Zero Tolerance

America's Public Schools: Still Unequal And Unjust

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 04.08.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

The struggle to make sure a quality education is available to every child -- and not just a privilege for a few -- is the unfinished and critical business before the nation for it will determine America's future place on the global stage in a rapidly changing competitive world.

Lucia Graves

New Website Chronicles Republican Scandals

HuffingtonPost.com | Lucia Graves | Posted 03.12.2012

WASHINGTON -- After a series of Republican ethics allegations, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched HouseOfScandal.com on Monday. ...

Making Sense of School Shootings

John W. Whitehead | Posted 04.29.2012

John W. Whitehead

Our young people are members of a lost generation -- raised in a world where life has little to no value, the almighty dollar takes precedence and values are taught by primetime sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons.

One Path to Crime Reduction

Adam Clampitt | Posted 02.29.2012

Adam Clampitt

The reactive approach taken by D.C.'s justice system lets petty criminals off the hook and leaves open the possibility of committing major felonies in the future. Criminals should know that even the most minor offenses won't be tolerated.

Question Authority, Students; Show Them How, Teachers

Larry Strauss | Posted 02.07.2012

Larry Strauss

The lockdown model of education with oppressive rules and blindly inflexible enforcement is a failure. Let's find a way to replace punishment with inspiration, dispassionate control with tough love.

Public Enemy No. 1

Robert Koehler | Posted 01.10.2012

Robert Koehler

Our war against marijuana -- at extraordinary human and economic cost -- illuminates a crying need for us to change the way we govern and look after ourselves.

Building Community, Building Peace

Robert Koehler | Posted 12.13.2011

Robert Koehler

Two years ago, Chicago's Fenger High School had its 15 minutes of horrific fame when the beating death of an honor student named Derrion Albert -- caught suddenly in a surge of gang violence -- was recorded on a cell camera.

Minority Students Face Harsher Punishments, Report Shows

Posted 12.05.2011

Black and Latino students are disproportionately more likely to experience harsher punishments by schools for infractions and misbehaviors, according ...

Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies: A Failing Idea

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 10.05.2011

Marian Wright Edelman

Many school children in America are on summer break right now, but here's a pop quiz about discipline policies in our nation's schools that's just for grownups.

Zero "Zero Tolerance": Ending the Real Debt Crisis

Fagan Harris | Posted 10.04.2011

Fagan Harris

The twin threats of mass incarceration and epidemic dropout rates amongst black Americans pose an unparalleled challenge to the country as a whole.

Paper Planes!

Michael W. Waters | Posted 10.01.2011

Michael W. Waters

An unexpected day's delay in recent airline travel provided an experiential backdrop that gave insight into the ineffectiveness of zero tolerance p...

Student Arrested And Expelled For Writing Name On Desk, Peers Seek Change

Posted 09.14.2011

A Chicago student advocacy group is fed up with its school system's zero-tolerance disciplinary policies. Voices of Youth in Chicago Education rall...

One Week in the Life of a Police State

John W. Whitehead | Posted 07.31.2011

John W. Whitehead

One couple was simply holding each other in an affectionate embrace and swaying, only to be forcibly separated and handcuffed. "I'm not shutting up. You cannot shut me up," shouted one of the dancers.

When We Ban Kids from School, the Damage Goes far Beyond Academics

Patrick Boyle | Posted 07.18.2011

Patrick Boyle

If schools embrace the concept of themselves as communities, they need to act like communities -- rather than like isolated instructional pods that jettison undesirables.

The Time Is Right to End "Zero Tolerance" in Schools

Gara LaMarche | Posted 06.11.2011

Gara LaMarche

It is too early to know whether the current wave of school reforms will lead to lasting improvements in student achievement. But it is not too early to note that many of these reforms have a troubling consequence.

Zero Tolerance Cuts Two Ways: The Unintended Effects Of The Policy

John W. Whitehead | Posted 05.25.2011

John W. Whitehead

America is on a fast track to raising up an Orwellian generation--one populated by compliant citizens accustomed to living in a police state and who march in lockstep to the dictates of the government.

Raising up an Orwellian Generation

John W. Whitehead | Posted 05.25.2011

John W. Whitehead

Rather than instilling in our young people a fear of authority, we should be teaching them to be revolutionaries.

To Mayor Bloomberg: Stop the Bullying

Carol Smaldino | Posted 05.25.2011

Carol Smaldino

We are right to rally our compassion for the victims, but the inconvenient truth is that the solution to this problem is rooted in recognizing and listening to the bullies, most of whom are and/or were victims.

Zero-Tolerance Drug Policy: Seventh Grader Suspended For Touching Adderall Pill

Posted 05.25.2011

A seventh grader who touched a prescription drug pill while at school has been suspended for a week because of her school's interpretation of their ze...

ReThink Interview: Cevin Soling, Director of the War On Kids

Jonathan Kim | Posted 05.25.2011

Jonathan Kim

The War On Kids, a documentary by Cevin (pronounced "Kevin") Soling, goes inside the American public school system to reveal some unsettling truths --...

VH1 Institutes Zero Tolerance Policy Against Killing, Dismembering

Andy Borowitz | Posted 05.25.2011

Andy Borowitz

"We want to remind our contestants that the 'VH' in 'VH1' stands for 'video hits,' not 'vivisecting heads,'" said network spokesperson Carol Foyler.

Teaching School Children to Live in a Totalitarian Society

John W. Whitehead | Posted 05.25.2011

John W. Whitehead

A 15-year-old African-American student was expelled for possession of a "weapon" in violation of the school's zero tolerance policy. The weapon in question was a nail clipper with a 2-inch metal nail file.

Hands Free

ktla.com | KTLA News | Posted 06.03.2011

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Starting Monday and throughout the month, the LAPD is set to join statewide agencies in conduction "zero-tolerance" enforcements...