I tripped over this article talking about public schools and their increasingly broad 'zero tolerance' policy. The ABA has come out opposing it:

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/home.pat,local/3acca5cc.505,.html

I think my personal WTF alert was triggered at the point where it discusses two kids getting suspended for wearing Pepsi T-shirts on the schools official Coca-Cola Day (but that's a whole 'nother discussion), but there are plenty of other examples in here that are just as over-the-top.

The article suggests that these are indicators of how out of control the administrators are feeling - unable to tackle big issues, they're control-freaking the little ones, and I agree with that assessment.

Is there a place for a 'zero tolerance' policy, or is it time to rebalance?

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

Answers

Zero tolerance is rarely, if ever, a good policy.

Mindless and rigid application of otherwise good principles will inevitably result in absurd situations (not really sure how the Coke thing fits in, though). No cultural relics (suspension for tribal knife in Atlanta), no human contact (numerous no-hugs rules around the country), and no creative writing (again, a plethora of "take her to the psych, please- she just wrote a sad story in composition class . . ).

Civilization operates on a set of agreed upon societal rules (which can be codified and generally explained), which *must* be lubricated with fluid judgement as to when these rules are best applied, and when they're best ignored.

And take that fluid judgment out of the picture will result in the end of civilization.

(that or another Kafka novel. Almost as bad, really)

In short, I've got zero tolerance for zero tolerance.

;)

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

The Coke thing fits in as a pre-existing absurd situation (which sort of lends itself to absurd responses) - the school is one of the many public schools signing contracts with corporations, to get 'free' educational materials (re: ad filled handouts) in exchange for exclusively offering their products and displaying their ads.

So, that school sponsored a "Coca Cola Day" and a couple kids made a statement with their T-shirts. The article has the principle being outraged and mortified because a rep from Coke was there to witness this atrocity. (oh the pain..)

As I said, the whole corporate sponsorship thing is another discussion, but the idea of punishing kids for not voluntarily being their captive target market is ludicrous, and really shows how this 'zero tolerance' nonsense has gone well beyond whatever justification it ever had.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

"Zero tolerance" is just an excuse they are now using for fucked up decisions they have always made. That is, it doesn't matter whether or not they actually call it "zero tolerance," is has always been there and always will.

For example, in high school a friend and I were shoving each other in the hallway, laughing as we did so. A teacher walked around the corner, decided we were fighting, and we both got 3 day suspensions. They completely ignored our pleas of "but we were just playing around." There was no official "zero tolerance," they just did it.

I don't think school officials realize just how much damage they do with this kind of thing. When a student feels victimized in this manner they're going to have a bad attitude.

A simmering bad attitude.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

Oh my God, does this mean that our schools are going to be turning out millions of little Dave Vans?

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

There's only one Dave Van. ;-)

Uh, except over at vodkatea.com where there's about a dozen.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

I have this sudden image from Bloom County of a very uptight-looking bureaucrat standing behind a podium, sweating bullets and shaking like a leaf. "No logo shirts! No touching! No fingernail clippers! Put that paper down, you could cut somebody!"

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001

There are a lot of BAD administrators out there, who have no friken common sense, nor the balls to fight for their students, let alone the brain to figure out what is and isn’t a logical consequence for infractions in the school setting, hence zero tolerance was born.

I can, working in a zero tolerance district, say this with full knowledge. We have an alternative placement setting that has a waiting list. What kind of sense does that make, wait three months and then you will get your punishment, for something as stupid as breaking dress code. Until about three years ago our dress code was so, lacks that kids could wear swimsuits to school as long as they had a cover up on, now they cannot wear something with a small hole in it, ridiculous. Yes,it time to rebalance!

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

When I was in high school (sonny, back in MY day ... ) the two kids who wore the Pepsi shirts would have had the support and winking approval of about two-thirds of the faculty and staff, and if they merited any "punishment" it would have been token at best.

Jeez, reading these posts makes me sad for kids these days.

And on another topic ... how come nobody told me about this place?

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

Because we're snobby and cliquish, that's why! But you are very welcome.

