Sex in the school house

 Sex in the school house

What’s going on here?   School used to be a safe place.   In the last couple of months alone, there have been three notable sexual offenses by professional staff in three different large school districts in Maryland.

The Montgomery County Public Schools have begun settlements with multiple staff members who were sexually assaulted by their principal.  Complaints were made by the staff.   Complaints were not only ignored by central administration the principal was up for a big promotion.  That was too much.  Teachers began to go public.  Of course, central admin insisted they knew nothing. Big question is WHY they knew nothing since complaints had been filed?  Now months later, the principal is out and the school system is out multiple thousands of dollars as they make financial settlements with the staff who were assaulted.

In Anne Arundel County, a middle school teacher has been charged with sexually abusing young girls from his school.  He has been charged and the judge refused to allow bail.  Had he not been fully charged and only accused he would still be working for the school district and receiving his full salary.   All of the major school districts have these bunkhouse rooms for staff who have been alleged to have committed misdeeds.   It’s sort of the land of administrative purgatory.  The person is not safe in the school but neither is he/she out of a job.  Gotta love the unions.  So the individual is assigned to a workspace room where they supposedly are working on curriculum.  A woman I know who was assigned there loved it.  She was a principal.  She said she didn’t need to arrive until 8.  There were no angry phone calls or annoying staff, or misbehaving students.  They just worked on whatever curriculum happened to be in process at the time.  They had mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon breaks.  They left at 4 and there was no work that needed doing that evening. And no evening meetings either.   They got their full salary and benefits.  She was disappointed when the investigation of her misdeeds was finished after just three months and she had to go back to work to actually earn her salary.  

The Anne Arundel County teacher didn’t get that kind of break because the charges against him were handled by the police.

Then there is the teacher in Prince George’s County.  He doesn’t understand why he is being accused of a misdeed.   He posted a video online of several of his girl students braiding his hair and painting his fingernails.  The little girls (8-10 year olds) were gathered around him laughing and happy.  Now there are people who consider that inappropriate behavior for a teacher.  He does not.  He claims the child painting his nails wants to be a nail technician when she grows up so this was a kind of vocational exploration.  You can’t make this stuff up!   Parents who saw the video on line were concerned.  Is this the meaning of helicopter parents?  Or was this grooming behavior on the part of the teacher?

Of course, the union is protecting him too even though the behavior does violate the schools system’s code of professional conduct.

Parents teach their kids all about stranger danger.   We never think that these “strangers” may be lurking in our school rooms as qualified professionals.   Maryland law requires fingerprinting prior to employment and attestation by all previous employers if you worked with children that there were no sexual offenses. 

Seems some folks are slipping through all those gateskeepers.   Doesn’t matter who the adult is, sex in the church, sex in the school house- Just say no.

Pistol Packin' Teacher

 Pistol Packin’ Teacher

 

Tennessee lawmakers passed a law which allows teachers to carry concealed weapons during the day in school.  There was a shooting at a private school in Nashville that precipitated the call to allow teachers to carry weapons.  Twenty other states have enacted some version of the legislation that allows teachers to carry.

While the bill has the intent of making schools safer, many worry whether it actually will.

Parents of surviving students from the mass shooting demonstrated for tougher gun laws in Tennessee.  Protesters flooded the capital.  Legislators responded by expanding rather than limiting gun possession.  Even families in strongly conservative Tennessee have concerns about how the weapons will be stored and how will they be kept safe.   Under the terms of the legislation, teachers may carry the weapons on their person but keep them concealed.  The bill does require 40 hours of training and a background check.  Candidates would also have to provide fingerprints to state and federal authorities.  A requirement in Maryland for anyone wanting to teach in Maryland, not to carry a weapon.  

Families will NOT be notified if their child’s teacher has a concealed weapon.   Supporters of that provision in the bill say it preserves an element of surprise to any intruder.  Supporters also say that having staff carry weapons provides another level in a comprehensive security plan.

