Why Do Schools Punish Pupils Who Use Self Defense?

Other than people who are completely delusional about the real world, I have never met anyone who is against using self defense when attacked. This does not mean that you can shoot someone in the head if they push you in the chest, but it does mean that you can respond with proportionality.

Within the last 20 years or so, many western schools have become “zero tolerance” for any kind of violence or students carrying weapons. This statement seems extremely reasonable from the surface – which is probably why it has become so popular. But when students are suspended for things that aren’t their fault it becomes quite ridiculous.

The most obvious example of this is when a 16 year old wrestled another student to the ground and disarmed a revolver that was being pointed at another childs head. This 16 year old was suspended for saving someones life. It goes without saying that if he hadn’t have done this, there could well be at least one dead kid on a school bus, but the hero certainly wouldn’t have been suspended. It doesn’t take a genius to see that these policies are beyond ridiculous at this point.

It’s The Easy Way Out For Schools

By enforcing a blanket policy across the entire school, state or nation, it becomes very easy to make decisions. Even though there is often a huge amount of nuance involved with a self defense scenario, it can be ignored by using a simplistic policy like zero tolerance.

Schools really do not care what is happening as long as they aren’t investigated or given bad press. Therefore it makes sense for them as an organization to just hand out suspensions for any involvement in violence.

There is no time taken to process a decision since it is already made. Even if there is compelling evidence such as other student’s testimonies, video and/or a teach present, zero tolerance means that kids can be suspended instantly with no investigation needed.

Of course, the drawback of zero tolerance policy is obvious. There is a gigantic difference between defending yourself from an attacker, compared to sucker punching somebody for no reason. Yet both are resolved with suspension.

Misunderstanding Of Martial Arts

For the most part, people in academia do not see any value in martial arts. Whilst there are some obvious exceptions to this rule, in modern day academia has distanced itself from any kind of physical combat. This is quite ironic, since the ancient Greeks such as Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius and Socrates regularly practiced wrestling, yet have given us so much in terms of literature and philosophy. Modern day academics would prefer to sit in their ivory towers and look down on anyone who does anything physical, thinking that they are now above this way of life.

Parents will be criticized by the school if their child defends themselves using martial arts. Yet any sensible parent knows that enrolling their child in any form of martial arts class from a young age is one of the best things you can do for a child. Not only does it give them self defense skills, but it also boosts their self esteem, belief and self confidence.

In short, martial arts is not for dumb meatheads. It is a practice that should still be hand-in-hand with academia, but for some reason no longer is.

Teaching Isn’t The Job It Once Was

Some teachers think their job is to simply turn up, teach lessons and collect a paycheck. This is one of the reasons why the education system of America is lagging behind the rest of the world. One job of a teacher is to teach kids academic skills such as math or science. However, they must also be good role models and not frown upon basic skills such as self defense, if anything it should be encouraged.

In fairness, the job of teachers has been made harder than it once was due to the lack of respect they can be shown in the classroom. Kids are less behaved and on much more prescription drugs than they used to be, so it has become a very challenging environment. It is also not particularly well paid considering what teachers have to tolerate.

In short, this has led to the profession being overrun with people who simply don’t care anymore. Whilst there still will be teachers who are passionate about their job and add fantastic value to the lives of kids, these people are not too common. The blanket policy of zero tolerance suits teachers who don’t care perfectly. This means they can suspend whoever they want and go about the rest of their day.

Ultimately though, it isn’t the teacher’s fault. Parents need to teach their children self defense and deal with whatever consequences the school throws at them. Many things in life are more important than being suspended from school for 3 days.

What Is The Result Of These “No Self-Defense” Policies?

Increased Bullying

If you’re not allowed to defend yourself, this is going to give free rein to bullies who do not abide by the rules to begin with. Kids are encouraged to tell on one another if something is wrong, but anyone with a brain knows this just leads to being labeled a snitch – which comes with even more problems.

If a bully knows s/he is going to get hit back, it just becomes an easy target for them to bully whoever they want.

This results in a game of increasing tensions with higher and higher stakes. We know that if a kid is being bullied this greatly upsets them. If they aren’t allowed to simply punch the bully in the face and resolve the problem immediately, the resentment, anger, and frustration will build over time. This can lead to events such as suicide or an over the top reaction such as a stabbing or a shooting.

When we compare these results to being punched, it is clear to see which one is favorable by some margin.

Lower Self Esteem Of Kids

By forcing kids to accept being hit or tell on someone, you lower their self esteem. Real young men and women are able to deal with their problems by themselves and only ask for help when it is completely needed.

It’s understandable that if you’re attacked by a group of 10 people, self defense isn’t going to cut it and you will need to deal with this problem in a different way. However, if it’s a one-on-one situation, kids should be allowed to defend themselves appropriately. By taking away this option from a child, you turn them into a defenseless being who has to rely on other people to resolve their problems.

This is not good for a child and certainly not good for their future life as an adult. Kids are smart enough to realize that violence doesn’t solve all problems, so they should not be treated like idiots.

Confusion About How To Handle Yourself In Real Life

Unfortunately, some problems in life need to be dealt with by violence. This is not an ideal situation, but it is sometimes how it goes. If the world never stood up to bullies on a global scale, you can imagine what life would look like. Whilst this is not the same on a small social scale in a school or street level setting, the same logic still applies. People with no morals and no regard for anyone else will run rampant until somebody puts a stop to them physically.

Growing up and not being allowed to defend yourself creates a helpless individual who is overly reliant on others. This is not good for school and certainly not good for a young adult.

In short, zero tolerance policies on self defense don’t do kids any favors. They simply make life easier for school administrators. Self defense is an important skill that kids should learn. It certainly shouldn’t be confused with violence and giving kids a wrong message about how to look after themselves.