School Discipline Policies should Treat Students as Students

“Zero Tolerance” policies

There is a lot of controversy about the school discipline “Zero Tolerance” policies, but recent researches have shown that school discipline policies have done lots of damage than good to students, most especially, students of color and minority students. The “One-Size-Fits-All” known as the “Zero Tolerance” are policies that are generally regarding the behavior and actions of students while on the school grounds. Although, the policies are meant to curb students’ wrong behaviors and actions, yet it has greatly affected some students negatively, majorly students from poor background and minorities students. Schools do melt or dispense punishment on students based on race and economical status. The policies that are meant to help students are the same policies that are hitting against the students of color.

Harsher Discipline Often Dispensed to Minority, Disabled students

These findings challenge schools’ common assumption that school discipline, that is, “Zero Tolerance” can help put an end to the wrong behaviors and actions of students, not knowing they are going to get worse day after day because when students commit offenses and punishment are meted out to them, they are more likely to commit the same offense. Because the punishment are not new to them any longer. According to the article “Harsher Discipline Often Dispensed to Minority, Disabled students,” Ramirez quotes Sen. Richard Durblin (Chairman of The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Constitution) as saying “Removing children from the classroom puts them behind academically.” The discipline does not only affect students academically, but it also affects them in every aspect of their lives because “Zero Tolerance” is a grievous policy. It makes students stay out of the classroom; they are likely to join bad companies (gangs) outside of class and thereby become terrors to the society or community. It’s just like a proverb that says “bad companies corrupt good manners.”

There is no fair discipline anymore

In schools, there is no fair discipline anymore, discrimination or racial bias is the order of the day; not just in our schools, but also in our society. Mere looking at our society, we will realize that discrimination or racial bias started in homes, but instead of schools to train kids not to discriminate people, rather they are really in support of what the society is doing to the less privileged ones because the schools tend to dispense punishment to students based on race. People used to think school discipline was necessary. But recently experts suggest that it can be counterproductive. According to HuffPost’s article “A Welcome Change to Treat Stressed Students as Sad, Not Bad,” it states “Far too often, school administrators are quick to criminalize normal teenage behaviors in students of color”. Same behaviors in students are interpreted based on race. They are quick to judge behaviors in minorities or students of color, while they turn deaf ears and blind eyes to the same behaviors in white students. Schools judgment of students based on race is uncalled for, students should be treated equally irrespective of the color of their skin, their economical background, and where they come from 

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