Northcoast Schools Just Like The Rest?
Maybe they are.
I'm sure we've all read the stories of overkill reactions at schools around the country:
A kid getting suspended, expelled or even arrested as a result of some school district's zero tolerance policy on drugs or weapons. Whether it be a kid in possession of a couple aspirin, or even a butter knife brought to school in a lunch box, kids are often dealt with ruthlessly.
I hadn't heard much in the way of that happening up here. I figured maybe we're a little more mellow up here, or maybe we just have a little more common sense and thus avoid overreacting the way some other school districts do.
I guess I was wrong.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:40 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I support the school on this one Fred. Zero tolerance for phony guns at school sends the entire student body a clear message. Expelling the kid seems overly harsh, but two days suspended will give the entire family time to reflect on the situation.
Geez, just take the toy away for God's sake and give it back to him at the end of the day, telling him to never bring it to school again.
Remember when we all carried pocket knives and when the teacher needed one to cut a piece of string or something, ten knives would be produced.
But then again, when I was in high school, a girl stabbed her friend with a pocket knife seven times in the chest over a boy.
I don't know the answer. Perhaps check all pockets, backpacks and lunchboxes at the entrance to the school.
All these dang school shootings- they take the fun out of everything don't they?
Yet another example of a person's apalling lack of being able to accept responsibility for something. They knew the rules, they violated the rules, they got caught, kwityerbitchin and get over it. And save all your racist justifications. And screw your "reminds me of EPD". Jackass.
"I'm reminded of the EPD"...When I read this in the paper, she had me until that last line... I agree with zero tolerance on "weapons" but case-by-case logic could be applied. Was it a pink water gun and someone went WAY over the top with enforcement? If it was OBVIOUSLY a toy gun, what was he doing with it? Was he threatening anyone and try to imply it was real? What if he did and cops were called..? Whose fault would THAT drama be? A little discretion is needed.
I think this was, to borrow Fred's somewhat pun-like phrase, an overkill reaction. Enforcing zero tolerance policies simply because they exist sends a message that authority is robotic, and adds to the alienation of youth that fuels anti-social behavior. Take the toy away, and make the child sit through a lecture on why the rule exists. And really, why does the rule exist?
If it was high school maybe zero tolerance would make sense. In this case, I think they should have just taken the toy away.
Post a Comment
<< Home