The idiot is the teacher who enforced the rule. I could appreciate it if they were those 1 foot shears and the kids were messing with them so I'd have to speculate the rule could be appropriate in a few cases--but then again, expulsion?! I suppose that's not as bad as being denied enrollment in a private school because your mom is white and your step-dad is black. And that was our tolerant Western Washington State.
posted by greyscale at 6:41 AM on March 11, 2000

Well it was inevitable. After the media blitz on all the horrible goingson in public schools throughout the country, Columbine being just one that comes to mind, zero tolerance was bound to affect the innocent. Guilty even if proven innocent. It's allegedly the price we pay in order to be 'safe.' Give up your rights because some schmucks out there like to abuse them. What they should do is ammend the school's policy by allowing safety scissors or anything that obviously wouldn't harm anyone. This will happen if the kid's parents fight the expulsion with the schoolboard. It just goes to show, making MORE laws and "policies" only restricts law abiding citizens. The crooks and murderers are *already* breaking the law and don't care, so how are more laws going to stop them?
posted by ZachsMind at 9:31 AM on March 11, 2000

I love the logic of zero-tolerance policies. More money for schools? Nope. Provide positive activities for bored and troubled kids so they have a chance of not becoming violent? Nope. Fight for real drug law reform? Nope. So what are you doing to reduce crime in your school system? Oh, we just throw them out on the street to cause havok.

Brilliant!
posted by mrmorgan at 9:41 AM on March 11, 2000

Damn, if this policy had been around when I was a kid, I suspect that my entire class in 8th grade would have walked around wearing scissors on a rope as a neckpiece. Revolt, little children...no one's going to do it for you.
posted by Ms Snit at 1:08 PM on March 11, 2000

I guess she should just be glad she wasn't in California - otherwise it would have been The Big House(tm). This isn't the only example of school Zero Tolerance Policies going wrong - the scary thing is that it isn't event he worst. IIRC there was a 1st grader who got expelled for bringing the squirtgun arm from an Inspector Gadget Happy Meal to school... No guns means NO GUNS, CHILDREN!
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 5:06 PM on March 11, 2000

I'm bringing scissors to school on Monday...
posted by hobbes at 6:05 PM on March 11, 2000