The violence in our Nation is from lack of parenting. We have become the defenders of our kids when they get caught doing something wrong. When I was growing up, if we got caught doing something wrong, the hammer feel. We knew we would face some form of punishment. Our parents did not rush to school to defend us, they believed the other Adults ( teachers) when they got told the little Patrick in my case screwed something up. As we grow up we learn the rules of life, if we are taught that nothing is our fault then we can act any way we please.
The reason for the zero tolerance policy is simple, the schools have figured out that most parents today won’t do what’s right to discipline their kids. Keep in mind I say most, I have a lot of friends who do a damn good job with their kids, others not so much.
When I was growing up, if we got into a fight or did something else equally bad, we got a choice, we could be paddled or we could get a 3 day suspension. Most of our parents allowed the school to paddle us. It was not the pain of the paddle that deterred us, it was the embarrassment of being spanked at the age of 12,13,14….. Sure the paddle hurt but it was nothing compared to facing our friends…