I think people in general deserve more than 1 chance. I think that people make honest mistakes. I think that people forget to do or not to do something sometimes….and some people do this quite often. And I think that this is even more often the case when talking about kids. I think whether one has a criminal intent or mens rea should matter.
I think making an example of a kid is wrong. I think that zero tolerance policies are reckless and insensible. I think that school districts should use better, more educational, more justified processes of dealing with those who have broken a rule at school before doling out punishments that take no evidence or circumstances into account. I think that students should be able to defend themselves and the punishment should fit the {so-called} crime.
Our court systems allow for more mercy and fair-mindedness than our schools do.
Over and over, I read articles of teens who forgot to remove a pocket knife from a bag or pocket before coming to school. Often these teens with the forgotten pocket knives do chores around a farm and use these knives for their work, completely justified. Their only crime is not remembering to take the knife out of their pockets or purses or backpacks before going to school.
Over and over, I read articles on young kids who ate their sandwiches into gun shapes or used their hands to form guns to pretend to shoot at each other in play or drew swords or guns on paper with crayons or put a water gun or toy gun in their backpacks, not to frighten, but to show their friends or play with during a free time, completely innocent of mens rea.
Over and over, these kids are given no mercy and suspended from school, some up to a year, due to a zero tolerance policy in place. These kids are not usually trouble-makers or delinquents. Very often these kids are good kids; top of the class kids; kids involved in sports and extra-curricular activities; kids who would not intentionally break the rules.
This tells me that the zero tolerance policies are not working as they should. This tells me that we are teaching our students to sneak around or lie or work around a system if they should realize their mistakes while at school. They have no option of rectifying the situation. If they tell someone they get in trouble; if they don't tell, but they are found out, they get in trouble. If they forget themselves and doodle a weapon on a notebook or draw a weapon in art and teacher sees this, they could be in trouble.
I'm no weapons advocate; not in the least. However, I am a mom to two boys. My two boys and their friends love to play army or super heroes or spies and they run around with swords, guns, knives, bows and arrows and any number of other types of weapons. My kids draw pictures of weapons and people with weapons.
They are not violent. They are not hunters. They do not have access to any real weapons. My 7 year-old is frightened of any sharp knives. And yet, I could see where my kids could be victims of a zero tolerance policy.
I can envision my kids putting some toy "contraband" into their backpacks without thinking or leaving a toy weapon in their backpacks after having used the backpacks while playing spies or army or drawing a weapon or pretending shoot with one's fingers. I can see them being caught in their mistakes and being called to the office and expelled.
And if this happened they would be devastated and embarrassed and hurt. This unwarranted and unjustified punishment would make them distrustful of their teachers and the schools; it would make them anxious about finding themselves in trouble again; it could have catastrophic results.
And all for what? Because a child forgot something. Regardless of what a child's intentions are.
We punish kids who break the rules governed by zero tolerance without considering any evidence and mitigating circumstances by simply throwing them out of school.
This action is devastating to those who care and just made a mistake in memory, but completely ineffective for those kids who intended to bring a weapon to school to scare or intimidate or hurt someone.
And all too often it is clear that those who intend harm to classmates, teachers, school personnel, etc. can and will inflict it if they wish. These students are undeterred by the zero tolerance policy, regardless of whether they are caught or not.
This policy does not work. In my opinion, it's a lazy, misguided and irresponsible school policy, taking nothing about a particular situation or student into account, treating all infractions the same across the board. This policy goes against the core values of our legal system. So, why should we find it acceptable to treat our students in this way?
There should be rules. The rules should be clear and sensible. There should be punishments if those rules are broken. BUT if those rules are broken, the punishment should make sense and teach a reasonable and related lesson. The zero tolerance policies seem to fail both prongs of my test.
I'm almost 40. I make mistakes and forget things all the time, and I'm an intelligent, conscientious, rule following, over-thinker. I know I'm not alone in this. So, why should we expect our kids to never make an honest mistake?
Note: public schools are obligated to have a zero tolerance policy in place in order to receive federal funding. The zero tolerance policy covers drugs, weapons and violent acts, in relation to a school environment.
Interestingly, the National Association of School Psychologists or NASP reports,
"research indicates that, as implemented, zero tolerance policies are ineffective in the long run and are related to a number of negative consequences, including increased rates of school drop out and discriminatory application of school discipline practices. Proven discipline strategies that provide more effective alternatives to broad zero tolerance policies should be implemented to ensure that all students have access to an appropriate education in a safe environment."
Also, see Zero Tolerance: Not What It's Cracked Up to Be for a good article on a recent zero tolerance expulsion case here in Minnesota, concerning Alyssa Drescher, a model student in her junior year of high school who mistakenly brought a pocket knife to school and was expelled for 1 year. You can find more information on this story and zero tolerance on the page set up for Alyssa: We Support Alyssa Dee.
Now, temporarily, stepping off my soapbox. Over and out…
Anna
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