Zero tolerance anything is just a bad idea. You don't even have to get into the specifics of how stupidly these policies are applied. Any policy that is applied to children and leaves no room for exceptions, discretion, or just plain mercy is a terrible idea. Like Michael, I'm pretty sad for kids these days, and I'm also a little concerned about what kind of adults are going to result from zero-tolerance education.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

Schools are understandably desperate for ways to establish some kind of order in an increasingly chaotic system, so that they can do their job and educate their students... but this zero tolerance attitude is counter-productive. Rules have to make sense, or they become meaningless oppression. If kids can't understand why they're being punished, punishment only alienates them from authority.

The punishment itself is problematic, too. It's one thing to make a kid stay after school and do some task to make up for bad behavior; that can give a sense of consequences for actions while saying "You're still a part of this school." But suspension is another thing. What are they supposed to do all day long? Chances are there's no parents home during the day, so they're just cut loose to wander around thinking they're Bad Kids. Not good. It sends the message that they're not valued members of the school, that they can be cast out without warning for very little reason. I think you'd end up with a bunch of kids who feel that the people teaching them don't care much about their education or their well-being.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

The thing is ... and maybe this is just me, but I think teenagers NEED to rebel. It's part of finding their own identity, growing from being their parents' children to being their own adult selves. It's a transitionary time, and the more grownups cut off safe ways for them to explore new ways of thinking, the harder they're going to fight back, because they KNOW (even if not consciously) that an important part of their growing-up process is being stifled.

Wearing t-shirts to protest corporate sponsorship is harmless. Hell, even sneaking a beer or smoking a joint or groping at a party is essentially harmless and it makes them feel like they're getting away with something, and I think teenagers need that.

The much smarter approach, in my opinion, would be for the adults to turn a blind eye to things like that, while remaining vigilant for signs of real trouble. Zero tolerance just leads to stronger (and potentially more destructive) acts of rebellion.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

Exactly, Michael -- there's a big difference between a kid doing something deliberately to hurt someone else, and a kid just acting up to show that they're not little kids anymore. And I think when it comes to harmless rebellious stuff, adults need to take the attitude of, "Even if we don't like what you're doing, you're still a part of our community." As long as kids feel they're a welcome part of the community, they're more likely to want to participate in that community and contribute something good to it.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

I may be veering off topic slightly, or opening a whole 'nother can of worms, but has anyone here ever read anything by John Taylor Gatto (Dumbing Us Down)?

The 'zero tolerance' is just a symtom, folks. Yeah, and it has gone waaaaay too far.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

But one of the things that schools are doing is moving away from the idea of a community - a sense of camraderie and companionship, above and beyond the "zero tolerance" punishment which does indeed add to that destruction of a feeling of belonging.

As teachers and administrators fear violence and and disruption and any sort of cacaphony more and more, they are slowly removing all the bits and pieces that made high school not only an educational arena but a social one. Dances are all but extinct, sports games are being policed, and afterschool activities are becoming a rare breed - at least, in my neighborhood, and in my young cousins' schools.

You know, I can understand the hysterical crackdown. It's a method of dealing with increasingly disturbing news of violence and disturbance and all those other unpleasant situations that continue to crop up on an uncomfortably frequent basis (or, at lease, are publicized on a continuing basis). Really and true, god forbid it happens in their school. Or ever again.

I can undertand it. It's hard to find a middle ground - or even want to consider one - when you're realizing how far afield some of these kids can potentially go, where incidents of rebellion can possibly lead. It seems ridiculous to us - but perfectly reasonable caution to them.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

Just a brief story:

At my sister's high school last year (the one that I attended so many years ago), they publicly adopted a "zero tolerance" policy on weapons in school, including knives. The very next day, one of my sister's friends was suspended for a WEEK for bringing a butter knife from her mother's kitchen to school in her lunch. She wasn't threatening anyone with it; she was just spreading the jelly on her sandwich. (She had this thing about jelly getting the bread soggy.)

Mayhem ensued. The parents threatened a lawsuit. The school grudgingly gave the girl detention instead of a suspension. Many bad feelings remain.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 2001

I don't know how much I can add - these zero tolerance things seem totally stupid to me. Administrators don't know what to do, so they dream up stuff like this.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2001

And yet another example

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001