It is no surprise that education today is regarded as an antidote to social problems, from teenage pregnancy to drugs. What has been ignored is the kind of place that educational institutions have come to represent, in terms of clear order and layout, with space carefully designed and managed. In this sense, schooling not only serves as a social mechanism contributing to societal harmony as a whole, but also itself requires special treatment in order to maintain its safe operation and to guarantee that its smooth running will not be interrupted. To meet these goals, especially in a climate where high profile reporting of teenage violence and delinquency successfully arouses public fear, the “zero tolerance policy” comes onto the stage as a kind of panacea. The ostensible rationale for this strategy is that, for the sake of the well-being of the majority, these trouble-makers, this minority, need to be corrected and reformed, or removed. Along these lines, teenagers – whether delinquent, recalcitrant, disobedient, or disaffected – come to be construed not so much as human beings but rather as factors to be managed. My discussion diagnoses what lies behind this state of affairs and points towards a better alternative.