can you explain why it was "inappropriate" to someone his age?

We almost need laws to stop schools from suspending kids this young. He is six years old. Of course he is immature! That is the actual defination of a six year old, an immature human.

[973beachbum]

My Dd almost got suspended in first grade. She was waiting in line for the bathroom. She was counting on her fingers. First there were three in front of her so she held up her index, ring and middle fingers. Then there were two so she put her ring finger down. Then there was one so she took down her index finger.

At that point the teacher started screaming at her about making obscene gestures. Well after she stopped crying she asked what obscene meant, then what gesture she had made, and finally what it meant. At this point the principal was there and realized that instead of stopping a problem they had created one. Which led to the principal offering her a candy, and told her to ask her mom when she got home.

I on the other hand sent a note telling them that my child had made it to first grade not knowing thos things so since they had brought it up they could explain it themselves.

[midjd]

973, awesome note! I remember a friend getting into trouble for the same thing - this was K or first grade, none of us knew WTH the teacher was talking about.

I didn't think of Dancin's interpretation of the commercial - but how sad if that's true. I do think the school overreacted, regardless of the kid's intent. He's SIX!

[cronewitch]

My little brother didn't want touched so when a teacher tried he told her to keep her cotton picking hands off him. He had no idea what cotton picking was, it was an expression he had heard. We weren't in the south so had never seen cotton or black people or had any idea why cotton picking was bad. My older brother saw his first black person when he was too young to know colors so told mom he saw a green boy. He thought it was amazing not that there was anything wrong with not being like us.

[dancinmama]

May 8, 2012 14:00:19 GMT -5 midjd said:

973, awesome note! I remember a friend getting into trouble for the same thing - this was K or first grade, none of us knew WTH the teacher was talking about.

I didn't think of Dancin's interpretation of the commercial - but how sad if that's true. I do think the school overreacted, regardless of the kid's intent. He's SIX!

Oh, I didn't mean anything negative whatsoever. Only that maybe he could be relating to the fact that being brown is a very positive thing which is maybe why he was repeating the lyrics that went with the commercial. That would certainly have been something my DS would have done at that age.

[Cookies Galore]

In 4th grade, I was down with OPP before I even knew what it meant!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

May 8, 2012 7:14:18 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

My 3 year old neighbor sings that song. He told my daughter yesterday that her bike was sexy.

You better keep an eye on that boy.

[midjd]

Oh, I didn't mean anything negative whatsoever. Only that maybe he could be relating to the fact that being brown is a very positive thing which is maybe why he was repeating the lyrics that went with the commercial. That would certainly have been something my DS would have done at that age.

Oh I didn't mean that - just that if he identified with the commercial (and took its message of brown = good) and was then punished for singing the same song at school, that could be a very bad message for the school to send (inadvertently or not).

[dancinmama]

May 8, 2012 17:00:41 GMT -5 midjd said:

Oh, I didn't mean anything negative whatsoever. Only that maybe he could be relating to the fact that being brown is a very positive thing which is maybe why he was repeating the lyrics that went with the commercial. That would certainly have been something my DS would have done at that age.

Oh I didn't mean that - just that if he identified with the commercial (and took its message of brown = good) and was then punished for singing the same song at school, that could be a very bad message for the school to send (inadvertently or not).

Absolutely.

Or maybe he's one of those kids who never gets into trouble and all of a sudden he's been suspended and starts to think of himself as "a bad kid". I'm totally against false building of self-esteem in children (the everyone gets a trophy syndrome), but I hate it when I hear stories of kids being demeaned or punished for something that was probably innocent.

[Angel!]

May 8, 2012 14:01:52 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

My little brother didn't want touched so when a teacher tried he told her to keep her cotton picking hands off him. He had no idea what cotton picking was, it was an expression he had heard.

I think I was 26 before I realized what "cotton picking" really referred to. I knew people that used that phrase a lot when upset, I never realized it had negative racial connotations. I'm naive

[Malarky]

May 8, 2012 14:01:52 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

My little brother didn't want touched so when a teacher tried he told her to keep her cotton picking hands off him. He had no idea what cotton picking was, it was an expression he had heard. We weren't in the south so had never seen cotton or black people or had any idea why cotton picking was bad. My older brother saw his first black person when he was too young to know colors so told mom he saw a green boy. He thought it was amazing not that there was anything wrong with not being like us.

OK, turns out I'm dumb. I've heard the phrase cotton picking before, although I don't use it. It never once crossed my mind what it could mean.

I sometimes think I live under a rock.

[swamp]

May 8, 2012 17:18:49 GMT -5 Angel! said:

May 8, 2012 14:01:52 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

My little brother didn't want touched so when a teacher tried he told her to keep her cotton picking hands off him. He had no idea what cotton picking was, it was an expression he had heard.

I think I was 26 before I realized what "cotton picking" really referred to. I knew people that used that phrase a lot when upset, I never realized it had negative racial connotations. I'm naive

I just realized now that "cotton picking" has racial connotations. I thought it was just one of those southern expressions like "bless your heart".

It was only a few years ago that I realized what the phrase "lazier than a pet coon" meant.

[Tired Tess]

"lazier than a pet coon"

Never heard that expression.