The zero-tolerance policies we have in the United States were adopted by public schools a few decades ago. Zero-tolerance initiatives made it so that students who misbehaved in schools were dealt with appropriately through suspensions and expulsions. These policies were put into place because many believed that they would make the schools a safer place for our children to learn, free of the typical classroom misbehaving child.
The raw data shows that this method of extreme punishment for acting out didn’t really make schools any more safe for students, and have led to the suspension and expulsion of students who may not have actually deserved such a punishment. Personally I think they need more of a positive reinforcement method than a negative one in a healthy learning environment. I think the zero-tolerance policy needs to be tweaked to ensure only students deserving of this type of punishment are on the receiving end and that those who are beginning to misbehave are responded to in a positive manner instead of severe punishments. Education is so important to our young people, keeping them in school and working around difficult situations is necessary. For some children, the schooling system is the only place where they getting positive feedback from adults. We need to be nurturing these relationships instead of giving up on unruly children.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/randi-weingarten-school-discipline-mistake-article-1.2426358
The topic of zero tolerance policies in education is a very hot button topic for me. I have always deduced these policies to zero thinking. I have never understood this concept, and it makes me angry that our local school district uses this sort of policy in response to fighting and drug usage. As far as I am concerned it is very easy to make a policy in which no thinking is necessary, such as expelling students that have drugs or alcohol in their possession like they do in my area. These school administrators don’t have to wonder about the repercussions for not helping out the individual that is clearly asking for help through their actions, because they think they are no longer an issue with which to be dealt. There are many ways in which to help individuals that are behaving in an undesirable way; suspension, counseling, time in an alternative school, detention, anger management training, mentoring programs, rehabilitation, and the list can go on and on. Education is the most important intervention that we can use to prevent the things that plague our communities, such as poverty and violence. It makes much more sense to me to help these individuals so that they can become strong members of society.