Though I do not support zero tolerance policies and am fortunate to teach in a school that does not have such policies, I get where they come from. Zero tolerance is tempting because it is "blind"justice. “We have a list of offenses, and a list of consequences and we apply them equally so we aren’t racist.” Equitable justice is not always equal. Equitable justice considers the context of the actions and behaviors. It considers the fact that children are inherently impulsive and respond to provocation intuitively. Equitable justice sometimes looks unfair from the outside. It’s much much easier to just say, “Rule” and “Consequence” then to figure out what happened, figure out why, figure out what the participants really needed/wanted, figure out how to teach them to avoid it in the future. Equitable justice takes time, and resources, and positive relationships, it’s hard. (Edited - deleted last sentence.)
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