How this sort of criminality was allowed to run unchecked for so long is beyond me -- and how the individuals in question were allowed to retain the credentials necessary to continue to work in education is unfathomable.

A long-simmering scandal over sexual abuse of juveniles at schools for youthful offenders broke into the open on Tuesday with an outraged state senator calling for a takeover of the troubled Texas Youth Commission.

At a school in West Texas, a youth commission official acknowledged at a hearing of the State Senate Criminal Justice Committee, the schoolÂ’s superintendent was aware that two supervisors routinely awakened boys for late-night encounters behind closed doors in deserted offices.

The two supervisors — one of whom had been transferred from another state school after pornography was found on his work computer — were allowed to resign in 2005 without charges. One became the principal of a charter school in Midland, Tex., state officials said. The superintendent was promoted to director of juvenile corrections, a post he still holds, the youth commission confirmed.

“It’s outrageous,” said State Senator John Whitmire, chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, who accused the commission of a cover-up.

Whitmire asks a valid question -- does the agency need some much more intense supervision, like being placed under completely new leadership ? The answer would appear to be yes, given that the TYC director was allowed to stay in place until last Friday and one of the freaks in question is still working for the state in a policy position that gives him direct control over the lives of juveniles!

Frankly, it is looking like one more failure on th part of Rick Perry -- and one more reason for the legislature to consider whether or not Perry is fit to remain governor.

Oh, and interestingly enough, Houston's "paper of record" couldn't even be bothered to cover this story on the front page -- or link to their coverage from the paper's homepage.

Posted by: Greg at 11:26 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 342 words, total size 2 kb.

Especially when it is organized, ideological censorship of the nature engaged in by folks aligned with this Miami mother.

A Miami-Dade parents group has identified a third book that they say paints a false picture of life in Cuba. But this time, they're taking matters into their own hands.

Fed up with the long, bureaucratic process surrounding the removal of two other controversial books about Cuba from school libraries last year, parent Dalila Rodriguez simply checked out the book Discovering Cultures, Cuba from the library at her son's school earlier this month. She said she does not plan to return it.

''If you take it out and don't return it, no kid can read it,'' Rodriguez, who is a member of the Concerned Cuban Parents Committee, said Wednesday. ``It's not censoring; it's protecting our children from lies.''

Rodriguez discovered the book on Feb. 9 when she was browsing for books for her son in the library at Norma Butler Bossard Elementary, 15950 SW 144th St.
''I first read it and started seeing it had some educational facts, but it's still erroneous,'' she said.

The Cuban-born Rodriguez said she was offended by passages in the book that romanticize life on the island, such as the statement that many Cubans immigrated to Florida when Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

''We're not immigrants; we're exiles,'' Rodriguez said. ``We were persecuted, incarcerated and killed.''

Rodriguez also checked out the children's travel book Vamos a Cuba, which the Concerned Cuban Parents Committee led the charge to ban last year, saying the book paints a rosy and inaccurate picture of life under Castro. Both books were due back Feb. 16, records show. Neither has been returned.
''We're going to take the books and lock them in a box,'' she said.

There is a very simple remedy for this, given her admission that she has no intent to return the books. Arrest her for theft of public property, jail her accordingly, and as part of her sentence require that she replace the missing books with new copies.

And I say this as an individual who probably agrees with Mrs. Rodriguez on her criticism of the books in question. However, the answer is not censorship (whether official or vigilante), it is making more accurate and more complete information available to make it clear what the truth is.

Posted by: Greg at 12:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 396 words, total size 2 kb.

And even if it isn’t, is it appropriate for a children’s book?

The word “scrotum” does not often appear in polite conversation. Or children’s literature, for that matter.

Yet there it is on the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum.

“Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”

The inclusion of the word has shocked some school librarians, who have pledged to ban the book from elementary schools, and reopened the debate over what constitutes acceptable content in children’s books. The controversy was first reported by Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine.

On electronic mailing lists like Librarian.net, dozens of literary blogs and pages on the social-networking site LiveJournal, teachers, authors and school librarians took sides over the book. Librarians from all over the country, including Missoula, Mont.; upstate New York; Central Pennsylvania; and Portland, Ore., weighed in, questioning the role of the librarian when selecting — or censoring, some argued — literature for children.

Ah, what a furor over a single word that describes a part of the human body! And the debate is pretty intense, with some going so far as to raise it to the level of a Serious First Amendment Question. But is it? Or is it simply a case of librarians exercising good judgment about what should or should not be on the shelves of their school libraries, based upon questions of age-appropriateness and community values?

