This is something that I only do when I hear something on the news that sounds so absurd, I just gotta say something about it.
It seems that an elementary school in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, came under fire during a school tradition: Graduating 5th-Graders decorating their mortarboards, some of them with toy soldiers.
According to this news story, students were told by their principal to cut off the weapons held by miniature toy soldiers, as it violated the school's "zero-tolerance policy" on weapons!
Look at this picture of a typical toy soldier. Does this look like it could render harm to a child like a real weapon could. No! Granted, we live in a society in which unpredictable things can happen to anyone at any time, but give me a friggin' break here! Because of tragic events like Columbine and Virginia Tech, schools across the country have jerked their collective knees and instituted so-called "zero-tolerance policies" for the safety of the students, not only for weapons, but for drugs, too.Now, I will be the first to speak up and say that schools need to be safe, but "zero-tolerance" ain't the way to go, people. All they do is cause more problems than they solve.
I'm sure that equally ridiculous stories have fallen your way in the past. Like the Kindergartener who got suspended for bringing a plastic picnic knife so he could cut cookies. Or the boy who got kicked out because he shared a some cold pills with a fellow student, who just happened to be his cousin and on the same prescription. Any way you look at it, I can sum it up in one word: overkill. Take these hypothetical situations:
Fighting -- An honor student has a flawless record, until he gets involved in one fight halfway through his senior year; as a result, he is forced to sit out the rest of the year. Like it or not, most students will get into at least one fight (and I mean an "old school" fight, with fists) before they get their diplomas. It takes two to tango, we all know that, but the honor student wouldn't be the kind to start it, right? He (or she) who starts it should receive the stronger punishment, especially if that student has a history of fighting!
Drugs -- A high-school girl gets expelled because a teacher saw her pull an over-the-counter menstrual cramp medicine from her locker, on the grounds that she is in possession of a drug. Now, what kind of society do we have to live in, in which a young lady needs to ask to be excused to the Nurse's Office so she could have her Pamprin ADMINISTERED to her?!
Weapons -- The story I reference is a strong case for this, but there are many publicized examples. Believe it or not, this is almost the worst of these policies. If you think about it, nearly anything can be a weapon! You can put an eye out with a spork. You can strangle someone with a shoelace or a belt. Those rulers with the metal edge can cut somebody. And I have been stabbed by a sharpened pencil before (Okay, it was accidentally self-inflicted, but I think you get my point here). For this to work, students might as well be naked and forced to do their assignments using only white-board markers and crayons!
Cell Phones -- This is the most ridiculous policy of all! There are schools who have this rule, and it is basically unenforceable! See what I mean in this story out of Norfolk, Virginia!
A water pistol is not a firearm. A plastic knife is not a switchblade. Aspirin is not a narcotic. Cell phones are not the only way to disrupt a class, cheat on tests, take surreptitious pictures, etc. If you are involved with the public school system in any way (employee, parent, or student), you need to open your eyes and do something about these policies, before a six-year-old gets arrested because she throws a tantrum. What? Damn, too late. It's happened already.
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