Archive for the ‘School Rules’ Category
September 11, 2012
There are programs and activities that I would classify as expendable – recess is not one of them! How a school could justify putting a stop to recess is beyond me. Even in prison there is circle work and yard time. Why on earth would a school want to deprive its students from the social and physical outlet that recess presents? Kids are forced to sit at their desks for hours without socialising with their peers. They long for the chance to get out into the fresh air with their friends. What school would deprive them of that right?
There’s not a minute to waste in the school day for Syracuse elementary students. There’s not even a minute reserved for recess.
The city’s elementary schools have master schedules for the new year and they include zero time blocked out for recess. The schedule requires every minute of a student’s day, except a half-hour lunch, to be spent on instruction.
At least one city school and more than a few teachers took the schedule to mean there could be no more recess, although district Chief Academic Officer Laura Kelley said teachers can offer recess if they want.
It is not clear how teachers could squeeze in recess and still spend the required number of minutes on instruction.
“If they are going to opt to do recess, they are going to be taking time from ELA (English language arts) and math, and that’s a choice I hope every teacher considers very carefully,” Kelley said.
This is absolutely disgraceful! I wouldn’t consider this very carefully at all. If the wellbeing of your students is your first priority, then recess is FAR more important than an extra lesson of math or English.
In fact, I would take my students outside for the day in protest. I would integrate my curriculum for the day around recess. I would have math related recess activities, language based recess activities etc.
To ban recess is tantamount to banning teachers from going home to have dinners with their families, with the reasoning that this time could be used for planning lessons.
I hate some of the trends being flagged in educational circles. They put achievement before child welfare, process before outcomes, political correctness before common sense and regulations before freedoms.
One of my non-negotiable as a teacher is – my students have the right to enjoy their school day!
Tags:Chief Academic Officer Laura Kelley, Children Physical Activity, Education, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Meachem Elementary in Syracuse recess, News, no more recess, option of offering recess, Recess, Recess In Chicago, Standardized Testing, state’s new teacher accountability rules., Syracuse elementary students recess, Syracuse School Recess, Syracuse-New York, zero time blocked out for recess
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September 9, 2012
A ‘tinkle pass‘? Are you kidding? Is this a ploy to bury the final glimmer of hope in connecting with your student population?
If you feel that students are wasting too much time taking trips to the toilet you should start by reassessing your teaching methodologies. If teachers were able to engage students, the toilet break count would drastically decrease:
A secondary school has outraged parents after introducing a ‘tinkle pass’ which allows students out of lessons to use the toilet just once a week.
The cards are issued to students at Castle Vale Performing Arts College in Birmingham every Monday morning.
If students don’t use them, they must hand them in on a Friday afternoon to ensure they aren’t carried forward to the next week.
The specially designed ‘tinkle card’ reads: ‘I am missing a super learning opportunity because I need a tinkle.’
New headmistress at the school, Charlotte Blencowe, is responsible for the introduction of the cards after introducing a series of new strict policies after taking over during the summer.
Students have also been told they can only communicate in class via a series of hand-signals.
These include ‘Fingers to eyes and then to the board = I can’t see’, ‘To hands clasped in the air = I need a new book or paper’ and ‘3 fingers in the air = I need the toilet.’
Pupils have also been told that their bags would be searched to ensure their mobile phones are switched off and to check that they have the required number of pens and pencils.
Tags:allows students out of lessons to use the toilet just once a week., bags would be searched to ensure their mobile phones are switched off, Castle Vale Performing Arts College, Castle Vale Performing Arts College tinkle pass, Castle Vale Performing Arts College toilet pass, Castle Vale Performing Arts College toilet policy, Charlotte Blencowe, Charlotte Blencowe tinkle, Charlotte Blencowe toilet, Education, I am missing a super learning opportunity because I need a tinkle, Mark Riggall, News, only communicate in class via a series of hand-signals, tinkle pass, toilet policy
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August 29, 2012
Political correctness and stringent regulations are further stifling young children. Some of these schools rules are so bizarre and so out-of-touch. one wonders what lame brained soul conjured them up.
