Shouldn't Zero Tolerance Apply to Teachers too?

by Kim D.

Children are supposed to conform to the politically correct social norms of the day. They shouldn't speak of, gesture about, or artistically create anything that relates to a gun. In some schools, they shouldn't wear anything that may be "triggering" to another student, meaning don't wear clothing displaying the Confederate or American flags. If we expect students to abide by restrictive zero-tolerance rules, shouldn't the same apply to teachers who act inappropriately toward students?

Listen to a recent story from a Colorado dad before you decide. He was very disturbed when his second-grade daughter began receiving odd, personal notes from a teacher at school. The alarm bells sounded when the father recognized the teacher was befriending his daughter and giving her pet names, like "stinky butt" and "crazy head," and including selfies.

He definitely did the right thing by bringing it up to the school! this teacher's a strange one it's hard not to... http://t.co/XtMfl1kTPz

— JazzY (@boricuathicness) September 22, 2015

The next letter from the teacher contained a poem:

I am here today to say something to you, 

I could tell on Friday you were feeling blue.

But guess what I was wrong,

So I'm here to sing you a song.

A song to say,

I hope you have a good day.

And by the way,

You make me smile, ok.

So please forgive me.

I hope our friendship can be the key . . . 

Oh yeah one more thing . . .

If my child had received a poem like this, I would be standing in front of the principal, pronto, asking about the school's policy regarding teachers befriending students and demanding to know the teacher's intentions in hinting at the "one more thing" and what exactly he hoped the "key" would be in a friendship with a 7-year-old child.  This appears to be what the Colorado father did, but the school's response was shockingly dismissive of his parental concern:

He was in disbelief however when after going to school they quickly replied that the situation had been taken care of and that the teacher would no longer give his daughter letters. The teacher was not disciplined however by the school. The school has not released the teacher's name as he has not been charged with a crime, and the principal said; 'He understands his behavior was inappropriate. He assures me it will not happen again.'

So, what do you think? Is the parent overreacting? Is the school handling the situation appropriately? Why are teachers given a second chance to correct behavior without any suspension when that is exactly what would happen to students displaying bad behavior under zero-tolerance policies? For those of you who side with the school and believe bad judgement isn't a crime, I would suggest that gnawing a poptart into a gun shape or wearing an American flag t-shirt isn't either.