THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997             TAG: 9702080003
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   28 lines

BEST WEAPON: EDUCATION

After reading the story of an 11-year-old who was suspended for bringing scissors to school, I have decided that safety can get a little out of hand. If the school code states that students may not possess ``anything that may be used as a weapon,'' then all students should be stripped of everything that can be used to harm others.

This list includes, but is not limited to: pens, pencils, wire notebooks, textbooks (ever drop one of those on your foot?), chairs, rulers, protractors, chalk, forks, spoons, lunch trays and standard loose-leaf paper (paper cuts certainly hurt). Every one of these can be used as a weapon.

So how can we prevent violence without reducing our children to sitting in bubbles, handcuffed to their desk while watching a virtual classroom with no writing implements? I remember my first-grade art teacher showing us how to properly pass scissors to our classmates so as we do not hurt them. This same practice was later taught in the handling of knives. To use the old adage, ``Fight fire with fire,'' it would seem the best way to prevent ``weapon'' usage is to use a different weapon: education. It is why we send our children to school in the first place, isn't it?

SHAWN COOK

Norfolk, Feb. 3, 1997