Zero Tolerance for Public Schools

Zero Tolerance for Public Schools

I've been enjoying Greg Sullivan's curmudgeonly "Maine Family Robinson" series on the new RightNetwork. (Sullivan publishes the Sippican Cottage blog as well.) The newest article addresses one of my favorite topics: parents who stand up to absurd public schools. The Sullivan family always assumed they'd have to supplement the mediocre education on offer, but they pulled the plug completely and began to home-school when the craziness reached an intolerable level:

We have had personal experience with "zero tolerance" policies at schools our own children attended, and can testify that what they really mean is that the school administrators will tolerate no brake on their behavior. They will brook no discussion of their approach. The rules will be enforced capriciously, and the whim of a public school administrator can seem very capricious indeed to a sensible person, but under no circumstances will any parent or any other citizen have any input into what goes on in a school anymore. It is the same dynamic that prompts poorly informed and unreasonable people to simply call anyone who questions them in any way "a denier." It is not the issue that is being decided. Who decides is being decided. Here's a hint, parents: It's never you.