Dumming Down Are Kidz

Apologies to The Blogfather for appropriating the title of his book then deliberately misspelling it.

Neal Boortz tells us about what academics in Great Britain are doing to combat commonly misspelled words: accept the misspellings as OK.

Says Boortz:

Translation: If a student simply can't come up with the right answers ... start accepting the wrong answers as right. That solves your problem. American education at work.

We've had that here in American gummint-run skoolz for years. It's called inventive spelling.

WEAC: "Don't Blame Us, We Only Teach the Kids"

Out-going President of WEAC Stan Johnson, realizing that controlling the Governor, the State Senate, and DPI cooking the books for his outfit still hasn't hidden the truth, his union employs some bad teachers.

(I said "some" Jay!)

So, to hide this fact, Johnson lashes out at the source of his ill-will; the Federal "No Child Left Behind" Act.

WEAC President Stan Johnson issued this statement following the announcement that 45 schools and the Milwaukee Public School District have not made “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) according to the list mandated by the so-called No Child Left Behind Law:

“This list of schools not meeting so-called adequate yearly progress does not help our great teachers and education support professionals do what really helps children learn in the classroom. Accountability should include multiple measures to evaluate learning – not just the results from reading and mathematics tests. Within five to six years nearly every school in Wisconsin and in the nation will be identified as in-need of improvement under the ESEA’s unrealistic expectations.”

“This AYP list does not address the societal gaps that make learning more difficult for disadvantaged students, especially our youngest learners. The No Child law requires school districts to give tests developed for regular education students to many students with disabilities and non-English speaking students.”

Adequate yearly progress (AYP) is one provision in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), federal laws that govern education. This act is up for reauthorization in 2007.

“We know what works in Wisconsin: Great teachers and staff, small class sizes, one-on-one attention, ongoing teacher training and mentoring, up-to-date books and learning materials, parental involvement and community support. Not mandates and punishments handed down from Washington, D.C.”

Stan, can we put you on record as being for the elimination of the Department of Education? Because, that sure sounds like a win-win situation to everyone involved.

Of course, what Johnson hates is the mandates that come with NCLB, not the money that comes along with it. And if you'd ask him, Johnson would tell you we 'need' the Department of Education. Because teachers unions want the bank open, just no means to ensure the money's well-spent.

RE: Girl Arrested For Writing On Desktop

I don't think it fits in the context of a "broken windows" policy unless you are using a "broken windows" policy for school discipline. That would be a good thing, but schools are almost refusing to discipline over anything. Then one of two things happen: (1) you have a brawl like the one at Milwaukee Tech back in January or (2) educrats overreacting to a simple disciplinary situation by calling the police to arrest students for simply misbehaving.

I would expect police to be called in case of a weapons violation — a real one, not some kid bringing the plastic knife for his lunch. I would expect police to be called in case of a drug bust or a sexual assault, but not for violations of the school code of conduct.

The proper action here, much like the recent case when students as a prank put a laxative in some donuts, would have been to have the student or students spend time cleaning every classroom in the school on their lunch breaks and after school and assign some detention time. Maybe ISS for repeat violators. Students don't need to be perp-walked out of the school when they break school rules. If a principal feels the need to do that to "send a message," that principal and the teachers have lost control of that school long before that point.

No message will be effective.

Girl Arrested For Writing On Desktop

Cross-posted at Texas Hold 'Em Blogger.

I swear, folks. We don’t make this stuff up.

A 13-year-old girl was arrested — placed in handcuffs — for writing on a desktop.

(See BS) NEW YORK — In this day and age where young students are frequently charged for serious school offenses such as possessing weapons, dealing drugs, or assaulting other students on school property, one Brooklyn teen’s arrest may come as a surprise. A 13-year-old girl was handcuffed and placed under arrest in front of her classmates in Dyker Heights after she wrote “Okay” on her desk …

Police confirm that that’s exactly what’s written on her arrest record and for the crime, she’s been charged with criminal mischief and the making of graffiti.

This is insane. On the part of the school. Have the people in charge of our gummint-run skoolz lost their minds?

Kids wrote on desktops when I was in school. The standard punishment was maybe spending time after lunch or school washing desktops, maybe some detention time as well.

The student says she was wrongly grouped with some students who were defacing the classroom with stickers. Even if she had been, that is hardly justification for calling the police. Law enforcement, especially in New York City, have far more important tasks that enforcing classroom and school discipline.

But this seems to be a trend. Schools — principals and teachers unwilling or unable to administer classroom discipline or manage a classroom — just call the police as a knee-jerk reaction.

One kid gives an aspirin to another? Call the police and have her charged under intent to distribute laws. Some kid brings a plastic knife to school to use with his lunch? Call the police and have him handcuffed and arrested for bringing a weapon onto school grounds.

We gotta send a message, you know.

The message that is actually being sent is that the concept known as common sense is officially dead when it comes to running public schools.

In thi mid-1990s, Philip K. Howard, a lawyer, wrote a book entitled The Death of Common Sense, a book about how the expansion of government bureaucracy — in particular the culture of bureaucracy — has essentially killed the ability of normally intelligent people to think rationally and use common sense to make decisions.

Instead, everything is based on a handbook, a policy manual, a procedure — words on paper, instead of common sense when applicable. You combine the ninny-nanny “Rules are rules” people with a culture obsessed with protecting itself against potential future lawsuits and you get this nonsense.

The girl here should have been made to wash and clean every desk in the classroom on her lunch period, not handcuffed, placed under arrest and perp-walked out of the school.

Aren’t the teachers and administrators able to enforce discipline at this school? If so, then do it. If not, then fire them and hire some that can.