From the Harborough Mail website:Worrying stuff, particularly when you read the quote from a parent:An 11-year-old boy has been excluded from school after brandishing a knife in front of horrified fellow pupils.
The boy was found with the knife while on a school bus which was parked at Uppingham Community College waiting to take pupils home to villages in the north of Harborough district, including Skeffington, Tilton on the Hill and Tugby.
That is until you read a little further."Children on the bus were absolutely horrified by it. My children came home frightened to death.
"There are a lot of worried parents as a result of this."
The knife turns out to have been a "a one-inch antique fruit knife" and the head teacher is reported as saying the boy did not have a malicious intention.
It is hard to see why anyone should be horrified or even particularly worried by a minor incident that has been dealt with by the school and the boy's parents. It is hard to see why it is a news story at all , though it would be unfair to be too hard on the Harborough Mail: this is a national malaise.
When I wrote about our exaggerated concern about children and knives in House Points back in 2005, I received an email from an American saying that Scouts still carry knives over there and no one worries about it. So perhaps this is a particularly British disease.
My Grandfther had a draw full of penknives, my brother and I also had one whenever we went out. Names in tree bark and whittling sticks. No one got stabbed although I did have a blade close on my finger and 35 years later the scar is still there. It taught me respect for blades. Every boy and girl should have a penknife, binnoculars, a magnifying glass (with a lesson on using one to light a fire)and acres of space to explore with adults fussing.
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