.
May 9th, 2010
05:08 PM ET
Zero Tolerance Policies
They're intended to keep laws and rules from being broken, and they don't make exceptions. Supporters argue they help prevent crime; critics argue they go too far.
Where do you stand on zero tolerance policies?
Carl Azuz, Anchor
There are zero tolerance policies at my school, and the zero tolerance policies make my school balance.
I think that it is good but at the same time bad. It is good because could stop some crime but not all. It is bad beacuse what if I was an acident but beaches of the law you could go to jail.
They sould of asked the full story instead of just putting him in a different school.The people ned to take a chill pill!
I think it's a good law but some people might push it too far. Eli's case is crazy! That was blown out of proportion completely. He shouldn't have got in that much trouble, he's probably a good kid.
This is not fair!! He Couldn't find his backpack so he gets expelled and thrown in with a bunch of criminals, I mean the kid was honest enough to turn himself in. the law should stay zero tolerance but the people should be able to consider the circumstances, its not like the kid was planning a murder and if he was he wouldn't turn himself in. The law is also unconstitutional in the bill of rights you have the right to a fair trial in wich they considder circumstances. Forgetting shouldn't destroy your ife because if ths happened to me i know it would destroy my life.
zero tolerance policies put good kids in bad situations. the only feed the school-to-prison pipeline. this example will be on this kids record forever, and probably mess up his life. mess up his life for doing the right thing
There are always exceptions to rules, but zero tolerance policies are needed to prevent certain crimes. Zero tolerance eliminates the possibility of a suspect to talk his way out of a crime. This was a tough break for the student in this situation, but that's how it goes. Innocent people are sent to jail all the time, but these laws and policies help the greater good.
For the most part I think they are good to have. If someone breaks the rules they'll be consequenced and it will hopefully prevent them from doing what they did again. The only down fall is for example, at my school if you get punched by another student, yes they'll be punished, but if you hit back to defend yourself you'll be punished, too.
The debate of law and humanity never mitigates, with the former overlaping the latter in an ambiguous way.FIrst, I think it depends, if you put faireness on top of the list, zero tolerance policy just can't be more effective and acceptable. But if you back "one more opportunity makes all the difference", this just can be regarded as an inhumane atrocity.
Almost every rule faces such dilemma, however, whatever rules or regulations, even constitutions, are all validated or repealed by people(goverments are people, too.), and we're not storage program computers that are set by someone else. Then think about it in this way, inflexible rules are so stable and convinent because what judges need to do is to follow them. Is it good or bad? For regulators, yes; for us,no...
We love tolerance in that it can give us a second chance but sometimes it's worse than no chance at all. One begets two, two begets three... ... Nobody will be happy if tolerance comes into fashion. You can allow a child to blunder once or twice but will not turn a blind eye to a law-breaker. Remember, seeking leniency for one means being unmerciful to another. That's the nucleus of balance.
Each judegement has its own criterion. We should agree to the saying "to err is human", but at the same time, the fundamental balance of an institution, an administration or society truly can't do without zero tolerance policies.
I've learned zero tolerance policies since third grade, and the law is strictly enforced. In Eli's case, I think he should be excused, for it wasn't on purpose. If he brought the knife for show and tell, that's a different story.
Its alright to make sure people don't break laws; but zero tolerance i think is too far
I think that a zero tolerance policy is too extreme. There is always going to be an exception. With zero tolerance, if a person makes an honest mistake and is willing to own up to it, there is no crime, but there is a punishment. Balance can only happen when there are no extremes. There needs to be rules that enforced, but if something is not right, there needs to be cushion space.
I think there should be Strict policy rules. Rules that are like Zero-tolerance but bend for extenuating circumstances.
I think it is good. We need to have zero tolerance with the people who make crimes. We should respect the law and respect the authority. They need to apply the law to everybody.
I think kids should be given a chance to prove themselves innocent instead of immediately getting into trouble at first sight of violation.
This law is showing us [students] that we can't be trusted at all.
I think there should not be a zero tolerance law at all, it doesnt prevent any crime. Any student with intentions to commit crime are not going to care about a stupid 'zero tolerance law' there going to do what theyre going to do. There is no reason why a student cant carry a little pocket knife in his bookbag. Even a gun for that matter (college campuses) criminals and people with a criminal mindset dont care about laws, they do what theyre going to do. It would be beneficial in some circumstances for normal student to have simple pocket knives in their bookbag, or a gun (for people with carry permits). That would be the best way to keep crime out of school, criminals know since school campuses are 'zero tolerace' that they would be the only person to have a weapon, therefore being a perfect place to commit a crime.
They are forgetting the REASON for the rule, they have to consider INTENT. There should not be any zero tolerance rules because special circumstances may arise. There was obviously NO THREAT here but reason is not considered because of "zero tolerance" ? They treated this child like a terrorist. It's ridiculous.
I think it's a good idea to implement zero tolerance it will benefit both teachers and students in the knowledge that they are in a safe, secure place to be educated
Zero tolerance should be encouraged at schools, especially the one I work at, zero tolerance has worked and since then the number of accident-related injuries has dropped
I live in HK so there are no 'zero tolerance' policies that I've heard of, but even in this case recently people got expelled and suspended at my school for bringing guns and knives in. I think that the schools should punish the people who intentionally bring in guns, not the people who accidently brought in guns.
I thik this law goes way to far. I think the rule should only come into effect if a weapon is actually used to threaten someone. Then they should go to Jail.
Zero Tolerance rules are good fpr so,e cases but not for others like if u point a gun at someones face in school than zero tolerance is acceptable but if u just accidently left a knife in yout bag then zero tolerance policies shouldnt be used
What is remarkable with the zero tolerance policies is when I'm caught, it will prevent others from committing crimes. It is a dissuasive tool. But turning a blind eye to any crime whatsoever would mean practicing a double standard policy.
Overall I do not really support zero tolerance rules, because if you make a mistake, you can land in big trouble. I think being extremely strict about weapons is good, but zero tolerance is bad.
I Belive that in certain circumstances people should get a second chance.
I think the zero tolerance policies is good because you can stop crime even though some are unable to be stopped.this could make crime less common.
I think that yes it's good to have that rule. But maybe they should hear their side of the story and confirm that it's true by asking their friends and mom and dad and different people. Then if their story comes out clean then he shouldn't be punished for accidently bringing a nife to school.
Zero Tolerance may be controlling some types of nuisances, but in schools, sometimes it goes too far. A policy in which authorities can weigh out the situation and make exceptions would be more tolerable. Especially for children with no intentions of breaking the law.
It is a good rule so no one is ever injured but he had turned the knife in on his own and hadn't even known, it was over the top to expel him and send him to another school with other kids that have done worse.
I think a zero Tolerance is ok for some schools but expelling a kid because he didn't know about the knife before it was too late it's stupid he shouldn't of went to another school just because he brough a knife
I think that the schools zero tolerance is a little overboard but it does protect many kids that could of been hurt from weapons .
I think that zero tolerance Is kind of harsh. I wouldn't agree that bringing weapons to school Is okay, but If you accidently bring It to school because you forgot It In your pocket and get In trouble for It Is ridiculous. I think that they should have a policy that says that It could happen once but a second time Is when they do something about It.
As far as the zero tolerance goes i 100 % agree with it. Because no matter what the situation is there should not be any weapons/drugs etc.. in school. They're dangerous and can be harmful to you and others and just simply do not belong at school.
Zero tolerance policies can be unfair sometimes. In certain situations, the person who committed the "crime" was not meaning to do wrong. In this story, Eli was doing the right thing by turning himself in. Zero tolerance policies are stupid because it depends upon the situation.
I think zero tolerance isn't such a bad idea. Most of the kids who bring weapons to school are using them for not so awesome reasons. There has been alot of schools with kids who brought weapons that didn't end up so good, and other kids got hurt.
Zero tolerance polices can be mean or unfair to students especially when students try to do the right thing. Even though they try to do the right thing (by turning the knife in), they still get in trouble.
I do not agree with this policy cause there are not all things that people remember. They should look into the past to see if they have broken any laws
Zero tolerance policies can help students be safe at school, but can go too far. The student in Georgia should not have been sent to alternative school because it was an accident, he had never broken the law before, and he carried the knife to the principal as soon as he found out he had brought it to school. School officials should take time to stand back and examine the problem before giving such harsh punishment to students who violate zero tolerance policies.
I think that the Zero Tolerance Policies was fair but i think he showed a lot of courage turning in his weapon. But if you do the crime you gotta pay the time.
Good to have it but not for it to be so strict. Students may not be aware, like this one, that they have weapons in their backpack.
Yeah sure zero tolerance keeps schools balanced and all but i think sometimes it goes a little bit to far, I think depending on the situation they should ease up a little bit, buts thats just my opinion.
Zero Tolerence policies have positive and negative affects. If it was an accident, schools should at least make the punishment a little more light. Then again if it wasn't an accident, zero tolerence policies are the right way to go.
I think that they should not have arrested him. He should not even get in trouble because he turned himself in. So he was not planning to use the weapon on anybody. Also i am sure that the kid didnt know that the knive was in there, i mean he grabbed the book bag because he could not find the other ne. He should be let go and not have gotten into any trouble and yes they are being to strict on the rule.
Zero Tolerance policies, if inserted into the right places, could be beneficial. I agree with the policy they have in Georgia, however the part about "not allowed to consider the circumstances" is going too far. Sure, it wouldn't be zero tolerance if they were allowed to consider the circumstances, but it would still be an effective method.
there is always an exception to any rule made, i think no-tolerence policies are great in theory but not so great in practice.
I think it would be good in some situations and bad in others. It could have been just an accident, and they didn't mean harm at all and it just turned out bad. Then they would have to go through all that stuff (being suspended etc.) for something they didn't do.
I think the zero tolerance law is a GOOD idea it keeps kids safe and from harm at school, if their was not the law students could use it to harass other students. That would be a problem.
I think the zero tolerance policies go too far. They make it so that people who bring things to school, without meaning to, get in trouble. It's not fair at all. I think students should be heard so that if they don't need punishment they don't get it.
I believe the [zero tolerance] rule should be enforced strongly by all the states who wish to have it. But I also believe the students must be interviewed about why or how they have the weapon in their possession before they they are charged with a crime. It's best for all: teachers.students,parents, and the administration.
I don't think he really deserved the punishment I mean it was a mistake so I think they should at least give him a second chance.
I agree with the zero tolerance but I don't think they should put kids in jail for it they should give a suspension, but if they use a weapon against someone than i believe they should cuff them up.
The zero tolerance policy is effective but not always efficient.
I think that there are different situations for zero tolerance policies. I think that they could be good and bad at the same time.
I think it is going a little too far when the kid turns the knife in himself, but the policy does help prevent alot of crimes from happening. I think its just a matter of good judgement
Zero tolerance policies are wrong because accidents happen and sometimes innocent people can be unfairly punished.
i believe that it is wrong because what if he brought the night to school to hurt someone or try to kill them
Zero Tolerance policies are good for schools. They encourage students to do the right thing. They will be punished if they do stupid things like bring guns or knives to school. However, in the case of the Georgia boy, the policy did not specify accidents. He did not do it on purpose, so he shouldn't be punished for something he didn't mean to do.
Zero tolerance policies seem like a good idea in this situation (weapons in school) HOWEVER, school officials should be able to consider the situation and decide from there; otherwise, innocent people are punished for something that shouldn't have been taken that far.
I don't think that kids should be sent to jail just because they brought a pocket knife to school. Maybe if they brought a gun but otherwise its to harsh
I feel that zero tolerance policies are a good thing and are effective, however, in this case I think that the school not being allowed to consider the circumstances is a little over the top.
I don't think we have any zero tolerance policies in my school that i know of, but I know that in some schools need the policies in order to keep the amount of violence down. I think that over all whether or not a school needs a zero tolerance policy depends greatly on what the teachers and students are concerned about.
Zero Tolerance policies, I'm sure, are only for the safety of the schools, but sometimes they go too far. Mostly because these are just accidents that tend too happen every once in awhile. I think there should be a trial in court. Also everyone should keep in mind that sometimes its ISN'T an accident.
In my opinion the zero tolerance policies have good and bad points. I think that in certain instances the zero tolerance is to much. An example of this would be the boy who didn't know about the knife. Even though he turned it in himself, and was completely honest it didn't matter. I think that is completely unfair. The good side would be that it can balance things out so that people are less tempted to do anything dangerous.
I think it is totally unfair that he got arrested. He even truned himself in. Yesterday my dad saw that the people at a store didn't charge him enough so he went back and retuned the item. He had to pay $13 as a restocking fee.
I think zero tolerance is a terrible idea. It is unfair for kids to get in trouble when they make mistakes. Even criminals can get flexibility at sentencing when they are in front of the judge.
Honestly, zero tolerance policies take things way too far. I know some schools have them and some teachers say they have zero tolerance policies for something and some teachers don't really follow through with what they say about thier policies. But i do agree on some topics zero tolerance policies should be used but not to an extent that it puts fear into people and its putting kids in jail because of an honest, that-wasn't-suppose-to-happen mistake.
I think zero tolerance is a good idea because students will be safer. Students are more likely to follow the rules when they think they won't get away with it.
I think zero tolerance isn't fair. There is a big difference between accidentally bringing a pocket knife and handing it in when you realize your error and if you bring a gun or worse and plan on hurting others.
Zero tolerance is a BAD idea!
