A zero tolerance policy imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. President Ronald Reagan first introduced idea of 'zero tolerance' in schools to target gangs, drugs.Police are called to a school to deal with students acting out. This article is about how that approach has morphed over the years to cover less serious infractions.
I personally there is a smarter more effective ways to deal with obstinate teens than using force. Other schools across the country, mostly in cities like Oakland, California, and Chicago, have recently turned away from zero tolerance and started to approach discipline through conflict mediation. In recent years school violence has been a major issue and the only way to stop it is to approach the root of the trouble.
I agree that the 'zero tolerance' strategy is not necessarily the best strategy to keep violence out of schools. Teens need to be spoken to (like young adults) about the consequences of school violence and violence in general. If spoken to in a mature manner, teens will feel trusted and therefore maybe be less likely to have violent outbreaks.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, it's not that easy to change someone after a certain point, many people don't change at all. At the age where teens start getting into drugs (or whatever the case is) they're usually already too old for someone to suddenly try and shape their personality or ideals without being met with some sort of opposition. I personally think that the "zero tolerance" policy has good intentions but isn't the best way to go about things. Being strict can help in some cases with the right people but it can also work in the opposite way, causing rebellion within the people who they're trying to control. I think that it would really help to educate the people who raise them or start teaching that at a young age in school about these kinds of things, so they're able to grow up knowing the consequences of their actions and how it can affect others.
ReplyDeleteShelby Linker, 8th period