Category: Schools,

Since When Did Police Officers Replace the Principal’s Office? 

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

School administrators are increasingly relying on law enforcement to keep students in line, and the results can be dire.

Take the case of Michael Davis, a five-year-old student with disabilities in the Stockton Unified School District.  A senior police officer in the school district’s police department decided to “scare him straight” after Michael acted out in his classroom, and the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

When Michael got upset and could not calm down, the officer zip-tied Michael’s hands and feet and took him to a mental health facility. Michael’s family filed a lawsuit, and the police officer was finally dismissed from the department four years later, shortly after the family settled with the district for $125,000.

…Police officers are ineffective substitutes for counselors or other adults trained to work with young people who need guidance more than harsh discipline. 

…Many schools have called the police to enforce minor violations like “disruption,” “disturbing the peace,” vandalism, tardiness, and inappropriate use of electronic devices — hardly criminal offenses.

…In the San Bernardino Unified School District, for example, campus officers arrested around 30,000 students between 2005 and 2014, mostly for minor infractions like tagging and disobeying curfews.

…These policies disproportionately target students of color and young people with disabilities, unnecessarily feeding them into the criminal justice system. Black students are three times as likely as white students to face school-related arrest. Students with disabilities are three times as likely as students without disabilities to be arrested on campus.

Since When Did Police Officers Replace the Principal’s Office? | American Civil Liberties Union

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That’s our f’ing future we are warping and destroying!!!!

Behind Temple attacks, rage often comes with exclusion

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

…For more than a decade, on whip-thin streets with names like Sydenham and Colorado, longtime community residents and their children watched white men from other places come in to build new rental housing. That same community sought jobs on those worksites, but contractors who required union labor and unions that were largely white and male excluded community workers. Then community members were forced to watch as Temple students were welcomed into that same new housing by landlords who used various methods to exclude community residents from renting them.

…”From the point of view of the longtime residents that were still there, there were some pluses and minuses: improved amenities, sometimes the university police patrols the area so community residents feel like they have extra security, retail options and grocery stores and stuff like that. But they also feel that there’s noise; the students don’t respect them, don’t understand them, don’t respect the neighborhood. Some longtime residents feel they’re not as comfortable in the neighborhood as they were.”

And therein lies the problem.

In a city where poverty is concentrated outside the universities, we can’t truly expect the poor to watch jobs and wealth and excess pass them by without any reaction at all.

…Temple University, my alma mater, has reached out to the community with scholarships for local youth, according to spokesman Ray Betzner. They’ve put reading programs in place, tutored high schoolers and even talked to their own students about respecting longtime community residents. But Temple would be wise to reach out into the community with an eye toward creating stronger relationships and greater opportunities for the young people who’ve been pushed aside by a generation of exclusionary development.

Behind Temple attacks, rage often comes with exclusion

hmm

Philadelphia students now have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree while in high school

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,, Local Interest,, Schools,Leave a comment

The School District of Philadelphia announced the launch of its first middle college high school Thursday, giving public school students the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree two years ahead of schedule.

Philadelphia students now have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree while in high school | PhillyVoice

cool

Old Dominion student: 8-hour interrogation after campus rape 

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,, Schools,Leave a comment

 

Old Dominion student: 8-hour interrogation after campus rape – The Washington Post

Old Dominion might as well have raped this person themselves. I hope she kicks the school in court hard enough that the school is shaken to its foundations and worried about its continued existence. It’s too bad for other students but clearly nothing but harsh, harsh consequences is going to induce them to clean up their outrageous and (totally full of shit!) act.

Native American Colleges Have Abandoned The Student Loan System 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,, Schools,, The Americas,Leave a comment

With graduates defaulting on their loans at sky-high rates, the vast majority of America’s 32 tribal colleges have stopped their students from borrowing.

…“We completely disagree with that idea that students are worse off without [access to] federal loans,” Billy said. “Particularly when you look at the demographics of our students — students who have lived with generational poverty, unemployment, who have no experience with credit — that’s a recipe for disaster when it comes to loans. Tribal colleges will do everything they can to make their students graduate debt-free.

Tribal colleges, like community colleges, are relatively inexpensive — around $6,000 a year, low enough that a $5,750 annual Pell Grant will cover most of the cost of tuition. But community college students sometimes borrow money to help pay for living costs and expenses like textbooks. That option isn’t available for tribal college students.

Those students often face staggering obstacles that make them more less likely to repay student debt, Billy said. Eighty-three percent of them are reliant on Pell Grants, which are only given to low-income students, compared to just 40% of college students nationally. Many tribal college students have little to no experience with borrowing money or credit. They’re also mostly first-generation college students.

…Leander “Russ” McDonald, the president of United Tribes Tech, said the school’s loan default rate has been driven up by the fact that so many of its students come from rural areas, especially reservations. They return home after graduation to some of the country’s most economically depressed places, hoping to help their communities but finding that even with their degrees, there aren’t enough jobs to go around.

