School officials in Newark, Delaware have given the nation another example of mindless “zero-tolerance” abuse. In this case, officials suspended 6-year-old Zachary Christie because the boy brought his new cub scout camping utensils to school to eat his lunch. Because the utensil had a small knife, he was suspended and ordered to spend the next 45 days in the district’s reform school.
I have previously written about the lunacy of these zero tolerance policies and the decision by many school officials to sacrifice children rather than exercise a degree of common sense. For earlier entries, click here and here and here. For a prior column on the issue, click here.
This camping device has the standard knife, fork and spoon for kids. Nevertheless, Christina School District believes in blind punishment where teachers do not have to exercise judgment or discretion — regardless of the harm to an innocent child. The district stood by its decision by proudly citing its refusal to consider relevant facts: “At this time, the Student Code of Conduct does not take into consideration a child’s age in a Level three offense.” What type of citizens are we shaping under the care of such adults? These children are learning that the law is arbitrary and authority figures can mete out punishment on an arbitrary and capricious basis.
For the full story, click here.
How do we spell stupid? This is Delaware, Newark? “Nu Ark” Still sounds like education has lost it primary focus.
This decision is insane on many levels and the school administration and school board are fit to run nothing.
None of these fools remember what it is like to be six years old.
Here was an excited little boy, a new Cub Scout, whose parents had bought him his uniform and equipment. He brought it to school bursting with pride to show his friends he was a Cub Scout and these zero tolerance morons made it into a horrendous crime. Imagine that child’s feelings of shame and confusion.
If you can’t remember what it is like to be a child, you have no right or talent for providing education for children.
“Zero Tolerance” as a policy means “zero thought” and inevitably leads to abuse of this kind. This is the same as mandatory sentencing guidelines. The backers of both are almost all authoritarian personalities that have little tolerance for human differences. They believe in a system of morality that has no place in its concept for the visceral feelings that inform much of human behavior.
We read Les Miserables, or see the musical and marvel at how the hero is hounded for years because of a particular act interpreted through the lens of “zero tolerance.” Yet an approving public follows crackpot politicians, educators and parents into the same trap.
Finally, to have this boy spend 45 days in the Districts “Reform School,” takes the original error and compounds it many times. My heart goes out to this child and my contempt for his persecutors is boundless.
Cruel and unusual punishment.
These school officials have obviously forgotten what it is like to be an adult.
This is even more outrageous than reading about all the Republicans screaming in agony over the current Nobel Peace prize winner. What kind of dolts do they have in charge of the schools in Delaware, anyway? You don’t take a six-year-old out of his home, away from his parents and everything familiar to him, and put him in reform school because that little guy proudly wanted to show off evidence that he is now a cub scout. Where is the intent to “commit a crime?” Was it not possible for one of these so-called grown-ups to take this instrument of death and torture away from the child and explain to him (preferably without making him cry and feel like a criminal) that he can’t bring pointy things to school, and maybe explain it to his mother also? Or would that be too difficult?
Somebody with a functional brain needs to step in here and put a stop to this kind of ignorance. I nominate Barack Obama for the job. Maybe if the President of the United States explained the child’s teacher, the principal, and the school board in Delaware that six-year-old’s do not always understand Big People rules and are not necessarily up on the latest court rulings, they might turn their attention to education instead of gestapo like tactics on children. Six-year-olds hardly ever go to school to commit mayhem and murder. Exactly what has this little boy learned from this experience, other than that being a Cub Scout is equal to joining a street gang?
I wonder if these “zero-tolerance” policies are in response to a perceived tort-happy environment. The schools may be trying to minimize their liability exposure with these policies.
It still pisses me off.
nal—
You wrote: I wonder if these “zero-tolerance” policies are in response to a perceived tort-happy environment. The schools may be trying to minimize their liability exposure with these policies.
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I can agree with that. I was a public school teacher for more than three decades—and believe me when I say that schools are often blamed for bad things that happen to their pupils even off of school property outside of school hours. That said, many of these “zero-tolerance” policies go beyond the pale…and beyond good judgment and common sense. Suspending that six-year-old for forty-five days is idiotic.
I believe policies like these are instituted because they relieve administrators from making decisions in certain types of situations that may be called into question later if something bad happens. They can say: “I was just following the district’s rules.”
A teacher or administrator could have taken Zachary aside and quietly explained to him that his camping utensils couldn’t be brought to school because of the rules. The utensils could have been taken away—and then returned to his parents…along with an explanation of the “zero-tolerance” policies.
