Discipline and Punishment

The result of the suspensions of school students seem to be increasing the dropout rate of those students and increasing the chances of that child to eventually enter the criminal justice system at some point in his or her life. When students are suspended they may feel like they are failures or may generate a disdain for school. If students are suspended in elementary grades and dislike school when they are younger, by the time they get to high school all they want to do is drop out. The number of students suspended each year is increasing largely as a result of the zero-tolerance policies put in place by the federal government and school systems. The zero-tolerance policies harshly discipline minute infractions that used to get children a slap on the wrist. Instead of a child getting a warning or a detention for flinging spitballs they are being suspended for half a week.