The World is a Mess- Don't tell the Kids

 The World is a Mess, Don’t Tell the Kids

 

It is a good thing that our high school students have no idea about what Is happening in the world. If they do, it certainly isn’t because they have learned about it in school.

Barely half of the states require a course in world history or world geography as a requirement for a diploma.  Is it any wonder that the vast majority of Americans doesn’t even know where Ukraine is?

Forget Critical Race Theory in schools, there is a movement in the U.S. that would also forbid teaching about world events that are “troublesome” to students.  If we lived in Russia, we would not be allowed to call what is happening now a “war”.  You could go to jail for that.   Here in the U.S., you won't go to jail for talking about the war in Ukraine, but we aren't going to teach you anything about it either.  Some of our political leaders believe these topics are "too depressing" for students to discuss.

Teachers will be asked by their students, what is happening in Ukraine?  Why is it happening and are we going to war?   Teachers need to not only be responsive to these questions but they also need to be allowed to guide the students to seek their own correct answers by helping them to seek out the background information so they can come to their own conclusions. 

Sadly, the United States has been involved in multiple wars throughout its history.  Some of those fights were warranted even in light of today’s events.  Others not so much.  We might have been better off to have entered those conflicts sooner rather than later.

Educating for American Democracy Roadmap, a new set of guidelines for social studies education that was released last year has seven central themes.   One of those themes is, “A People in the World”.  It offers several driving concepts including what is the role of the United States on the world stage.  These issues are going to impact our students' lives as the world becomes more interconnected.  If they are not taught to study American roles in previous foreign wars and humanitarian crises, how are they going to become informed citizens to participate in our democracy.

Yes, learning about what is happening in Ukraine right now is very uncomfortable.  But not nearly as uncomfortable for the millions of people whose lives have been completely disrupted by Russian aggression.  If we want these world fights to stay on other continents, it would be good for the kids to know as much as possible about how we get to armed conflict and what they can do to keep it from our shores.  We can tell the kids, because like sex, they probably already know about the fight.

 

 

 

Just How much power does a parent have?

 Just how much power does a parent have?

 

A parent filed a due process claim alleging that her choice of a program placement was ignored and the school district selected a different school from her choice.

The school caseworker for the DC public schools participated in the development of the IEP.   The IEP specified that the child needed a quiet environment and a maximum class size of six children.  The caseworker solicited the opinion of the child’s mother in identifying any schools the mother might think were appropriate.  

The mother visited the Frost school twice and liked the program.   Frost accepted the student and DC public schools approved the placement.  When the caseworker informed the mother that the placement had been confirmed, the mother said she changed her mind and no longer wanted that placement because it was too far.

The mother filed a due process complaint because she said the school was too far and too noisy.  She also rejected a second school for the same reason and said that as the parent she had to approve not only the placement level but also the specific school.

The mother filed two due process complaints both of which were dismissed by the hearing officer.   The mother then went to the court system.

The court denied the mother’s claim.  It stated that the mother did not have the right of selection and that the district had demonstrated that it had tried to work with the mother and actively included her in the process.  The school cited multiple discussions with the parent to demonstrate her active participation in the process.

The court dismissed the mother’s claim that the schools selected by the district were too far away because there was nothing in the IEP that stipulated the travel time.

Most importantly, the court ruled that the disputes boiled down to conflicting testimony and the court said it was not going to second guess the hearing officer or the district personnel.  The mother lost on all counts.

Lesson learned:  If something is important to a child’s educational plan, that item needs to be in the IEP.  And, when in doubt, courts are deciding for the district.

Safest or most dangerous

 Safest or Most Dangerous           

 

Whether the new program in Wyoming makes schools safer or more dangerous depends on your point of view.  In most schools in the country weapons are banned. Not true in Wyoming.  In the very small Hot Springs School District #1, fifth and sixth graders are learning marksmanship in the school gym as part of their physical education program.

The students have air rifles and shoot at targets on the other side of the gym.  Air rifles generally use gas stored in a small canister to propel a BB or pellet out of the barrel at relatively high speed.  Generally these weapons are not lethal but they can be.  And they can also cause serious harm.  They are regularly the cause of blindness. 

The school district says the kids are taught safety measures and are sharpening their skills.  The question is- skills to do what!

Lots of folks are very supportive of the program insisting it will make schools safer because children will know how to use weapons safely.  But there are lots of questions to ask about this program.  First of all, do children eleven and twelve years old have the maturity to handle a weapon that can be lethal and in the best case severely injurious?   Secondly, how do we know that these kids won’t graduate to real firearms as they grow older.   In 2021 there were 34 school shooting invasions that killed or seriously injured multiple people.   Some people have asked the significant question- do these kids go from training target shooting right into active shooter drills within the school.

