Where Did We Go Wrong?

Earlier this year there was a story about a teacher in Edmonton who was suspended due to giving a student a zero on a paper even though the school board had made a policy of No Zeros to be issued.  Recently it was announced that the teacher was subsequently fired from his position.  When I listened to the news story the information was that the student in question had not turned in a paper of any kind.  How does one assign a mark to a non-existent paper with non-existent effort?  I’d just like to understand that rational.  To the best of my knowledge we are talking about an assignment, not the whole term.

       This afternoon as the train was pulling away from the final downtown station we in the train could hear a foul mouthed girl albeit well dressed shouting into her cellphone with words to this effect:

       “You are my F*&^ing teacher, you F&^*er and I want my F*&^ing assignment . . .”

       People were gasping on the train or saying “did you hear that?” or looking at each other with mouths open.  I was thinking “the fine result of no-zero policy, just curse at your university professor and expect that he will give you an Aplus because never before have you reaped consequences.”  That’s pretty much what I was thinking.

       On the weekend my mother, my sister and I were asking ourselves “who comes up with these policies and what is the basis for believing that they are a good thing”?  Examples of weirdness, besides this zero mark thing; allowing cellphones in the classroom, including exams; no penalties for lateness; no penalties for missing an inordinate amount of classes or days even; no repercussions for breaking rules such as not bringing food and beverages into a No Food or Drink zone (just have Big Daddy come in with his law degree and threaten the principal with a lawsuit if his Johnny can’t take the slurpy into the super expensive computer room and spill drinks on the equipment – big lesson there – how to be a bully).  And one wonders why there are bullies in school and why one of the kids will eventually go berserk with some type of weapon because hey, we don’t have gun laws anymore either.

       Really, for all the people out there who have always crossed on green lights only, never jay walked, always written cheques only to the amount of the dollars in your account I ask “where did we go wrong?”