School Violence Poll for Parents

My son was put in that position. We had talked to an attorney that really wanted to take the case against the school but advised that it would be better for the child (my son) if we just let it go. Now my son has a record. He was arrested for supposedly assualt on a teacher. Guess what, assualt is not touching a teacher but if they are infear for their safety. If this teacher was so infear for her safety why would she let the child back into her class and let him do things for her???? Just a question. Even after all this he only got 3 days of suspension. Aren’t you suppose to be expelled. There are too many fishy things involved here……

Zero Tolerance does not take into consideration individual circumstances. No one knows my child as well as her father and I. If she explained a situation to us then we would believe what she told us. Someone who does not know her as well, would probably take a different view, possibly jumping to conclusions that aren’t even true. Zero Tolerance leaves too much power for the school authorities to “set an example,” even if the example is inappropriate for the circumstances. I understand some violence is very obvious and there is no doubt of it having happened or the reason for it. But sometimes an act of violence, really wasn’t. Just like five people looking at a painting. You’re going to have five different interpretations of what the picture is trying to convey. I think it would be too difficult to write up a Zero Tolerance school policy and stick with it. There will always be the chance some student was unjustly accused just because he/she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Innocent? Yes. But how do you then undo the harm to that student? Adults are accused wrongly everyday in society. To be subjecting a student to a Zero Tolerance policy is just too risky. It is much too easy to not get the whole facts. Especially when the school maybe does NOT WANT the whole facts, about a particular student.

I agree zero tolerance sounds great in theory. However, I have learned from experience that teachers (like most people) can be skewed. In second grade I was told my daughter was a discipline problem. When I repeated this to friends from our building they thought she must be nuts. (Same teacher had different rules for different kids and played favorites, a lot) While this teacher was probably an extreme example of playing favorites, it can happen a lot. Teachers see a kid dressed a certain way and often make assumptions. While not right, most people do the same thing. Its not fair to anyone to have a zero tolerance for situations because too much is open for debate and teachers are people not saints. So while we don’t want violence, if your kid bumps into another kid who then accuses them of hitting them, in a zero tolerance situation this end up with a record.

Zero tolerance for drugs I get, cause you either have them or you don’t but situations should never be zero tolerance. I also think zero tolerance for weapons should exist.

Because of this no child left behind crap and the laws that protect some of the EBD kids there can never be a zero tolerance policy that is fair to every student. Because the law protects those kids from being punished after so many times for their misbehavior they can pretty much rule the roost and they know it. These are the kids that cause most of the trouble at our school and they know they are not going to get in trouble in fact the whole time they are going to the office they are shouting “you can’t touch me, I’m special ED.” The other kid gets 5 days susp. and what do they get, 1 day at the most and sometimes not even that. It’s not their first offence either. And parents don’t think your kids won’t do one thing and swear to you they did something else. All kids lie. Think about it. The school is not out to get your child. If you think people are making assumptions about your child because of the way they dress then more than likely they must dress pretty radical. Face it, people are going to judge you your whole life no matter what. If two kids come in and have been in some kind of a big fight do any of you know a better way to hand out the punishment than to give the same to both. How can you believe what each person says. How can you believe what their friends say. Or other students say. Sure maybe one did start it, but very few people get beat up for no reason. This thing with these EBD kids not being punished like the rest just isn’t fair.

zero tolerance ia a mistake, im an a student so say if i get in a a fight or do something violent OR even if i didnt do it and was just there ill be given the same punishment as someone who is about to be sent to juvie, even if the other person started it, you cant defend yourself without getting in some sort of trouble, your expected just to let the other person beat on you until help comes. and i feel i should add this in, this acturally happens at my school, when a fight starts usually a crowd of kids gather to watch, and the campus supervisors will pick at random kids in the crowd to give punishments to. so even if your just happen too be sitting next to a person whose fighting you could be given the same punishment of the person whose fighting. the zero tolerance policy has turned the school system into a bloody facist regime, so to sum it up your expected to be a good little worker without free will,thought,speech and to be shallow,defensless and told what to think and not how to.

All school’s should have a zero tolerance to violent behavior and bullying. To many kids now a days learn that they can control parents and teachers with their behavior. There is no excuse for abuse.

Under zero tolerance any student involved in a fight, with a weapon, or with drugs can be suspended or expelled. This makes the crime of using cocaine in the school bathroom equal to the student who brings a asthma inhaler to school, but leaves there doctors note on the kitchen table(this is according to my schools policy, high schoolers need a doctors not to carry a epipen or inhaler, pain relievers may not be carried even with doctors notes). The kindergartener who brings a plastic ax to school with his fireman costume on halloween is treated the same way as the 16 year old who stabs a classmate. The person who is hit in the back of the head is just as much of a bully as the person doing the hitting.

Who does this really effect? I’d guess that the drug using, fight starting, violent students aren’t too concerned about school policy. If they don’t do something because it is right, I doubt they will do it because the school policy tells them to. It does effect the honors student who isn’t willing to take 15 minutes to wait in the nurses office to get pain relief for her broken knee because she isn’t willing to be late for class. It will effect the leader of the student government who won’t defend himself when he is assaulted by a school bully because he wants to keep his position. It will effect the middle student athlete who can’t eat lunch because her mouth routinely erupts in canker sores that she is not aloud to bring topical pain relief for. Punishment and treatment certainly should be given to students who engage in malicious, violent, or dangerous activities, but we should leave up to the digression of teachers whether the student is truly cuaseing harm or if they are doing something that is totally normal and healthy.