4th-grader suspended over trick gum

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of a fourth-grader suspended from school for shocking kids with trick chewing gum said the punishment is too severe.

The gum shocks the hand of anyone who tries to take a piece.

The 9-year-old was suspended from his Newton County School when another student told a teacher.

The suspended child's mother, Shirley Woods, told Channel 2's Diana Davis she's shocked by the severity of the punishment.

"I think [a] one- or two-day suspension would be reasonable, but not five days -- that's totally extreme," she said.

Amondi Woods, 9, admits he likes to goof around. He told Davis his fourth-grade friends thought the trick gum was funny, but a third-grader didn't like the shock.

Amondi was sent to the principal's office and was suspended Wednesday morning for five days.

Newton County Schools won't discuss the specifics of Amondi's suspension, but in a written statement the district said, "The student in question was disciplined for multiple infractions according to the code of conduct."

The trick gum is all over the Internet. YouTube videos show plenty of kids pulling pranks on each other.

Shirley Woods told Davis she warned her son not to take the gum he got from a friend to school and to stop clowning around at school.

"I have told him dozens of times. It goes in one ear out the other. I told him some kids may or may not like it and they tell on you and you are going to get in trouble," she said.

Amondi admitted to Davis that his mom has warned him about clowning around.

"Sometimes I like to follow it (advice), but then I forget probably a month later," he said.

Davis said the gum does give off a shock but did not cause her any pain.

Although Woods told Davis she continues to believe the school's five-day suspension is too severe, she has some punishment of her own in mind for Amondi: no more video games or TV for a while and no more trick gum.

WSBTV