Any school that tries to persuade a young deaf boy to change his name because the hand signal for his name looks too much like a gun, has serious problems:
In a move blasted by rights groups, a 3-year-old-deaf boy has been told by his Nebraska school district to change the way he signs his name because the gesture resembles shooting a gun.
Hunter Spanjer uses the standard S.E.E., Signing Exact English. He crosses his index and middle fingers and waves them slightly to signify his name. And, Grand Island Public Schools’ policy forbids any “instrument” that “looks like a weapon,” reported NCN (see video above).
While crossing his fingers is a slight modification to the standard gesture, one meant to give it the personal touch, according to NCN, Hunter’s family is outraged by the district’s reaction.
“Anybody that I have talked to thinks this is absolutely ridiculous,” Hunter’s grandmother Janet Logue told NCN. “This is not threatening in any way.”
Hunter’s dad, Brian Spanjer, told The Huffington Post on Tuesday: “I feel like it was an overreach on their part and I expected a lot better from the local school district.”
Click on the link to read The Cartwheel Revolution
Click on the link to read Proof You Can Be Suspended for Anything
Click on the link to read The Case of a Teacher Suspended for Showing Integrity
Click on the link to read Primary School Introduces Insane No-Touching Policy
Tags:", 3-year-old-deaf boy has been told by his Nebraska school district, Beth Spanjer, Brian Spanjer, Deaf boy asked to change his name, Deaf by signs his nam, e like a gun, facebook, Grand Island Public Schools Hunter Spanjer, Grand Island Public Schools' policy forbids any "instrument" that "looks like a weapon, Guns In School', Hunter Spanger Sign Language, Hunter Spanjer change name, Hunter Spanjer gun, Hunter Spanjer uses the standard S.E.E., Parenting, Political Correctness, School Rules, Signing Exact English, the gesture resembles shooting a gun.
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August 29, 2012
I love the idea of cartwheel and somersault friendly schools. I want to do something similar at my school:
ONE Victorian school is defying the national trend to ban activities like cartwheels in the schoolyard saying concerns over safety are “overkill”.
Belmont Primary School in Geelong has declared itself a cartwheel and handstand friendly zone, according to The Geelong Advertiser.
Principal Mark Arkinstall described the recent ban on cartwheels at one Sydney primary school, which can only be performed under the direct supervision of a trained gymnastics teacher, as “ridiculous”. He said concerns about the safety of children was just “overkill”.
“It seems to be a bit silly, you’d never get out of bed in the morning if you took that attitude,” Mr Arkinstall said.
“We’ve never even thought of it (a ban). All kids need to be developed, not just academically but socially, emotionally and physically,” he said.
Mr Arkinstall’s comments come on the back of a series of bans on cartwheels, tiggy, high fives and hugging which top the list of activities outlawed by overzealous Australian schools during the past few years.
Let’s revisit some school bans from the last 12 months:
Click on the link to read Banning Home-Made Lunches is a Dreadful Policy
Tags:Armadale Primar, Belgian Gardens State School, Belmont Primary School in Geelong, cartwheel and handstand friendly zone, cartwheel and somersault friendly schools, cartwheels in the schoolyard, Drummoyne Public School, Education, Gail Charlier, Largs Bay Primary School, New Farm State School, Principal Mark Arkinstall, recent ban on cartwheels at one Sydney primary school, school bans, Special Education, William Duncan State School
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August 23, 2012
Police have requested that high schools install locked gun safes just in case a shooter appears on campus:
Plainfield Police asked the district to install locked gun safes to keep a rifle and important information at several schools in the event there’s a shooter on campus, according to Plainfield School District 202.
