Thursday, December 30, 2010

More Zero Tolerance Tomfoolery...

Brad_in_ma sends another story of zero tolerance idiocy. Surprisingly, it's not in MA...

Lunchbox mix-up leads to charges for Sanford teen
An athletic and academic standout in Lee County said a lunchbox mix-up has cut short her senior year of high school and might hurt her college opportunities.

Ashley Smithwick, 17, of Sanford, was suspended from Southern Lee High School in October after school personnel found a small paring knife in her lunchbox.

Suspended for the year over a paring knife. I'm sure the school is much safer now that knives used to cut apples are free from the corridors. Once again, "zero-tolerance" policies result in a student with no record facing draconian punishment - because having punishments set in stone is much easier than actually reviewing cases. Who cares if it destroys a student's promising college career - at least the school administration won't waste valuable seconds discussing the case.

Zero Tolerance - it's easier than thinking.

That is all.

4 comments:

Brad_in_IL said...

Jay,

The money quote: Bottom line is we want to ensure every child feels safe on our campus.

Forget about real safety . . . they want the kids to FEEL safe.

Mr. Casey said...

I have zero tolerance for this kind of bullshit, Jay. What a screwed up country we've become. *sigh* All the best to you in 2011. We are escaping Nazi New Jersey and heading to TX.

Counsel said...

Just like the TSA... Feeling safe \= being safe. Why smart folk agree without thinking for themselves is beyond explination...

Counsel said...

Heh, I do not like my phone's keyboard... Explanation is what I should have said... Fewl free to correct and not post this comment...