RubySoho
Winston
Randy Castro - 1st Grader, LEGO Builder......Sex Offender???
April 3rd 2008 20:03
ZERO TOLERANCE. It sounds so...so....authoritative, doesn't it? As if by declaring something to be forbidden, it can actually be willed out of existence. Zero tolerance policies are a big thing in the States right now, particularly concerning issues of sex and violence in schools. On the surface, it seems like zero tolerance for sexual abuse and violence would be good things, right? However, if you take common sense out of the equation, as many of these policies do, then you end up with situations like the one involving our little friend Randy Castro, here.
Here is an excerpt from this article on MSNBC.com. See if anything strikes you as, well....maybe a bit stupid:
During recess at his Woodbridge school one day in November, when he was 6, he said, he smacked the classmate's bottom. The girl told the teacher. The teacher took Randy to the principal, who told him such behavior was inappropriate. School officials wrote an incident report calling it "Sexual Touching Against Student, Offensive," which will remain on his student record permanently.
Then, as Randy sat in the principal's office, they called the police.
You know, I was with them all the way up until the part where they put the sexual harassment report in his permanent record. That was ridiculous, and it just went downhill from there. They called the police. On a 1st grader. For smacking a classmates butt. At least he didn't kiss her on the cheek, he might have gotten the SWAT team.
This is a reactionary stance that many schools have taken in response to school shootings and sexual harassment charges. It's a catch-all/cure-all approach that leaves little room for reason or discretionary action (at least in some school official's minds). It is, to be blunt, complete crap.
I realize that our schools are already overburdened and understaffed. But this is unacceptable. Randy is hardly alone. I have been reading for a few years now about students suspended for things like bringing a butter knife to school with their lunch, hugging a classmate, or idly drawing a doodled gun in a notebook. I have read about 5-year-olds being put in handcuffs. What happened? When did adults lose the ability to take control of children in a sensible manner? When did the grownups abdicate reason in favor of convenience? Most of all, when did we become so frightened of our kids?
It escapes me how anyone thinks these zero tolerance policies will really help. It's one thing to put tough policies in place, backed up by education. It's another to view everything in black and white, and filter out any shades of gray. When considering the label 'sexual harassment', it really is very critical to take age into consideration. Take this line, for example:
A 4-year-old in Texas was given an in-school suspension after a teacher's aide accused him of sexual harassment for pressing his face into her breasts when he hugged her.
No matter how many times I read that, it never sounds any less stupid. A teacher's aide, who I am reasonably assuming to be an adult, leveled sexual harassment charges against a 4-YEAR-OLD. He doesn't even know what the hell a breast is, nevermind knowing that it's anything sexual. The worst part of that isn't that she made the charge, it's that the school officials didn't fall over themselves laughing at her when she did so.
We used to have some counseling. There used to be guidance. We used to use those lumps of tissue between our ears for more than putting 911 on speed dial. It seems that we are less and less inclined to be bothered with those things anymore, where brute force can suffice. Whether or not the child has any concept of what he or she did wrong is academic, it seems. Heck, whether or not the kid actually did anything wrong seems to be academic as well. As long as it looks like something is being accomplished to stem the tide of evil child molesters (I mean, molesters who are children) then that's all that matters.
What do kids learn from this? I suppose they learn to fear arbitrary authoritarian action. They probably get a warped viewpoint of what does and does not constitute abuse or harassment. I'm pretty sure they don't learn what it is that is actually objectionable. The kids still make out better than the schools, though. The schools haven't learned anything at all.
Here is an excerpt from this article on MSNBC.com. See if anything strikes you as, well....maybe a bit stupid:
During recess at his Woodbridge school one day in November, when he was 6, he said, he smacked the classmate's bottom. The girl told the teacher. The teacher took Randy to the principal, who told him such behavior was inappropriate. School officials wrote an incident report calling it "Sexual Touching Against Student, Offensive," which will remain on his student record permanently.
Then, as Randy sat in the principal's office, they called the police.
You know, I was with them all the way up until the part where they put the sexual harassment report in his permanent record. That was ridiculous, and it just went downhill from there. They called the police. On a 1st grader. For smacking a classmates butt. At least he didn't kiss her on the cheek, he might have gotten the SWAT team.
This is a reactionary stance that many schools have taken in response to school shootings and sexual harassment charges. It's a catch-all/cure-all approach that leaves little room for reason or discretionary action (at least in some school official's minds). It is, to be blunt, complete crap.
I realize that our schools are already overburdened and understaffed. But this is unacceptable. Randy is hardly alone. I have been reading for a few years now about students suspended for things like bringing a butter knife to school with their lunch, hugging a classmate, or idly drawing a doodled gun in a notebook. I have read about 5-year-olds being put in handcuffs. What happened? When did adults lose the ability to take control of children in a sensible manner? When did the grownups abdicate reason in favor of convenience? Most of all, when did we become so frightened of our kids?
It escapes me how anyone thinks these zero tolerance policies will really help. It's one thing to put tough policies in place, backed up by education. It's another to view everything in black and white, and filter out any shades of gray. When considering the label 'sexual harassment', it really is very critical to take age into consideration. Take this line, for example:
A 4-year-old in Texas was given an in-school suspension after a teacher's aide accused him of sexual harassment for pressing his face into her breasts when he hugged her.
