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Recently in my social studies class, we came across an article in The New York Times newspaper. Some
American students these days are finding themselves in a lot more
trouble than they
anticipated for "crimes" they committed in school... if you can even
call them crimes.
In the
mid '90s, some schools weren't able to control their students, who
were bringing guns and drugs to school and causing a very unsafe
enviroment, and so they established a zero-tolerance policy. It
means exactly what it says. No tolerance for any rule-breaking.
Some schools though, have taken zero-tolerance a little too
far. For example, on October 17, 2003, in Toledo, Ohio, a
14-year-old girl came to school in
a midriff top that was very low-cut. It was a clear violation of the
dress code. The teachers asked her to remove the clothing and put on an
alternative top they provided. She refused, stating the alternative was
"real ugly."
Her mother came to school with an extra-large T-shirt. That wouldn't
do, either.
Now, instead of sending the girl home and giving her a suspension, the
police
came to the school, arrested her, and held her in the nearby juvenile
detention center downtown until her mom could come and pick her up. The
police booked her on a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is a crime lower than
a felony, and if she had been taken to court and convicted, it would
have gone on her criminal record.
This wasn't the only case that happened, though. In October 2003, more
than two dozen kids were
arrested in Toledo for breaking a city law about "safe schools,"
including a couple of boys who stood in
the doorway of a girls' bathroom and turned the lights off.
Then there was the 8-year-old special-needs boy in northeast
Pennsylvania. He threw a
tantrum, took off his shoes, urinated on the floor and jumped around,
saying "Kids rule!" He was sent away to juvee (juvenile) court and
charged with "disorderly conduct." In another case, an 11-year-old
girl skipped class, "hiding out" in the school, and was arrested.
What kind of example is this for the students? I don't see what was
happening as a
problem in the students, I see it as a problem with the schools.
Principals should do their jobs. Why fill up courtrooms with this stuff
when they
could be dealing with real problems? These courts have become an
extension of the principals' office!
Well, I should probably go and eat
now but seriously, in the BBS tell me what you think about these
ordinance laws, Personally, I think teachers are becoming lazy. Why
should a kid playing a prank or a special needs kid who is having a
tantrum be arrested and have a criminal record. I think its ridiculous.
Tell me what you think.
Signing off-liltigerz
Editor's
Note: This article was based on http://nytimes.com/2004/01/04/education/04TOLE.html?hp, written in
January 2004. If anyone wants to investigate to find out how things are
going Toledo now, that would be stellar -- you could simply do an
internet search, or you could actually contact the author of the
article or get ahold of representatives in Toledo (for the school
and/or the city) and see what they all have to say about it. Now that's investigative journalism!
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