The safe could include a “long gun, such as an AR 15 rifle,” according to the request, and would be stored in the offices of school police officers, who would be the only ones with access.
The request was made for Plainfield Central Campus, Plainfield East, Plainfield North and Plainfield Academy. Plainfield South High School will not be included.
“Unfortunately, in today’s society active shooter incidents are no longer something we see on TV,” Police Chief John Konopek said in a statement. “They are reality.”
Tags:Assault Rifle, Crime, district to install locked gun safes in schools, Education, gun safes in schools in the event there's a shooter on campus, Guns In Schools, high schools and gun safes, Keep Guns In Schools, long gun, News, Plainfield Illinois, Plainfield Police, Plainfield Police gun safes, Police Chief John Konopek, Rifle In School, School Shooting, such as an AR 15 rifle at high schools
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August 20, 2012
Some schools are so out of touch with society it’s not funny:
A STRAIGHT-A student in the US has reportedly been denied her high school diploma for saying the word “hell” in her valedictory speech.
Kaitlin Nootbaar graduated from Oklahoma’s Prague High School back in May of this year and was named valedictorian.
In her graduating speech which was inspired by the film Eclipse: The Twilight Saga, she accidentally said the word “hell” instead of “heck”- a move which her father claims has cost her dearly.
“Her quote was, when she first started school she wanted to be a nurse, then a veterinarian and now that she was getting closer to graduation people would ask her what do you want to do and she said ‘How the h*** do I know? I’ve changed my mind so many times,” David Nootbaar told local TV station KFor.
The audience laughed and she was given a round of applause at the end of her speech. But when she went to pick up her high school diploma this week, she was told by the principal she will not get in until she writes a letter of apology.
Her father is furious with the school and said administrators have no legal right to refuse to release the diploma as his daughter was a straight-A student.
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August 18, 2012
At least 3 British schools have banned students from making best friends. That’s right – you haven’t read that incorrectly.
I have heard about some bizarre school rules, but this one definitely takes the cake.
TEACHERS are banning schoolkids from having best pals — so they don’t get upset by fall-outs.
Instead, the primary pupils are being encouraged to play in large groups.
Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni said the policy has been used at schools in Kingston, South West London, and Surrey.
She added: “I have noticed that teachers tell children they shouldn’t have a best friend and that everyone should play together.
“They are doing it because they want to save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend. But it is natural for some children to want a best friend. If they break up, they have to feel the pain because they’re learning to deal with it.”
Oh, I’m sorry, I thought schools were supposed to prepare children for the real world. What a terrible rule this is!
Tags:and Surrey., ban on making best friends, Education, Educational psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni, Kingston, Parenting, primary pupils are being encouraged to play in large groups, Psychologist, Psychology, save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend, School Rules, South West London, Stupidity, TEACHERS are banning schoolkids from having best friends, teachers tell children they shouldn’t have a best friend
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August 16, 2012
Here is a good way of taking dedicated specialist teachers and ruining their careers without any good reason:
Charles Dolar, the high school band director at Wolfson High School, could lose his job — because he failed a math test.
Florida requires its teachers to pass the Florida Teacher Certification Exam to remain employed by schools. There are four different types of tests — General Knowledge, Professional Education, Educational Leadership and numerous subject exams, including math — and testing requirements vary by individual.
Dolar told WTLV that he had to take four parts of the exam, and passed all but math.
“I was devastated, I actually fell apart in the place, and they had to escort me out and everything because that was my whole life right there,” he said.
Although Dolar worked with a tutor, he still failed to pass the test a second time, but he’s not giving up and is going for a third.
It is shameful that this teacher is being put through this stressful and humiliating process. And for what?
