Age- Chapter 9 (Zero-Tolerance)

Reflection:
This chapter on bullying and Zero Tolerance policies really hit home for me. I am a huge advocate to stop bullying and following school policies for Zero Tolerance. I have been apart of different communities to help put policies into place. Throughout this chapter, I learned a lot about how much of an impact that bullying can have on a student's physical and emotional health. One of the major goals for teachers is to create a safe, learning environment. When individuals or groups of students are continually harassing a student, it makes the environment intimidating and uncomfortable. I learned that bullying needs to be significantly addressed in younger grades to prevent it from occurring in older grades. Some school districts have really struck down and started using Zero Tolerance policies as early has Kindergarten. I feel that this is how all schools should be handling bullying...early. For my project, I examined my school's Zero Tolerance policy. I found that at the elementary level, the zero tolerance policy tends to make exceptions. I do not agree with making exceptions, especially when the whole goal is to teach students that bullying is not acceptable. I also discovered that my school has a lot of positive programs available for teaching bullies acceptable behaviors and helping victims with coping. This was one of the most valuable learning experiences for me. I think that schools can do so much more to prevent bullying.

My Project:

School’s Zero Tolerance Policy: Exceptions or No Exceptions

                 Bullying has become a huge issue in school districts across the world. Social cruelty has been an act that gives the popular crowd power over the unpopular crowd. Some students have found themselves victims of repeated physical and verbal abuse when adults are oblivious to the happenings. In today’s world, technology has made it easier to bully using online social sites or through text messages. Computers and cell phones allow students to virtually intimidate and harass others.  Over time, the victims of the abuse find themselves isolated and beaten down emotionally. Schools have been developing zero tolerance policies to educate, prevent, and resolve bullying issues before it escalates into something deadly.

                In my school district, a policy has been defined to develop guidelines to assist students and staff with identifying bullying incidences. By educating students and staff on how to handle bullying and report it, the school’s goal is to create a safe environment for all learners. The policy is in place to protect students who are victims of repeated harassment. The school’s zero-tolerance policy extends to extracurricular activities being held at the school, school busses or school vehicles, and other school sponsored events. Teachers and students are trained in reporting suspicion of bullying through an anonymous, electronic form. Every incident is deemed as serious, during which the school administrator acts as an investigator.

                When an incident is reported and an investigation is completed, the administrator makes an executive decision on the disciplinary consequence that the student shall receive. Detention, in-school suspension, recommend alternative placement, behavior support plan, referral to school counselor, and a conference involving teachers and parents are a few of the suggested consequences that will be implicated if a student is violating school policy.

                When I taught at the middle school, my administrator followed the zero-tolerance policy and made not exceptions to the policy. If a student reported a bullying incident, the incident was always viewed as serious with serious consequences. Students would often report that the harassment was taking place in the bathrooms, locker rooms, or in the hallways; areas where there is limited supervision. In order to make these areas safe, adult supervision was required in all of these areas during transition times. Paraprofessionals, office personnel, custodians, administrators, librarians, and teachers were all required to be in a “hot” spot when the bell rang. I felt that my administrator’s strong belief in creating a safe environment was viewed the same way by the staff and students. Bullying still occurs, but it is managed a lot better. My school has supports in place that help and protect the victims. I believe that the middle school has a sound policy to correct and eliminate harassing behaviors.

                I am currently teaching at an elementary within the same school district. Unfortunately, I think that there has been a little more lenience with the zero-tolerance policy than I agree with. When bullying incidences are reported, the administrator still does investigating, but the consequences are less severe. Bullying is a learned behavior and if it is not corrected at an early age, it will continue and most likely escalate. Having stricter policies as well as more character education classes at the elementary level is very important to be proactive when dealing with bullying. An incident that I witnessed was a few 5^th grade students calling another student a name. When I approached the crowed and started investigating, the students doing the teasing kept saying that it was only a joke. I referred the students to the principal, because I felt that this incident needed further consequences, because naming- calling, even if it is a joke, it no joke to me. I was disappointed that the students were only given a warning, because this could have happened before and this time there was a witness. If there is a zero-tolerance policy in place, then I believe it should be followed with no exceptions, especially when it involves bullying and harassment. As a parent, I would want my child to receive some sort of consequence if she was involved in an incident where she was hurting another student (physical or verbally). As a parent, I would be completely mortified by her behavior, because I am raising her to be kind and accept all differences, even though they might be different than her.

                Overall, school districts are implementing better policies for zero-tolerance on bullying as well as providing programs to help victims. It saddens my heart to know the impact that bullying can have on a child emotionally. When a child feels that death is their only solution, I feel that schools are not doing their part by educating and providing enough supports for these students. Zero-tolerance policies need to be followed with fidelity and without exceptions. Teaching our young people to respect and accept all individual difference is the number one goal in eliminating bullying and harassing behavior. It is my hope that one day our schools will have programs and policies in place to create a safe and comfortable learning environment.