Your name is part of who you are and how people identify you as different from another person. Hunter Spanjer, a deaf pre-school boy from the corn belt, has a registered sign for his name. His name in Signing Exact English sign involves him crossing his index and middle fingers and shaking his hands up and down. Problem is that the Grand Island, Nebraska school district thinks it looks like a gun and therefore violates their ‘weapons policy’. The school district has asked that Hunter change his name sign. (Note to Grand Island School district: bringing your hands to school is not the same as bringing a weapon).
It isn’t surprising that the sign for the name “Hunter” would resemble a gun, but if you look at this video clip, I think yo will agree that it is a BIG stretch to see him sign his name and think “gun.”
Jack Sheard, the Grand Island Public School spokesperson, stated, “We are working with the parents to come to the best solution we can for the child.” Hmm. He later claimed the issue was a “misunderstanding” which had nothing to do with weapons. Sheard spins it further by saying that Hunter’s name sign was “not an appropriate thing to do in school.”
This is zero tolerance policy gone way out of control. Two organizations have stepped in to help right this wrong. The ACLU and The National Association of the Deaf. The ACLU wrote the school board and asked them to reconsider. The National Association of the Deaf has agreed that their lawyers would consider stepping in if this ridiculous decision is not overturned.
Hunter’s family has set up a Facebook page to inform the public. Parents of special needs kids often battle school districts for services to assist their child. I’ve never seen a school district try to rename a child before, which is essentially what the Grand Island Public Schools is asking Hunter’s parents to do.
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