When it comes to troubled kids, listen to the pros

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Today’s Dispatch carried two articles dealing with kids. The first concerns a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the Ohio Department of Youth Services for punishing mentally handicapped juveniles by placing them in seclusion.  One boy was allegedly locked up alone for 21 days straight. If you’re not shocked by those allegations, you should be, and if you don’t understand why isolation is so dangerous, then you should read David Brooks’ piece about solitary confinement being more ...

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14
MAR
0

Education

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Zero-tolerance policies bleed education

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In addition to the problems listed on the national report card it received in 2012, Ohio’s education system must face the consequences of zero tolerance policies: discrimination and higher incarceration rates.  Zero tolerance came about in 1998, when all boards of education were required to adopt “a policy of zero tolerance for violent, disruptive, or inappropriate behavior.”

The broad mandate of zero tolerance and the failure of some administrators to employ critical thinking in applying it have resulted in some absurd results. ...

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18
OCT
0

Social Issues

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