Native American Colleges Have Abandoned The Student Loan System – BuzzFeed News

Hmmmm.

Student loans seem more and more like a lifetime sentence these days, so -as long the colleges are filling in the gaps in other ways- this doesn’t seem like a bad thing at all.

Ghana Will Remove ‘Racist’ Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

Professors and students at the University of Ghana called the statue “a slap in the face” because of Gandhi’s “racist identity.” 

…The petition, which had more than 1,700 supporters on Thursday, cited letters Gandhi wrote during his time in South Africa as evidence that he advocated for the superiority of Indians over black Africans. It also took issue with his use of the derogatory term kaffir to refer to native Africans and criticized the lack of statues of African heroes and heroines on campus.

Ghana Will Remove ‘Racist’ Gandhi Statue From Its Oldest University | TIME

hmmm

Stanford Dean Says Parents are Ruining Their kids By…

On By peanutgallerynhIn Modern Parenting,, Schools,Leave a comment

She explained that, overall, this generation seems to lack the executive function necessary to make it on their own.  Many students don’t make eye contact, don’t interact with teachers, and when they’re lost or needed help, they text their mom before advocating for themselves.    Julie believes that this is directly correlated with another new development: The behavior of parents. Never in Stanford’s history have so many freshman parents called in to discuss things like:  their student’s roommate situations, teacher complications, opportunities for their student to perform research at the college, and even to discuss their child’s grades.  Now remember, this isn’t 3rd grade, or 8th grade, or even senior year of high school that she’s talking about.  This is COLLEGE and it’s STANFORD UNIVERSITY for crying out loud.  Could there possibly be a correlation between these over-parenters and their kids who seem to be floundering in the basic skills of life? Julie is certain of it.

Stanford Dean Says Parents are Ruining Their kids By…

hmmm

UNC football player turns self in on sexual battery charge – CNN.com

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,, Schools,Leave a comment

University of North Carolina linebacker Allen Artis turned himself in Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of sexual battery and assault on a female.

UNC football player turns self in on sexual battery charge – CNN.com

It would be so nice to see the member of the investigating board be brought up on charges for aiding and abetting a criminal assault after the fact.

Assholes.

Sigh…

Security And Discipline In New Orleans Charter Schools Makes Many Students Feel Unsafe

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,, Schools,Leave a comment

Asha Lane is an 18-year-old senior at the International High School of New Orleans, a charter high school. Asha wanted to find out why New Orleans charter schools don’t always feel nurturing. We live in a dangerous city, but when does security feel unsafe?

…“On social media, we see security guards slam kids on the floor, and at my school it happens as well,” says Asha. “We fear that could happen to us at any moment. The school is tense. The security guards yell and treat us like we’re inmates. They routinely grab students by their shirts, and they’re big guys, so they often physically pick kids up off the floor. When there’s a fight, they don’t hesitate to tackle students.”

…“It’s like they’re trying to solve violence with violence. And we’re not in a prison, this is school,” Ronnie says. “We’re supposed to be here to get our education. If you want to teach us something, how about you teach us not to solve violence with violence? And stop putting your hands on us and we might stop putting our hands on each other?” 

“Our society is moving in a direction where it’s not safe to go to church, a movie, and school,” explains [Edna Karr Principal] Clay. “And so to take a position not to ensure safety for kids, when they just want to learn, especially when we recognize crime stats in the area and what’s happening, is irresponsible.”

“Principal Clay puts a good spin on his school, but what he was saying didn’t match what I was hearing from his students,” says Asha.

…“How do you reference security at your school?” Asha asks. “Do you say security guards? Or do you say—”

“Oh no, it’s EKPD.”

“EKPD. What is EKPD?”

“Edna Karr Police Department.”

…“Violence is always going to be a concern at any school,” says Thena Robinson Mock. “I think, though, that what we have learned over the years in implementing more positive disciplinary responses to violence is that tightening up one’s police, metal detectors, actually runs counter to this message of peace and calm and a nurturing learning environment. And that’s really what’s needed in order to either prevent violence or address it.”

Security And Discipline In New Orleans Charter Schools Makes Many Students Feel Unsafe | WWNO

sigh….

Walz: A Democrat’s case for charter schools 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Education,, Schools,Leave a comment

Boston charter schools achieve tremendous results. They rank among the top public schools in the state, with long wait lists.

Walz: A Democrat’s case for charter schools | Boston Herald

I actually love Marty Walz but she is dead wrong on this.

Charter schools siphon resources away from other public schools, further weakening them. Period.

Charter schools leave children who have less resources at home behind, effectively sentencing them to a lifetime of reduced circumstances.

Charter schools prioritize the advancement of the few over improvements for all.

…And that is the opposite of what the public education system is for.

On the other hand, I do believe this is what the majority of her constituents believe and you can’t fault her for representing them.