Sunday Sound-Off v.2

Shared it:
1.  From Susan Cain's The Power of Introverts blog, The 'I See You' Experiment. This is so out of my comfort zone, but I think I'm going to attempt to incorporate into my days. How many times am I somewhere that someone is wearing a nametag, I look at it, but I don't ever use that information. I feel invisible most of my day - I need to make an effort to make others less invisible in their day.

2.  Avocados are now one of my go-to foods, but much of the year they are pretty unripe at the market. Apparently there is a trick to quickly ripen avocados.

3.  For those of you who have somehow missed my intolerance of zero-tolerance (See what I did there?), I was thrilled to read that the Los Angeles School Board voted to ban “willful defiance” suspensions in schools. This means that minor offenses (talking back to a teacher, having a cell phone out in class, or refusing to do the work assigned) will no longer result in a suspension, but instead will use alternative discipline, saving suspension for serious offenses.

4.  There's a new bikini in town. One for those of us who are fat plus-sized. Apparently there is a need for this as retailer Swimsuits For All sold out of them in record time. I have two problems with this: 1. I do not have the self confidence to wear one, and 2. They've been dubbed Fatkinis. Really??

5.  I don't know who Sara Bareiles is, but I do like the words to this song. And the video itself? PERFECT!

If you are ever in need of a 1/3 pound, 8-inch long, monster sausage, I know just the place to get one. Now tell me, why would I expect to see this as an ad in CraigsList's Casual Encounters section?

Appreciated it:
1.  The last day of Cam's Junior year
2.  A week at work with both the CFO and the Comptroller out of the office
3.  A music parents meeting that had the potential to be explosive but went far better than I expected
4.  Lilacs blooming
5.  A memorial Day weekend with temps in the 60's
6.  An unexpected email from someone letting me know they thought of me
7.  A new season of Master Chef
8.  A week without any appointments/meetings during the work day
9.  Getting back to the gym
10. Sugar free Slurpees

Are You Stupid??

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You all know how I feel about zero tolerance policies - especially when it comes to their implementation in schools. Let's be honest here, defining something as a weapon can be a bit subjective. For example, last year Cam was sent to the office for wearing a metal chain belt fastened with a lock (*shakes head* I never said he was a fashion diva). When I saw him with it on that morning, I told him he would likely be told he couldn't wear it - that it would be considered a weapon - but he decided to wear it anyway.

When the school called to tell me they confiscated the belt as a weapon, and that I could pick it up from the office, I told them to put it in the trash. I warned Cam (even though I thought calling it a weapon was a stretch). He decided to take his chances. He was wrong. Learn to live with the decisions you make in life.

Fortunately, his school didn't bow down to the zero tolerance Gods. They thought this could be interpreted/used at a weapon, but they didn't implement the mandatory suspension guidelines.

A similar thing happened to Delaware first grader Zachary Christi. Apparently Zachary's family camps regularly. His parents bought him a handy-dandy folding fork, knife, spoon utensil. Zachary decided the pocket spork shouldn't be just for camping and took to school so that he could use it to eat his lunch.

In another time - a time when people still used their brains to think - Zachary probably would have been asked to hand over the tool and the principal would have called his mother to the office for a little discussion. End of story.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when kids take guns to school and shoot each other, and as is usually the case, over-zealous, zero-tolerance policies are put in place in school districts across the country. Delaware’s zero-tolerance policy toward "weapons" required Zachary to be punished - 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers.

As a side note, the best way to teach kids to be troublemakers is to put them in a classroom/school full of troublemakers, but I digress ...

It would be nice if school administrators were left with a little more discretion in these matters, but that would require them to think - to apply discretion without prejudice - to be held accountable for their decisions. We don't do that well in public schools. Hell, we don't do that well anywhere. We like it when we can do something, then say, "It's not my fault!"

Zero-tolerance policies can usually be more accurately named zero-common sense policies. They leave very little wiggle room when it comes to doling out reasonable discipline. But there is another side to this ...

If Zachary or another student had been hurt by the knife, intentionally or unintentionally, who do you suppose would be held accountable? I'm pretty sure the school district has the deepest pockets. Again, the zero-tolerance policy comes into play. Policy usually makes for a great defense in court.

So what's the answer? Zero-tolerance policies are idiotic. Asking teachers and administrators to always make the correct discipline decisions is ridiculous. Sounds like our hands are tied, right?

I have one word for you - PARENTING! How the hell did little Zachary manage to get that utensil to school? Did his parents give him permission? I heard them on an interview say, "There's nothing wrong with it. We let him use it to eat at home." Hello? Are you stupid? There is a significant difference between home and school and as parents, we have an obligation to insure that line isn't crossed. As parents, we must pay attention and use common sense (there's that phrase again).

The crime in this case wasn’t Zachary’s. Certainly the bone-headed, bureaucratic system of laws, regulations and buck-passing played a part, but not as much as some would like to believe. The real criminals in all of this? Zachary's Parents. They had the ability, and the responsibility, to be aware of what their 6-year old was bringing to school. In this case, there should be a 45-day alternative program for "troublemaker" parents.

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