Glenn Reynolds has posted a couple of items about the 1st grader in Delaware who had been suspended for bringing a Cub Scout pocket-utensil to school so he could eat his pudding. If this is news to you, the nickel version is that the utensil had a small knife(and a fork and spoon) in it and the school has a zero tolerance policy towards that sort of thing. Result- a suspension for a 1st grader who was just excited to have something unique to play with.
All there is to say about this is- what do you expect when policy is followed blindly? People don’t want to have to think or to make judgement calls because nobody wants to be responsible for the decisions and their ramifications. Careers are lost because of that. On the other hand, careers aren’t lost because you followed a policy to the letter. So people hide behind a policy crafted and signed on by everyone so it’s not anyone’s fault per se- it’s the policy, protocol, whatever.
Examples like this that have me convinced that good judgement and common sense cannot be replaced with policy and protocols. The problem is that the former seems to be steadily dwindling while the latter proliferates like weeds. So while this episode should provoke outrage, it occurrence shouldn’t surprise anyone.
2 replies on “Zero-Tolerance Policies”
I am not judging either way, because the discussion is pointless…but the problem is not the policy, it is the lawyers who would capitalize off someone making their own judgement policy to bypass the policies in place. In this day and age, no one can afford to make judgement calls on clearly defined and recognized policies because some crazy parent will take the school district to court and they will win. If you want to blame someone, blame the unregulated legal system and the lawyers that make their living victimizing good people. Maybe the President will bring about changes in legal regulations…oh yeah, thats right, he’s a lawyer, probably the most powerful lawyer on the planet, next to his wife.
Lawyers are lawyers- they’ll get you whether there’s a policy involved or not. My guess is part of the quick response to resolve the problem here was to avoid litigation. You take your chances regardless.
As for the problem- I’d say more broadly its fear. Fear of litigation, fear for child safety, fear for responsibility of making the wrong call. There is never a full-proof answer- there are just decisions and living with the consequences. Personally, I prefer to go with someone’s judgement than policy.