There is times when school officials go to far and i think that they need to calm down a bit
i am a supporter of zero tolerance my school has the zero tolerance policies and that helps balance out my school from crime
I am a supporter of Zero Tolerance policies. I believe that they help dissuade students from engaging in potentially dangerous and illegal activities while at school. However, I think that common sense does need to come into play at some point. If a student accidentally brings a fishing knife to school and then turns it in himself that should not result in time spend at juvenile hall and expulsion. He did the right thing. Administrators need a little room to use their discretion. Maybe it should be changed to a 0.00001 policy to allow for such situations.
It is a good policy because anything could come in the school and shot the students.
that is not fair i think that he should not have been arrested but just have a waring.
I believe it’s good and bad at the same time, When I lived in Georgia that law saved me while I was in High school so it can be effective but in certain cases it just goes to far for people who “accidentally” bring something to school.
I think the no tolerance policy is affective and teaches kids not to bring weapons to school, but I think schools should take into consideration of the situation if a weapon was brought on campus.
I think that the Zero Tolerance Act goes too far in schools; the administration needs to understand the circumstances and understand that the kid turned in the knife as soon as he found it.
“No Tolerance” rules are needed in order to keep crazy people in their place, but on the same hand the punishments need to be taken on a case by case basis.
I believe that the zero tolerance is a good and bad law. Good because it will lower the crime problems in school, so the schools will be a little safer and bad because incidents like this one will change your school life around for just one mistake you made.
I understand Zero tolerance keeps students and staff safe. However, it is not fair to those people who make a mistake. When you go turn yourself in, you should not be punished. Your intentions were never to harm someone.
I think that some zero tolerance policies do help prevent crimes but some need to be revised. I think that every situation should be treated different because some issues are not crimes at all.
I think it's a good policy because it helps the children to learn not to be
so violent.I think it was wrong for the boy to go to, jail for something that he didn't do.
I believe that zero tolerance policies are a good thing but there should be exceptions to every law. There have been many accidental cases of weapons and such being brought to schools such as Elijah, or people being framed of something. In cases like these the school's sdministration should be able to cut some slack at least a little.
I think that the zero tolerance policy is a good thing because it would hopefully help with the amount of crime that is being done and keeping other students at school protected and safe.
Zero tolerance is something that should stay as it is, it isn’t very often that innocent people are affected by it or we would hear about it more. The policy stops a lot of people from committing terrible crimes.
I think zero tolerance is very good in some cases like kids underage driving drunk or people who are carrying something illegal on them. But I don’t think schools should have that policy because you can tell if a kid truly did not mean to be carrying something that he wasn’t supposed to have. I think schools should take it case by case.
I think that in certain circumstances a zero tolerance policy can be effective but i do think that if you are in a school setting an administrator should be able to consider the circumstances to avoid situations like Mahone's.
I think it is a good policy because the students can learn in a good way
without violence
Zero tolerance is a good policy, but they should consider special cases like Eli's because he had done nothing wrong.
Zero tolerance polices are dumb because sometimes the punishment doesn't fit the crime. The punishment can be too severe. In the example, the young man did not use the weapon against anybody; he actually turned it in.
I feel they are stupid but also help to enforce some laws.
I think it is a good policy because the students can learn in a good way
without violence and without crime.
I think that Eli is guilty and deserves what he got, he probably lied about taking a different backpack.
I think that this will be a good program and could keep people out of trouble and possably change there attitudes twords others and society.
I think that for the most part zero-tolerance laws are okay, but when things like that happen they should easy up. Eli Mahone was a "victim of circumstance" and he was severly punished for something accidental. I think that this time the policy has gone too far.
I myself was a victim of Zero Tolerance Prejudice when I accidentally Brought my knife to school because I used my Backpack to go Hiking. Due to Zero Tolerance I was expelled without question. If the Government is so worried about protecting schools how about they increase security with more reource officers and Cameras instead of Nailing often innocent people to the wall?
I think it is a good policy because any student could come in the
school and start shoting at anyone one as of the teachers,andstudents.
I think it is a good idea to keep crime from happening in my school, but in my opinion, it will fail because some people have good reasons like if that person was defending themself, or the person was turning a weapon in. I'd like to congradulate the school on a job well done, I'd be a hypocrite to do so, in my opinion they barely did anything positive. Some of the teachers I've recently spoke with thought the policy was exagerated, but no it's the exact opposite. Enforcing the law is one thing, but to me it seems like in my opinion, the schools' pretty much hit dictatorship. That's an example of an exagerated term, but apparently when it comes to doing the right thing for not only the students' own self, but for the safety of the school and possibly many others, someone undeserving has to pay. That also depends on who the school deals with, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find it on google, ask.com, fox, tnt, and many others. Like I said before about it having something good to with it, I won't take that back. Not only has the schools enforce unjust justice, and taken the law enforcement too far, they have also possibly provoked the parents of those undeserving kids so that they can do everything in their power to sue the schools. Of course that's just my opinion, they might sue, they might not, but they'll definitely do something.
the zero tolerance policies should not be so serious. kids will be kids and they will do things that they will regret. If our school was really serious there would be only a few kids in a class because they would all be arrested and expelled!
I think that zero tolerance policies are necessary, but they need to lower the consequence. What they did with Eli Mahone was totally unfair.
We think that it is VERY unfair that he got arrested. He brought the knife to school unintentionally, and he turned himself in which only farther proves his innocents.
We believe that if a student has the nerve to turn themselves in for taking a weapon to school, they shouldn't be punished so serverley for having it with them. However, if it's the other way around, there should be a penalty for those students.
I think that the Zero Tolerance is bad because he gave the knife to the teaher/principal and told them the truth and didn't just leave it in his bag. I think that he shouldn't have been accused with a crime because, what if he didn't tell. That would have even been worse for the school.
There not zero tolerance policies in my school because people should always have detention for what they do bad
i think it was wrong to put him through such a tragic thing even though he did not hurt anyone or intend to. So he didnt acctully mean it and the whole thing was an accident i think that he is in place he doesn't belong. i put much hope they understand and let him out 🙂
i think it fair that you shoudn't have wepons at school.
Zero tolerance is a good thing, its protecting people so others won't get hurt..but in this case the boy should of been off the hook for turning in the knife.
I like the policy but at the same it could really hurt you. Like in the story you brought something to school on accident.. that would hurt you. But if you did it on purpose then you deserve to be punished.
its so unfair at my school even after school you cant bring any imatation of a gun even a watergun!!!! i think they should cut that rule back a little!
they go to far with "zero tolerance" they should take everything problem different, and deciede if thats the best!
i think it was wrong cause the kid didnt mean to bring the knife to school it was an accient and he got expelld i dont think it was right for that to have happened
i think it is bad for someone that turns there own self in shale not get punished
I think the zero tolerance policy could be good to have in effect in some cases. The principal should be allowed to look over what happened and decide if it should be considered a felony. I carry a knife to most places I go to, and I never use it as a weapon just a tool. The policy should be taken seriously yet be allowed to not be as strict.
I belive that they are going to far with it. He turned himself in, why should he get in trouble. Even if he brought it, he wasnt intending on using is. He didnt even know he had it.
i think there should be a few exceptions. what if it was an accident? what if it was someone else but they framed you? nobody should get in trouble for something that isn't their fault.
i think that the zero tolerance rule is not fair. if you went camping over the weekend and on monday you came to school and you had a pocket knife in your bag and you forgot that you had it in there and you turn it in to the office then you get expelled for that?
I think the zero tolerance policy is good because if someone purposly brings a weapon to school they will get in trouble for it but if u acidentaly bring a knife to school then go tell the office on yourself then you shouldnt get in trouble. Obviously if you tell on yourself you wherent gonna hurt anyone.
i think that everybody should be treated the same and every one makes mistakes
i think that the zero tolerance thing is awful it is un fair and biase because if you did bring a knife to school by accident you go to a juvinile hall and you just are accused of being something your not and beleive what everyone says you are then become it because of all the nasty things they say.
I think that the no tolerance policys are too uptight I mean, in some cases it was just an honest mistake not an attemot to hurt someone!
i think zero tolerance is to strict because everybody makes mistakes and one day you might make a mistake and get locked up.
the zero tolerance policy is not a great policy, some students never get in trouple but theres always that one time that they accitanty bring a pocket knife to school and get in alot of trouple
I think that the Zero Tolerance Policies go way to far. They should just suspend the kid and not arrest him. He didn’t do it on purpose.
i think the laws go way to far if kid forgets that he had a knife in his bag then make shure he is not lying about also check his record if it is huge the realy make shure that he is not lying
I think they went way too fare with aresting him. The zero tolerance rule is good if the kid means to but if not it is just stupid.
I think it was stupid that they sent him to jail because he turned the knife in himself so why would they be so strict about it.
I dont think that guy should of went to jail. It was not his foly he hade that nife in his backpack.
I dont think that guy should of went to jail. It was not his fault he hade that nife in his backpack.
I think that zero tolerance policies can help a school on one hand, but on the other, they can make it even harder. Zero tolerance policies can help to ensure that no crimes are overlooked by authorities, but they can also send innocent kids to jail, or juvenile detention. I think that the schools should consider the circumstances and the situation, and also consider whether or not the kid is the one turning it in or not.
I think that the zero tolerance policy would help if it was a kid that was a repeat offender at the school, but not if the kid brought a weapon to school on accident.
the zero tolerance is ok to point. but there is a point where it gets a bit exstreme. its ok to think that some people do bring the weapon on purpose.but if the person brings it on accident you shoud not arrest them.but if the person just left it there and said it wasnt theirs you should arrest them for lying and bringing a weapon.
I think that the zero tolerance could use some exceptions. If a student doesn't know that they have a knife in there pocket and they turn it in they shouldn’t be punished. But if they don’t turn it in they should be punished! If a student brings a gun, they should be punished. The zero tolerance can also help us. If a student brings a weapon and intends to use it they could stop it.
I think that zero tolerance policies can be good at certain times,but sometimes they go just way to far. Sometimes the zero tolerance policies can get you in trouble for the smallest things and certain times its not even that big of deal,the principals that enforce the zero tolerance policies are just wasting there time.
I think the student did the right thing turning himself in but i think the school went a little over board on the expellsion
I think that this situation was really messed up
I think that the zero tolerance policy is both good and bad at the same time. It's good to have a rule that no weapons are allowed at school. On the other hand, however, the policy can be extreme. You shouldn't get in trouble if you brought it on accident, especially if you turn it in to the principle as soon as you found out that you had it.
I believe that a zero tolerance policy should only be enforced upon intentional acts that are clear disruptions peace such as a fight in a school. Zero Tolerance for anything else just seems ridiculous.
I think that they’re going too far with the no tolerance thing. I think that they should still have the same punishment for it, but if the kid turns it in because he accidentally brought it to school, they should let him go. If they have to take the weapon from the child, they should get the punishment.
There are both good and bad reasonings to having this zero tolerence policies. Say, if you had an accident like that kid had, you shouldnt be taken to jail for somthing you werent aware of and something you didnt have anything to do with. Then again, if you did have something to do with the incident then you should be taken under arrest for the 'crime' you committed. I believe there should be some leniency with this policy because kids, may in fact, have something by accident.
I think that the zero tolerance policy could be good in some ways and bad in other ways. I think that it could be good because it stops crime, or what could become crime. I think that it could be bad because if you turn it in you could be getting into trouble for no reason. What if you just found it on the school floor and you pick it up and turn it in. You get into trouble right? If it’s yours or not they don’t know if it is you or not that brought it. If you turn it in I just think that you shouldn’t get into trouble especially if it was an accident.
I think there should be a certain amount of tolerance at schools to keep children and people safe, but when it comes to a simple accident like that i think there should be exceptions. T
People do enough bad things as it is, but it would be nice if they lay down a little bit lower. If the weapon is yours and you turn it in yourself they should take it and just call home or send the kid home or something like that instead of taking it “out of proportion”.
I think there should be a certain amount of tolerance at schools to keep children and people safe, but when it comes to a simple accident like that i think there should be exceptions. To me what happpend to that kid was defiently not fair and he should have not been arrested.
I think that the zero-tolerance rules are too strict. There are no exceptions when it comes to zero-tolerant laws, and in some cases, the zero-tolerant laws will only harm than protect. On today’s show, the kid who accidentally brought his fishing knife to school has to leave all of his friends and then be forced to go to a school with a lot of trouble making kids. This happened because he couldn’t find his backpack so he used one that he usually didn’t use, but he didn’t know that he had a knife in it. I think that the zero-tolerant laws should change to be a little more tolerant.
I think zero tolerance laws don't do anything. It might intimidate some kids, but the really desperate people will do anything they think can help. Also, this can negatively affect kids who accidently bring something to school.
This is outragous and all situations should be evaluated by authority figures untill a conclusion is drawn based on previous offences in school and outside of school. Overall Zero Tolerence is a good idea.
I think zero tolerance policy is not good. Why do we have the court, judges,laywers, and all that? It's because everyone could make a mistake, and to make a fair judgement considering both the society's safety and the lawbreaker's circumstances, we must give him a chance to advocate or reflect himself.
Zero toleracne polices should have a few exceptions. Most things do dont they? I think if the kid is honest as soon as they find the wepon then they should get punished but not as seriousley after all it wasn't on porpuse and no one was hurt.
I think that they take the zero policies are taking it a little to far. They convectited that kid for doing the right thing you just don't do that. I think that by everyone freaking out over this is dumb he didnt do anything wrong there was no reason to penilise him for that.
My point of view on zero tolerance policies are that they are not necessary. A person should be able to weigh the outcome of the situation according to how the wrongful doing occured rather than harshful punishment.
In cases like Eli had i think their should be an exception. He should still get in trouble probably but maybe like a detention, that's it.
