Boy Fakes Kidnapping In Order To Lose Bad Report Card

Here’s a story from Alabama that shows just how industrious kids can be when they take matters into their own hands. A young boy decided to fake his own kidnapping, in order so that he could get away with not bringing home a bad report card.

The Huntsville Times reports:

The Ed White Middle School student claimed a man in a red, beat-up car grabbed him after school at the intersection of Trail Ridge and Grizzard roads and forced him into the vehicle.

“I’m going to take you somewhere and kill you,” the boy claimed the man said. The boy also said the man had a pistol.

The boy then claimed to have jumped from the vehicle – without his bookbag, which contained the report card – and ran to his grandparents’ house.

He later confessed to the incident, and his grandfather called the police to explain. The police, meanwhile, say the boy faces no charges at this time. But the last sentence is my favorite part of the article:

The whereabouts of the bookbag and report card are unknown.

I might be glib, rebellious and unfit for parenting by saying this, but this young man’s act impresses me so much. It’s a perfect example of the precious few ways kids can gain power as individuals in society, and the lad showed a great resourcefulness and understanding of adults’ irrational fears and social taboos in choosing to fake his own kidnapping in order to get out of a negative, adult-controlled situation. Hey, if you know the folks aren’t going to be too pleased with a bad report card, why not try to get rid of it in the most impactful way possible?

This is also a powerful but depressing example of how we adults unfortunately too often use Education as a controlling measure over kids. ‘Bad’ report cards are a clear societal ‘faultline’ allowing us to peer into the heart of society and see what we really think of kids. We sadly judge them based on their academic progress, and so much of their inherent self-worth — and worth to others — becomes wrapped up in what grade they got on a test.

“My dog ate it” is, though, one way kids fight back. And I’m delighted to see this kid improve upon the technique in such a creative way.

Good for him, I say.

Sep 14, 2009 :: Tagged under: childhood experiences, education, sociology of children :: #