Episode 16 - A Gripe of Life: Zero Tolerances Towards Schoolplace Bullying

On This Episode:

There’s frustrating, and then there’s watching a kid get suspended for standing up for themselves frustrating. These are the moments when school rules, especially the kind that allow no questions or exceptions, start to feel less like protection and more like policy theater. In this episode, this rant of a conversation revolves around the kind of rulemaking that seems more about appearances than real results. It explores how the push for automatic responses has led to some of the most ridiculous decisions in handling student behavior, we're talking about zero tolerance policies. At the core of this discussion is one simple question: when did treating every situation in exactly the same way become a good idea? What may have begun as a way to stop bullying has turned into an inflexible system that often does not distinguish between acting out and reacting. When every student faces the same punishment regardless of context, such as who started the conflict, who made it worse, or who was simply trying to get through the day without being targeted, fairness quickly becomes an afterthought. This episode isn't about defending bad choices or ignoring discipline altogether. Instead, we're shining the spotlight on the default option, relying too heavily on blanket rules that often leads to outcomes disconnected from real life. So if you have ever looked at a so-called equal consequence and thought it made no sense, you are not alone.

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