Zero tolerance? More like zero sense...
"Boy turns in knife but may still be expelled" reads the headlines in Indianapolis.
Elliot, 14, said he was walking to the school entrance in the brisk weather March 3 and had placed his hands in his coat pocket when he felt the Swiss army pocketknife in the pocket.
"I went straight to the office right inside (the front door)," he said.
He said he handed the knife to Teri Donahue, the school's treasurer, and told her he had brought it to school by mistake.
As a result of Elliot's actions, the school's principal, Jimmy Meadows, suspended Elliot for the maximum 10 school days as allowed by law and recommended Elliot be expelled. A confidential expulsion hearing is scheduled for April 10.
Zero tolerance makes zero sense; circumstance is everything in real life. This boy is going to school, to learn no doubt, probably without any intention of stabbing anyone or possibly trying to open a bottle of wine, and notices he has his pocket knife with him. At 14 years old, a pocket knife is pretty standard to have. All sorts of uses for a thing like that: boy scouts, any range of modeling hobbies, etc etc. And here in this case the boy goes "oh shit, I still have it in my coat pocket" and goes directly to the administration. Who promptly treat him slightly better than if the school janitor had to pry him off the still-warm corpse of the teacher who gave him a C on the last spelling quiz.
Though the administration did follow the exact policy set forth (Zero tolerance) it is was the exact wrong thing to do when the boy behaved in the exactly correct responsible adult manor. Most 14 year olds, I figure, would shove it back in their pocket and hope it doesn't fall out during the day. Hell, I wouldn't have even thought of turning it in when I was 14. Hopefully this article (the newspaper, not my blog, I'm humbler than that) and the children's parents and friends will be enough to overturn this completely unjust suspension and possible expulsion. I'm not really worried about the expulsion, they'll pull through that.
"The school's rules: Warren Township Schools' code of conduct addresses both the possession of a weapon as well as knowledge of possession of a weapon. Students are required to report knowledge of weapons or threats of violence to the school administration." In this case one might argue that the single student both followed and broke the code of conduct, and was punished for both. Hell even seems kinda like a 5th amendment issue to me in this particular case. But the point is, no matter how 'bad' it might sound, "special consideration will be taken in unique circumstances," NEEDS to be added. No one in their right mind would argue this kid deserved this punishment. So why would the administration punish him? Because they were just following policy? Unthinking rule following is not a characteristic I like in my teachers or school administration.
What I worry about is this kid's, and every student in that school's, faith in public administration. Some mild contempt for the common law-man seems fairly ubiquitous no matter what walk of life they come from. And its my believe that this situation occurs directly from situations like these. Unjust punishments, completely insane unwarranted reactions in elementary, middle and high schools cause kids to loose faith. In some cases it teaches them to think more independently and question authority when it needs to be questioned, but other's it just breeds apathy and contempt for authority.
Elliot, 14, said he was walking to the school entrance in the brisk weather March 3 and had placed his hands in his coat pocket when he felt the Swiss army pocketknife in the pocket.
"I went straight to the office right inside (the front door)," he said.
He said he handed the knife to Teri Donahue, the school's treasurer, and told her he had brought it to school by mistake.
As a result of Elliot's actions, the school's principal, Jimmy Meadows, suspended Elliot for the maximum 10 school days as allowed by law and recommended Elliot be expelled. A confidential expulsion hearing is scheduled for April 10.
Zero tolerance makes zero sense; circumstance is everything in real life. This boy is going to school, to learn no doubt, probably without any intention of stabbing anyone or possibly trying to open a bottle of wine, and notices he has his pocket knife with him. At 14 years old, a pocket knife is pretty standard to have. All sorts of uses for a thing like that: boy scouts, any range of modeling hobbies, etc etc. And here in this case the boy goes "oh shit, I still have it in my coat pocket" and goes directly to the administration. Who promptly treat him slightly better than if the school janitor had to pry him off the still-warm corpse of the teacher who gave him a C on the last spelling quiz.
Though the administration did follow the exact policy set forth (Zero tolerance) it is was the exact wrong thing to do when the boy behaved in the exactly correct responsible adult manor. Most 14 year olds, I figure, would shove it back in their pocket and hope it doesn't fall out during the day. Hell, I wouldn't have even thought of turning it in when I was 14. Hopefully this article (the newspaper, not my blog, I'm humbler than that) and the children's parents and friends will be enough to overturn this completely unjust suspension and possible expulsion. I'm not really worried about the expulsion, they'll pull through that.
"The school's rules: Warren Township Schools' code of conduct addresses both the possession of a weapon as well as knowledge of possession of a weapon. Students are required to report knowledge of weapons or threats of violence to the school administration." In this case one might argue that the single student both followed and broke the code of conduct, and was punished for both. Hell even seems kinda like a 5th amendment issue to me in this particular case. But the point is, no matter how 'bad' it might sound, "special consideration will be taken in unique circumstances," NEEDS to be added. No one in their right mind would argue this kid deserved this punishment. So why would the administration punish him? Because they were just following policy? Unthinking rule following is not a characteristic I like in my teachers or school administration.
What I worry about is this kid's, and every student in that school's, faith in public administration. Some mild contempt for the common law-man seems fairly ubiquitous no matter what walk of life they come from. And its my believe that this situation occurs directly from situations like these. Unjust punishments, completely insane unwarranted reactions in elementary, middle and high schools cause kids to loose faith. In some cases it teaches them to think more independently and question authority when it needs to be questioned, but other's it just breeds apathy and contempt for authority.
posted by Marc at
11:31 AM
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