This is such a multifaceted topic.

I think that everyone agrees that zero tolerance policies adopted by

school districts is a failed experiment. Students come to us with a variety of life experiences that we
cannot control, change or undo. Therefore, students whose disciplinary infractions need to be
addressed should be treated in a different way. As one panelist kept repeating, these are children after
all, and for children its not too late to change their behavior and give them hope for their future. Each
situation should be looked at from the source of the problem and addressed from this standpoint. With
that being said, this cannot possibly be another burden placed on the shoulders of the teachers. Schools
need to engage in a cultural shift and place more funding into mental health professionals to help these
kids, and in afterschool and other programs, such as apprenticeship programs and community
organizations that kids can become involved him to give them motivation to succeed both in and out of
school.
One panelist mentioned that schools need to stop treating kids like inmates and more like students. I
think that a shift in this behavior could do wonders. Children, especially small ones, cannot function
under strict regimented rules for 8 hours a day. Learning should be engaging and accessible for all
students. In my experience, most students, even the most difficult, tend to thrive when they are
working on something that they find interesting and worthwhile. In districts where behavior problems
are an epidemic, a new model of learning could be adopted that shows students the practical
application of education. In the era of high stakes testing, this poses a problem. But thats a discussion
for another day. However, it is clear that we are not doing our students or our communities any favors
by kicking these kids out of school.