ONE SIZE FITS ALL IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE DOES NOT WORK

Should school districts suspend all students who make hand gestures in school that mimic a gun as part of a zero tolerance policy? I don’t think so.

Every event that calls for discipline in the life of a youngster is a teachable moment. What form of discipline a parent and/or authority figure employs goes a long way toward determining what lesson the child takes from that situation. Consider a boy who has just burned his finger from getting too close to a flame. You could hold out another of his fingers to the flame, and he would learn what it takes to be sadistic. You could beat the boy and he would learn how to be cruel. You could laugh at the boy’s mistake, and he would learn how to take pleasure from another person’s pain. You could tell the boy to turn off his tears and suck up his pain, and he would learn to be hard-hearted. You could mock the boy and he would learn how to inflict emotional pain with unkind words. You could embarrass the boy by broadcasting his misdeed, and he will learn how to humiliate. You could simply turn away and ignore the moment, and the boy would learn how to not care for the well-being of another individual. Or, you could tend to the boy’s burn, sympathize with his pain, explain why his actions were harmful and he will learn right from wrong and know that he is valued, even when he has done something wrong.

The zero tolerance violence policy enacted by legislatures and carried out by school district across this Nation is well-intended, but a one-size-fits-all approach frequently goes beyond the amount of discipline necessary to address a particular student’s need. When that occurs, children learn the wrong lesson and the goal of education – the development of a well-rounded, healthy student, is defeated.