I skimmed through the book Give a Boy a Gun and in the conclusion it lists ways to stop school violence. While I did not read the entire work thoroughly, one of its suggestions is for schools to have zero tolerance teasing policies. This seemed ridiculous to me because children are beasts and don't appear to develop empathy until well into their teen years.
I've known a lot of kids, both from my own childhood years and children of my friends and relatives, and roughly 90% of them inspire mad visions of going back in time to their birth and stuffing them into a sack, to be subsequently dropped from the nearest bridge spanning deep water. The problem is, it's not their fault that they're snotty little brats...the areas of their brains that control judgment and empathy aren't very well-developed until late childhood.
I don't condone teasing, or the more intensive variant of harassment, but zero tolerance in any situation is trash and doesn't help. What exactly would "zero tolerance" entail when it is applied toward teasing and/or bullying? My guess is virtually any insult would end up being defined as teasing. Virtually any attempt at humor as well.
Your thoughts?
Peace.
I've known a lot of kids, both from my own childhood years and children of my friends and relatives, and roughly 90% of them inspire mad visions of going back in time to their birth and stuffing them into a sack, to be subsequently dropped from the nearest bridge spanning deep water. The problem is, it's not their fault that they're snotty little brats...the areas of their brains that control judgment and empathy aren't very well-developed until late childhood.
I don't condone teasing, or the more intensive variant of harassment, but zero tolerance in any situation is trash and doesn't help. What exactly would "zero tolerance" entail when it is applied toward teasing and/or bullying? My guess is virtually any insult would end up being defined as teasing. Virtually any attempt at humor as well.
Your thoughts?
Peace.