With the addition of the term “zero tolerance” to rulebooks, what constitutes sexual harassment has been stretched to apply to even the strangest of situations.
In Oshkosh, a 6-year-old boy has been threatened with suspension for trying to kiss kindergarten and first-grade girls on the playground. The school district said the boy’s activities were too close to sexual harassment to ignore and if the behavior does not stop, he will be suspended. The boy already has had to sit in the principal’s office for part of a school day because of similar behavior.
The school has every right to discipline this child, but suspension is going a little too far. His father is upset and told the Associated Press that he doesn’t see any harm in the boy’s actions. What the father doesn’t understand is that his son is at an age where he is being taught right and wrong.
Labeling this case as sexual harassment might be going a little too far because of the young age of the boy involved. But taking him aside right now and telling him that his behavior is wrong will prevent him from continuing it when he is older, when it will be sexual harassment. This kind of behavior must be stopped early on.
This was not a fun game the children were playing. The boy must be told the significance of when someone says “no.”
In addition to punishing the child for his inappropriate behavior, he should be offered a sort of counseling session so he can learn the inappropriateness of his behavior.
Calling this situation sexual harassment causes more problems than it solves. Instead of the boy simply learning the differences between right and wrong, he is becoming a media spectacle. The school district and school districts with similar zero-tolerance policies should re-evaluate the language of the rules. It’s no question this situation is a case of inappropriate behavior and should be treated as such. But calling it sexual harassment takes it too far.