No matter how many times I read that, it never sounds any less stupid. A teacher's aide, who I am reasonably assuming to be an adult, leveled sexual harassment charges against a 4-YEAR-OLD. He doesn't even know what the hell a breast is, nevermind knowing that it's anything sexual. The worst part of that isn't that she made the charge, it's that the school officials didn't fall over themselves laughing at her when she did so.
We used to have some counseling. There used to be guidance. We used to use those lumps of tissue between our ears for more than putting 911 on speed dial. It seems that we are less and less inclined to be bothered with those things anymore, where brute force can suffice. Whether or not the child has any concept of what he or she did wrong is academic, it seems. Heck, whether or not the kid actually did anything wrong seems to be academic as well. As long as it looks like something is being accomplished to stem the tide of evil child molesters (I mean, molesters who are children) then that's all that matters.
What do kids learn from this? I suppose they learn to fear arbitrary authoritarian action. They probably get a warped viewpoint of what does and does not constitute abuse or harassment. I'm pretty sure they don't learn what it is that is actually objectionable. The kids still make out better than the schools, though. The schools haven't learned anything at all.
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Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
And that teacher's aide. no words for that one.
There was a case in Australia where some prude found out her 15 year old daughter was having sex with her 17 year old boyfriend and she had the kid arrested. Now he is a registered child rapist. At 17. After having consensual sex with his partner. Way to fuck up one young man's life woman. Good job.
I think zero tolerance just doesn't work anywhere its applied- sometimes there have to be exceptions. I was reading in the New York Times about the 'three strikes and your out' law in California and how it has resulted in some shocking breaches of justice. Like a 27 year old sentenced to 25 to life for stealing a pizza. Another 19 year old was so devastated by his life sentence for shoplifting, he threw himself out the court room window to his death.
And don't get me started on the zero tolerance drug policy. All the tax money wasted on keeping pot smokers incarcerated. Uugggh.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
i dont spose issueing warnings and having some perspective and a sense of proportion would be possible?
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
Life is serious stuff, not , hey, let's get into into and not give a stuff.
I think it's high time youth learned to be responsible and parents learned the same.
I don't get into this heavy stuff, there is never an easy solution and suggestions always favour licence without thought of consequence and no I am not referring to 5 and 6 year olds but some of those are far too sexually aware for their own good.
We've got the cart before the horse in many cases.
I've already said far more than I intended. Talk is cheap. It is no solution.
Comment by Hazel Castillo
Working Title
Cirrus Cloud
Parent Adventures
Somehow I'm still fine with how we're not that advanced in my country yet. Children are still children here. toddlers and pre-schoolers can still take a bath together in the rain and not have malicious thoughts.
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
I'm not one to encourage sex in teenagers as young as 15 (teenagers are not emotionally or economically ready for the burden of having children, so it falls to the adults in their lives to take on the added responsibility), but I'm also not naive enough to think we can talk them out of it. Hell, I was having sex before I was old enough/making enough money to have cared for a baby, so I understand the teens viewpoint. The key is to strongly educate them on effective birth control in order to prevent diseases, pregnancies, and unnecessary abortions. Education. Not jail. We've had the same problem here, making a sex offender out of a teenager only a year or two older than the "victim". How insane is that? Taking 'circumstances' out of the equation and just going by a hard and fast rule is a disaster. Murder cases take mitigating circumstances into account. But, thanks to zero tolerance, a 17 year old is guilty of statutory rape? A 6 year old is a sex offender? That is not my definition of success.
Don't get me started on the hypocrisy of the War on Drugs. That's for another day.
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Perspective? What's that?
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Talk IS the solution! Not here, we're just flapping our metaphorical gums, but it is talk that will lead to the action of change at the source. The more people talking, the more likely to spur action.
Good to see you katyzzz, thanks for weighing in!
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Toddlers have no shame about their bodies. It's too bad that they ever learn it. It's worse that we teach it to them. The worst thing to do is to turn the body into some shameful mystery, but we've done just that. You can see the results.
Thanks for your feedback
Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
The mother of the 15 year old in question obviously could not accept the fact that her daughter was not the virginal wallflower she thought she was and rather than admit that she had perhaps failed in her duty of care and talk to her daughter about her sex life, she retaliates by throwing the book at some other teenage kid.
He was only 17, do you think he was even aware he was breaking the law by having sex with his girlfriend?
Comment by MOM
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Thanks for the feedback, your story is a good example of exactly what an inane problem this really is.
Comment by Anonymous
i think handcuffing a kid is ridiculous. but what makes any of you think that kids are naturally going to be good people?
how many "good" adults do you know?
children are sexual beings from the second they are born.
teenagers aren't as dumb as you think. I think people who are suppose to be responsible are slack on the laws and human dignities, which is why society is taking the stance to combat it.
Comment by Anonymous
i think handcuffing a kid is ridiculous. but what makes any of you think that kids are naturally going to be good people?
how many "good" adults do you know?
children are sexual beings from the second they are born.
teenagers aren't as dumb as you think. I think people who are suppose to be responsible are slack on the laws and human dignities, which is why society is taking the stance to combat it.