And let’s be clear – age-appropriateness is a major factor with this book, targeted at kids from 9-12. Personally, I don’t see the word as being problematic for the older kids in that age range (sixth and seventh graders, generally), but can understand where there would be those troubled by having to explain what a scrotum is to a third grader, even in this decidedly non-prurient context. It creates serious problems for educational professionals, who must then face the ire of parents and school boards over how much “sex talk” is acceptable with students, and at what ages.

And yet, this is definitely a work of quality – Newbery Awards are not given out lightly and are not particularly political in nature. Should a single, non-obscene word be sufficient to keep a Newbery Award winner out of school libraries? I would hope not, but I understand the problem faced by librarians. Look at the problems faced by teachers who have shown Schindler’s List, Amistad, or other movies to classes – non-prurient nudity has been a source of controversy in these great historical movies.

Personally, I think that librarians should order the book – but I won’t condemn those who don’t. And I certainly won’t cry “censorship” over the decision by these professionals to exercise their best professional judgment over what will be acceptable in their schools and communities.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Is It Just Me?, The Virtuous Republic, Maggie's Notebook, Big Dog's Weblog, basil's blog, Shadowscope, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, Sujet- Celebrities, Allie Is Wired, Faultline USA, Wake Up America, stikNstein... has no mercy, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 06:18 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 605 words, total size 6 kb.

And even if it isnÂ’t, is it appropriate for a childrenÂ’s book?

The word “scrotum” does not often appear in polite conversation. Or children’s literature, for that matter.

Yet there it is on the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum.

“Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”

The inclusion of the word has shocked some school librarians, who have pledged to ban the book from elementary schools, and reopened the debate over what constitutes acceptable content in childrenÂ’s books. The controversy was first reported by Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine.

On electronic mailing lists like Librarian.net, dozens of literary blogs and pages on the social-networking site LiveJournal, teachers, authors and school librarians took sides over the book. Librarians from all over the country, including Missoula, Mont.; upstate New York; Central Pennsylvania; and Portland, Ore., weighed in, questioning the role of the librarian when selecting — or censoring, some argued — literature for children.

Ah, what a furor over a single word that describes a part of the human body! And the debate is pretty intense, with some going so far as to raise it to the level of a Serious First Amendment Question. But is it? Or is it simply a case of librarians exercising good judgment about what should or should not be on the shelves of their school libraries, based upon questions of age-appropriateness and community values?

And let’s be clear – age-appropriateness is a major factor with this book, targeted at kids from 9-12. Personally, I don’t see the word as being problematic for the older kids in that age range (sixth and seventh graders, generally), but can understand where there would be those troubled by having to explain what a scrotum is to a third grader, even in this decidedly non-prurient context. It creates serious problems for educational professionals, who must then face the ire of parents and school boards over how much “sex talk” is acceptable with students, and at what ages.

And yet, this is definitely a work of quality – Newbery Awards are not given out lightly and are not particularly political in nature. Should a single, non-obscene word be sufficient to keep a Newbery Award winner out of school libraries? I would hope not, but I understand the problem faced by librarians. Look at the problems faced by teachers who have shown Schindler’s List, Amistad, or other movies to classes – non-prurient nudity has been a source of controversy in these great historical movies.

Personally, I think that librarians should order the book – but I won’t condemn those who don’t. And I certainly won’t cry “censorship” over the decision by these professionals to exercise their best professional judgment over what will be acceptable in their schools and communities.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Is It Just Me?, The Virtuous Republic, Maggie's Notebook, Big Dog's Weblog, basil's blog, Shadowscope, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, Sujet- Celebrities, Allie Is Wired, Faultline USA, Wake Up America, stikNstein... has no mercy, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 06:18 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
Post contains 610 words, total size 6 kb.

Given that Carter refuses to debate or discuss a book that he claims is all about promoting dialogue, I think that the letter of nine distinguished faculty members from Emory University can only be seen as a measured and reasonable response to his anti-Semitic attack on Israel and promotion of Palestinian terrorism.

"Despite having written a book whose purpose he claims was to promote dialogue and discussion, he has consistently dodged appearing with anyone who could challenge him on the numerous factual errors which fill the pages of his slim book," the letter states.

"We are happy that Jimmy Carter wants to come to Emory," said Deborah E. Lipstadt, the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies, and a signer of the letter. "But we think it should be an exchange of ideas, not a one-sided presentation. We felt that this is not up to the standards of Emory in terms of creative inquiry."

I applaud the professors for raising this important issue – and for daring to try to challenge the worst president – and ex-president – of my lifetime.

Posted by: Greg at 01:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 190 words, total size 1 kb.

After all, this is a female teacher/coach.

