Wednesday, December 12, 2012

No Excuses for Zero Tolerance: Ageism and the Reformist Utopia « Cooperative Catalyst

No Excuses for Zero Tolerance: Ageism and the Reformist Utopia « Cooperative Catalyst:


No Excuses for Zero Tolerance: Ageism and the Reformist Utopia

Acting as an extension in purview to Zero Tolerance measures, No Excuses is model under the reformist movement that emphasizes academic essentialism and ageist authoritarianism by operating off the general premise that youth in inner city communities have dismal educational systems because they are enthralled in a culture that cultivates “excuses.” Schools who adopt this ideology aim to stray away from “coddling” students by practicing a system of disconnect between logic and reason when it comes to leveling with the problems students face. The goal of adopting the model and its pedagogy is to create an environment where children learn how to ignore all of the stressing and tiring issues they may face and put school in the forefront of the minds. This goal, achieved by creating an environment in which teachers, support staff, and administrators receive training not to act on their natural instinct to sympathize with students and provide lateral pathways for the child.
However, in its authoritarian complex, it creates an environment where the student is essentially a prisoner in a dominating utopia led by figures who receive training, in comparison, to the likes of prison guards. Schools that