i was just reading the pleasant surprise in sunday school topic and notice the zero tolerance policy being mentioned. it makes me angry to think about it again. last year my daughter , then 4'10", 10 years old, was groped several times by a boy in her p.e. class, in front of her teacher/coach. we did not find out about this incident for several weeks. only when a behavior change led us to ask questions did we find out. our daughter told her coach when it happened, she said it was just boys being boys and not to mention it any more, our daughter obeyed,just as she'd been taught. when she did tell us she was crying her eyes out because she had the impression she was going to be in trouble at school because the coach had told her not to tell. we assured her that she would not get in to trouble and told her not to let these actions go unchallenged, the zero tolerance policy reared it's ugly head. the principal, a fellow deacon in the local baptist church informed me of how this policy worked.we asked to have our daughter moved into another class to get her away from this youngster, who was basically terrorizing since he found out there would be no reprisals, we were denied and told that if our daughter defended herself, she would be expelled from school no matter what provoked her. i told him to try it and the school would regret it. he just stared at me. aafter about a minute of a stairring contest he switched our daughter to the other 4th grade class. i told him that he would see to the discipline at school of all the students we probally would not have a prroblem with my child. my kid is very bright,very quiet, doesn't get into trouble, she's not an angel , i expect her to get in a little trouble now and then, but this was not what i consider normal 4th grade trouble. my mom was a teacher for 40 years, she said you haad to know when to let things handle themselves and when to stop them because they were more than kids could handle. we try to prepare our kid for the world, not childproof the world for them, zero tolerance goes against this. it looks like our school wants to have a bunch of clones , no thinking for yourself, only what you are told at school. it is scary to think that this type of thing goes on in a very small central texas school, i hate to think what goes on in a bigger crowd.
our daghter tried to let the school handle this youngster and we did too. we also taaught her how to defend herself. she had to at the start of this year. she put the little brat on the ground a times and he just kept coming, she planted her knee in his groin and we haven't heard any more about trouble with him. the teacher said she didn't see a thing when the little boy ran to the principal. then he started riding his bike over to the street in front of our house and trying to intimidate /terrorize our daughter after school. we live directly across from the local p.d.. we tried to get him to leave and he refused so the local law came out and haad talk with him, he informed them they couldn't do anything to him, boy was he wrong.
he does not bother my child any more.
this is not every little thing that happened, but the gist of the matter is that zero tolerance is not going to work. when we teach our kids not defend themselves against any attack, what does that make them when they are grown? a bunch of sheep who want the world fixed for them so they don't have to be responsible for defending themselves because they never have. i think we have some major problems facing us because what our kids are not being taught.
just a rant, not well thought out, but at least i think , many here in my community go blindly along as long as they are not pushed out of their comfort zone.
our daghter tried to let the school handle this youngster and we did too. we also taaught her how to defend herself. she had to at the start of this year. she put the little brat on the ground a times and he just kept coming, she planted her knee in his groin and we haven't heard any more about trouble with him. the teacher said she didn't see a thing when the little boy ran to the principal. then he started riding his bike over to the street in front of our house and trying to intimidate /terrorize our daughter after school. we live directly across from the local p.d.. we tried to get him to leave and he refused so the local law came out and haad talk with him, he informed them they couldn't do anything to him, boy was he wrong.
he does not bother my child any more.
this is not every little thing that happened, but the gist of the matter is that zero tolerance is not going to work. when we teach our kids not defend themselves against any attack, what does that make them when they are grown? a bunch of sheep who want the world fixed for them so they don't have to be responsible for defending themselves because they never have. i think we have some major problems facing us because what our kids are not being taught.
just a rant, not well thought out, but at least i think , many here in my community go blindly along as long as they are not pushed out of their comfort zone.