On another litigious school topic: One year, some parents in the affluent community where I taught threatened to sue the high school after they found out that their children weren’t nominated for the National Honor Society. You can probably figure out how this story turned out.
America is obviously way ahead of the rest of the world in preventative incarceration/detention/punishment.
We’re Number 1!
Elaine,
I think your have it right about the avoidance of responsibility.
It causes me wonder though to realize that school personal would do something this ridiculous. Have they no shame or is it like some teachers I knew to whom it was just a job?
Mike Spindell.
Your comments are spot on. Welcome to the United States of Great Britain – it’s just as potty over here. They are trying to ban the Boy Scouts.
Maaarrghk!,
What is happening over there? I always thought Great Britain was more sensible than the US, but lately we’ve seen some strange stories circulationg.
Mike,
It isn’t the teachers who make up these dumb rules. They’re usually the ones, however, required to follow through with them–because they’re the ones who are interacting with students.
In one way, I think these policies are instituted to relieve the fears of parents–to help them to feel that their children are safe in school.
Look…our country went crazy after 9/11. Look at the Patriot Act, starting a pre-emptive war, the torture of detainess…I could go on. But you rarely hear the same kind of outcry from the news media or the public about such things as you will about the situation of poor little Zachary. I just wonder about the mindset of many of my fellow citizens.
BTW, there certainly are educators for whom teaching is just a job. I know–my daughter had a few of them during her thirteen years spent in public school. But there are a lot more who are dedicated professionals–teachers who put in long hours and spend their own money on other people’s children. I know that from firsthand experience.
Elaine,
I’ve no wish to bash teaching and it is an honorable profession in general. However, quality, like with any profession varies. I suspect that this is also a factor of the State and the individual school district. My girls also had some wonderful teachers along with some bad ones and we were in a highly rated school district.
you’re quite right about this being an after-effect of 9/11, because there is a slippery slope down from illegal wars, torture, hatred of a class of people, etc. that bottoms out with authoritarian mindsets at local levels. There has also been a concerted effort by fundamentalists and certain conservative elements to “dumb down” the curriculum and leave students uneducated about science, the world and even the way their government run. In this teachers are for the most part innocent bystanders.
Mike,
Your chronology is a bit off. The Columbine tragedy accelerated an already established trend toward “zero tolerance.”
Mike,
I have to agree with Elaine that this kind of policy is made by the school board and the administration. The teachers are the ones who are stuck with trying to follow the rule or face discipline themselves. The zero tolerance policy is just an excuse for the administration to not have to actually use their heads with each individual situation.
Elaine M:
“It isn’t the teachers who make up these dumb rules. They’re usually the ones, however, required to follow through with them–because they’re the ones who are interacting with students.”
…
“But there are a lot more who are dedicated professionals–teachers who put in long hours and spend their own money on other people’s children. I know that from firsthand experience.”
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Speaking for me and in the paraphrased words of my deceased father who was a fine educator, one can never be regarded as a true professional until one exercises independent professional judgment and is willing to bear the consequences of that decision. When one reaches that level of integrity, he/she ceases to be a mere employee; he/she becomes a professional. I see employees here.
Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.
–Douglas Bader
Update.
According to the BBC News website, the school has seen some sense and reduced punishment to a 3 to 5 day suspension. Still extreme but a big step in the right direction.
Mike. As to what’s going on over here in Blighty, it’s a long story, basically of a decline in standards due to a decline in simple dicipline – teachers can’t punish kids so the kids misbehave, knowing they are untouchable. This means that kids cannot be taught to as high a standard as previously. So exams are made easier. A general decline in standards right across the board.
mespo727272–
I agree that educators should be willing to speak out and to exercise their best professional judgment. Unfortunately, few people care to hear what we teachers have to say. And all too often teachers fear losing their jobs and not finding another. That’s a fact of life–not just in teaching but in other professions and other lines of work as well.
I know well the consequences of a teacher having differences of opinion with an administrator–being yelled at in in front of one’s peers in staff meetings, is just one of them. There’s also the practice of principles giving “troublesome” teachers more than their share of challenging children. Some of us didn’t mind that so much. But when the new craze for high stakes testing came into vogue and I could see that prepping my students for them would probably become the main focus of my work–I knew it was time for me to take an early retirement.