About the Zero Tolerance Law, sometimes it can go TOO far. This incident was unintentional and accidental. If I were that student. I would double check my backpack before I go to school.
I think safety in schools is very important. But it is obvious that this kid made a mistake and even turned himself in. So maybe disciplinary actions should be taken on a case by case basis.
I believe that the zero-tolerance policy is effective to a certain extent. It is important to keep safety at a high level in schools. However, there should be exceptions in cases such as Eli's. It was an unintentional incident in which the student even turned himself in. Cut the kid a break.
They go to far, innocent people like Eli get convicted and loose opportunities to get into good colleges. The rule is too harsh and needs to looked over.
I think that zero tolerance is a little too strict. Most of us kids make mistakes and forget that there are things that we can't have in school in our bags. The administration should be able to deem whether or not that the kid should be punished by law.
I belive the so called "zero tolerence policy" is good because every day someone breaks the law but then again some do get away with it these laws were put in place so that cannot happen. Since they been placed in my school in '08 there has a signficant decrease in fights.
You should get all the details before you just go and say your expelled from this school. That is what a lot of schools do the punish them before they get all the details. If they would get all the details the solition would turn out to be a calm and every thing would turn out all right. Then if arrests need to be done than do them. Because when the teachers do not get all the details it always seems to be handing something that they found.It is good but get all the details first please!
I think its meant to be a scare tactic in schools and they cant make any exceptions because it would just cause people to think they can get out of trouble. So in other words its just another way of control.
I think zero tolerance is too broad, and should be changed.
I think that the zero tolerance policy can be a positive thing and a negative thing. A positive thing is that it keeps everyone safe. The negative thing is that it could take an accident too seriously.
Zero tolerance policy is wonderful!
This zero tolerance policy is arguably helpful. These are the policies that men's souls. My take on it, the policy stays.
Zero tolerance policies make me go hmmm.... sometimes they are good sometimes they aren't. It all depends on the circumstances.
Zero tolerance is a help, it has relieved the dangerous students in my school.
I don't believe this! Why would someone who unintentionally and accidentally brought a knife to school get expelled?! To me, personally, this just doesn't make any sense. I believe that if the student has no intention to harm anybody, unknowingly brought a weapon (knife, gun, etc) to school, and brought it to the principal, the officials shouldn't consider this a crime. But if he did do this on purpose, they should lock him up.
In conclusion, some of my classmates were like "that's stupid" or "this doesn't make any sense". Anyway, I would 100% agree with them.
I think that it will stop drimes from going on, but it will make criminals more mad and make them want to do more crimes, so by doing this you are really creating more crimes.
I think it depends on the situation. Some times it is effective but for example in today's show they shouldn't have put that harsh of a punishment on him.
I think it is wrong because he did not mean to bring it on purpose
It is a bad thing for zero tolerance, there are always going to be accidents and special casses.I mean even the Constitution has had amendments made.
I think it is really good to have zero tolerance because there wouldnt be drugs or weapons at school from stupid people.
I think they should have made one exception for this because it's obvious that it wasn't this kids fault, he didn't know it was in his backpack and he's the one that turned it in. At least he didn't try and hide it and then later get caught... that would have been punishable.
I believe that because the kid was reponsible enough to relize he had it and to bring it in he should not have punishments if he would have kept it and they caught him with it then he should be punished.
I think zero tolerance was taken to far in that school because the kid wasn't aware of the knife and he turned himself in so i think he shouldnt have been expelled.
Am I the only person in the universe who believes that knives are not dangerous! this zero tolerance policy is absolutely absurd.
Ok. I think that Zero tolerance laws are a good idea, but they went too far in expelling him. That's not fair that they don't allow the school to consider the circumstances-it was an accident
i think they shouldnt have expled the kid becaus HE turned in the wepon and HE didnt know that he had it in his backpack. So HE shouldnt have gotten expeld.i think that he shouldn't of turned it in he should of just called his mom so she could come and pick it up i mean that would be the SMART thing to do.
I agree that zero tolerance is a good thing to have, but only to a certain amount of kids. How was he supposed to know that the knife was in the backpack? The princable should at least have given him a break because he turned in the knife. I undestand the rules, but the kid did the right thing.
I think the Zero Tolerance Policy is good, but only to a certain extent. Obviously this was an accident, the kid wouldn’t have turned in the knife if he wanted to cause harm to anyone. If he wouldn’t have turned it in and had gotten caught then it would be a little suspicious but since he turned in it I don’t think it was an appropriate time to use this policy.
I think that it is good but some time it is realy bad because someone may get hurt realy bad 🙂
I think the zero-tolerance rule is good and bad at the same time. It is a good rule in certain cases where there is a serious threat that was meant to be caused. In some cases, a crime is committed with no meaning of doing so. This rule can be too strict if it punishes someone for committing a crime that was not meant to be committed.
its all circumstantial. this kid didnt do anything wrong so why is he getting in trouble? he's being punished for being responsible. what's next?
I think it goes to far because if they go camping or hunting on the weekend and forgot to take a knife out of their bag then they get expelled. If they take it in the first thing and tell them why it's in the bag then I think they should let up just a little. It was as an accident so it should let slip this once but remind the students to not bring any weapons to school...
I think that if you bring a knife on purpose, you should go to jail. But if you bring a knife accidentally you shouldn't go to jail.
They should make some kind of rule that allows certain situations to not punish kids for doing something right. If you turned in a weapon or a drug, you should be thanked for turning it.
I do understand that principals and teachers do have a policy for no weapons, because they just want thier students to be and feel safe.
I think that if you asked your principle the zero tolerance rule would not
effect your. Also schools should put metal detectors in the schools, also teachers should be able to look through students belongings if they ask permission from students and parents.
It is a good policy at most times. It’s not good when u don’t mean to bring something like a fishing knife. The policy should only be used in certain situations.
It went too far. He was responsible and turned it in to the principal himself. He still should have gotten in trouble, but not arrested and expelled. The point is he went to the principal and told the truth.
Zero tolerance can help schools out, but if you go to school and you have a swiss army knife in your backpack because you went camping, then you could go to Jail for something totally innocent.
I think they went a little too far on the zero tolerance. I understand why this was such a major situation but they made an innocent kid look like he broke the law on purpose. He’s not a bad kid and he was completely honest with the circumstances and they took him to a dentition center. They could have given him something less harsh of a punishment such as doing volunteering after school. The whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.
I think that zero tolerence is wrong. The student tried to returned to knife and be honest about it. But they still sent the student away for something that wasnt ment to happend.
This is a horrible act of the law. This kid had no intention of hurting anyone or doing a nything with it. He even went and turned it into the principal when he didnt have to. They should alter the law to make it less strict in the schools.
They shouldn't have expelled the boy because, he turned the knife in himself and i don't think it was fair.
I believe that the Zero Tolerance policy case in Georgia should have been treated differently. Because the student turned the knife in, he should not have been sent to a detention school. Also, all weapons that have a use and proof that they are used that way, such as fishing, should be alright to have, as long as it is not taken out.
I think the zero tolerance policy is fine. It's sending a kid to jail because he accidentally had a knife in his backpack is what gets me. He didn't even know that the knife was there, he turned it in, and yet it still gets counted as a crime. It was an accident, get over yourself, and make an exception.
i think at times the zero tolerance policies can go to far. Because you need to look at all the circumstances of the situation. the kid turned him self in so i dont think he meant any harm to any one but because of the zero tolerance policies the school had no choice but to do what the law says.
I think that there are blowing the zero tolerance policies WAY out of proportion. They should just give you a couple days of suspension and after school detention for your first offense. If you violate the rule again THEN there should be serious consequences such as expulsion and being arrested.
Zero tolerance is to overpowering. It can make a normal kid seem like a massive killer. In my opinion, they abuse their power as principals.
I think the zero tolerence rule is good, but people make mestakes if a person didnt klnow he had it, then he shouldnt get introuble. I think the weapon should just be confinscated and their parents have to come in and get it. Zero tolerence can be good, but dont be stupid about it.
Zero Tolerance policy at the school in Georgia was taken way to far. If he turned himself in when he was aware he had found the knife then obviously it wasn't intended for a violent purpose.
I dont think it was that fair he didnt remember that it was in there and if he turned himself in I dont think he would of hurt anyone.
I think that the school administrators should consider the circumstances. If a kid brings in his weapon and it a mistake then I think it should be confiscated. If not and a person does bring a weapon then they will scare them into keeping it in say like there locker and if its oh say a small pistol then it will have the possibility of having a miss fire and may harm another student or civilian.
I think that if it was a accident then the student shouldn't get in trouble. but if they threatening people or something then they should get in trouble.
I think the zero tolerance is a good and bad thing. I think its good because it gets the right people in trouble. For example the people doing bad stuff would be getting in trouble for the act they did. The bad thing is some people don't do it. For example the kid in the previous segment. That was not right.
When the boy was expelled I didn't think it was that fair because he turned himself in and wasn't trying to hurt anybody.
I think it's good but bad. I think that zero tolerance policies can go a little to far. But I think that it's also the kids responsibility to double check their back pack just in case.
I think that it is good,because people need to learn their lesson if they do something bad.They don't need to have second chances.
For the community it's good.But for schools not so much.Because kids have to defend themselves,too!In a way it's good in school because it keeps kids from killing each other.
I think that the zero talorence rule is to over power kids. Like the story said he had it for fishing, it was not intentional of him to bring the knife. I think that it is not a very good rule.
i think its pathetic they should at least have some tolerance if u don't know its in your backpack and you get expelled because of that
I think this is a good thing for people.This law helps keep us safe.If someone is trying to kill somebody this could be a good thing.This can also help people learn that doing all this can get you in trouble.
Our zero tolerance policies is you will get suspented,and there our no second chances.Also we have to write four and more pagesI think that we should be honset.
In our school we have zero tolerance for bom threats.I think that it is a good thing because you do not need to do all that bad stuff.If we do that we will be suspended for a year.
This is good because if you bring a weapon,or a bom than you can't come back to school for a whole year.If you get in a fight than you can't come back for a couple of days.This is a good thing.
The Zero Tolerence Policy is good.If someone brings a pistol to school, they should definitely be expelled.I think if they bring something by accident like that kid did,he shouldn't be expelled.He didn't even know that that knife was in the bookbag.What do they think he would do with a fishing knife.Sometimes I think they overreact sometimes.
I think Zero Tolerance is a good thing. It is when you dont get secound chances.If the cops gave everybody chances something bad would happen.Im not sure if that kid shouldve got saspended because he didn't mean to bring the knife to school.You know that it is probaly good he did get arrested though because if he keeps doing that he going to get introuble evenshaly.
I think that zero tolerance policies are good because if you carrie wepons then you should be suspended. The reason I think it is ok is because you may get hurt if you carrie wepons. So you should always check things like bookbag,purses,and other things befor you take them somewhere with you.
We all agree that zero tolerance policies are a good thing because it keeps our school safer. However, we believe that there should be some exceptions if there was a mistake.
In our school we have zero tolerance for fighting.I think they should have oss.Even if they do it on accedent.That's why people go to jail for doing bad stuff.Even children go to jail to not just adult's go.
Zero tolerance yes i agre you such get iss.You such not broing a gun to school.You suched not do a boom thrat.
I think that people should get second chances.This whole 'zero tollerence policies' thing would probably get alot of upset kids.The principals should say"Okay,but don't do it again".
I dont think you should be in truble if youbring a knif to school, but only a pocket knif as long as it is in your bookbag .So if you fill safer carrying it in your bookbag.
zero tolerance is bad because if you were to take a knife or a gun to school you would go to jail or get kicked out of school for A hole year and still probly be in jail for that hole year because if you were to bring A gun or A knife to school it is consistered a crime.
We have zero tolerance at my school.We can not bring weapons or beat up people.If you bring weapons like guns,knifes,chains,and threating my school with a bomb you will get expelled for a whole year.If you beat up people or curse them,you will probably get a suspension for three days or more.It's really a good thing that my school is zero tolerance,but some students,maybe even teachers and some adults would do things like that to,even though my school is zero tolerance.
I can't believe this what if someone is in trouble you have nothing to denfed your self.
Zero Tolerance is good because if you mean to bring a gun or a knife to school.You should let your mom or dad check your book bag every day. So you can't get in trouble.
I think zero tolerance policies are good because you should not be able to carry weapons.I think people should always check there bookbags,purses before they go to school.
I believe the zero tolerance policy is meant for the greater good of the school. With all good things it has it's problems. I believe having no exceptions is a good thing as someone could intentially bring a weapon to school, and once they are caught try to play it off as an accident. Unless the student has absolute proof that they accidentally and unintentially brought the weapon, they should be punished.
i think they are stupied because a kid could trun something in that was bad but get the blame for it in the end
I think this zero tolerance thing is not good because Eli didn't know he had it in his backpack.
I think zero tolerance policies are a bad idea because they could invade people personal business and they could think people are doing bad things when they are goofing around.
This could be a good thing, for helping to stop the bad people out there, but bad because YOU CAN'T ARRESTS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW BETTER! Take a baby as an example. What if they do something, but they are a baby? THEY DO'NT REALIZE! So you can't arrest them. It wouldn't be right to arrest a baby, or anyone who hasn't been taught it just yet.
I am a mixture of both. The zero tolerance policy is important because it shows kids that the administrators aren’t kidding around about the rules, but schools do go to far. I use to go to a school that had a zero tolerance policy and my brother almost got arrested in kindergarten because he brought a monopoly gun piece to school.
I like the zero tolerance policy. Because it keeps weapons out of schools and I don’t want anyone to cut my hair.