Click on the link to read Only Closed-Minded Schools Block YouTube
Click on the link to read Does Getting Children to Pledge Allegiance Make them Patriotic
Click on the link to read Proof You Can Be Suspended for Anything
Tags:Charles Dolar, Charles Dolar failed math test, Charles Dolar Wolfson High School, Education: Florida, Educational Leadership and numerous subject exams, Florida Teacher Certification Exam, four different types of tests for teachers in Florida, General Knowledge, High School Band, High School Band Director, including math, Professional Education, Teacher Certification, Teacher Certification Test, Teacher Fired For Failing Math Exam, teachers are required to pass test to stay at schools, the high school band director
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August 15, 2012
I am all for enforcing rules and protecting students from violent gangs, but suspending 100 kids on the first day of school is a recipe for disaster.
This sends the wrong message. The footwear may not be ideal, but the punishment is likely to cause even more harm:
The principal at Canton High School doesn’t know what caused the disconnect that led to students violating the uniform policy on the first day of school Wednesday.
Shirley Sanders said every year students and parents receive an information packet that includes the dress code policy. The packet is given out on registration days.
Some 100 students received in-school suspension for wearing neon-colored shoes, neon shoe strings and other “gang related” colors, Sanders said. Students were allowed to call their parents to bring them proper attire.
“That’s unusually high,” Sanders said of the number of violations. On Thursday, some students did the same thing but the number was “significantly lower.”
Canton High School has a dress code – in place for several years now – requiring students to wear navy shirts, khaki pants or skirts, and black or dark-colored shoes or white tennis shoes.
For the first offense, parents are notified and can bring an acceptable pair of shoes to school, and the student receives an in-school suspension for the day. The second offense brings two days of in-school suspension. The third offense requires a parent conference with the principal, and the fourth offense brings a three-day out-of-school suspension.
Click on the link to read Only Closed-Minded Schools Block YouTube
Click on the link to read Does Getting Children to Pledge Allegiance Make them Patriotic
Click on the link to read Proof You Can Be Suspended for Anything
Tags:100 Canton High School students received in-school suspensions, “gang related” colors., Canton High School, Education, Education: Mississippi, Gang Related Clothing, Gang Related shoes, Inappropriate Clothing For Kids, Neon Shoes, Principal Shirley Sanders, Redress the Dress Code, School Dress Code, School Dress Code Violations, Uniform
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August 14, 2012
I have no problem with a law that makes it mandatory for schools to set time for pledging allegiance but does it really work? My school recites the Australian National Anthem every week and for every gathering and assembly. I often wonder whether this practice has any affect on the students that sing it:
The Nebraska Board of Education on Friday unanimously voted to approve a rule change that will make it mandatory for the state’s public schools to set aside time daily for the Pledge of Allegiance.
The change in question applies to Rule 10, which governs all Nebraska schools and districts. Failure to comply with the new requirement could put districts at risk of losing their accreditation and therefore state funds, the Sioux City Journal reports.
Students will not be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance under the new rule, as they will have the option of standing or sitting quietly, provided they respect peers who do participate. However, schools will be required to allocate time for the Pledge.
According to the Sioux City Journal, state board candidate Bob Van Valkenburg proposed an amendment Friday that would require flags be present in every classroom, and that all students stand during the recitation of the pledge even if they elect not to join in. Van Valkenburg also championed requiring students who do not recite the pledge to write a 50-word essay on what it means to be an American.
50 word essay? Sounds like a punishment to me.
Click on the link to read Kids Don’t Need Gold Stars
Click on the link to read Only Closed-Minded Schools Block YouTube
Click on the link to read Experts Push for Kids to Start Driving at 12
Click on the link to read Kids as Young as 3 are Getting Tutors
Tags:Bob Van Valkenburg, Education, mandatory for the state’s public schools to set aside time daily for the Pledge of Allegiance., Nebraska Board of Education, Nebraska Board of Education pledge of allegiance, Patriotic, require flags be present in every classroom, schools will be required to allocate time for the Pledge., Students will not be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, The change in question applies to Rule 10, the option of standing or sitting quietly during Pledge of Allegiance, write a 50-word essay on what it means to be an American
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