Monday, 19 February 2018

When You Don't Have School Discipline

As a kid in rural Alabama, I don't remember the topic of suspending or dismissing a kid from school until probably the 10th grade.  To be honest, you just didn't have 'drama-types' who needed the suspensions. 

With all of this Florida-shooting hype, someone sat down and dug out the Broward County School Discipline Agreement

It's an odd piece...signed by local city/county judges, the state attorney general, and the Sheriff.  The school system has to comply with this local document. 

So in the midst of this agreement, there is a list of things that you will NOT be suspended or expelled upon....if they were to occur.  In these cases, you get a warning, a lecture, and possibly detention (meaning a couple of hours per week in study hall).

The list: all student misbehavior, disrupting or interfering with class or school functions, fighting in hallways or classrooms, theft of less than $300, vandalism (if less than $1,000), disorderly conduct (against other students, or teachers),  trespassing, criminal mischief (unclear what the heck this means), gambling, loitering, prowling, harassment, alcohol use or drunkenness, any possession of  Cannabis or drug paraphernalia, threats, obstructing justice with or without violence.

In most companies, the hint of any of these acts....would be enough for HR to bring you in and fire you on the spot. 

In the school?  Totally acceptable.  The worse that you might get is extra study hall. You could show up daily after consuming half-a-bottle of whiskey....no problem.  You could start a fight every other day.....no problem.  You could disrupt your science class daily....no problem. 

So I just look at this accepted behavior deal and can judge the school system as a failure.  The fact that judges and the sheriff signed off on it?  They are just as much part of the failed system.  They are themselves a failure.

You can draw up a long list of failures that brought this idiot kid to the event of last week.  The FBI failed.  The local cops failed.  The school discipline failed.


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