I think that the zero tolerance rules are ridiculous. There are always different circumstances to every situation. I think that grouping all incidences together is a bad way of dealing with things and will just cause more chaos and confusion.
I think that they go too far with the no tolerance rules. If a kid accidentally brings a knife to school I don’t think that they should put a kid in jail for it. In Ely’s case he was doing the right thing turning it in to the principal and he got in trouble for it.
I think that the go to far. If it is serious not an accendeint then the actions were fine<but in this case it was just to far.Zero telrance can only be okay for so many things.
ok i really think they took this story out of hand i mean seriously the kid didn't even know about it at all and he is being commited a crime that he shouldn't of been commited of. Gawwww but it is a big thing for actually criminals in schools i do agree with that but acussing inocent children of that i think is wrong. If you think its right to arest a Five year old kid or an even younger kid then what is your problem.
peace
there are zero tolerence policies at my school but i think they go to far alot of the times. it can be a good thing sometimes.
I think that they are going to far on this policy. The kid didn’t do anything wrong. He saw that he had a knife and did the right thing of turning it in rather than hiding it. I think its kind of surprising the consequences he gets to suffer for doing the right thing. The definitely need to change their policy.
I think a few things when I think of zero tolerance. First, I think that zero tolerance is kind of a stupid rule, unless someone hurts someone. Like that guy with the knife, he didn’t mean to have it, and he even turned it in himself! It doesn’t make any sense to me, I mean, was he really going to hurt anybody?
I think that they should relax a little. if the kid didnt know that he had a fissing knife they should have let the parrents know that and they should have came and picked it up. they are way to strict. if he turned it in he shouldnt have gotten in trouble.
I think in some situations Zero Tolerance is needed, in others not so much. There has to be an amount of understanding to a case. Just like stealing a pack of gum and murder has different consequences even though they are both crimes, a kid who accidentally brings in a knife and a kid who actually pulls a knife on someone should have different consequences to.
I think that you should definitely not be able to bring weapons to school obviosly ,unless you did not mean to bring. If it was on accident it is not the persons' fault at all. It makes no sense if the person didn't even know that they had a knife in their bag, somebody could have planted that there so that he would get in trouble.
In my opinion if a student turns himself in, like in the story, they should not be in as much trouble because they did the responsible thing by saying “Yes I have a knife, but my intention was not to use it for anything, it was an accident.” They should understand. If they are found in a backpack or something, they should get a chance to explain themselves, and have the schools inform their parents, and have them come and pick it up from the school. If anything they should get detention or something if they didn’t have a very good explanation, along with the call home and confiscation of the knife.
I think haveing a zero tolerance policy is a good thing in the sense that it keeps kids in line but sending Eli to JD was going to far. He didn't realize he had the knife and when he realized it he turned himself in. I think that by haveing him arrested and sent to JD encourages kids to stop being resposible enough to do the right thing.
I think that zero tolerance is good in some cases but in others they sometimes go a little overboard. Like in the case of Ely’s situation it was an honest mistake and could have been prevented but was completely an accident. So therefore zero tolerance can be good and sometimes can be completely feeble.
They encourage us to turn weapons in if we bring them in unknowingly but why turn it in if you're going to get in trouble for it?
i think he dersisevred to go to jail he should have checked his backpack.
I think that the zero tolerance policy is good and bad. If someone has a knife and they are planning to use it in a bad way, it is good. If they are turning themselves in then it doesn’t make sense why he would have to attend a school with a bunch of kids that did crimes.
zero tolerence is good for some things and and not so for others. Like if you sudenly find your car having a bunch of meth in it, you should be arrested but if its like a fishing knife your forgot over the waeeekend, i would show a little lenience.
If the student were to have kept the knife he wouldnt have gotten in trouble, however if he where to have been caught, he wouldve gotten the same sentence as turning it in. Its a loose-loose situation, but it all boils down to morals.
I feel the 0 tolerance policy is unfair and they (at least schools) should get rid of it. That kid was being smart and taking the knife to the principle so he wouldn’t get in trouble. If he kept it in school then that would be a bad move. They do go too far!
I think the kid should go back to his school because he did it on accident. The zero tolerance should not be that strict. At the most he should have only got suspended. There is no reason he should of got hand cuffed and through into a police car.
i think the policies are stupid and they should punish people by what happened instead of just immidiately punishing them.
The Zero Tolerance Policy thing is just out of control! I mean, it's okay to have weapons not allowed at school, but it's not okay to have students go to jail just because they ACCIDENTLY brought a knife to school, he could have gotten a detention or something.
I think that it’s good because people can get hurt but at the same time they go too far. If the person who brought it turned it in they shouldn’t get in trouble.
i think that its a good idea,but its a bad idea too. i think that it should be ok if a kid accidently brings a weapon to school and turns it in to the opffice, but i think that its not ok if they bring one anr thraten people and stuff.
I think the zero tolerance thing is good because I don't want a kid walking around with a gun or a knife in my school. It would be really weird and freaky. I do think that accidently bringing a gun or knife to school and getting in trouble for it is crazy.
Where I stand at this zero policy issue is that it’s totally ridiculous. The kid had no criminal record and he turned it in. He should be rewarded for being honest, not punished. If he is trying to hide it or maybe he has a record, then it would make at least a little bit of sense, but that’s just stupid. They need to ease back on the zero tolerance because that kid was completely innocent.
I think everyone is to scared. We are to strict with the whole zero tolerance thing. I say who would take a weapon to a school. No,one will so why is there a kid in a school full of kids that have done bad things.
I think that zero tolerance policies can be good, but people, which includes the school boards and teachers and principals and kids, can take them a little too far. The kid in the news took the knife by accident and he was arrested. THAT was going to far. Zero tolerance policies do stop some crime, but they don't stop ALL crime.
I see the Zero Tolerance policy being a little to strict on its follow up policy; Meaning, the part of the law that made the local police treat Eli as a criminal and expelling him from the school. There is no reason for a kid who had a legitimate reason and who turned himself in, to go to jail for a complete accident. This law goes to far and needs to be revised.
Zero tolerance policies can go too far because sometimes innocent students can be punished.
I think that the police can help school fun, easy, or hard but it depends on what kind of personalities this policeman have.
The policies for no tolerance with weapons are good. I do believe that situations like the student in Georgia was truley an accident. He is now going to have a record with the law and will be exposed to violent teens. This exposure could make him worse off in the long run.
Zeri tolerance policies are too stringent for innocent youger children. They don't forgive any mistake.
i think its a great idea to have no tolerance in school!!
I personally think the punishment on him was too harsh because he has not done anything wrong in the past and dose not have a criminal record of any sort... So the punishment was way to harsh on him and she maybe should of just gotten a warning or pathways because he DID turn himself in and wasn't full of himself for having a knife in his backpack. Also he accidentally grabbed another backpack that happen to have a knife in it. So the punishment was harsh on him. :[
I believe it should be called 'Zero Tolerance, to an extent'. My school doesn't allow chains to be worn in school, yet I wear pants with chains every week. The facuilty does not care because I am a good trustworthy student. A knife, on the other hand, is something totally different. If a kid comes to school to stab someone with a knife, then that is a crime. It a kid turns in a knife he had accidentally brought, then that should be an excused extent to the Zero Tolerance policy. The people that create these policies should consider this, anything can be used as a weapon. If a person wanted to do harm to another person, they could accomplish it with any means.
I think zero tolerance is a good thing in a way to stop crimes and what not. But when a kid grabs a backpack (his fishing) and the knife drops on the floor i do not think the kid should have gotten exspelled and arrested. He says its an accident but you never know?
I will take zero tolerance becuase it is just way to much so i stand on the zero part of this.
I think that it is good but at the same time bad. It is good because could stop some crime but not all. It is bad beacuse what if I was an acident but beaches of the law you could go to jail.
It's not always the best plan. Some kids may not realize the weapon or other item is in there. They should at least look at the scenario and kid's background.
We think that zero tolerance in this matter is very unacceptable. Pretty much the kid is getting in trouble for being honest.It isn't his fault that he brought the wrong bag and since he was very honest they shouldv'e let him off the hook.
I think they can have it, but not make it so strict. If they make it too strict they will accuse the wrong people of the wrong things.
I believe what happend shouldnt have, he was a good student and it was clearly an accident. He shouldnt be punished for somthing that wasnt intended to happen.
I think the zero toleration law should be passed. But I think what was done to the boy was very uncalled for. I could see if it was done purposely, but it was just an accident ;Even his mother was there to justify him as being right. Arrested? Alternative school? All that was needed would be to simply turn it in, and maybe a detention or something.
To me, zero tolerance would make people go against them even more, and end up breaking that rule, because that's just what people do.
I think that they should lay off a little. Not to make to strict. If they told you to turn in the weapon, then you should turn it in. To refuse to turn it in would be a crime.
There should be some sympathy to accidents. For him being expelled, that's harsh and now he has a hard chance to have a better future. I think there should be exceptions.
I think the idea is great and horrible at the same time. It is great because when students constantly "mess up", they could get into some pretty dangerous scenarios and could potentially harm other students, creating an unsafe atmosphere. On the other hand, if a student messed up once, they should be spared, especially if they turned it in themselves! I think the best way to resolve this problem is for there to be a little leniency.
T think that if the kid brought the knife to the principal that he wasn't going to hurt anymore with it. And he didnt know that the other bookbag had a knife in it. Theres nothing he could have done but through it away but then someone could have seen him and think that he was doing something bad soi think he did the right thing.
We think that zero tolerance policies are not great because there need to be exceptions when there are honest accidents.
OK, when it comes to zero tolerance, sometimes the people should think of the circumstances.
I'm split both ways on this topic. Zero tolerance is positive in that it seriously reduces the occurences of weapons on campus, but as the report from Monday shows, accidents do happen. I know it's a controversial issue, but I believe some leniency to zero tolerance should be shown to firt-time offenders.
Zero Tolerance Policies are OK, but the strictness, to me, seems a bit to much. The story is very interesting, but I don't think it needs to go to the state.
Zero tolerance policies are silly. Life isn't perfect. People are always going to make mistakes no matter what.
Zero tolerance policies in schools are way too far. I guarantee many people have accidentally taken a knife to school before, or have forgotten one in their backpacks or something. This is just outrageous =/
I think that the zero tolerance policy should be changed. There are some reasons why people have weapons, or they don’t even know that they have a weapon. You should be able to explain what went on and why you have it. If you have it on purpose then you should get in trouble not if you didn’t know you had it.
No in this case the policy is unfair he didn’t mean to do anything he didn’t even know he had the knife in his backpack. The rule should be lifted for him because he never did anything wrong.
I think whether or not a zero tolerance policy should be applied depends on the crime. I definitely think that it is silly that boy got arrested for something that was an accident, but I also think that there should be very strict rules about having weapons in school. Although the rules should definitely be strict and should be enforced, I do not think that there should be a zero tolerance policy about having weapons at school.
I think the zero tolerance policy is good but there should be restrictions on it. For instance there are many kids that use a knife to hunt and fish. If they can’t find there normal backpack they might grab the wrong one. Then with the policy that would go on there record and might possibly put restrictions on them in the future.
I think if they show anyone or threaten anyone with the weapon, they should be punished, but if they explain why it is an accident, and if they have never done anything like this before, they should be let off or given a trial at the most.
I think that no tolerance in school can be very unacceptable at times. Especially when a 14 year old kid had turned in the knife himself in steed of getting coat with it. Yea it is acceptable for the people who had done something serious in life but not when you turn yourself in at school.
Zero tolerance policies balance the crime rate at schools, but they can also go too far. I think you should let the child explain along with a bystander,
i don't like that my school has cretin rules, but i think it's for there safty
I think the zero tolerance is good and bad. It’s good because it is for people who would purposely bring a knife and it does show you to be very careful. But, then when there is an accident you shouldn’t go to juvenile jail for it. Some kids use their backpacks to go fishing, hunting, camping, or a different trip. If they forgot that it was in there or even in their coat jacket then why should the punished that badly, especially after they turn themselves in after they find it.
I honestly don't think what happened to Eli was fair but i do believe that the rules of the zero tolerance policies are affective. I went to the principals office and told them about this situation and asked if we have a zero tolerance policy as well. Looks like if ELi were here, it would have happened the same way.
I think the zero tolerance policy is being taken too far. There is no reason to arrest an innocent child for accidentally bringing a knife to school. There are some restrictions you should have on bringing weapons to school, but not being over dramatic about the situation.
I think that zero tolerance is good, but also bad. Zero tolerance is good because it creates no exceptions, making kids follow the rules more attentively. Zero tolerance can also be bad though, because it can put someone in an unfair situation.
I think the zero tolerance is a good policy but I don’t think some one should go to jail for it. If someone doesn’t know that they have a knife they should not get in trouble. But if a student brings a knife or weapon on purpose they should be expelled and especially if they plan to use it.
I think that the zero tolerance laws are fine. It prevents children from bringing guns and/ or weapons to school. If you accidentally bring some kind of weapon to school, that is your fault.
I Think that no tolerance is unacceceptable some of the time . Especially if you bring a knife any kind of a weapon that can hurt a person or and it is not oky to let that person get away with what they did do . Also it depends on the crime that you have done and if you have a police officer in school it makes the schoool balance in the community and also you should keep the laws were they stand and do not disobey them.
I honestly don't think what happened to Eli was fair but i do believe the zero tolerance policies to be affective. How would the school officials know that he wasn't just covering up for a crime he really committed ?
I think the zero tolerance rule is good for the most part. If it was a complete accident and the person turns themselves and the weapon in, there should be no problem. If a weapon is found by an adult, then that’s when disciplinary actions should be taken.
