Tamir,
I think it is awesome that your son is doing so well in his school!
My post did not incinuate that all inner city schools are bad. As I pointed out, my experience was many years ago and I do know that there are many great programs out there.
Tamir wrote:
This year, some of the schools have adopted an authoritarian attitude toward the students with things like uniforms or dress codes or "crackdowns on classroom behavior." I think this is simply the first step in teaching young people to accept fascism, preparing them to accept prison like conditions, and forcing them not to question authority, even when it's legitimate.
I think kids get a terrible message when they are not encouraged to be individuals, to dress as they would. I think it's very dangerous for school boards to be making statements that demean individual rights...yes, even the rights of children.
Of course children have rights! I also have taught many children and encourage them to be individuals. How else will they learn their path in life? There is certainly nothing wrong with allowing kids to be themselves. But there is something to be said for reasonable taste and common sense also.
Fascism and prison conditions? Those terms seem a bit strong. Kids can be individuals and still dress in an acceptable manner. Excuse me for being crass, but I do not see how showing your butt crack in school can make for a more pleasurable learing experience for yourself or others!.
Education prepares our children to aquire the skills necessary to become successful in life. What an individual wears should not necessarily tetermine the attitude that others have towards them. But lets face it, it does. Ones appearance has much to do with their ability to find a job and inneract with others.
This is what I observed in the classrooms I saw: approximately 1/4 of the students spend their time talking amongst themselves, putting on make up, drinking pop and disrespecting the teachers. The rest of the students attempted to get an education in an extremely disruptive environment.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul schools are facing massive budget cuts and classrooms are adding more students per teacher. There is nothing wrong with putting order into an learning environment. If this interferes with the rights of some, perhaps that is a good thing. How can we expect teachers to actually teach if others blatently attempt to sabatoge them?
Reverend Carly Swirtz Midtown Phillips
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