I know there is a big emphasis on bullies and violence at school as of late but what harm can really be done when two 12 years old boys are wrestling around because one of them said he was a better baseball player than the other? My mom is a junior high teacher and even she believes they are starting to go overboard with some of the punishments handed out to students (mainly boys) for fighting at school.
A few months ago, while in the locker room, a male student in the school where my mom teaches called another boy a simple derogatory name. Like a wimp, for example. Im not saying that is ok but I am sure most of have been called something of that nature when we were younger. The other student mouthed off back and things escalated and they ended up rolling around on the locker room floor trying to prove that they were not, in fact, as wimpy as the other thought. Before the P.E. teacher could get the fight broken up one student had a bloody nose. Ten years ago both would have been sent to the office and perhaps would have had to sit in the detention area the following day. Now however, the police were called, both students were suspended out of school for 3 days, and there was even an expulsion hearing. There were no weapons of any sort, no serious injuries, and the scuffle lasted less than a minute. How can this constitute the police being called and possible expulsion from the school? I happened to drive by when the police car was sitting in front of the school and I thought something very serious had happened. I later asked my mom what had happened and when she told me I wondered why the police would be called for something so minor. She replied that it is policy now that the police must be called if there is a fight. This is a junor high may I remind you, with twelve and thirteen year olds.
I could understand that if there was one specific student getting into fights weekly and the school administrators wanted to give him a scare, the police could be called to emphasize that his behavior is becoming a police issue. This might straighten the student out before it becomes a major problem as he gets older. But to call the police every time there is a fight in a junior high is just absurd to me. How serious can a fight between two twelve year old boys be? Obviously this doesn't include fights where a student would use any kind of weapon. In that case the police would be called and rightfully so.
I agree with you, some instances in which the police are called are just for unnecessary reasons. It seems to me that police officers would have more important things to do than make two students quit name calling and rough housing. Schools have student counselors that are trained to handle situations like this. What are the police officers going to do? In my opinion, in certain small fights like the one you described above, the school should have the capability to handle the situation without the help of the police. Obviously, if a student brought in a weapon or were constantly getting into physical altercations with other students, that's a different issue where I do think the police should come in and be involved. Maybe this school is being extra cautious and are thinking, "better safe than sorry" but I still think it's a bit extreme.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools do take the punishments too far sometimes but I can also see the other side of it. With all the crazy things that are happening in schools now a days many of them are implementing a zero tolerance policy. A lot of the fights or "scuffles" are in reality, not that big of a deal but sometimes those simple scuffles can result in terrible acts of violence in schools (like we have seen in a lot of the blogs about school shooting) I think the schools are just doing what they can to protect the students in this day and age where anything can happen. It is unfortunate that some students who have done nothing wrong but get in a simple non-threatening fight are being made examples of but if it is what needs to be done then it is what it is.
ReplyDeleteI really think that schools are getting out of hand with how they handle things. I understand that today the threat of violence and weapons is increasing but in a situation like this i do not believe that cops should be involved. Cops should never be involved in small situations like this i mean if you as a teacher cannot handle a school yard tussle and get it under control that that person should seriously rethink their career choice because "new flash" kids will always fight. Calling the police is not going to do any good in this situation and having a trial is absolutely absurd I just don't know what this world is coming to when we have to involve authorities for every little thing
ReplyDeleteIm not sure how I feel about the overall situation of this incident. I however do feel your concern with the overall status of school's involvement and excessive "control" over students. Its sad that times are changing from a day where informal control seemed to take care of itself. Now its all about controlling the students and constant monitoring of individuals. I still remember the tons of stories that my friends and myself have of our junior high days in PE or in the hallway, talking trash or pushing eachother around. The little fights were what made me remember the best stories and have truly molded me into the kind of person I am. Its truly sad the way things have been going, but everything is cyclical.
ReplyDeleteI also think that schools are starting to go way beyond their status as educators. The whole zero tolerance thing is taking simple common sense out of the administration. We probably all heard about the girl who was kicked out of school for bringing a knife to cut her steak. Incidences like this are happening all that time. We need to seriously rethink how we are starting to bring bureaucracy into every aspect of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI think schools are definitely going too far. There is no reason to involve the police in a situation like that. As long as no weapons are involved, punishment should stay within the school. At this age kids get into fights over the silliest things, and while some may get physical, it isn't anything that the school should look too far into. Brothers and sisters get into tousles like this all the time at home when they are younger, and majority of people don't think too far into it. I think police have much more important things to be worried about then two young boys fighting over a name calling, and I think schools need to reconsider the way that they punish their students.
ReplyDeleteI agree i think the schools are going to far when calling the police every time a simple scuffle breaks out. when i first started high school it was an automatic 3 day suspension for both people no matter who started it. but by my sophomore year they began to call the cops for fights. one or two i could understand the cops being called but others that were simply a shoving match. i think the main reason for it is schools trying to cover themselves from any law suite possibilities and in this sue happy world it is understandable.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that over the years schools have really cracked down when it comes to things like this, back when I was in high school like you said only a day or two suspension but now it seems like the situation is blown out of proportion involving police.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to agree with you because I am a very strong believer in the self-fulfilling prophecy. There are going to be a lot more negative effects on the kids, other than the ones from the fight. I see this situation as fight fire with fire, which will make an even bigger fire. When other students see these kids getting handcuffed and thrown into the back of a cop car, rumors will start floating around, this will be followed by name-calling, which will be followed by a negative label, and that could lead to bad behavior. Inevertantly, this situation has been made worse. It is our responsibility as criminal justice majors to help prevent crimes, not make them worse.
ReplyDeleteI think that things like this in the are being completely over exaggerated. I completely agree with the blog, at my Jr. High or High School kids would get in fights a decent amount and if they did, they were sent to the office and would most likely receive detention, a saturday, or at worst an in school suspension. Today you have the police being called for everything and it is just completely unnecessary. Let the school handle it and don't make a huge deal out of it. Kids are going to be kids and fights are going to happen, thats just how it is. That doesn't mean that you have to expel, suspend, or call the cops for every little name calling or scuffle that happens in school.
ReplyDeleteI think society in general is taking things too far. Unfortunately, our society loves to sue so many people will take any precaution necessary to cover their wallets.As in regards to elementary schools, I think it is completely ridiculous that the police would ever have to be called. kids will be kids and principals and guidance counselors are there to deal with these situations. Parents should be called to take action. High school students are close to adults so i believe in that case their actions should be taken serious by the authorities.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a very different time. It used to be that kids could fight and that would be the end of it but that is not the case at all. Kids are jumping each other, bringing all kids of weapons to school, and cyber bullying. In order to avoid dangerous situations penalties have to firm and for everyone. Different situations may cause for different punishments but schools are not taking their actions too far at all. The ways kids are coming up with new ideas how to torment each other is baffling. It sets the tone for any kind of violence that may happen. At my high school any fighting of any kind resulted in a minimum five day suspension. You could even serve an in school suspension for an aggressive argument in the school.
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