A former Fort Bend Independent School District high school teacher has been arrested after being indicted on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and a student, school district police said.

Kimberly Dawn Hollis, 30, a teacher at Hightower High School, resigned Jan. 12 and surrendered at the county jail Thursday. Her bond was set at $20,000.

The charge is a second-degree felony, and if convicted, Hollis could face up to 20 years in prison.

I know it says 20 years, but we've seen the trends. Female abusers in the classroom get probation or short sentences, while male perps get long terms in prison doing hard time as everybody's bi-yotch. Here's hoping that Texas courts apply the law equitably in this case, and give Hollis the full 20 years.

Posted by: Greg at 11:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 150 words, total size 1 kb.

School kids often do fundraisers and service projects for good causes, but I think this is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve heard of in a while – and one that brought these kids into contact with real history and real people.

Appreciation comes full circle as George Reinwand, Pearl Harbor survivor, recently thanked Rapid River Elementary School students for their support in helping to send him to the recent Pearl Harbor Survivors’ National Meeting in Hawaii.

Almost a year ago, through the leadership of the fourth grade, students created a service learning project to raise money for a special community member. Students decorated cans to collect money in, which were then placed in classrooms and school offices. Together, students in kindergarten through the fifth grade raised over $400. This money was presented to Reinwand and his wife, Shirley, in March 2006.

Since returning from their trip to Hawaii this past December, the Reinwands came back to thank the students of Rapid River and presented a plaque of appreciation honoring the students’ hard work, which reads as follows:

“Presented in grateful appreciation to Rapid River Schools Kindergarten-5th grade of 2006 for your unselfish contribution in helping Shirley and me attend the Pearl Harbor Survivors’ National Meeting at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Thank you, George Reinwand”

After the presentation, students took turns looking at photos from the Reinwands’ trip.

This is the sort of stuff we ought to see more of – projects in which students both show their appreciation to others and learn something that is rightly a part of the curriculum. And in this case, we have youngsters getting the opportunity to interact with one of those who was a part of one of the most important events in American history. And as we lose this particular generation of Americans, it is important that we make sure that our children know of them, and about them – and actually know them while they still can. My generation knew the WWII generation – they were our parents and grandparents and neighbors. My first real knowledge of D-Day came from Glenn Landbloom, an older neighbor, who was there in 1944. I remember once meeting Adm. Arleigh “31-Knot” Burke as a kid at Bethesda Naval Hospital, an event which helped make the War in the Pacific just a little more real to an 11-year-old fifth-grader. We need to ensure that such opportunities are taken while they still can be.

I salute Mr. Reinwand for his service – and the teachers and children of Rapid River Elementary School for this act of service and kindness.

Posted by: Greg at 12:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 441 words, total size 3 kb.

School kids often do fundraisers and service projects for good causes, but I think this is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve heard of in a while – and one that brought these kids into contact with real history and real people.

Appreciation comes full circle as George Reinwand, Pearl Harbor survivor, recently thanked Rapid River Elementary School students for their support in helping to send him to the recent Pearl Harbor SurvivorsÂ’ National Meeting in Hawaii.

Almost a year ago, through the leadership of the fourth grade, students created a service learning project to raise money for a special community member. Students decorated cans to collect money in, which were then placed in classrooms and school offices. Together, students in kindergarten through the fifth grade raised over $400. This money was presented to Reinwand and his wife, Shirley, in March 2006.

Since returning from their trip to Hawaii this past December, the Reinwands came back to thank the students of Rapid River and presented a plaque of appreciation honoring the studentsÂ’ hard work, which reads as follows:

“Presented in grateful appreciation to Rapid River Schools Kindergarten-5th grade of 2006 for your unselfish contribution in helping Shirley and me attend the Pearl Harbor Survivors’ National Meeting at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Thank you, George Reinwand”

After the presentation, students took turns looking at photos from the ReinwandsÂ’ trip.

This is the sort of stuff we ought to see more of – projects in which students both show their appreciation to others and learn something that is rightly a part of the curriculum. And in this case, we have youngsters getting the opportunity to interact with one of those who was a part of one of the most important events in American history. And as we lose this particular generation of Americans, it is important that we make sure that our children know of them, and about them – and actually know them while they still can. My generation knew the WWII generation – they were our parents and grandparents and neighbors. My first real knowledge of D-Day came from Glenn Landbloom, an older neighbor, who was there in 1944. I remember once meeting Adm. Arleigh “31-Knot” Burke as a kid at Bethesda Naval Hospital, an event which helped make the War in the Pacific just a little more real to an 11-year-old fifth-grader. We need to ensure that such opportunities are taken while they still can be.

