True love is hard to find, sometimes you think you have true love and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a ******* magic show ready to double team your girlfriend... oh there's my paddle...
Mewogi -- it might not be the same situation. let it go. seriously. no one wants to be told how to parent their children by someone else. particularly by someone else who isn't a parent.
I have many friends that are teachers. Most of my good friends are, family as well. A good friend of mine is also an emergency counselor for a local district. I have a friend who teaches Kindergarten. She brought her new digital camera to school. It disappeared. She asked the class if they knew where it was. This one kid said over and over that he took it home. She asked him if he was sure and he said yes. She told the principal, the principal told the police. The police went to the kids house. The camera later was found in the classroom. The kid's parents threatened to suw the school, my friend and "go to the media". This happened 3 weeks ago.
Time for big brother in the schools. In a troubled New Jersey school they recently installed a video camera system much like the ones in Vegas. The little dark ball in the ceiling, IMMEDIATLY kids behaved better for fear of getting caught on tape. And, not all of the balls had a camera behind them, but just the threat was enough. We need this at all schools, and if they could allow interenet browsing of the classrooms, that would be great for parents too. At my oldest son's Preschool they had interenet cameras, it was cool to log on and check out my boy while I was at work. Now if I can just catch my wife watching Oprah.....
Doesn't make you a father, or qualified to understand parenthood. If you are not in the club, it is impossible to understand.
your kids...and other people's kids are 2 completely different species...trust me dont get me wrong...i love kids in general...but there is nothing like your own
Yep, and I am sure you understand mitigating circumstances too. Rules are to be enforced, but they are also flexible depending on the situation. Thus the saying "There is an exception to every rule" DD
Oh, I agree. I'm not defending zero tolerance, just stating that if you get caught fighting, you will get discipline because of the zero tolerance rule. That's how it is. Check out this article from the Chronicle last week: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3000602 Parents weigh in on zero tolerance State lawmakers look at revamping school discipline By HELEN ERIKSEN Chronicle Correspondent (Sidebar)RESOURCES RISING PROBLEM STATEWIDE • Increase: In Texas, the number of students placed in disciplinary alternative education programs rose from 94,205 in 1998-99 to 138,701 in 2003-04. • Punished: Of the 4.4 million pupils enrolled statewide, 743,643 were subjected to disciplinary action in 2003-04. • Discipline: Includes removal from classroom, suspension, expulsion and placement into disciplinary alternative education program. Source: 2003-04 Texas Education Agency As Texas lawmakers ponder ways to revamp the law on student discipline both to ensure fairness and keep schools safe, parents are frustrated and worried about the pervasiveness of so-called "zero tolerance" discipline. Critics say this policy gives school districts the green light to impose strict, uniform penalties for misbehavior without considering extenuating circumstances such as the students' intent to do harm or prior disciplinary records. Fred Hink of Katy Zero Tolerance, a group dedicated to protecting parents' rights in the discipline process, said these practices not only lack common sense, they do not appropriately address issues such as disability considerations, due process and the long-range effects of placing children in alternative education programs. Parents report students being disciplined for engaging in conduct ranging from spitting, chewing gum and talking loud to carrying items that resemble prohibited items, aggravated assault, sexual assault or drug and alcohol-related offenses. Critics say heavy-handed zero-tolerance policies disproportionately affect those often less able to defend themselves. School officials insist that educators need the authority to take whatever disciplinary measures they deem necessary to regulate conduct and maintain a safe environment. Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, is leading efforts to reform the state's discipline policy, hosting a summit on student disciplinary action at the state Capitol from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 28. "This summit is an opportunity for parents to voice their concerns and work with us to ensure that their children and all children receive the quality education they deserve," Olivo said. "The way the current system is set up, we are not helping kids. We are simply punishing them." Several bills being introduced this legislative session would alter the Texas Education Code by strengthening laws on the books, while a handful of others would give administrators more latitude when leveling punishment. State Sen. Jon Lindsay, R-Houston, said he has reintroduced a bill that passed in the Senate but failed in the House in 2003 to remove zero-tolerance policies from state law. The bill states students must be shown to knowingly and willingly commit an offense before they can be punished. Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington, has submitted draft legislation that would crack down on student truancy, allowing school districts to charge students and parents with violating truancy laws if the child misses one day of school as opposed to the current 10 days. Students could face punishment in juvenile court including fines and community service. This initiative is receiving a lot of support from justices of the peace throughout the state, said Luke Price, legislative aide to Grusendorf. Impact on minorities Judith Browne, a nationally recognized expert on zero-tolerance policies, said thousands of school districts across the country have embraced ineffective policies. At the summit, she will address the impact of zero tolerance on minority children, whom she will argue are disproportionately targeted. Kurt Lane's faith in the Alvin Independent School District crumbled last year when his 15-year-old twin sons, who had no prior history of discipline problems, received citations for Class C misdemeanors in unrelated incidents on the same day, one for using profanity and the other for engaging in horseplay with a classmate. Alvin school district spokeswoman Shirley Brothers said the district follows the zero-tolerance law when cracking down on drug or weapons possession and violent behavior, both of which result in mandatory expulsion. On Tuesday, a sixth-grade student at Alvin's Passmore Elementary School accidentally fired a .22-caliber automatic pistol he had in his pocket, grazing his leg. Authorities said the student could face charges. "After Columbine, we don't tolerate anything like that," Brothers said, referring to shootings at the Colorado high school nearly six years ago. The offenses by Keith and Kris Lane were considered Level 1 discipline infractions and they could have faced any one or a combination of consequences ranging from a warning/conference to a Class C misdemeanor. One district altered policy In another case, Derek Hoggett said he was heartbroken last March when his 13-year-old daughter Gabrielle was suspended in Katy Independent School District and sent to an alternative school for bringing a butter knife to school. He said Gabrielle needed to cut an apple to eat it because of her braces. "It was only after the case attracted media attention that Gabby was allowed to return to McMeans Junior High," he said. The knife measured between 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 inches, which violated the school's policy of possessing a prohibited item. "She was given the harshest punishment for a first offense even though school officials admitted in a letter they sent me that she was a student with exemplary behavior and high academic standing," Hoggett said. After several high-profile cases that erupted last year in the Katy ISD, trustees modified the discipline policy to make allowances for students who unintentionally bring to school prohibited items, which are not illegal items. These students will not be punished if they turn in the item to a responsible adult as soon as they discover it. For the first seven months of the last school year, the Katy school district investigated 2,149 criminal incidents, issued 779 citations and made 108 arrests. This year, according to district spokesman Steve Stanford, Katy district police have issued citations or arrested students in 495 cases, 262 of which were classified as disorderly conduct, disruption or assault and resulted in punishment. Meanwhile, parents whose children have been placed in disciplinary alternative education programs say they put students at risk for future failure and the education in such programs is substandard to their regular schools. Olivo and Browne also believe there are serious flaws in the quality of some alternative education programs. "All children in these programs deserve quality instruction and we should not punish students academically for misbehavior," Olivo said. "The warehousing of these students without adequate or appropriate instruction or resources is simply unacceptable."
Yeah, Katy's been notorious for that stuff. It's sad when common sense is taken out of the equation. It's good to see some people taking a stand against it.
Hey guys. First off, thanks for your support. I spoke with the principal and got the details. The kids versions are one word against the other, as expected. She has not spoken to the sole adult witness, the paraprofessional, yet, so as of now, the ISS will stand because she has to treat it as there have been no witnesses. I agree. My boy has ISS in the afternoon, and if she gets the details before he has ISS as him defending himself, then the punishment will be lifted. As far as the 100 day celebration, if I had not brought this to her attention, my boy would have missed it, while the bully would have been allowed to go. When I brought that up, she made arrangements so that he could attend the celebration. The Principal does understand the concern in the supervision aspect. She was a PE teacher herself, and she immediately recognized the issue of nonfeasance involved here. The certified PE teachers are going to be called in and to find out what they were doing while this occured. I stopped short of asking for their lesson plans, but I do know that PE at the school is a joke. I did give her my email address and asked to be contacted as soon as any new information surfaces. Thanks Dads for your input and support. You are right that if you don't belong to our elite group, you wouldn't understand. I'll keep you guys posted.
if the school tries to suspend him request a meeting with the PE teacher to get their side of the story. Keep in mind there are 2 sides to every story, what your child sees as bullying may not be in reality. If you still aren't happy then get a meeting with the Principal and let him/her decide wheter they want the PE teacher there.
