Comments on: Zero Tolerance too Strict? http://www.bloggernews.net/122863 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:39:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Elizabeth Bennett http://www.bloggernews.net/122863#comment-1439252 Elizabeth Bennett Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:28:36 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/122863#comment-1439252 Thank you Karen for commenting on my blog. Children do need to be able to be children. What I believe children are lacking today is empathy and good manners. It is not hard to teach these at all but I guess values and have an understanding of others around us is not as important as it once was. Zero tolerance tends to get the wrong children as well. I have known of children taking a knife or other object to school for protection from a bully and whala! The child gets expelled no questions asked while the bully goes on ahead like nothing ever happened. There is no accountablity in this and there needs to be investigations as to why these items are even brought to school. Again, thank you and have a great weekend! Take Care, Elizabeth Thank you Karen for commenting on my blog. Children do need to be able to be children. What I believe children are lacking today is empathy and good manners. It is not hard to teach these at all but I guess values and have an understanding of others around us is not as important as it once was.

Zero tolerance tends to get the wrong children as well. I have known of children taking a knife or other object to school for protection from a bully and whala! The child gets expelled no questions asked while the bully goes on ahead like nothing ever happened. There is no accountablity in this and there needs to be investigations as to why these items are even brought to school.

Again, thank you and have a great weekend!

Take Care,
Elizabeth

]]> By: Karen Bessey Pease http://www.bloggernews.net/122863#comment-1438739 Karen Bessey Pease Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:02:08 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/122863#comment-1438739 I agree, a 'zero tolerance' policy is not only too strict, but it can inadvertently harm those children who were innocently doing what comes naturally to them...being children. I recall an incident a few years ago when a youngster took his french fry from his lunch tray. He held it like it was a gun, pointed it at someone, and said, 'Pow'. And the hammer came down. We are not allowing our children to act like kids. When I read that story, I got a chill. That was EXACTLY like something my sons would do...like many boys (and a few girls) would try. It's pretend. Make believe. Imagination! It's 'cowboys and Indians'! (Although, in today's politically correct world, perhaps I should say, 'cattlepersons and Native Americans'! Every child cannot be presumed to be 'bad' just because they display the occasional lack of inhibition or pull a 'bonehead moment'. We need to find a way to concentrate on the real problems, and stop thinking a 'one size fits all' approach is going to work. Our children need to be children, and not tagged as 'trouble' unnecessarily. It will take hard work and vigilance, but it is, in my opinion, worth it. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bessey Pease Author of YA fiction Grumble Bluff I agree, a ‘zero tolerance’ policy is not only too strict, but it can inadvertently harm those children who were innocently doing what comes naturally to them…being children. I recall an incident a few years ago when a youngster took his french fry from his lunch tray. He held it like it was a gun, pointed it at someone, and said, ‘Pow’. And the hammer came down.

We are not allowing our children to act like kids. When I read that story, I got a chill. That was EXACTLY like something my sons would do…like many boys (and a few girls) would try. It’s pretend. Make believe. Imagination! It’s ‘cowboys and Indians’! (Although, in today’s politically correct world, perhaps I should say, ‘cattlepersons and Native Americans’! Every child cannot be presumed to be ‘bad’ just because they display the occasional lack of inhibition or pull a ‘bonehead moment’. We need to find a way to concentrate on the real problems, and stop thinking a ‘one size fits all’ approach is going to work.

Our children need to be children, and not tagged as ‘trouble’ unnecessarily. It will take hard work and vigilance, but it is, in my opinion, worth it.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen Bessey Pease
Author of YA fiction
Grumble Bluff

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