Posts Tagged ‘School Rules’

When Standing Up for Your Students Gets You Fired

January 11, 2014

 

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If this Principal got fired for doing nothing more than trying to end a humiliating policy, the decision makers involved should be banned from ever being involved with school policy again:

A former Colorado charter school principal is claiming she was terminated from her job after attempting to halt a practice that embarrassed students.

Noelle Roni was the principal of Peak to Peak Elementary School for more than eight years before being abruptly fired last November. Roni says that higher-ups at the school became angry with her when she demanded that cafeteria workers stop stamping the hands of children who did not have enough money in their account to pay for lunch, according to CBS Denver.

Although the charter school is allowed to set its own policies, other schools in the Denver area notify parents when students do not have money for lunch, rather than stamping their hands, according to Colorado outlet the Daily Camera. Roni reportedly was told that some children were too embarrassed to go through the lunch line because of the practice.

“The kids are humiliated. They’re branded. It’s disrespectful. Where’s the human compassion? And these are little children,” Roni said to CBS Denver.

An attorney for the school, Barry Arrington, told CBS Denver that Roni’s claims were “baseless.” However, he would not go into more detail about the matter.

Some parents at the school were upset over Roni’s firing. Following her dismissal, the parents organized a group, Concerned Parents of Peak to Peak, which says it works to “restore trust of our teachers and staff after [Roni’s] abrupt termination.” The group also hopes to recall two school board members for their handling of the firing.

“Regardless of whether Ms. Roni can be reinstated or not, members of this group want Peak to Peak to take steps to restore her reputation in the educational community, a reputation that has been unfairly tarnished by the events of this fall,” says the group’s website.

While these school officials bicker, kids in need still go without. If this story angered you, check out Feeding America’s Backpack Program to help provide meals for families who can’t afford enough food.

 

Click on the link to read Girl Faces Expulsion for Being a Victim of Bullying

Click on the link to read Cancer Sufferer Claims she was Banned from Daughter’s School Because of her “Smell”

Click on the link to read Top 10 Most Unusual School Bans

Click on the link to read Rules that Restrict the Teacher and Enslave the Student

Click on the link to read This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

Girl Faces Expulsion for Being a Victim of Bullying

November 28, 2013

 

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A perfect example of how a poor school culture encourages students to bully others. A girl’s mother complains to the school because her daughter is being mocked for her distinctive hairstyle. The school’s response: She should have a haircut or face expulsion.

You are supposed to be deterring bullies not validating them!

An African-American girl could be expelled unless she cuts her hair.

On Monday, WKMG reported that 12-year-old Vanessa VanDyke was told she has a week to decide whether to cut her natural hair or leave Faith Christian Academy in Orlando, Fla.

“It says that I’m unique,” VanDyke said. “First of all, it’s puffy and I like it that way. I know people will tease me about it because it’s not straight. I don’t fit in.”

VanDyke’s mom, Sabrina Kent, said her daughter has had the same hairstyle since the beginning of the school year, but school officials only became concerned after Kent complained to them about her daughter being teased.

“There have been people teasing her about her hair, and it seems to me that they’re blaming her,” Kent said.

Faith Christian Academy did not immediately return a call for comment from The Huffington Post nor did the school answer any questions from WKMG.

Kent said officials told her VanDyke’s hair is a “distraction.”

 

Click on the link to read Cancer Sufferer Claims she was Banned from Daughter’s School Because of her “Smell”

Click on the link to read Top 10 Most Unusual School Bans

Click on the link to read Rules that Restrict the Teacher and Enslave the Student

Click on the link to read This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

Click on the link to read Political Correctness at School

Click on the link to read What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

Cancer Sufferer Claims she was Banned from Daughter’s School Because of her “Smell”

November 16, 2013

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If this is true it is absolutely shameful. Schools should help foster a greater respect for members of society, especially those going through traumatic challenges. How dare they discriminate against a woman because they find her cancer inflicted odor not to their liking:

A New Mexico mother battling breast cancer claims that she was banned from her daughter’s elementary school due to her smell.

Kerri Mascareno has stage 4 breast cancer and is taking chemotherapy pills to shrink the tumor before surgery, according to local outlet KOBR-TV. Strong body odors can be a symptom of breast cancer, and Mascareno claims the principal of Tierra Antigua Elementary School has an issue with that.

According to Mascareno, Principal Robert Abney told her she could no longer enter the Albuquerque elementary school because of her odor, reports KOBR-TV. She claims he also told her that she could participate in a school-wide Thanksgiving lunch only if she and her daughter sat in his office, instead of with the group.

“He just said he knows this is going to hurt my feelings and he understands where I’m coming from because his mother had breast cancer and she had the same exact smell and I can no longer be in the school and that with me being in the school that I made his employees ill,” she said, according to the outlet.