I think zero tolerance is good because, it keeps everyone safe. If you want to be safe, you should be glad that you hve the zero tolerance with you. 😉
Zero tolerance policies are, with the exception of terrorist bombings, a bad idea. If you make a mistake on a 0 tolerance law, you go to jail. It doesn't matter why you did it. Mabye you had just got home from camping a day ago and left a knife in your pocket. Another thing is the chains. Seriously?? Chains? If you consider A CHAIN a weapon, and you don't realize that there are 5,000 sharp, pointy objects in your house, then you don't know ANYTHING about weaponry. A thumb tack is a potential weapon. Your binder is a potential weapon. ANYTHING THAT CAN BE PICKED UP IS A POTENTIAL WEAPON!
I think that these policies aren't all that great. It leaves no room for circumstance or accidents, which are always bound to happen.
I think the zero tolerance policies are a joke. They go way too far.
i think its a good police to not alow weppons at school. but there are different caces like what happend with that kid if you turn them selfs in they deffently didnt mean to bring it on perpious. but if they find it on the kid then they should get in trouble.
I think that you shouldn’t bring a weapon to school and if you accidentally bring one you should at least pay the consequence. I don’t think anybody should bring a weapon to school. It could make someone do something bad at school.
The kid in the video handed in his knife and didn't intend to hurt anyone, that's obvious. The zero tolerance policy helps when someone is intending to hurt someone or is keeping a weapon he/she brings in a secret, but if someone who doesn't mean any harm hands his weapon in, you can't blame him for it.
zero tolerance policies are good for guns and stuff. Just sometimes they are to strict! This k-5 boy brought a plastic knife to spread his jelly on his bread, and he got expelled!
i believe that zero tolerance policies are effective and useful. but i also believe that its just dumb to punish someone for an accident that didn't hurt anyone. zero tolerance policies should be able to consider circumstances.
That is messed up. I think that he shouldn't have spent some juvi time. He turned the knife in and for that he gets expelled that is...
It doesn't seem fair that he was taken to juvy for taking a knife accidently to school not to mention he was expeled. It is like expeling a 2nd grader for running with siccors.
I think that they sometimes they go overboard, but not always
i think that the tolorence rule should be a little more relaxed if you were going to kill someone you wouldnt have turned it in
I say zero tolerance policies are good, but some times they go a little to far.
I think what they did to the dude is really unfair i mean he wasn't trying to do anything bad and he didn't use it, I think the school was wrong for doing that. I don't think anybody should get in trouble unless they actually do something
I think ther is a difference between having a fishing knife at school and having a gun at school, so I think they should be treated differently!
I think that the policy is a way to teach kids to not bring anything dangerous to school.
there r zero tolerance ploicies at my skl. i like it tht way! it makes everything so much better
I think the idea of the Zero Tolarence is right but it could be more relaxed in its consequences. But for an accidental thing the detention center is a little harsh for someone that took the initiative and turned himself in.
It is actually is taken to far in idaho because of the no contact rule it I'd actually to harsh here
I think the zero tolerance policies can be too harsh. There has to be exceptions for good students with good reasons.
I think that they are enforced more than they should be in schools. They should take it easy on kids that have legit reasons.
I think that they are enforced too harshly in schools. They should take it easy on kids that have legit reasons.
I personally think that these rules are not acceptable. I could see how they could benefit schools, but what if an event, such as this one, happened to one of us? We would feel helpless with out the right to speak for yourself, and try to explain why this type of mishap took place in the first place. I truly believe that if this young man had the chance to defend himself, he most likely would have not been sent to juvenile detention, and had been expelled. It would have been different if he had used the weapon on someone, or showed it off, but he turned it in himself! It's not like he tried to hide it. He was being responsible and honest, not juvenile and stupid. What would you have done if you were in that boy's shoes!
I think Zero tolerance is great because it will protect your school from bad things that could happen. It is great at my school...
I'm glad they are taking a second look at this rule.Hopefully they will take in conciteration that the student brought the item by accident and not intentionally to harm others.
I think zero tolerance is way to far, I mean I can understand pusnishment for bring a knife to school to hurt someone, but if you accidently find one in your bag, I mean come on.
I'v heard of what happened to the boy at school who brought his knife there. Don't get me wrong, i agree that the school should pay more attention to these things, but the kids shouldn't have to be arrested and expelled! Especially if they didn't mean to bring it in. Becauase when a kid is arrested, even if it's a mistake, it scars them for life! Police shouldn't have to cause such a huge scene like that.
If Eli turned himself in then he should NOT get punished because he was truthful and confessed to the principal he could have just left it in his backpack but he respected the law.
i think they go a little to far on the zero tolerence I think they should let the princeples choose the punishment.
I think that this policy goes way too far, especially because the kid was being responsible abd turning himself in. I'm very glas the government is working toward easing up the "no tolerance", because many kids will be greatly affeced by it.
I think zero tolerance is too hard. The kid didn't mean to bring the knife. The kid is now in a school with kids who have criminal records when he only found a knife in his substitute backpack and he wasn't going to do anything with it.
I think that this policy goes way too far, especially because the kid was being responsible abd turning himself in. I'm very glad the government is working toward easing up the "no tolerance", because many kids will be greatly affeced by it.
At my school we tend to get away with a lot. Some teachers are strict, others are not. If you've done something horrible obviously their shouldn't be any exceptions. Like you did something wrong you shouldn't get your punishment taken away from you. When a policy is made, people should make sure that no exceptions will be allowed.
I think schools should have the zero tolerance policy. it could really help kids be safe and parents will not have to worry about their kids getting badly injured!!!
I dissagree with the zero tolerence policys becose you might have went fishing or hunting and forgot you had a knife to skin the animals you got and get sent to jail.
I think that zero policy programs have their pros and cons... I mean they help teach kids that they can't ignore the rules, but in some situations the policy is unfair when you consider the circumsrances...it really is a fair argument on both sides!!
I don't think that zero tolerance policies aren't good because if an accident happens, then the kid is being punished for something they didn't do. That's just like sending an innocent man to prison.
In my opinion, i think that they are a little unfair, i mean if you grab the wrong bag and say there is something in it thats not supposed to go to school and someone finds it then you are suddenly a criminal? Thats stupid, but say someone is flinging it around in the open then yes they should be in trouble!
i dont know if we have zero tolerance policies but i think we need them because weapons are dangerous.
Zero tolerance works with us and against us. Me and my fellow students...agree that arrest that boy was terrible!!!
I think its bazar... What if a kid went camping in a shack and he/she was shooting a gun. Then when they went to school the next day and forgot a bullet in there pocket? I mean would that get you arrested? That is just crazy.
I think that it is a great way to keep the schools safe.
I think the zero-tolerance policy goes too far and they should tke a rest on some people who admit to their own crimes.
The zero tolerence policies go to far I think princapals should pick the punishments.
Man, thats harsh, the kid didn't know.
zero tolerance has gone too far, schools should try something else for people to not break the law and not something that is treated as a crime.
I agree with the ZERO TOLERANCE because kids should now not to bring weapons to school it could hurt a kid or get them in trouble
I think that they went a little too far because even though he brought a knife to school he didn't use it and no one was hurt.
I don't like the idea of zero tolerance because I think guilty or not they should be able to have a say about what happened, especially in the case of going to jail or not.
i think this is an absolutley wonderful rule.With the new rule around, children would be to afraid to break it, i dont think anyone would like to be expelled from a school and away from their friends in such a brutal matter.The rule should be passed on to every school.
I HATE the zero tolerance policy. In second grade I acidentally brought a big, sharp stick that I found on the playground inside, and I get four days in the DETENION CENTER...!!
No matter how many restrictions there are, people will go as far as they need to. For example, when prohibition was passed in the 1920's, crime rates boomed
I think zero tolerance policies is bad. It might send innocent people to jail. Also sometimes, we need to consider the situation, too. Zero tolerance policies was established to protect innocent people from crime. It should protect innocent people, not send them to jail.
I think that if you turn yourself in then it really shouldn't be charged as a crime. Because if you turn yourself in it means that you didn't really intend it. Our school would of talked to the parent of the student and the student would have been suspended at the most.
People should listen to everyones story no matter what.
I really think they're pointless. People should give consequences depending on the situation. It's too complicated to really enforce zero tolerance rules because they end up NOT being tolerant.
I guess zero tolerance policies are fair.
You just gotta be more careful.
In my opinion, zero tolerance policies are good because they try to keep the students in line and under control, but sometimes its taken to far.
I think thats was just wrong them to do that . He didnt mean to do.or did he.
I think that zero tolerance policies are a great idea but I think the punishments are to harsh in some schools.
I think that there sould be NO zero tolerance rules, because there seems to be an exception for just about everything. People make mistakes and shouldn't go to jail when there was no harm intended.
I think no tolerance plolices help schools from being hurt
I think that schools should let the student explain what happened first, instead of jumping to conclusions.
I think that zero tolerence is a little extreme considering a kid turned himself in explaining that it was an accident and the school expelled him and he was later arrested. I think that the school took it a little to far.
Can't there be a middle ground in enforcing the law? What about having strict policies that also use common sense to implement them? I've been hearing WAY too many crazy stories like this lately. They've all been about school staff and officials who are not able or just not choosing to use common sense to decide whether or not a student deserves a harsh punishment. I think if we hire school officials to teach our students, we should be able to trust them to use common sense when dishing out punishment.
Does the zero tolerance policy include teachers? Are the science teachers not allowed to have little bladed knifes to cut things open? Even if you get a parents not can you not use an exacto knife? This policy goes to far. I can see why for guns, but for a project it should be okay with parents approval.
I agree that zero tolerance is taken too far. I believe that if the student has a valid alibi that they should be let off with a warning and punished if it happens again.
Sure zero tolerance polities help protect the students while at their schools, but in some cases they are necessary or are just a simple mistake. The government needs to have different punishments for different situations. They shouldn't get rid of the law all together, but they do need to make some minor changes.
Kids shouldn't be able to carry weapons in school and I think that zero tolerance is good yet in a way bad because yes it's dangerous and yes it is scary to think about but, a child at the age of 13 being arrested is a little extreme.
I think that they go to far with it because the backpacks looked the same to him . I was just not right for him to be arrested for it.
I think schools have no right to put innocent kids who have never broken the law before in jail for a mistake that could happen to anyone. The zero tolerance polices go way to far in schools. When your rushing on a school morning because you cannot find your book bag, so you grab a different one, and not thinking about the fact that it is your fishing book bag, and then to turn it into the principal. Which by the way is the right thing to do, and not even try to hide it, then get thrown in handcuffs and a juvenile detention center for it. That to me is just not right.
I think that the little boy getting expelled was a little over board because he explained that it was his fishing bag and he did turn it in himself. My school also has zero tolerance but for doing that they would let you off with a warning or suspend you. It would be different if it was a gun but not a knife with a 2 inch blade.
I think that zero tolerance policies are good ideas. They prevent children from misbehaving most of the time. Though zero policies are not foolproof. Also the consequences for these unjust actions should not go as far as putting children in juvenile detention centers.
Zero tolerance policies just seem ridiculous to me. Having a ban on weapons is good, but the situation should be considered when a weapon is found. It was unfair that Eli had to be arrested when he just made a mistake.
I would have to say that it is realy a good idea. Cause like what if someone brings a knife to school, then they threaten and try to kill people. Then there should be serious consiquences.
P.S. If you are not allowed to have any sharp weapons then, we shoulndt have forks for when we eat. 🙂 (HA,HA,HA)
In the case that was discussed today, i do believe they were to strict. I think the policy should just be taken down a notch and the principal or administrator should be able to think about the case.
Zero tolerance policies can work, and work quite well when they do. However, some zero tolerance policies can end up miserably failing, like in the story covered today with the boy and his fishing knife.
Zero tolerance policies are helpful to a point. However, there are certain things that require the decision to be made after considering the circumstances though it should be common sense to check something you don't use on a regular basis for things that ought not to be there.
I understand that they want people to be safe, but arresting a kid who is trying to prevent trouble before it happens. That is not keeping us safe because that will make kids afraid to turn themselves in.
I think it was really unfair they went way too far with this one. I also think that he should't have to get expelled. my school doesn't have a zero tolerance but carring around weapons can be a difference
Sometimes zero tolerance policies are good where they decrease the number of crimes. The person knowing that whatever the story it would not be tolerated would not do the crime yet sometimes the zero tolerance policies go way too far. If you turned yourself in without being told because of something suspicious you found in say your backpack, jail should not be the answer especially if you are a kid. A minor suspension might suffice so that it wouldn't happen again but jail is NOT the answer. I think that Eli's punishment went way too far. His weapon should have just been taken away and he should have just been talked to. His case was an honest mistake.
I have Zero Tolerence at my school also and it help prevents ver dangerous situations that could be a daily thing, BUT I think they handled the "No Exceptions" a little too far...
zero tolerance could be ruin child's possibility.
policy itself makes lead a studuents to wrong way.
for instance, if only person who not intend to threaten someone
go to jail, that would be give a stigma to that pure person.
furthermore, policys big problem is
not consider the accident's situation.
maybe some other good way to right guidance for juveniles.
such backward policy must be abolish.
i think it's good because you should not carry weapons.
I think it is ridiculous for a kid to get in trouble for turning himself in. This is wrong and unconstitutional
I think that at times zero tolerance policies are good because sometimes zero tolerance policies keep us safe. But at other times, I think that zero tolerance goes a lot too far and they become EXTREMELY STUPID!
