Berkeley County student is kicked out of school for bringing a butter knife to campus.

When I was in Grade 4, I brought a butter knife to school (without my mom knowing), ostensibly to cut up an apple. I then thought it would be hilarious to chase a couple of girls around with said knife.

Now, I wouldn't have actually done anything with it. I was just a stupid little shithead who was having some fun running around and scaring people.

I got in trouble - had to sit in an in-school suspension and write a letter of apology to each of the two girls. So I did. End of story. Never chased anyone with a knife again.

In today's hosed-up, zero-tolerance world, I would have been expelled and abandoned by the world at the age of six with no options or possibilities for my future. I would have been, in essence, aborted by society.

This is terrible and wrong. Elementary school kids, especially in the younger grades, don't actually comprehend the consequences of their actions. They don't believe you or fully understand you when you say something like "if you do this, you'll be expelled". They innately believe there's always a way out, always a way of being cute and saying sorry and having things go back to normal.

If we start treating little kids like they're adults with the responsibilities required of employees, rather than children, we're going to damage this next generation even more than the current one is