I'll Pop If I Want To
There is a great scene toward the end of the film Quiz Show, where Charles Van Doren is testifying before a Congressional hearing and he finally admits his role in the quiz show scandals. He finishes his bit, and somewhere in the hall, one of the audience begins the slow clap as if it were a John Hughes film and not Serious Business. One of the Representatives says "Hey, wait a minute, you still cheated and lied. You don't get extra credit for eventually telling the truth." I thought this a very pertinent and apropos message, and I think it applies to life in general as well.
(That particular moment is only second most awesome: the best bit is when Charles Van Doren dethrones Herb Stempel with the answer of "In my PANTS, Jack.")
Selena, a twelve-year-old junior high student from Renton, Washington brought a party popper to school. She gave it to one of her friends, and he popped it. (For my international audience, I think you call that a "Christmas Cracker." You pull a teeny string and a teeny explosion pops a little cardboard bit and some confetti pops out. Yay Fun.)
One of the higher ups at school found out about it, and an Inquisition like no other began. By the end of it all, Selena was suspended for the remainder of the school year, twenty-two days, all told. Renton School District stood by their decision for a long time, stonewalling and spinning like the best of 'em, until eventually sanity gripped the administration. After a hearing and some negotiation, their line is that they "never wanted to take Selena out for the whole year," instead hoping to impress upon her the seriousness of bringing a party popper to school.
To which I ask, Really?
I completely understand how schools want to keep weapons and drugs and stuff off campus, but the "ZERO TOLERANCE!" mindset gives us stories like this, or the kid who was kicked out because mom accidentally left a butter knife in the bag with a PB&J. Or the Cub Scout who was suspended because he brought his eating tool thing to lunch, and it had a knife blade. Or when someone gives an aspirin to a class mate. And on and on.
Zero Tolerance means that discipline is easy. It means discipline no longer has to be judged, you just look it up on the chart. What happens if the case is still on Selena's record, that she "brought an explosive device" to junior high? What college entrance administrator is going to look at that and say "Hm, that looks terribly vague. I'm going to make a phone call to the school to see what this is all about." Hells no! It could be a bomb or one of those squeeze pop things you can get at 4th of July, it doesn't matter, her file would be set aside and someone else is admitted to college.
The school district doesn't get any credit for doing the right thing eventually. Instead of clinging to their ideology lke a Borg, someone should have said "Hey, this is just a tiny tube. There's almost no explosive power here. It just goes Piff! and that's all. Get back to class, you little scamp!" and that was it. At least in this case there was a parent on the side of the kid instead of one who would just give in to the mindlessness, saying "you can't fight city hall," and letting the administrators win. Any bonus points in this case go to Louis Green, Selena's stepdad. I hope more parents would be like him, taking on the collectivist insanity of a bunch of people who can't think for themselves.
(That particular moment is only second most awesome: the best bit is when Charles Van Doren dethrones Herb Stempel with the answer of "In my PANTS, Jack.")
Selena, a twelve-year-old junior high student from Renton, Washington brought a party popper to school. She gave it to one of her friends, and he popped it. (For my international audience, I think you call that a "Christmas Cracker." You pull a teeny string and a teeny explosion pops a little cardboard bit and some confetti pops out. Yay Fun.)
One of the higher ups at school found out about it, and an Inquisition like no other began. By the end of it all, Selena was suspended for the remainder of the school year, twenty-two days, all told. Renton School District stood by their decision for a long time, stonewalling and spinning like the best of 'em, until eventually sanity gripped the administration. After a hearing and some negotiation, their line is that they "never wanted to take Selena out for the whole year," instead hoping to impress upon her the seriousness of bringing a party popper to school.
To which I ask, Really?
I completely understand how schools want to keep weapons and drugs and stuff off campus, but the "ZERO TOLERANCE!" mindset gives us stories like this, or the kid who was kicked out because mom accidentally left a butter knife in the bag with a PB&J. Or the Cub Scout who was suspended because he brought his eating tool thing to lunch, and it had a knife blade. Or when someone gives an aspirin to a class mate. And on and on.
Zero Tolerance means that discipline is easy. It means discipline no longer has to be judged, you just look it up on the chart. What happens if the case is still on Selena's record, that she "brought an explosive device" to junior high? What college entrance administrator is going to look at that and say "Hm, that looks terribly vague. I'm going to make a phone call to the school to see what this is all about." Hells no! It could be a bomb or one of those squeeze pop things you can get at 4th of July, it doesn't matter, her file would be set aside and someone else is admitted to college.
The school district doesn't get any credit for doing the right thing eventually. Instead of clinging to their ideology lke a Borg, someone should have said "Hey, this is just a tiny tube. There's almost no explosive power here. It just goes Piff! and that's all. Get back to class, you little scamp!" and that was it. At least in this case there was a parent on the side of the kid instead of one who would just give in to the mindlessness, saying "you can't fight city hall," and letting the administrators win. Any bonus points in this case go to Louis Green, Selena's stepdad. I hope more parents would be like him, taking on the collectivist insanity of a bunch of people who can't think for themselves.