I salute Mr. Reinwand for his service – and the teachers and children of Rapid River Elementary School for this act of service and kindness.

Posted by: Greg at 12:25 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 450 words, total size 3 kb.

I don't know anyone -- certainly not in education -- who doesn't believe that we should strive to ensure that every student leaves schools with a set of basic skills . One of the many problems with No Child left behind, however, is that its mandates are almost exclusively set at the bottom end of the achievement spectrum, with little actual incentive to MAXIMIZE student achievement among those who are capable of doing more than the minimum. The result is funding cuts for programs for our best and brightest students.

But across the country, programs like this can be hard to sustain. The federal No Child Left Behind law requires that virtually all children become proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014, and this demand is forcing many school districts to focus attention — and money — on students who are not proficient in reading or math. Many families of exceptionally bright children like to say that it is the gifted who are being left behind.

In the years after the lawÂ’s signing in January 2002, Illinois jettisoned its $19 million allocation for gifted programs and Michigan cut spending to $250,000 from $4 million. Here in Connecticut, 22 percent of the stateÂ’s districts eliminated or shrank gifted programs in 2002, and others have since scaled back. It doesnÂ’t take a gifted person to figure out that the law is siphoning off the money.

“N.C.L.B. swallows up resources,” said Jeanne H. Purcell, Connecticut’s consultant for gifted education.

The federal government provides less than $10 million for gifted programs, and only half the states offer additional money. But districts needing to pay for after-school tutoring or other score-raising remedies needed under No Child Left Behind inevitably poach dollars from programs for students who already score high.

“Our education reform is so focused on making sure everybody is mediocre that we haven’t thought about meeting the needs of those students already exceeding those goals,” said Susan Rhodes, principal of Iles Elementary School in Springfield, Ill. “Everybody assumes those children are going to continue to grow. But it’s like an athlete with potential. If they don’t have a coach, that skill is not going to be drawn out.”

But what is worse, is that the kids KNOW they are getting screwed. I might not have blogged about this article at all, but for the fact that it dovetails so nicely with a conversation I had yesterday with one of my students, who is frustrated by the many district-mandated activities and strategies designed to drag the lowest performing students up to standard.

"Mr. RWR," she said to me, "it is the same in every one of my classes! We've got so many special activities to boost our test scores on the TAKS test, but not any to take us deeper into what we are learning about. It's like everything is focused on the bottom 20%. When do the top 20% get something special to keep us from being bored out of our minds by the constant pressure to pass a test that we could have passed before the school year started?"

And she is right. When will we stop shortchanging the kids with the sharpest minds in order to ensure that the weakest links are not left behind?

Posted by: Greg at 11:33 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 557 words, total size 4 kb.

You remember the Affirmative Action Bake Sales used at various colleges a couple years ago to highlight the absurdity and utterly racist nature of affirmative action programs, don't you? You know, the ones that caused all sorts of hate and discontent among leftists, some of whom engaged in acts of violence against the conservative sponsors -- and some of which even got their universities to take action against the non-PC offenders?

Well, what do you have to say about this event?

Students were treated to free pizza in the Student Union on Thursday afternoon, courtesy of the UB NAACP. Where they were allowed to sit, however, was based on race and ethnicity.

The NAACP hosted an event called the "Segregated Café," a simulation of past eras in which segregation existed in the United States. The mock-up featured a restaurant setting with separate dining tables and serving areas for minority and white students.

Patrons were directed to their correct places according to their race, separating many lunching companions. Reactions started off confused and quickly turned to nervous and upset. However, there was a general understanding of the experiment.

"I think something like this is good to do because we get to experience what it was like in the past," said Clyde Strokes, a sophomore business major who was forced to sit in the minority section. "But I'm still pissed."

Strokes' was referring to the rude treatment and unsightly décor encountered by those at the minority section, including ripped paper plates on the tables and pepperoni on the floor. Minority students were served half a slice of Franco's pizza and a trickle of soda in plastic cup, while white students were allowed a whole, or even multiple slices of pizza and soda served in champagne glasses.

First, this does not even begin to simulate conditions DECADES IN THE PAST. Second, why no actions against the NAACP chapter for daring to provide unequal treatment based upon race? Could it be that since their motives were pure as the PC snow and intended to promote liberal victimology, there was a conscious decision to allow the event to proceed without intervention by the university? And this is the second year the event has been held, so the school knew what it w3as about and the severe violation of campus non-discrimination rules it constituted.

Oh, and I'll point out another obvious difference -- conservative students didn't engage in a single act of violence against the NAACP -- and probably supported the goal of reminding the campus community about the evils of Democrat-imposed and supported Jim Crow laws and practices.

