2 Cents: Zero Tolerance

Zero tolerance. Is that what we have come to? No common sense, no flexibility, no sense of doing the right thing. Several stories have been covered this week about good kids, being kids, getting caught up in ridiculous black and white rules. 

A six year old who had just joined the cub scouts, was going to be sent to reform school for 45 days for bringing his camping tool to school to eat lunch. Another eagle scout for having a pocket knife in his glove compartment. This may hurt his chances for a life long dream of getting into West Point.

Zero tolerance is a crutch. This policy enables anyone in management to absolve themselves of the responsibility of making a reasonable, fair judgment call. I am sure the legal eagles have advised in favor of these policies to keep everyone out of trouble. Legal protection for administration trumps what is best for our kids. We need rules, but the easy way out is very rarely the best.

What are we teaching our youth? We are going down the path of assuming the worst in our youth as opposed to assuming the best. And that is the message we are teaching them. 

As for the two kids I mentioned, I guarantee if the school administrators had taken the time to talk with these boys’ teachers, they would have found out very quickly whether or not any type of disciplinary action needed to be taken. 

I’m Rick Lipps and that’s my two cents..