And because I’m now retired, why, I’ve got plenty of time on my hands to follow Professor Turley’s blog…and to comment from time to time.
Elaine M:
“Unfortunately, few people care to hear what we teachers have to say.”
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I don’t think teachers are routinely ignored by decision makers but I agree their views are not always adequately considered. I do think their voices would be more persuasive if the leaders of the profession were more willing to take principled stands in support of their charges. A profession’s respect among decision makers is in direct proportion to its willingness to adhere to principle over base self-interest. That’s why physicians fair better than hair dressers in the legislature.
mespo727272–
“I don’t think teachers are routinely ignored by decision makers but I agree their views are not always adequately considered.”
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Ignored or not adequately considered…I guess to me that would be like six of one–a half dozen of the other.
Often when teachers take principled stands, they’re accused of fighting for their own self-interest. Maybe that’s because what’s best for students can also be good for teachers–like smaller class sizes (especially in the early grades)–like having healthy buildings to teach and learn in.
It may be that my experience in teaching was atypical. I worked with many intelligent, principled teachers who had the audacity to speak truth to power. Unfortunately, there were too many times when our voices weren’t heard.
Gyges, Rafflaw, Mespo & Elaine.
Good catch on Columbine Gyges, slipped my mind, that was a huge factor.
Re: the points about a teacher’s standing up to the system, that is a factor of where they teach.
In NYC for instance, with a powerful union, teachers have the ability to stand up to the system and confront administration without fearing loss of their jobs and ultimately being able to fight harassment. An NYC teacher, who then against their conscience, would not speak truth to power was just as bad as those perpetuating the particular bad policy.
In Newark, Deleware I suspect the same protection to speak one’s mind is not afforded and so the consequences are higher, especially to a middle-class person who needs the job. Then too as Elaine referenced there is the harassment element and many of us are unable to face the opprobrium of our bosses and peers.
To me the most problemmatic features of this is that the educational system has been intentionally “dumbed down” in perhaps the last four decades. This makes for many teachers who frankly are not as well educated as those they’ve replaced. The second is the “no child left behind” concept, that actually rigs the system to “dumb down” education further by relying on standardized testing as the test of effectiveness. The need to prep students for theses tests leaves out the most important part of education which is to teach people to think with a modicum of logic.
Finally, the organization of religious fundamentalists to take over school boards at the local level, empowers a pernicious element with a clear cut agenda, to transform local education into an arm of religious ignorance. To the extent they are successful, this produces students who are even less equipped to think.
Correction!!! I just realized I misspelled a word in my post at 2:50 am.
I wrote: There’s also the practice of principles giving “troublesome” teachers more than their share of challenging children.
“Principles” should have read “principals.”
That’s what I get for writing comments in the wee hours of the morning. Mea culpa!
Elaine,
If a former English teacher can make such a mistake then I should forever be immune from criticism about my run-on sentence structure and inability to know where to place commas.
Mike S.,
Hmmm, I have been accused of the same.
Elaine M:
The point that I inarticulately attempted to make was that teachers’ views are rarely simply ignored. I think their views are not properly considered precisely because they do not make a ruckus when denied the relief they sought. I believe it has to do with the hierarchical nature of the school administration where dissent is rarely tolerated. This attitude of submissiveness is even being visited on the students as we have discussed many times on this blog. Mike S’s point about unions is a good one. In those states, teachers can speak their minds and enjoy academic freedom to promote both their interests and that of their students.
Finally, on your last point about the spelling of “principal” and old bromide — taught to me by one of the good Sisters of Charity — comes to mind: “One should always to remain ‘pals’ with the ‘principal,’” thus emphasizing the last three letters of the title which do cause the most problems. Talk about a submissive attitude–try a parochial school
Mike,
As someone who was in Highschool in Colorado at the time Columbine took place, I have a handful of zero tolerance stories that make this one look almost reasonable:
Like the honors student licensed life guard (who was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known) suspended for having a small pocket knife in the (unopened) first aid kit in her car at the far end of the parking lot from the school. Or the girl they threatened to suspend because she had a one inch long knife charm on her necklace (it was a religious symbol of some sorts). My personal favorite was the guy who was told he couldn’t wear his overcoat on school grounds (there were a couple of different buildings that classes were held in), In the middle of a fairly heavy snow, over a suit he was wearing to give his campaign speech for some student council position.