I think having a zero tolerance policy is reasonable but he just gave it in and they could have just took it away from the person and give it back after school and hive him a warning so that if he ever brings the knife to school again they will confiscate it and expel him. I don't think it is fair for the first time because he didn't know.
I think Zero Tolerance policies are good but for times like when you accidentaly grab the wrong bag they should slack of a little bit
I think that this rule is a little to strict, what happened to the kid was an accident. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong bag. The things done to him ruined his future and are going to make the rest of his life a ling struggle.
I think that zero tolerance is good because you should not be able to carry guns to school. You should check your bag before you leave all the time. But at the same time I think it is also kind of unfair to the people that don't know they have a weapon in their bag.
i personaly dont have zero tolereance at my school but i think they are taking it to the next level
I think this is not fair because if it is an accident then the person will get in jail for reason.
Zero tolerance policies are good because they prevent bloodshed or violence though there should be some room for exception since we've seen how this rule can be breached by accident. (what if a kid found a weapon and uncovered a terrorist plot? Would he still go to jail?)
In my school, we also have a Zero Tolerance Policy, but in a situation where a person accidentally brings a weapon to school and they turn in to the administration, they are exempt from the consequences. I think that this is the best way to handle something like this, and that Georgia should change their policy.
I do think that the Zero Tolerance policy is a little to OVER done.
I mean, weapons shouldn't be in school but there can be exceptions.
Zero Tolerance is not a good rule of thumb, there could be many situations that could get a student in trouble that wasn't there fault .Every situation should be given thought and consideration before a consequence is given.
zero tolerance policies are harsh but what else can we do? with all of the violence and crime that happens they are helping keep our schools safe.
I think that they have taken stuff way to far. think for a moment the kid went and turnd himself in if the kid would have bean a person who kills others he would have taking action when the kid asked him is that youres. Now i am scared because when i go home i put my pocket knife in my pocket, and i dont now what goes into and out of my pocket when i am in a heary in the mornings.So now if i broght my pocket knife to school i am going to leave it in my pocket and keep my mouth shout!
Zero tolerance policies are good, but honest people make harmless, honest mistakes. It's an unfortunate loophole.
I think putting kids in jail for accidently bringing a weapon to school is going a bit overboard with the policy. If a kid has no crime record, maybe a suspension would suffice, but jail? I don't think so.
honestly that policy is ridiculous and the way they treated him was not fair in my eyes and many more at my school in jamestown north dakota. but placing him in a different schooling place isnt very fair.
I think it is unfair he did not mean to bring the knife to school
i think that the zero tolerance policies are a good thing because then you are sure that you can be safe in schools and you dont have to worry about being hurt by someone with a weapon.
Whoever sentenced the kid needs to lay off. If the kid was going to hurt someone he wouldn't have turned himself in.
I think that the zero tolerance polocies are unreasonable. The student did not mean to bringthe bag on purpose, although anyone can say that they didn't mean to bring it to school.
i think they took it way out of purportoin srry spelling not the best. but still wish we had that because my teacher got punched breaking up a fight
The zero tolerance policy does keep kids safe, but it hasn't all the time. In my opinion they should make exceptions, and change and add some rules.
I think that these policies go TOO far. He honestly didn't know it was in there, and yet they treated him like a criminal or murderer. I think that Zero Tolerance rules are hard on kids. They should be, but if the person legitimatly does not know that the weapon is in there, and never would/meant to intentionally bring it and use it, they should still be able to go to school there, not get arrested, and maybe just left off with a warning. These go TOO FAR and I hope to see them changed. That doesn't mean i think kids SHOULD bring weapons to school and that it's okay for them to WANT to bring it and utalize it, but just not punish the kid if he/she has NO CLUE that it is there.
Zero-tolerance policies would work if everyone was made the same and raised the same. Otherwise these policies are useless, because every situation needs to be handled differently. I am afraid that these zero-tolerance policies do not take into account that the world is made of humans not mechanic robots. The makers of these zero-tolerance policies need to realize that some situations can be just as well solved with a personalized punishment under certain regulations. Sometimes a good judgement is worth not making such a law.
I think that kids shouldn't get expelled if they have a good reasoning and explanation for having a "weapon" that they accidently brought to school like the kid Eli in the last episode. But sometimes I think teachers can get a little worked up with the zero tolerance rule.
I think the policy is good but goes to far.
I think that the law zero toerance is going too far. That guys shouldn't have been arrested for bringing the knife to them.
I believe that a "zero tolerance" policy is not lenient enough, but a different policy may work better. In this new policy, if students have a reasonable explanation for why he or she is carrying a knife, then they should not get arrested, but if the student repeats the action, it can be considered a crime.
I think zero tolerance should be at every school. I mean what are the chances of you to bring a knife to school i understand it being a just a mistake and all but you should be more careful
I think zero tolerance policies are ineffective. *Everything* is situational, and failing to take into account the environment and actions will end in long winded debates over something simple. I'm not saying that everything should be handled on a case-by-case basis, but less strict and more general policies can be put in place that still allow schools and other systems to maintain a safe environment.
School administrators need to look at the whole situation when dealing with weapons. Zero tolerance is not the same as zero common sense!
Personally, I think these are taking things too far. I've seen a lot of good kids get in trouble for things that aren't really BAD because of these policies. I think the schools should tone it down a little.
I feel really bad for Eli! I think it was a mistake, I mean anyone could have made that mistake!!!! Just to be getting handcuffed for a mistake must be scary. Plus he didnt HAVE to turn himself in. But he was honest
Zero tolerance laws are a little of needed and sometimes just plain ridiculous. Some cases prove the laws needed, and some not. But the term 'weapon' has become so perverted, a simple piece of fashion, such as a studded bracelet, may be considered by officials as threatening. All in all, changes should be made to this zero tolerance law.
We think that they should listen to the kid's side of the story before they freak out. In that case, they went too far...............
Zero tolerance policies aren't good because exception can be occurred unexpectedly. It's unfair to make someone guilty by nothing serious.
I think zero tolerance is a good thing, but in this situation they took it too far. He didn't know that it was in there, but he was arrested. They are a good thing to have, but some take it a little bit too far. I don't think he should have been treated that way, because he turned the knife in himself. He didn't want to cause a problem. He was trying to do the right thing, but they took it that he was doing something wrong.
I think that putting kids in jail for accidently bringing a weapon is going a little to far... but you also should check your bags before you go to school...and if you find someone else in your school with a weapon then you should tell an adult because they could really hurt someone!...
i think they need to not have that policy
The policy is good, but they went way too far....It is better to go too far than to not do much at all though.
I think that in this case that the school was in the wrong. I do think they took it to far and they didn't have to take him out of school or have him treated as a criminal. They need to be safe but not sorry, and that they could just give him a in school suspention but they also need to realize the fact that he turned him self in and DOESNT have a criminal recored so it is the schools desition but i think that they did go to far and they need to lower the zero tolerence rule
some people go to far with the zero tolerance policy and make a big deal out of nothing...you need rules but yet if you go to far then thats just plain mean
I think it was unfair because he turned himself in.
I think that zero tolerance is a good thing to have but some people can take things too far and bring guns or other things that could kill people or hurt them very bad. If they turn in the weapon and say it was an accident than they shouldn't get punished to bad but the worst they should get is suspension or get expelled for a couple of days.
the zero poilcy is there to protect you not to be mean about it and yes i do agree with the zero thing. just think if you were a parent or a teacher you wouldnt want one of the kids comeing to school with a knife or anything like that would you? the zero poilcy is there to protect. And i do disagree with the concinness cause just cause that boy grabed the wrong back pack doesnt mean he was the one to have the knife! And he was the one to turn in the to the teacher and so why sould he get in troble for something he never did.
I tink tat tis wos sttupid.....i do nott uunderstand why dey go so far.
i think the zero tolerance policy is a good thing cause at my high school we have gangs and the zero tolerance is helping it a little bit
I think they went to far arresting the kid. He turned himself in so he should be rewarded for his honesty.
we have a Zero Tolerance Policie because we have gangs in our high school and it is helping control the gangs function plus we feel safer that way there should be some exceptions though it should be a fine line to the policie go bronchos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that zero tolerance is kind of a good thing, but that time it went to far.
Zero tolerance= Tyrancy!!!!!!
Zero tolerance is effective it has stopped a lot of school shootings and saved students and teachers lives. However the schools seem to be going to far. It is not far that he turned himself in and that should have been enough.
i think its a good thing because keeping people safe is the #1 thing to do!!!
I think zero tolerance policies are affective because it keeps us out of trouble and helps make us good people. But I thought they went a little to far kicking that kid out of school and bringing him to a detention center.
We have zero tolerence policies here at my school and i still don't like them. Sometimes in this case they go too far, just think... If he purposely brought a fishing knife to school he wouldn't take the risk of getting in trouble by making up some excuse. If he had brought it to school on purpose I really don't think he would've turned it in himself. Now since he accidentley took it along he would take the risk to turn it in because at first he probably thought, " Oh, I didn't know this was in here, well i'll go turn it in because i won't get in trouble for accidentley bringing it."
I think that the zero policy is a good thing but then there are some bad things about it. If some schools use this that's a good thing but some schools let you off with a warning. You should only let them off with a warning if it was their first time doing what they did.
i think that this situation has gotten way out of hand. The punishment that he go is very unfair to him because he was brave enough to turn it in and admit that he had accidentally taken it. A lot of other students that had mistakenly taken a weapon to school, probably would have kept it to them selves and wouldn't have told anyone. This is a good rule but i don't think it should apply to some things, i think it should all depend on the situation and how serious it really is.
I think that a zero policy is a good thing so then nothing gets to serious and nobody gets hurt
i think its good that you punished him because he could of mad that story up that it is his fishing knife
I think this is going way to far..the kid didn't know there was a knife in it..at least he turned himself in..but getting arrested and put in a different school is just rediculous
Sometimes they go too far.
WITH ZERO TOLERANCE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING GET BLAMED FOR SOMETHING THEY DIDNT DO, JUST BECAUSE THE POLICE THINK THAT THEY'D DONE OR IS ENVALED IN SOMETHING.
I think that the zero tolerance policy is going too far, what are the dangers when the kid turned the knife in? This policy is unfair and cruel in this case.
I think that zero tolerance policies are important because they could stop a serious situation from becoming worse. The incident that happened with this boy was a little over the top. I think the school could have been a little more reasonable.
I think that 0 tolerance policies are okay, because certain things need to be dealt with. This kid who took the knife to school on "accident" might be lying. Even if he had a perfectly clean record. There's a first time for everything. I do agree that the policies sometimes go too far. I think that deals like this, the kid should do community service or something instead of a juvinile detention center.
I think that they should keep the zero tolerance policy but make some changes that allows the person to get "off the hook" if they didn't mean to bring the weapon to school.
Zero tolerance makes since to me if you are a repeat offender. If you are a honor student that has a pocket knife i do not think that being expelled would be the right consequences for that student. On the other hand if you bring say a pocket knife to school and which you have a history of violence I would watch this student. I still do no think expelling is the answer though.
I no like the zero tolerance policy. I get in trouble a lot so I don't like it.
I agree that schools should have a zero tolerance policy, but not as strict as that schools. I mean the kid should've been more careful and checked his bag before he used it, but it wasn't even that big of a deal! He did the right thing by turning it in even though he didn't mean to bring it, so they should've just let it slide.
I think that it is kinda stupid...i mean give the kid some slack!!!!!he grabbed the wrong bag and it's not like he didn't turn the knife in....idk if we have zero tolerance at our school but i dont think that our school officials would go that far!!! :)))))
I don't think it's fair at all. Especially since he got expelled. He didn't get to even say what happened. I don't like the policy at all since it goes to far.
I think that the kid did the right thing by turning it in and not letting it sit in his bag the rest of the day, cause it he would have done that he could have got caught and got in more trouble then if he did.:):):)
Our school has a zero tolerance policy but I think they were to hard on that kid I think they should have checked it out with his parents to see if he went fishing so that they have known that it was not to happen
I think that it is dumb... because it was an accident. He didn't mean to bring in the book bag with the knife in it to school. He did turn it in its not like he was keeping it a secret. I think it was taken a little to far. :):)
I think the teachers should at least let him tell his story. I mean I know they don't want no more killing at schools anymore. Maybe they should have a crime investigation or something.
I believe this situation was taken too far. I understand how not punishing the kid could have caused problems in the future, but I think this kid was honest and would not have purposely brought a knife to school based on knowing he has no criminal record.
zero tolerances is at my school too but thats what keeps weapons and drugs ext... off our campus keep them off campus and do whatever you do after school. Zero tolerance is everywhere you go because those are the rules of the school.
i think zero tolerance is both ineffective and effective, but its how the school punishes kids. I think arresting the kid was way over the top, because he didn't know that the knife was in his bag.
i think zero tolerence policies not effective. i think that when people brake the law once then i think they would go for it again.
i think zero tolerance policies are good because boys and girls are safe.
i think that the zero tolerance pollicys work sometimes, but not all of the time. In this story they couldn't hear the kids side, thats just not fair, he also turned in the knife himself, he shouldn't of been arrested.
we believe they can be good and bad because they can teach you many things while growing up, but they can distract you from school work.
I think if he admited he had the knife he should not be in trouble. He should not have to go to a school that has a bunch of kids with records.
I believe that it is bad he has been expelled because he knew that he had to tell them, I believe he has done the right think and that he and his family should sew the schools because he did nothing wrong, he didn't know that the gun was there and he told the principal.
i honestly think that its fair but then again its not
i honestly think it is fair cause lets just say that if a teacher got mad at a student and sent them to the office and the student did not want to the student may get mad and pull a gun out or something like that but i think in all honesty they should cool down and maybe if they want to change some rules.
