Relax Drug Rules in Schools?
EdHat provided a link to an article in the SLO Tribune this morning about the SB School District perhaps relaxing their rules on expulsions and drugs. Have we finally had enough of zero tolerance and realized that it gets rid of our valedictorians as much as our pothead students? Well maybe just over zero tolerance since the current strike level is two offenses.
Three strikes makes sense here -- and it will also increase the number of days a student is in school and thus the amount of money the district gets from the state, no? Did I just say that? Perhaps I am too cynical....
Three strikes makes sense here -- and it will also increase the number of days a student is in school and thus the amount of money the district gets from the state, no? Did I just say that? Perhaps I am too cynical....
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 12/05/2006 04:18:00 PM
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20 Comments:
We should look the other way...
what the School Board needs to realize is that by the time the student is on a "third strike" he or she has received multiple warnings, interventions, counseling opportunities, etc.
Drugs have always been part of the SB schools.
They where there 40 years 30 years 20 years 10 years and to the present day.... it seems to be apart of the SB culture and usage continues though adulthood.
What to about it is a very difficult question.
There are so many other things to do in life and experience... some try drugs and move on, others try it and continue... with very sad end results. ( lets make a list of the famous SB residents who have come to a tragic end due to drug usage or even make it a subject in the schools similar to a second language or crafts )
No Sara you are not being too cynical thats how schools get their money and they do like money and spending that money... to bad the tax payers don't get value for the money spent in todays schools no matter how much the people throw at them they always need more and more and more and more and more but give less and less and less each and every year for the money they receive.
I believe that if i were a student in todays schools i would have to be on hard drugs just to get through the sad state in which schools are in. The kids today are not learning and that is a fact so why not let them come to school all fu#*ed up then the schools could ask for more money.... seems like a good idea for getting more money for the schools because the schools need more money... maybe the schools could sell the drugs to help fill their coffers ... now that is an idea worth looking into.... sorry for this post but i had to be around High School kids today and cannot beleive how stupid they are... they know nothing unless it's on the cover of People ...well for those that can can read, the others just have to enjoy the pictures and rely on what the others tell them.
Anon. 11:27, you are engaging in rhetorical gross exageration. I happen to know some very bright high school students who are hard working and dedicated young men and women as well as being politically astute and witty conversationalists. They do several hours of homework every night (including most weekends) and many are involved in time consuming extra curricular activities such a sports, music, or other hobbies. I would agree that there are many students who are wasting their opportunity by being lazy and taking drugs, and maybe the system has somehow failed them. But there is a good education to be had in local public high schools if a young person has the discipline and dedication to reach out a grab it. Lately, I have become a bit of a social Darwinist with regard to the stoners. The best we can do is provide an offramp to opportunity for these lemmings. If they insist on following the rump of the lemmings in front of them off the cliff, what can we do?
"Zero tolerance" is just an excuse for not using good judgement. That also includes violence. Suspending or expelling a student who defends themself when attacked by another student, with the same punishment as the aggressor is insane too.
No problem with kids on drugs, just write them off. Put the druggies in one group and keep an eye on them so they don't get hurt. But don't waste time trying to teach them, save that for other kids.
Kid's have to start sometime. Not really an issue is it?
The students I'm seeing at the university level coming in from CA high schools, including our own schools, are more impressive than any I've seen in 20 years. From my vantage point, I have to borrow a quote from (relatively) modern bard and assure you that (most of) "the kids are alright"
11:27 is right about one thing: SB schools have been drug-friendly for decades. I attended DP in the 70s and spent most of the time stoned out of my head. I had a lot of company. Still plenty of students trippin' through the day, no doubt.
As for the continued use of drugs into adulthood, I disagree. Most people, from my observation, grow out of it. Getting stoned in your 40s just isn't all that pleasant.
And I think he's wrong about the quality of the schools and the education kids are getting. My kids are kicking serious butt in school -- loving it and learning at a pace I find amazing. Their teachers are smart, caring and dedicated. Of course, my kids are in elementary school (and a very good one), so that's my frame of reference. Even still, I can't believe the high schools could be as bad as DP was in the 70s, when it was "hippy high" and you were pretty much on your own. It's true that a lot of today's high schoolers seem like two-dimensional dimwits who couldn't find Canada on a map, but I suspect that's the culture, rather than the schools.
It's fashionable to the point of cliche to say that the schools are somehow blowing through their funding like frat boys in Vegas. But that's mostly crap, especially here. All you have to do is look at the struggling schools (Franklin and Harding come to mind) to see that.
As for drugs in school ... beats me. I'm just an ex-stoner.
You know, 11:27, if you're going to rant on the state of education and the apparent stupidity of the student masses, you should at least try to use proper grammar and punctuation.
11:11: for sure, those coming in at the university level are alright, even many of those going to SBCC, but the issue, the problems are the others.
I have had some, although not a lot of experience at the elementary level. There kids are getting written off at the 5th grade level or 4th (or maybe sooner) - and these are not kids who are below par in intelligence. The ones I saw had problems (perhaps from home situations, perhaps others) getting along with others - at least in a way that the schools, so into group stuff, now want/insist on.
I can imagine that by high school or junior high school level these kids will be into drugs. ...In fact, sometimes the teacher would say to me that such-and-such wasn't going anywhere. I found it shocking that a kid would be given up on - but I emphasize these were definitely a minority of kids.
These kids are loser, like their parents. Give them a pass.
These kids see Santa Barbara for the deadend that it is and are turning to drugs. Guess we should blame ourselves, not expell them.
These kids are just victims. They shouldn't be punished.
Thanks for your comment, passing-by; common sense and personal responsibility is something that many kids refuse to accept (along with their parents).
Students with drug/fighting/alcohol issues usually receive on-campus detentions before being suspended, so there is enough warning IMO. No matter what, you still need punishment as a deterrent factor, otherwise, it would be more of a free-for-all. I really don't think we should equate most kids metaphorically with the felon's "three-strike's your out" law either. dd
These kids are a lost cause. We should be easy on them. They'll be cleaning our houses one day.
If these kids are in public schools, they're not going to get an education anyway, so what difference does it make if they take drugs or not. Drugs might make it easier for them.
Amen! Let them do drugs. Doesn't bother me.
Anon. 2:43, you are a fool. There is no rational argument that you could possibly make to support your assertion that "they're not going to get an education anyway" and "drugs might make it easier for them." There exists no evidence to support your statements; and, in fact, the evidence present in the quality of students currently entering universities from our public schools and the ample scientific evidence of how drugs interfere with the learning process belie your assertions. One thing for sure, you have apparently learned nothing in the years you have existed. Perhaps you should lay off the pot, or whatever they call it nowadays.
Children in public schools aren't a lost cause. They're our future. The drugs are interfering with their learning process and causing them to avoid studying to go out and use. If we take the drugs out of the schools the students will have less distractions and will be able to do better both in school and in life.
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