Educational Leadership: Theory and Assessment Term Paper

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The official motivation of the ruling which initially determined a two-year suspension for the students in question invoked the common good which is placed above personal interest. The practical evidence for such a concern is the "zero tolerance" policies. In theory, it tries to consider the best interest of the community by applying a predetermined punishment; Angelique Forrester points out "a zero tolerance policy for schools would create the same ground rules and consequences for the whole student body" (cited in Vanderham 2006). Critics argue though that measures are taken without real regard to the culpability of the individual. The rationale behing the entire idea is that a more rigid system of punishments would serve as a deterrent for future criminals or law breaking individuals. This utilitarian approach focuses on the rationale nature of man, which reconsiders his gains and losses before acting in a situation (Keel 1997). Thus, the intention is morally justifiable, and results have proven that the actions taken in this respect offered visible results, for instance "The Granite City School District has experienced a 50-75% decline in expulsions as a result of zero tolerance policies." (Vanderham 2006) Nonetheless there are also those who reject such practices on the basis of disproportional nature of punishment. In the Eisenhower High School case, Reverend Jesse Jackson argued in support of the six students by pointing out that "The fight 'was less violent than a wrestling match" considering the school's decision "too harsh and extreme." (cited in Jesse Jackson arrested 1999) Therefore, despite the honorable nature of the intentions, the actions taken to implement them fall short of the minimum moral and ethical standards.

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The implementation of such policies fails to consider the social variety of the environment in which they are implemented. Supporters of the practice see schools as having "great potential as a locus for crime prevention. They provide regular access to students throughout the developmental years, and perhaps the only consistent access to large numbers of the most crime-prone young children in the early school years" and therefore advocate programs to "include interventions to prevent a variety of forms of "problem behavior," including theft, violence, illegal acts of aggression, alcohol or other drug use; rebellious behavior, anti-social behavior, aggressive behavior, defiance of authority, and disrespect for others" (Sherman). Nonetheless, because of the predetermined nature of most punishments, cultural differences may coincide with issues related to racism and thus place in doubt the fairness of the judgment. It was considered at the time of the Eisenhower High School case that such a severe punishment was given also because of racial preconceptions and with regard to the color of their skin. In his statement however he denied any tendencies of racial behavior but rather a lack of fairness in treating teenagers, as a result of zero-tolerance practices. (Jesse Jackson arrested 1999)

As a conclusion, there is no definite theoretical determination of the concept of ethics or fairness, as there are no well established standards and criteria to compare different approaches. However, there is a universal framework which developed from religious and cultural teachings. Even so, in the absence of a generally accepted standard of ethical conduct and limitation of punishment settings and of standard evaluation criteria, there will always be the possibility of abuses and the.....

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