What I think about zero tolerance is you should have to enforce hard because what if that little mistake makes other people bring it. Also some people are going to say i forgot to leave it at home then they are going to do something dumb. Another thing is people are not going to want to go to that school and that school is going to shut down the school then the parents are going to be mad at the school. That is what i think about the zero tolerance policies.
Having the zero tolerance is a good idea because they need to take responsibility because when they get in trouble they'll find the consequences
Zero tolerance is a good thing because lots of people have lots of weapons. Lots of schools have lots of weapons and have drugs so I think zero tolerance is a very good idea. If they have any dangerous weapons they could straight go to jail.
I think that sometimes "zero tolerance " does go to far sometimes you are innocent and I think that you should at least be able to state what happened!!! Also "zero tolerance " can be doing the right think protecting students from weapons and dangerous stuff that can enter school so I think "zero tolerance " can go both ways.
I think that zero tolerance policies are a bad idea because some kids don't do the stuff they do on purpose. Also kids are really scared now because of the zero tolerance policy, there scared that an accident might happen and that they might go straight to jail and that they wont accept the truth. My school doesn't have a zero tolerance policy but what if they start that rule then what would kids do. A lot of kids will probably be all nervous and move schools or they might try to be the best they can at school and they will probably get friends that dont get them in trouble. A lot f schools have that rule but i think it would be a bad idea if my school had it as well. But some people are afraid that they might go to far with the new rule they are considering.
That`s messed up he got expelled from his school because he had a knife with him that wasn`t suppose to be with him , he wasn`t going to do nothing or harm anybody. He was also being honest and went to tell the principal if they would of caught with it that would of been different .
I think that they should not apply the zero tolerance policies in school because a kid might get in trouble for something that wasn't their fault.Like a weapon falling out of your backpack.Or someone might put drugs in a student's backpack in tenting to hide something.
I think that is not fair because that could happen again and it might be you who is the one with the same problem that happened to the kid.
I think schools should have to check the kids backpack.I think the boy should have check that backpack before he took it to school. Also he had
should not have a fishing knife in that backpack. Since he took it to the
principal and he shouldn't get arrest for giving it to the principal when he
didn't hurt, or threaten anyone.
What I think about zero tolerance is he/she should get kick out of school if she/he has a weapon because if he/she gets mad he/she will probably use it on someone.
I think ZERO tolerance is too much. I think that if they are handing the weapon into the principal they shouldn't put in hand cuffs and sent to a detention center! Now that kids life is pretty much ruined, in the future it will be hard for him to get a high powered job, like as a lawyer or a judge.
This is not right at all ............ I mean the student forgot to take out the fishing knife out of his bag because he probably was having fun and did not realized it. He turned in the weapon in and all of a sudden he was being sent the detention center for doing the right thing and turning it in. I would have done the same thing too, but i am not in that situation.
I think that the zero tolerance policy is a bad idea. For example, something that a student gets blamed for might not be their fault. They could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I think there should be a little tolerance to hear students out.
I think zero tolerance policies in schools is good because you should not be able to carry weapons. I think students should always check their backpacks, purses, or folders before they go to school.
I believe the zero tolerance policies are not fair. For example, the boy from Georgia. It was not his fault. He turned in the knife. Because of the zero tolerance policy, the school didn't take time to understand his case. Even though it was not his fault, he was blamed. I disagree with the policy. I also believe schools should take time to look at cases like his because it wasn't his fault. He turned in the knife, yet he got blamed! The policy in my opinion is absurd and unfair.
I think that the zero tolerance policy really does go too far. The boy in Atlanta didn't know what he was going to go through when he told the principal that he had a weapon in school. He just didn't want to get in trouble but it ended up making a bigger mess. All I can say about the zero tolerance policy is that people should at least get a say in it.
Seriously bringing weapons to school that is just wrong! why would you bring a weapon anyway.You think you are so bad do you.Well guess what .The principal could call the cops they don't care if someone else put it in your backpack if you were the one carrying a weapon you are in trouble no matter what.
The young boy in Atlanta didn't know he had a knife on him and even admitted that he had the knife and even turn himself in and still got in trouble.So I guess that what's zero tolerance means no matter what they don't care,they want you to face consequences.
I think they over reacted.He was being responsible. He even took it to the office and admitted he brought it to school. So he handled the incident well and he gets sentence to detention center. He didn't know it was there.
I think putting kids in jail for accidentally bringing a weapon to school is going a bit to far. When the kid figured out that the knife dropped out of his backpack he immediately reported the knife to the principal's office.There was nothing wrong done there he did the right thing by turning in the knife. I think the kid shouldn't have gone to court for saying the truth.
I think zero tolerance did go too far because the boy that was found a knife in his backpack had it by accident. He didn't know he had it but they still punished him. He didn't have any thing to do with it so that is why i think they did go too far in zero tolerance.
I think zero tolerance is a rule that is way too much. For example, if a boy gets caught with a knife that falls off his backpack and he reports it to the principal's office it is not fair for him to go to court and get expelled from school. I think they should give him another opportunity because he made the effort to come to school with his prepared materials he needs for school.
I think it's a good idea because it keeps kids away from danger during school and that way kids will check their backpacks before they go to school and it won't bring any problems. Also, they say that kids are supposed to feel safe at school. So how do they expect kids to feel safe if they know that there's a possibility that a kid in their school might have a weapon without no one knowing?
I think the zero tolerance is not exaggerated because it shows a good lesson to be cautious and careful. For example the boy that had a fishing knife in his backpack got in big careful trouble for not being patient or prepared. So next time he will be more and he learned his lesson.
Zero Tolerance Policies were put into place for a reason. Why? So that they wouldn't have to worry about the "What if" factor. I don't blame them because there times where a person who has committed a crime can find a loophole to the law and say, "Yes, BUT, the law does state that ________" (fill in the blank accoring to the situation). This should never be the case because it can get guilty people out of trouble.
I feel that schools are going too far with their zero tolerance rules. It is very distracting in schools, and kids should not be arrested for having an unknown knife in his bookbag!
I think that the zero tolerance policy should be inflicted but when the student turns it in himself it should be less of a consequence. It isn't like he knifed someone.
I think that the no tolerance policy is good, but they might need to change it depending on the situation.
I think that it just went to far.He did not know that it was even in there.He even turned himself in, if he was trying to cause harm he wouldn't have turned it in.
I think that zero tolerance are a fantastic idea but the punishments should not be so harsh. Nobody should be expelled for a mistake.
i think they went to far because it was an accinident you can tell becuse he turned it in him self
I think that they should judge on what had happened.
i think u should be able to take a knife to school but they should make lisens for them to take them to school cause were your school is could be a bad area it could be dangers the way back home u never know
Zero tolerance policies are only needed in certain situations and should be more specific. They are a good idea but sometimes they may go too far.
The zero tolerance policy is a little outrageous, but it can also help protect schools from dangerous events such as, violence. But when schools expel a child from school, arrest him, and put him in detention center without letting him give an explanation is sort of cruel.
zero tolerance policies are sometimes a good idea. but in this case, it went too far. he shouldnt have gotten in trouble for something that was an accident.
Personality I think that [zero tolerance policies] are not needed. I agree that this is safe but its also not fair to what happened to that kid. He turned himself in!
There should be some tolerance but if the kid gose to the princable and telles him the kid should get some releaf.
I think that this is a good idea. However, I have heard the story about the boy and it bothered me. If you are going to enforce the law you have to make sure everybody has knowledge about it.
In many ways Zero Tolerance rules go over a bit. Trying to keep people safe is'nt a bad thing but, support your conviction with evidence and both both sides of the crime. You never know, maybe they were innocent.
I think it's unfair that the kid has to go to juvenile detention center because he accidentally forgot to take out the fishing knife out of his backpack.
The kid brought a knife to school. He was honest about it and tried to turn it in. The "Zero Tolerance policies" make schools safer but at the same time they make no sense at all. There is a line that you can cross he was honest, he was unfairly punished, to me that crosses the line. Whoever thought up the law had a reason to do it – safety in schools. They have enforced that rule to a point where an honest kid gets in trouble for doing the right thing. It is wrong and should be really considered and revised.
I think that what the Principle of this school did was wrong. This was a young kid, he wasn't trying to hurt or harm anyone. And he did the right thing by turning it in. I think that schools should only have zero tolerance policies if it is needed in that region. Like if there is a high crime and/or murder rate, then there should be a different policie.
zero tolerance policies dont make sense to me... what if its a mistake like it was with that other kid... its not fair.
Zero-tolerance is a way to skip over judgement. You simply look at the punishment look at the rule and follow through. But the world is made of humans, not robots! Humans need a judgement, even though it may not be fair or what they asked for at least their was a thinking mind involved, with morals and hopefully a good sense of judgement.
Zero-tolerance is not human, good judgement is, and this is why we have a system where we elect people to office that we think will make good judgements, because that is the human element. If everything ran on zero-tolerance, there would be no judgement of wrong or right, and no thinking involved. We would follow the rules for no other reason than to follow the rules.
Good judgement is always better than a policy like zero-tolerance. It is human to commit good judgement. Zero-tolerance policies do not take into account that all human situations are different and indivualistic. Zero-tolerance policies take away the need for good leaders because anyone can follow a zero-tolerance policy and file out punishment, not every can make a good judgement.
He should have gotten in trouble but he should not have been kicked
out of school. he didnt mean to do anything wrong.
The school should look at each incident and determine the intentions of the person.
I think zero tolerance policies go 2 far
I think it is not right
i think that yes, kids like us do need disapline, but sometimes they give us WAY too much!!! the little things that kids do bad dont need five weeks of ISS for example.... they need to stop, now
I know people that have gotten letters of harassment for giving someone a hug in the halls. These policies should not take effect unless the case has been discussed and examined. The boy turned in his knife, and he admitted it was an honest mistake, but he still got arrested. These policies are completely ridiculous sometimes.
I think that schools should take some circumstances into consideration. Not all students have bad intentions and accidents do happen.
I think that the zero tolerance policies are to harsh, the kid didn't know and the schools need to understand that
I do not belive that it is a distraction because not only can you listen to music on and MP3 player or anyother tech. you can still use as something educational.
i believe that every situation should be considered. its just unfair to punish someone that doesnt deserve to be punished.
No, what if what happened was an accident? Then the person would be blamed for no reason. We all make mistakes.
I am REALLY glad that there's "Zero Tolerance" becuase lets say Someone DID bring a knife on porpuse to hurt someone & they turn it in saying the same thing!He/she wouldn't really get punished.
We use the zero tolerance rule in our school and sometimes it works effectively but other times it can sometimes give a student a pressure to do something bad, especially from their peers.
the kid actually did the right thing by turning it in, but the school went too far with so called zero tolerance policy,
Its not right. Because you can only push a person so far until you pushed them to the edge.Now a days that leads to people killing their self!
I think they are good sometimes but if a kid comes in to give it to you cause he brough it by accident you should take it and not call the police. It's too extreme to ruin his life by one little mistake he didn't mean to hurt anyone he tried to do the right thing and got punished way to extreme for it.
This is a ridiculous that a child would be punished for accidentally bringing a "weapon" to school. I agree such "infractions" should be treated as crimes until the child is questioned, and intent is discovered. Then the child should receive their judgment accordingly. Even though it is a school policy, the kid turned the knife in and was nailed, as if he committed a heinous crime.
I think that the zero tolerance policy isn't right; sometimes there is a good reason for breaking the rules, or it was and accident. I think this is too harsh and quick to judge.
he was obviously not going to harm anybody, it was just an accident. the kid gave the knife to his principle, he didnt shank anybody
Well, you have to keep in mind that even though there's zero tolerance it's not going to stop all crime. Even if you get the whole story to something it doesn't mean they are telling the truth.
It's fare because kids that are bad shouldn't be with other kids because they will distract them wile there trying too learn
Zero tolerance is terrible there should be times when exceptions are allowed
If you break the law you should know the police(popo) is going to find you and arrest you so you shouldent be suprised.
I think the zero tolorance policy goes a little too far. They should consider the situation first.
If you are bad the cops will getyou
I think zero tolerance is a good rule, but except for insidence about the story with the kid. the kid did not bring the knife to school to hurt someone so i do not think this insident goes for the zero tolerance rule.
zero tolerance policies can be helpful SOMETIMES but overall I think that the rules with zero tolerance policies shuld be bent in a case of accident or not knowing something "bad" was in your possession.
If I were a teacher I would give tolerence policies. I would give chances.
I think it's good because so you can stop criminals.
If it is the law than it should be followed but if the law is unreasonable than there should be an execptiom.Congress should decided witch laws don't have to be followed and witch ones should.
I think hese people are going way to far with this.
i think that the zero tolerance policies is dumb because, what happened to that kid was an accident and he turned himself in. He didnt even mean to bring the knife. But i can see in some cases where they should get expelled or supended
The concept of Zero Tolerance Policies are decent, break a rule and get a healthy dose of punishment to prevent farther "infractions". But why? Why wouldnt one be granted mercy understanding the circumstances? This child didnt realize there was a weapon in his backback. HE TURNED HIMSELF IN FOR CRIPES SAKE!!!!!!! He OBVIOUSLY had NO maleviolent intentions at the time! But then he wasnt allowed to speak his side AT ALL. Even under this set of circumstances, now were I come from... thats against the first ammendment. Were I stand is here: Zero Tolerance Policies have no understanding, no speak-your-side, NO democracy.