Mike Spindell–
You wrote: “The second is the “no child left behind” concept, that actually rigs the system to “dumb down” education further by relying on standardized testing as the test of effectiveness. The need to prep students for theses tests leaves out the most important part of education which is to teach people to think with a modicum of logic.”
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The over-reliance on testing to determine the educational effectiveness of schools and teachers and to chart the scholastic achievement of students follows along the same path as the “zero-tolerance” policies. The machine-scored results are presented in black and white. The results place children in different categories of achievement/lack of achievement. There’s no input from the teachers who actually work with the children and have insight into what the kids know and can do. But that kind of personal human evaluation can’t be quantified. It’s so much easier to use standardized tests.
What’s happening in education now is a process of pushing kids along through subject matter quickly–often not providing them with time to reflect upon the things they’ve learned, to explore their creativity, to contemplate. I’m worried about the effect this will have on our youth after years spent prepping for tests in school.
I’m not anti-testing. I believe there are tests that can actually provide valuable information to educators. I just think there is way too much reliance on these standardized tests to determine where kids fit on the educational ladder of success. The tests are becoming the driving force in American education. That’s sad.
BTW, I was an elementary school teacher. I taught all subjets–including English.
mespo727272–
I don’t need to try a parochial school–I’m the product of a parochial school education. Once I was safely away from the tentacles of the Sisters of Notre Dame I learned how not to be submissive…with a vengeance!
Elaine M:
“I don’t need to try a parochial school–I’m the product of a parochial school education.”
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Congrats on your survivor status!
Gyges,
That’s frightening and frightening too is that all the stories about Columbine seemd to draw the wrong inferences. The next is personal, but I think relevant. I was an unhappy student, with a high IQ and adult’s vocabulary, who was so bored by the pace/quality of learning that today I’d be considered to be hyper-active. My father, a large man who grew up a fighter because of the anti-Jewishness in Brooklyn, encouraged me to be tough and as his loving son I worked at it. Consequently, I was constantly in fights in school, mainly because my
vocabulary and language marked me as peculiar and I used to get called a “faggot” a lot, which would lead me to hit someone.
The teachers saw me as an underachieving brawler, with a big mouth and I was deemed a “problem child.” This pattern continued on to High School and frankly the only thing that saved me was I was a natural test taker and so the school administrations understood I was bright and I could pass any final they threw at me, except for French. SAT’s got this C- student into college with a full scholarship and the ability to cram got me through.
When Columbine occured it struck a chord in me, frankly because I was such an angry kid, if guns were available back then, I’m not sure if that couldn’t have been me. School systems countrywide allow the alienation and brutalization of kids who are different. Jocks, pretty girls and diligent honors students are looked upon favorably by school administrations. Others with psychological problems, bored by the work and who exhibit non-conformity like myself become pariahs with both their fellow students and faculty. At this critical age of puberty, with the innate drive for acceptance it brings, they are painfully exposed to scorn and ridicule. America is a land that takes pride in macho exhibitions and disdains non-conformity (60′s were an exception)in the sense it must be covered with one’s own hypocrisy. One can’t excuse these kids, but one can understand them especially in a land where gun ownership trumps much else.
Our school systems are really school factories, where the rejects are discarded. Their emphasis on learning by age level has little to do with how individual children learn and grow, much less their innate capacities. There is a wonderful book named “Summerhill” by A.S. Neil, who shows what can be done with a school that appreciates its’ children’s differences in maturaturation and learning rates. The school factory system, in tandem with America’s Cowboy mythos, guarantees that Columbine was not an isolated occurence and that the “reforms” put in place exhibit a woeful lack of understanding of the problem.
“I just think there is way too much reliance on these standardized tests to determine where kids fit on the educational ladder of success.”
Elaine,
As I just wrote above standardized tests actually pulled the brawling underachiever, who refused to do homework through. Long years of therapy and much thoughts about life have made me somewhat sanguine about them, even though they worked to my benefit. Somewhere in my 20′s I learned that there is no substitute for hard work and diligence if one wishes to achieve. It gave me new perspective on those drones I knew in high School that would work so hard to achieve academic success, whereas I could game the system. I write well only because i’m very well-read and have some idea of how to construct sentences. I’d write better if I had taken the time to learn the basic rules of grammar, rather than watching TV. I regret the fact that I’m nowhere near multi-lingual and that is a direct effect of my lack of effort way back then. My children have surpassed me and that gives me pleasure and luckily despite earlier peccadillos I di pretty well myself.