Frances Halbeck was in the middle of a basketball game after school when the principal of Trinity Lutheran suddenly pulled her out and reprimanded her in front of all her classmates. She had no idea what was going on as the administrator informed her that she was being suspended for selling sex toys on campus. As it turned out, Halbeck’s school had missed one important detail about her little business venture.
Twelve-year-old Frances Halbeck had obtained permission from her homeroom teacher to sell “water snake wigglies” at school in between classes for a profit of $1 each. So, she immediately got to work, selling her merchandise.
She had read online that they benefit autistic children and provide a soothing effect which can help ease stress. “It just calms you when you touch it. You squeeze it, it’s cold, and it’s hard to hold sometimes,” Halbeck told TMJ4.
The Wisconsin schoolgirl soon learned the age-old lesson that no good deed goes unpunished when she was subsequently suspended for three days for selling the innocent items. However, the reason behind the suspension is absurd.
When she told her father, Milt Halbeck, what had happened, he was understandably outraged, saying, “In your wildest imaginations, no adult could possibly view this as a sex toy. This is a water-filled bag.” He is now fighting tirelessly to clear his daughter’s name.
Indeed, it is difficult to understand how any grown adult could think the “water snake wigglie” was anything other than a silly child’s toy. This isn’t how the school board saw things, though. They sided with the principal and refused to comment on the matter.
“We wouldn’t discuss the details of any situation regarding one of our children, they’re all minors,” said the pastor at Trinity Lutheran, David Gehne.
Unfortunately, Frances Halbeck is the one who will ultimately suffer from this ordeal, especially if her father is unsuccessful at getting the suspension removed from her record. This is not something that should blemish her name.
Not only that, but she has been forced to learn about a topic that no 12-year-old should be faced with, thanks to her principal’s glaring ignorance. “I just learned something that I shouldn’t have,” she said.
Surely, Frances Halbeck’s parents placed her at a Christian school to shield her from these things in the first place, but their best efforts were thwarted by one ignorant educator. If you view these as sex toys, maybe it’s you who has the problem.
It’s a sad day when a child’s innocence is ruined by the adults in their life, who should be there to protect and nurture, not make ill-founded accusations and dole out unearned punishments which could have a negative and lasting impact on the rest of the kid’s life.