I understand rules but no a rule like that it made no sense,because if he wanted to hurt someone he could had stab someone his his way to the office or hide it.
there are zero at my school igo to
Zero tolerance is ridculous. It's about as equal as you spitting on the soccer field and then having to run 5 laps.
zero tolerence is effective. But their must be discretion.
people break laws but they still have tolerance they will regret it
There is no rule without an exeption, therefore just an idea abou Zero Tolerance is wrong and only theoreticall. We're the people, not robots that you can program, and we all make mistakes.
I think it's alright but then there's a point where you take it too far.
I think this is an extremly helpful law but it us not always. As shown in this video it not always fair to hae zero tolerence. I think the young boy showed leader ship skills turning the knife into the princable. I think the policy is a little out of hand
There's a point to be made with this policy, but sometimes measures are taken too far.
If you speed, you automatically get a ticket, so we already at a zero tolerance policy.
With no tolerance, then if they did not commit the crime, but no one else knows, they will still get in trouble, even if they know someone else did it.
well the zero tolrence is dumb, people are going to make mistakes what do you expect us to do act like things that do nothing wrong well thats impossible everyone does something wrong every once in a while so cut it out with zero t
They are forgetting the REASON for the rule, they have to consider INTENT. There should not be any zero tolerance rules because special circumstances may arise. There was obviously NO THREAT here but reason is not considered because of "zero tolerance" ? They treated this child like a terrorist. It's ridiculous.
i think its kinda dumb if he didn't even know about the knife to punish him. what if you did it but you didn't know thats why i think it is really a dumb thing to punish him for somthing he didn't know about
I think that It is okay to be able to have a strict policy because thats exactly what all the students need in my opinion but i think it becomes a problem when you have no exceptions. For an example what if you took the wrong book-bag to school and it contains items for a sport that you indeed compete in. Those items are in some form dangerous weapons. You try to explain that to the principal but he informs you of the missing assignment policy and that he cannot except that he has no choice to expel you. Now this is where in my opinion this policy goes wrong with very thorough investigation they would have been able to find out the truth and would have never had to expel him.
i think the zero tolerance rule is good but they took it to far with this kid he turned himself in i think a minnor punishment would be ok but what they did i think was to much
I think the zero tolerance law has been very bad. Too many people are breaking too many laws. Even though people make mistakes they should not be making this many mistakes.
I think that the zero tolerance policy is a good idea but elie made a mistake with his backpack so they brought it too far
I think None Talorence goes to far and schools should have acceptions for different situations.
I think that it is an alright policy, but they might be getting too far.
I don't think its fair how you don't even get like a first warning if your a regular citizen, because movies stars and rich and famous people get multiple warnings with just little fines even if they break a big law. Like Robert Downy Jr. or OJ Simpson.
They are too strict. Teachers and staff just need to take some time to review the circumstances and then make a decision.
Zero tolerance policies do work, but sometimes they are way too harsh. They have the right ideas, but the wrong punishments.
I think that every policy has a situation where it needs a little wiggle room. I think that absolute, complete zero- tolerance policies are a little ovgerboard.
I think zero tolerance is good to have, but sometimes, it just goes way too far. Its not fair for those who suffer for accidents but when kids know the consequences, they could be scared of them and not even decidde to bring the kife, or gun or whatever that item is.
I think that zero tolerance is way too far. I mean if something happens by accident you should at least get less severe circumstances. I mean what happens if you got something dangerous on your dresser and you accidentally knock it into your backpack while doing chores or something. I realize they can't let you off completely but come on. Its just ridiculous.
I think that zero tolerance will only work in very specific situations. In most situations I think that there should be flexibility with consequences. I think the consequences of someone's actions should be changed greatly by their situation. Stories that lead up to thing should always be considered as well as what they actually do, if its serious something should always be done, if it's on accident then the story should be listened to.
I think there should be a little leway
I guess I'm ok with it because rules and laws are made for a reason.
i think there should be a little bit of tolerance to some certain things but mostly zero tolerance is good.
i feel as if they handle tolerance policies the wrong way, i mean they take it to seriously. in some cases i may understand if they take it to seriously but having a kid report what he accidentely did was the right thing but instead they had him go to jail and stuff which is wrong!
the zero tolerance is the wrong way to deal with thing's ; if some one where to do some thing harmless it could be treated with misunderstanding.
well they should have no zero tolerance because it's a get the law like from the news a teacher hit a student so i would say no!!!!
I think the zero tolerance policy was created for a reason, just like any other law/rule. It was obviously created for our safety and they only want to keep us from harm. Although i think it's great that they came up with this policy, i do believe there are certain circumstances that different actions need to be applied. All situations are different and they all need their own consequences. I don't think it's right that someone gets severely punished for something they did on accident, and i believe their story should be listened to. On the other hand, if they had all intentions towards their actions, they should be punished with the appropraite consequence to fit the situation.
I agree with zero-tolerance because I there were none, someone can get hurt...badly.
I think that the zero tolerance policy was enforced but at the same time we didn't get to hear the administration's side of the story.
I hate the "Zero Tolerance". I think it is the dumbest idea ever. People make mistakes and it shouldn't ruin their lives!
I don't think that rule should be invented because if you didn't do the crime why should you do the time.
I think they should not have zero tolerance because it is wrong because you might hit a chide that about to 3-100 so they should have no zero tolerance because it could be hurtful to others.
I think that the "Zero Tolerance" policies have pros and cons. It's good to have them when you are in a dangerous situation but if the kid turns himself in, then you should give him some slack. I mean, if someone brought in a weapon to school on purpose, do you really think that they would turn themselves in? The "Zero Tolerance" policies are good things but there are moments when people need to determine when is the right time to enforce them and when to give a little slack.
If people ruin their lives they can turn over a new leaf and start over
i think teachers should suspend students for what they do and the students would have to accept the consequences.
A zero tolerance policy can be a good and bad thing. I understand that people should be punished for their actions, but sometimes there are certain circumstances that the rules should be dropped for.
I think that they should have a rule like that but not as strict. I mean it isn't really his fault that he had it. And he did the right thing and went to the princible.
i think that they should do a diffrent way to do that because it can kill some animals in the sea ocean
There is one thing I don't understand, why did he have to bring the fishing back pack in the first place? That backpack doesn't have anything he needs for school and kids at my school usually just carry around their stuff. The reporters said he never got introuble with the law so technically he could have been a trouble maker in class. I think that zero tolerance is good because someone else could have been planning to use the knife as a weapon and when Eli dropped it it ruined his plan and to try to cover up his tracks he would turn it in "inicently".
I think some zero tolerence policies help but sometimes they take little things way out of porportion. I think the people should be more considerate of what happened in the situation. Then go on to the punishment.
i think that zero tollerence stinks because that boy had to get expelled because of that knife
In my opinion I dont think people should get in to trouble for the littlest thing. For example bring a fishing knife to school on accident. If someone accidently prings a knife to school and notices it, if they turn it in themselfs they shouldnt get in trouble for it. Maybe he was going to go fishing after school with some friends and there parents were going to pick him up and he needed it. But that doesnt matter he turned it in himself after relizing it i t aint his fault.
I think they are taking this way to far. There are some situations were they need to stop and think about what they are doing.This is a perfect example of that. Yes what they are doing for some cases are great inforcing law is helping us all but there is a certain point in time when u have to stop and ask yourself it u are taking it to far and in this case they did and they were wrong even if they dont want to admit it it was wrong and shouldve never happend stuff happens like that all the time so they need to grow up and stop and think about their actions
I think that the zero tolerance polices are ridiculous and are not necessary. Every day you hear of people who get out of jail or prison because they were found innocent and this zero tolerance thing is just the same thing but starting at a younger age.
The zero tolerance policies are bad because they dont give you a chance to defend yourself. Whoever is punishing you does not want to hear your side of the story, they just want u punished
I think that the zero tolerence law is a good thing. In sertain surcumstances exceptions need to be made. For example if you bring a nale clipers in an airport you should not be sent to prison, and if you bring a fishing knife in a gas station.
i think zero tolerance is wrong because it can cause a crime and it could be very painful to others!!!!!!!!!!
I do not believe in them in some circumstances.
If someone is hiding something like a gun in an airport. then they are expectable
i think that the "Zero Tolerance" policies have pros and cons. It's good to have them when you are in a dangerous situation but if the kid turns himself in, then you should give him some slack. I mean, if someone brought in a weapon to school on purpose, do you really think that they would turn themselves in? The "Zero Tolerance" policies are good things but there are moments when people need to determine when is the right time to enforce them and when to give a little slack.
zero tolerance is good somtimes but most of the time they shouldnt be so strict
I think that the No Tolerence Policy is too strict. It may have been created to protect students but it is unfair in the cases that they might have accidentaly violated the policy. There should be some sort of common sence by-pass amendment to all the policies. Now hopefully that could make both sides of the argument happy.
I don't agree with it there are special events and punishing someone when they are turning in something in and being sorry for it I think that they shouldn't get into trouble we all make mistakes and for something as smAll as this why effect this boy for the rest of your life
I think the zero tolerance policies are good in certain situations but in others they're unfair. If a student accidently brings a knife that he uses for fishing to school and turns it in he shouldn't be charged for anything. The zero tolerance policy makes it so he's in trouble even though he clearly had no intentions of doing anything wrong.
I don't like the zero tolerence policies. People who turn in the weapons should be let off with a warning. Would you rather have someone have to hide the weapon or give the weapon to the school? I would want them to give it to the school but kids arn't doing this because the harsh consequences. The harsh consequences are what are keeping kids from turning weapons in.
I think it goes to far but then again I don't. I think they need to enforce the rules but if they have no room to correct their mistakes, like a warning, how do they know how to fix it? It reminds me of that 6 year old know brought his boyscouts folk, spoon, and knife foldible to school and was then expelled because it had a knife. I mean how is a 6 year old suppose to know when they have only just started school that year. But when it comes to older kids like middle schools and above then there should be higher consquences but younger kids have to learn first.
laws and rules should not be broken that is very bad
I stand on zero taleroance is kind of between because alot of schools go way to far with this I mean like if their trying to really hurt somebody then I understand but alot just over exzaderate it. My of other opinion is that alot of schools are way o leanyent andlet their students get away with serious crimes and bad judgements and I be more pertective and serious.
I stand at zero tolerace policies towards the top. Because some can iclude or have exeptions. Such as if some has an intend to hurt someone with something then that's when the zero tolerance policies can be used. On the other hand if it's an accident there can be some type of exeptions.
Zero tolerence policies can only work when everyone agrees with it and they have to have everyone on board with it. Some schools who have tried it haven't for sure stuck with it for everything and everyone. Schools should try it at their own risk.
They go to far with this zero tolerence. A high school student got suspended for having a box cutter in his car. He had that box cutter because he worked at a grocery store. A 5 year-old got suspended for bringing a shot gun shell to school. I agree with the idea of zero tolerance. But it is taken to far.
in the case of serious rules and laws zero tolerance should be instilled and followed through with. these days i feel like alot of people disregard laws, so zero tolerance policies will re instill the consequences of what happens when you disobey a law. in the cases of ls serious rules, zero tolerance is too harsh, so many situations turn out to be misunderstandings or mix ups and innocent people can be punished is such a policy was instilled.
LAW'S should be followed so our world could be i n good hands
zero tolerance is not caused for that is just to bad
i think that they have to lay down the law. If they break the law for some people they will have to do it for every one.
Thew zero tolerance laws to me are the laws that keep us safe. even though some people say they go to far i think they dont go far enough. i think this because people that break these laws or rules dont always get into the trouble that they should get into. the people that sy the laws go to far are wrong because they are keeping people just like them safe in the crime infested world.
i think that zero tolerance should have an exception, such as this. how can you have zero tolerance on someone doing the right thing. but if the person were caught with the knife instead than that would be a completely different thing. the law is the law and this kid abided by it every step of the way. there needs to be a little lee way somewhere.
I think that zero tolerance would not work. In the case where there is such a policy, what a person thinks of when he does something wrong woul possiblely be:
If I turn it in, I'll get arrested anyway's. So why bother to confess when I have a better chance of getting off by not telling or lying?
This type of policy discourages people to tell the truth.
The zero tolerance policy is good, but there needs to be an exception when it comes to certian situations and the student.
zero tolerance policies are appropriate for only certain situations, like murder. not throwing snowballs at recess
I don't think zero tolerance policies are helpful there are a lot of people or kids that do thing not intending to be wrong or harmful that can evenn go to jail because of zero tolerance policies.
no, if your kind but were involved in something, it doesnt mean you didnt comit the crime
there is zero tolerance in my school. it prevents problems to happen.
I think zero tolerance policies are good, because people should be punished for bad things they do.
Some times if someone sees you doing something bad, they might just send you to jail not listening to the full story? What if they were forced to or they could've gotten killed?
i go with the supporters, rules should not be broken under any kind of condition. they are the basic elements that make the society that we live in safe, and without them, bad people can do what ever they want.
This is not right because people will not get in trouble and eventually they will start to think it is ok to do this.
i think zero tolorence polices would help keep a place extremely safe, but too safe, they are going too far.
i think that zero tolorence polices do not go to far. but mabey if someone does a small crime they go to far.
Zero tolerence can not be excepted and has to have something done about it.
zero tolerins from polise will put the good kid in hard plases and could really get them in troble.
at my school we do not need tolorence polices because the shool is next to a poless stashon.
That's to intense I think it'll cuase more crimes. Too many are being commited because of the pressure of laws we have now. Zero tolerace is Too much.
I believe that zero tolerence is the right idea, but it is ineffective. People believe they are going to get in trouble no matter what lifestyle they live, so crimes will incrise.