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CreditLouise Sloan

In Brooklyn, public school’s been up and running for almost two months now, and I can’t stop thinking about Jmyha Rickman. She’s the 8-year-old Illinois schoolgirlwho threw an epic tantrum last yearand was hauled out of Lovejoy Elementary in handcuffs. On Facebook, comments ranged from “that kid needs a whupping” to “what kind of crazy racist monsters call the cops on a third-grader?” I didn’t comment. I was too busy freaking out. My boy could be next.

My 8-year-old is That Kid. The one who drives the teachers crazy. At best, he’s the class clown. At worst, he gets suspended for a fistfight with the other kid in his grade who can’t stay out of trouble, either. Last year there were 17 official incident reports.

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