Bah, all boys draw crap like that. 13-year olds don't think far enough down the line to understand how it could be perceived... they're TEENAGERS, not a group known for its beyond-the-personal-sphere thinking.

Perhaps it warranted a sit down with the school counselor to remind him of what's appropriate when. Perhaps. But suspension?

Don't you know? Teenagers are just mini adults now!

It's exactly what it warranted.

By suspending him, IMO, they could be creating an adversarial relationship between the boy and "authority." They've taught the boy nothing by suspending him (except, perhaps, that those in authority (which I agree) are often a bunch of clueless, reactionary idiots).

I don't consider this treating them like an adult. I had a coworker who has as his screen saver an animation of how to assemble and disassemble a pistol. He is a gun collector and a National Guard fire arms trainer, and the kind of guy who would make a stink just to prove some sort of 1/st/2nd amendment point. Our boss noticed it. What our boss did NOT do was send him home for 3 days. What he did do was talk to him and explain why it was inappropriate. He removed the screen saver without further issue. THAT'S treating someone like an adult. I wish they HAD treated him like an adult, maybe he would have responded to it.

I think a 13 year old can handle having a conversation about "inappropriate" vs. "appropriate". If after that, he continued to turn in homework with questionable drawings, then you got something. But to suspend him like that is a massive over reaction.

Of course, I'll add the disclaimer that it's entirely possible that we are only seeing a fraction of the real story as the parents can say whatever they want to the reporters while the school, wisely, is not commenting.

The school overreacted – plain and simple.

In Jr High, my best friend and I drew far worse things, and we turned out…um…… on second though... bad example.

Perhaps nothing, that should have been step one. Without a doubt.
I understand their zero tolerance thing. I do. Better that then doing something after the fact after this kid did something. Everyone would be saying, 'Why didn't the school address this beforehand?'
I can assure you that he nor his classmates will be doing that again.

As a kid, I wasn't allowed to draw/doodle on anything I was turning in. Especially homework. Granted, I'm not saying that the kid should have been suspended just for that. But since when is doodling on homework acceptable?

For me, if this kid turns out to be the kind to return with a gun at any point later in his life, I'd be asking "Why didn't the school address this better?" I might even cite that his suspension helped to create who he became.

Sure, better than nothing - but barely.

I only said "perhaps" because, depending on the kid and the exact circumstances, for a first-time thing, it could have been handled by the teacher without elevating it to the level of school counselor which often backfires depending on the quality of the school counselor and the kid's attitude.

We don't know if there's history with this kid either. There may be other issues.

Besides, it's three days off from school. What kid wouldn't want that? :D