Opponents of the bill, say that school security officers should be providing that protection.  Educators are also opposed to the bill, saying they are educators not law enforcement. Others have questioned how 40 hours of training can be sufficient.  Teaching is already a fulltime tough job.  Many administrators don’t want teachers to carry additional burdens.  The Nashville school district has said it would not grant any permits.  Yet some parents are firmly behind the idea of a school being the first line of defense and believe that it will send the word that schools are not unprotected zones.   Some folks believe that teachers should be paid extra if they agree to carry.

Critics contend that teachers are untrained and 40 hours isn’t sufficient.  What if a teacher has to fire on his/her own student.  And a teacher armed with a handgun would be no match for an armed intruder with a high-powered rifle.

The continuing question is- are more guns in schools the answer to violence in schools?  Can’t our legislators do better?

 

Really - you are boring!

 Really- you are boring!

 

Kids of middle and high school age are looking for a sense of purpose.   They want to be known and to matter.  Sadly, they are not finding that sense of purpose in school.  A little less than half of the Gen Z kids feel motivated to go to school based on a poll from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation.  They say that school is just boring.  In fact only 52% said they found something interesting every day in school.  That is just ONE something interesting in the whole school day!

Gen Zers were born between 1997-2012.   The good news is that the younger members of this generation expressed high levels of happiness.   Some 80% of the 12-14-year-olds described themselves as happy.  The news is almost as good for the 15-17-year-olds of that generation.   But the numbers decline for LBGTQ kids of all ages, college students and older Gen Z folks in their early to mid 20’s.

The news about what makes the Gen Z kids happy is not all that remarkable.  They say they need to feel safe and loved at home and supported by others.  Therein lies a strong clue as to why the LBTGQ community is not feeling as happy.  Students who say they can talk to their parents about important things report a greater sense of well-being.  These results support all of the psychological data that have been collected over the years regarding what kids need.

The kids who reported themselves unhappy tend to compare themselves to others frequently and believe they come up short.  They feel that no one really knows them, not their families not their teachers.  One in three do not feel loved or supported in either home or school environment.  Not surprising, those Gen Zers who spend more than 20 hours a week on social media report frequent anxiety and distress.   Again this polling supports the data that are being collected right now regarding the use of social media and the mental health of young people.

Social media makes it easier to compare ourselves to others and people often come up short since only the best of ourselves is often posted on social media.    Social media tells young people they are the only ones with imperfect lives. 

Our kids are mostly bored at school but happy in their lives.  The news of what we need to do for our kids isn’t new.   When will we ever learn?

Little Kids thinking of suicide

 Little kids thinking of suicide

 

Suicidal ideation is on the rise among all children, particularly teens. What about younger children?  One survey of almost one thousand caregivers for kids with autism between the ages of 8 and 17 across the country, more than 40% reported that their child wanted to die.  The findings were even more frightening when researchers looked more closely at children 8 and younger.   Among this group of very young children with autism,  36.2% reported wanting to die, 35.3% reported wanting to end their lives and 18.1% had thought of a plan.    These rates are all significantly higher than compared to their neurotypical peers.

The very high rate for these young children is particularly concerning because there are few to none screening tools or validated interventions.  Some of the behaviors noted as precursors include, extreme mood swings, withdrawing from friends and family, giving away belongings as if preparing to leave this world.  What is further concerning is that not all children who are at risk show these signs.

Providers of medical service for children with autism are now being encouraged to screen for these mental health issues in very young children.

It is very important for caregivers to be alert to these issues and not to dismiss them because the child is so young.  It is also important for caregivers to press the issue with medical providers in case they are not inclined to do so with young kids.

Suicide is always tragic and complicated.   The good news is that it is also preventable if appropriate mental health services are provided in time.

Unfortunately, our society is just beginning to see mental health as an important health problem that is no more embarrassing than a physical health problem.  There was a time, in the not too distant past, when cancer was something to be hidden.  Now we are looking for cures openly.  We need to bring mental health out of the shadows as well.   Our children need us to be aware.