Breaking School Policy to Benefit Students’ Future
Public schools are considered a second home by many students due to the fact that most of the hours of their days are spent in a class or on campus. With that being said, schools have the responsibility to not only educate students, but to keep them safe from the dangers of the outside world. Schools should be a place where the students go to gain knowledge, develop social skills, and grow as individuals in society. According to the course text, Understanding Violence and Victimization, there have been a number of incidents and acts of violence directed at students and teachers in school (Meadows, 2014). When students attend school, their primary focus should be on learning, without having …show more content…
In response to general fears about crimes and addressing the problems of weapons in schools, the federal government passed the Gun–Free Schools Act of 1994. In order to qualify for federal funding schools are required to expel any student who brings a firearm to school, at least one-year mandatory. (Meadows, 2014) Consequently, many schools have adopted zero tolerance policies for bringing a weapon to school. The zero tolerance policy “is a school or district policy that mandates predetermined consequences or punishments for specific offenses that are intended to be applied regardless of the seriousness of the behavior…” (Teske, S. C., Huff, B., & Graves, C.,2013). This includes bringing any weapon to school such items consist of toy swords, scissors, and nail clippers. Fighting and threatening students and teacher or saying anything that can be perceived as a threat. Any behavior considered disruptive like cutting in a lunch line, swearing or talking back to a teacher. These types of “delinquent behaviors” result in suspension or expulsion of the …show more content…
Or are they creating a hostile environment with harsh discipline rules in which, if students do not comply they are immediately removed from school? I believe that the zero tolerance policy should be changed by completely removing “suspension or expulsion” from it because it is depriving students from receiving their education due to some minor infractions. The zero tolerance policy is a great strategy to maintain discipline in schools, but I also believe that schools should learn how to apply discipline depending on the circumstance of the situation. In a case where a student brings a gun or a knife to school with the intention of hurting themselves, peers, or the staff I believe that person should be arrested and taken to jail. Moreover, in a case where a student committed a minor violation in which it can be proved they had no bad intentions, they should not be suspended (as we saw in the case of the ten-year-old girl). Instead they will be required to volunteer in their community. The severity of their offense will determine the amount of hours they have to contribute doing community service. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer on the weekends at church, a club or shelter instead of being expelled or suspended. I believe that this will help students become more engaged in their community and help them in their future. Students will record the
Public schools are considered a second home by many students due to the fact that most of the hours of their days are spent in a class or on campus. With that being said, schools have the responsibility to not only educate students, but to keep them safe from the dangers of the outside world. Schools should be a place where the students go to gain knowledge, develop social skills, and grow as individuals in society. According to the course text, Understanding Violence and Victimization, there have been a number of incidents and acts of violence directed at students and teachers in school (Meadows, 2014). When students attend school, their primary focus should be on learning, without having …show more content…
In response to general fears about crimes and addressing the problems of weapons in schools, the federal government passed the Gun–Free Schools Act of 1994. In order to qualify for federal funding schools are required to expel any student who brings a firearm to school, at least one-year mandatory. (Meadows, 2014) Consequently, many schools have adopted zero tolerance policies for bringing a weapon to school. The zero tolerance policy “is a school or district policy that mandates predetermined consequences or punishments for specific offenses that are intended to be applied regardless of the seriousness of the behavior…” (Teske, S. C., Huff, B., & Graves, C.,2013). This includes bringing any weapon to school such items consist of toy swords, scissors, and nail clippers. Fighting and threatening students and teacher or saying anything that can be perceived as a threat. Any behavior considered disruptive like cutting in a lunch line, swearing or talking back to a teacher. These types of “delinquent behaviors” result in suspension or expulsion of the …show more content…
Or are they creating a hostile environment with harsh discipline rules in which, if students do not comply they are immediately removed from school? I believe that the zero tolerance policy should be changed by completely removing “suspension or expulsion” from it because it is depriving students from receiving their education due to some minor infractions. The zero tolerance policy is a great strategy to maintain discipline in schools, but I also believe that schools should learn how to apply discipline depending on the circumstance of the situation. In a case where a student brings a gun or a knife to school with the intention of hurting themselves, peers, or the staff I believe that person should be arrested and taken to jail. Moreover, in a case where a student committed a minor violation in which it can be proved they had no bad intentions, they should not be suspended (as we saw in the case of the ten-year-old girl). Instead they will be required to volunteer in their community. The severity of their offense will determine the amount of hours they have to contribute doing community service. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer on the weekends at church, a club or shelter instead of being expelled or suspended. I believe that this will help students become more engaged in their community and help them in their future. Students will record the