Hey -- free speech is free speech, even if it is repulsive and designed to keep hate alive. And unfortunately, that seems to have been the goal of the NAACP.

Posted by: Greg at 12:32 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
Post contains 489 words, total size 3 kb.

I hope that tonight there are a number of Texas legislators looking into the procedures for impeaching a governor after Rick Perry did this.

Gov. Rick Perry signed an order today making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

By issuing an executive order, Perry apparently sidesteps opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents' rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way parents raise their children.

Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade will have to get Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Excuse me -- I've got a real problem with our governor adopting the "Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kinda cool." philosophy of the Clinton years. After all, he knew that he would never get this proposal through the legislature, so he simply has implemented the requirement -- including ordering the spending of money to provide the vaccine -- without legislative authority. Did I miss the line for "dictator" on last fall's ballot?

And please understand -- this is not an objection to the vaccine or to the "message" that giving it sends to young girls. If I had a daughter, she would get this vaccine as a matter of course, without hesitation on my part. As I've said before, my issue is the libertarian issue of how far the state can and should go in placing conditions upon the exercise of the right (under the state constitution) of the right to a public education. Is it appropriate for the state to mandate a vaccine for a condition which is exceedingly unlikely to be passed in the course of normal day-to-day school interaction? No, it isn't, because there is no reasonable nexus between the two.

Also disturbing is Perry's connection to Merck, the company marketing the drug.

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass state laws across the country mandating Gardasil for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.

Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.

Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

This stinks, and gives at least the appearance of impropriety.

Here's hoping the Texas Legislature will look into blocking this executive order legislatively -- and removing Perry from office for his corrupt, overreaching action today.

UPDATE: And lest you think my statement about Perry engaging in dictatorial action is an overstatement, here are the position taken by his own spokesperson on the matter.

The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it, said Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody. Moody said the Texas Constitution permits the governor, as head of the executive branch, to order other members of the executive branch to adopt rules like this one.

Hardly the actions of a leader in a democratic republic. Sounds more like he thinks he is Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Right Pundits, Perri Nelson's Website, Is It Just Me?, The Random Yak, A Blog For All, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, basil's blog, Shadowscope, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Phastidio.net, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, The HILL Chronicles, Faultline USA, third world county, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, stikNstein... has no mercy, Pirate's Cove, The Right Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Renaissance Blogger, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 03:04 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 671 words, total size 7 kb.

And that is precisely what this bill would give me and other teachers in the state of Texas. I therefore consider it to be a bad idea.

Parents beware: Miss a meeting with your child's teacher and it could cost you a $500 fine and a criminal record.

A Republican state lawmaker from Baytown has filed a bill that would charge parents of public school students with a misdemeanor and fine them for playing hooky from a scheduled parent-teacher conference.

Rep. Wayne Smith said Wednesday he wants to get parents involved in their child's education.

"I think it helps the kids for the parents and teachers to communicate. That's all the intent was," Smith said.

Do I have parents who won’t show up if I try to schedule a conference with them? You bet. Have I rearranged my schedule to accommodate a parent who wanted to meet, only to have them not show up when I’ve stayed until 4:00 just to talk to them? Sure – which is especially irritating when they have initiated the contact. But I don’t think that being an inconsiderate jackass is grounds for an encounter with the legal system. And I also do not believe it is appropriate for me to be able to summon a parent on pain of criminal sanction. After all, parent-teacher meetings are all too often an adversarial event – let’s not write that into law.

Posted by: Greg at 02:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 242 words, total size 1 kb.

And that is precisely what this bill would give me and other teachers in the state of Texas. I therefore consider it to be a bad idea.

Parents beware: Miss a meeting with your child's teacher and it could cost you a $500 fine and a criminal record.

A Republican state lawmaker from Baytown has filed a bill that would charge parents of public school students with a misdemeanor and fine them for playing hooky from a scheduled parent-teacher conference.

Rep. Wayne Smith said Wednesday he wants to get parents involved in their child's education.

"I think it helps the kids for the parents and teachers to communicate. That's all the intent was," Smith said.

Do I have parents who won’t show up if I try to schedule a conference with them? You bet. Have I rearranged my schedule to accommodate a parent who wanted to meet, only to have them not show up when I’ve stayed until 4:00 just to talk to them? Sure – which is especially irritating when they have initiated the contact. But I don’t think that being an inconsiderate jackass is grounds for an encounter with the legal system. And I also do not believe it is appropriate for me to be able to summon a parent on pain of criminal sanction. After all, parent-teacher meetings are all too often an adversarial event – let’s not write that into law.

Posted by: Greg at 02:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 249 words, total size 2 kb.