Originally Posted by
JessTD
in a case like this sitting down with the kid and talking to him for 30 seconds and using common sense would have solved the problem. to avoid conflict you remove the knife from his possession, explain you cant take it to school and have his mother pick it up at some point.
you dont throw the book at a 6 year old who made an innocent mistake with no prior history.
it's like giving the guy who got his first DUI the same punishment as the guy who's on his 4th ... it doesnt make sense
Common sense is too subjective. You cant sit down with every student that breaks a zero tol. rule and determine whether or not the rules apply to the person. If the rule is "no weapons"...then no one should be bringing a weapon...a knife is a weapon whether its intent was to cut fruit at the moment. A kid who brings a knife to school with the intent to harm someone can easily lie in that 30 second interview saying it was for his lunch.
You cant create a zero tolerance policy and then have tolerance. That is all I am having an issue with.
Oh well. I got dinged for "running a stop sign." I got the same offense as someone who completely blew through a stop sign...while I stopped beyond the white line. Stupid, yes. But do I understand that I broke the same law? yes.