Brandon Lacy Campos wrote: > I know an even more dangerous suggestion, and that is suggesting incarceration > of youth. While suspension is definately not the answer, placing students in > "continuation schools" and/or "turning them over to the authorities" are definiately > not the answers.
I hope that in this message I can make clear the difference between rhetoric and solutions. Mr. Campos' liberal perspective helps illustrate why the schools are in the state they are, and why progressive education continues to fail American school children. Implicit in Mr. Campos' view is the assumption that somehow "bad" children are just somehow just misguided; that with the proper upbringing they will all grow up to be caring and responsible citizens. I believe that this assumption is incorrect. I believe that within any human population there will be individuals who will be genetic endowed with empathy and there will be some who will be born with little or none, and that the same is true for aggression and other "human" traits. I also believe that until you meet one of these individuals on the extreme end of the bell curve you will never really know what fear is. How many of you have looked into the eyes of someone could kill without a second thought, or would do so just for the pleasure of watching you wither in pain? What does all this conservative rhetoric mean? It means that in contrast to liberal dogma, there are martyrs and there are murders and most everyone else is somewhere in between. But what does this mean in relation to the schools? It means that many of us will be bad once in a while and a little bit of responsibility is due (detention in a study hall). It means that some of us may, because of social or familial influences need an environment which provides intervention (a continuation school), and it means that some many need a more restrictive and structured environment (juvenile detention). What is important to realize is that you cannot mix all of these kinds of students in a public school and expect quality education. It's not that I object to counseling, I trained to be a clinical psychologist, but I know that no amount of counseling could have separated me from my friends in high school; there was way too much status, power, adventure, and love. > Where is the parent accountability here? What happened to sending a teacher/staff > liaison to a student's home to talk about the disciplinary/attendance problem > with the parents ( and I propose this as an option rather than expecting a >low-income/poor > parent to take a day/half-day off from work to go to the school). Ah, the implicit liberal perspective again: It must be the parenting. Hmmm... send a teacher/staff person to someone's home. So it's not as bad here in Minneapolis, but there are a number of neighborhoods that one does not "visit" in L.A. Not to mention that I am pretty sure that there are some homes that one should not "visit" in Minneapolis (if only to avoid embarrassing the student). I believe that Mr. Campos' solutions involve a degree of naive. > When a student has disciplinary or any other kind of problem, the answer is > developing a one-on-one plan with that student to overcome the problem/obstacles. > The answer will never be to simply throw the student away either to a school > that has been ghettoized by lumping all "problem" students together or by simply > turning the student over to the juvenile INjustice system. One of the best programs I know of involved separating troubled students into a special school where individual and group therapy were integrated into the curriculum. Although it might be appropriate for some students, one-on-one counseling programs can stigmatize a student or provide stature as the case may be. And, although it may offend liberal sensitivities, there are some kids who belong in juvenile justice system. Which is not to say that they should be locked away in a cell; some may do very well on a farm in central Minnesota. You may just be doing them a favor. > Schools are a lot cheaper to build, run, and maintain than jail cells. Treat > young people like criminals/delinquents and they will live up to our collective > expectations. Schools should provide students with a education, not social programs. Special schools with specially trained teachers and staff can provide social programs and education... cost effectively and not at the expense of other students. BTW, if you haven't seen the film "Bully" I strongly recommend it (based on a true story). Michael Atherton Prospect Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
