Weapons in School: Zero Tolerance

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by monster

But the whole thing bout "zero tolerance" is the "why" is irrelevant. ...

Policies (or parts thereof in this case) may just be guidelines that allow for judgment calls based upon the circumstances, they're not always definitive. Consider a child who gets into a disagreement with a teacher (perhaps over what the child should be concentrating on during class) and is admonished; then, the child sits down and draws a picture of a gun knowing full well the teacher is going to see it. That's harassment; but, the teacher may find it difficult to prove because the child, well, "he is a boy" and that's what boys do. Sometimes pictures are innocent; but, sometimes they're indications of something else going on. Parents can be the last to acknowledge that since their children's actions reflect opon them. Keep an open mind.

... Drawing a picture of gun? HTF is that a threat to the safety of any other student?

No brainer: It can be an early indicator of something that may escalate into harm to others; or, self-inflicted harm. You can't advocate teaching other kids to just shrug it off in today's proactive environment of school violence awareness without coming off as being egocentric.