There are many folk who believe that responsible gun ownership is what more children need.

There are lots of facts to consider.   First and foremost is the fact that guns kill more people than other weapons such as knives or a blunt object.   Gun advocates will tell you that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.  But the fact remains that people with guns are more effective killers than people with knives.  In 2021 alone, there have already been 21 accidental gun shootings by children, killing 9 people and injuring 19.   Over 500 children have been accidentally killed by people over 21.Do we want to train our kids to be more effective killers?  

Secondly, a certain percentage of the kids being trained to be accurate shooters will develop mental health issues. The  CDC has indicated 26% of Americans 18 and older do have mental illness.   It is generally accepted that folks who shoot up schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, hospitals have some significant mental issues.   Is it in our best interests to help that those folks be better sharpshooters?

Lastly, these very young children do not have fully developed frontal brain lobes.  It is the frontal lobes that help regulate spontaneous action.   We can teach these kids to be safe but can we give them more rapidly developing frontal lobes.

Maybe schools aren’t the place to take up arms.

We need people to flip burgers

 We need people who know how to flip burgers!

 

There is a trial going on in Pennsylvania.  The issue is the proper and appropriate funding of public schools.  Similar cases will be showing up in Tennessee and North Carolina.

The plaintiffs, 6 school districts and three families, have argued that the state is putting their children at a disadvantage because the schools are underfunded.   There have been multiple budget cuts to schools.   These budget cuts have happened even though state research has shown that more money is needed to improve schools.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are saying that children are struggling against odds they can’t control.  

The defendants, Republican leaders of the house and senate, have pointed to Pennsylvania’s high overall funding for education and question the connection between funding and higher quality schools.   They are also emphasizing the state’s school choice program.  

The plaintiffs are arguing that the schools are so defective that they are reaching a point of being unconstitutional.  They must be talking about the state constitution because there is no right to an education in the federal Constitution.  

Then there is the question of what is the responsibility of public education?   Is it to help children to attain academic proficiency.  Not according to the lawyer for the defense.  He argued that we need people who can do retail sales, make a pizza crust and flip burgers.   According to him academic proficiency is not needed for those tasks.  Would be interesting to ask the folks doing them.

Then there is the issue of who gets to decide which kids lack the ability for academic proficiency and, therefore, are consigned to flipping burgers and which kids could go onto college, become lawyers and make these kinds of jackass statements in court.  A sign in the window of a store in Rehoboth Beach DE read "all deleveries- please call".   Wasn't a fast food, but the folks there probably did reach academic proficiency either.

The trial is coming to a close soon.  But there won’t be a quick resolution, the losing side is expected to appeal.

I hope the lawyer that made his point about who needs academic proficiency isn’t planning to eat fast food any time soon.

Protecting the Children of Texas

 Protecting the Children of Texas

Governor Abbot wants to protect the children of Texas.   If given the opportunity, he would be thrilled to protect all of the children in the United States.  Right now, he does not have that authority nationwide but he does in Texas.  The Governor knows he cannot do this alone.  He will need to enlist the help of friends, neighbors, medical providers, and educators.  Not sure yet if these “protectors” of children will get little tin badges to show they are all sworn deputies to make Pariahs out of innocent children.

So, here’s the issue- transgender children!!   Yes, you may not realize it but these children need protection and the way to provide that protection is to label ANY treatment by the medical profession as child abuse and to recommend that the providers be subject to criminal penalties.  He is also directing the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate any parents who seek any gender-transitioning services to help their children.  The goal here is to strip children of their first and most important ally- their parents.   Will kids be afraid to talk with their families for fear of having their parents investigated?   Will parents be afraid to discuss issues with medical providers for fear of being reported as “abusive” in the Governor’s words.

There is clearly a competition going on between the governors of Texas and Florida.   How right wing can we get?   In Florida, teachers are not allowed to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity.  If you went to Disney with your two dads this weekend, PLEASE don’t discuss that in school.  In Florida, only traditional nuclear families can be discussed. Exactly how many of those are left?  The answer to that question is 18%, the lowest since 1959.    Looks like most of the kids won’t be able to discuss what they did on summer vacation or winter break.   You could go to jail for that.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, you know the folks who went to school to learn how to treat children, has supported “comprehensive gender affirming and developmentally appropriate health care” for transgender youth.  Greg Abbott went to law school, wonder what courses covered that topic.  

This posture by the Governor is isolating families, turning the people who should be helping families into spies for the government and potentially making families re-think just how much protection do their children need and is Texas the best state to get that protection.