#ManicMonday: Kid Gets Suspended For Using “One Ring To Rule Them All” At School

Happy Monday everyone. To get this week started off right, how about some story time? Imagine you are a 9-year-old little boy, and you are a huge fan of Lord Of The Rings (I mean, who wouldn’t?). And imagine that because you love this magical franchise so much, you concoct a story where you own the ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL. Not that you actually have the ring, that would be silly…but your imagination doesn’t need to know that. And then imagine that you tried to use that imaginary ring to rule over your friends during recess. Sounds pretty harmless, right? WRONG! This can get you expelled from school in Texas.

According to the NY Daily News: 

“Kermit Elementary School officials called it a threat when the 9-year-old boy, Aiden Steward, in a playful act of make-believe, told a classmate he could make him disappear with a ring forged in fictional Middle Earth’s Mount Doom.

‘It sounded unbelievable,’ the boy’s father, Jason Steward, told the Daily News. He insists his son ‘didn’t mean anything by it.’

The Stewards had just watched “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” days earlier, inspiring Aiden’s imagination and leading him to proclaim that he had in his possession the one ring to rule them all.

‘Kids act out movies that they see. When I watched Superman as a kid, I went outside and tried to fly,’ Steward said.”

Gosh, I remember how me and my friends would pretend to be X-Men or Ninja Turtles or Robin Hood where we’d make actual weapons and use them against each other. I preferred a staff or a bow/arrow, and I would make them out of fallen tree limbs or sturdy sticks, and you better believe that I was making my own arrows to shoot at other kids…. can you imagine what would happen to me if I was that 9 yr. old at Kermit Elementary? … probably  jail. That’s it kid, you’re a menace to society!

The article goes on to say:

“Aiden claimed Thursday he could put a ring on his friend’s head and make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins, who stole Gollum’s ‘precious’ in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series ‘The Lord of the Rings.’

‘I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,’ the boy’s father later wrote in an email. ‘If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.’

Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the fourth-grader’s suspension, citing confidentiality policies, according to the Odessa American, who first reported Aiden’s troubles Friday.”

Kermit, Texas – you defile the name of “Kermit.” A name that encompasses the most wonderfully creative and imaginative minds in history. And let’s call a spade a spade here – these are just kids playing make-believe. We’ve all done it. And we should all continue to encourage kids to use their imaginations, especially if no one is getting hurt. *Sigh*

So Aiden – buddy – we here at Gabbing Geek salute you. Keep that imagination going, and continue being creative! You never know where that will take you, heck, you could be the next great Artist, Author, Director, or Movie Star! Keep up the good work.