Monica Armenta, the executive director of communications for Albuquerque Public Schools, told The Huffington Post over the phone that while she could not speak to the details of the case, “never at any time was Ms. Mascareno banned from the school, at no time was she ever told she wouldn’t be welcome to join her daughter for [Thanksgiving] lunch.”

However, Armenta did admit that Abney initially wrote to the mother suggesting that if she’d like, “[the school] could make accommodations for her to have [Thanksgiving] lunch with her daughter in a location other than the cafeteria.”

Click on the link to read Top 10 Most Unusual School Bans

Click on the link to read Rules that Restrict the Teacher and Enslave the Student

Click on the link to read This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

Click on the link to read Political Correctness at School

Click on the link to read What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

Click on the link to read Stop Banning Our Kids From Being Kids

Top 10 Most Unusual School Bans

November 4, 2013

 

 

Schools should be working on making the school going experience more manageable not more stifling. Below are the top 10 most usual school bans courtesy of ozteacher.com.au:

 

  1. Hugging This rule has been rolled out all over the country with school authorities suggesting it was introduced to protect children who may be hurt by the physical contact. The rule has been highly criticised by parents who say it is excessive.
  2. Handstands and cartwheels One Sydney school has banned handstands and cartwheels in the playground because it is too dangerous as the school doesn’t have enough ‘soft surfaces’.
  3. Red ink One Queensland school has banned its teachers from marking in red ink in case it upsets the children. It is suggested they use a ‘calming’ green ink instead. Traditionalists have condemned the ban as ‘absolutely barmy’, ‘politically correct’ and ‘trendy’.
  4. Having a best friend In the UK, teachers have banned school kids 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.
  5. Santa One Gold coast school sent a letter home to parents outlining the Kris Kringle tradition would now be referred to as ‘Secret Friends’ not ‘Secret Santa’. Education Queensland defended the ban, saying the teacher acted in a sensitive and respectful manner and in the best interests of all students, in line with their inclusive policy.
  6. Bikes Parents are “outraged” after an eco-friendly school in the UK banned pupils from cycling to school because of health and safety. Parents argue given childhood obesity is on the rise, promoting healthy eating and exercise is a must.
  7. Bake sales Several schools in Massachusetts placed a ban on school bake sales because it promoted unhealthy eating habits, but the decision was later overturned – meaning cupcakes, brownies and other biscuits will be spared the chopping block.
  8. Winning A few schools have decided to forgo the term ‘win’ in exchange for ‘doing your best’ and ‘completing.’
  9. Party invitations, unless the whole class is invited. This rule is becoming increasingly common in schools, and is enforced to avoid bullying and children feeling left out.
  10. Sunscreen One school in Washington State banned sunscreen on a student field day because it has so many additives and chemicals in it, it can cause allergic reactions. ABC News reports that because sunscreen is considered a medication in all 50 states with the exception of California, children are not allowed to bring it to school or apply it to themselves.

I must say I don’t have a problem with number 9, but I have a major problem with most of the rest.

 

Click on the link to read Rules that Restrict the Teacher and Enslave the Student

Click on the link to read This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

Click on the link to read Political Correctness at School

Click on the link to read What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

Click on the link to read Stop Banning Our Kids From Being Kids

Click on the link to read Banning Home-Made Lunches is a Dreadful Policy

 

Rules that Restrict the Teacher and Enslave the Student

October 1, 2013

 

 

A heartfelt and extremely well articulated rant against the current rules restricting ESL teachers in the classroom.

 

Click on the link to read This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

Click on the link to read Political Correctness at School

Click on the link to read What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

Click on the link to read Stop Banning Our Kids From Being Kids

Click on the link to read Banning Home-Made Lunches is a Dreadful Policy

This is What I Think of the No Hugging Rule at Schools

September 14, 2013

 

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It is becoming all the rage to ban children from hugging each other at recess. This is what I think of the rule:

 

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Click on the link to read Political Correctness at School

Click on the link to read What Are We Doing to Our Kids?

Click on the link to read Stop Banning Our Kids From Being Kids

Click on the link to read Banning Home-Made Lunches is a Dreadful Policy

Click on the link to read School Using Bomb As Bell

Should Non-Muslim Teachers Be Forced to Wear a Hijab?

February 12, 2013

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This story is making waves in Australia at the moment. I have no problem with a school making its teachers wear a hijab on condition of employment. However, if a teacher has been working without a hijab, I think it is unfair to suddenly demand that they do:

SOUTH Australia’s biggest Islamic school has warned teachers, including many non-Muslims, that they will lose their jobs if they do not wear a hijab to school functions and outings.

Up to 20 non-Muslim female teachers, who do not wish to be named, have been told they will be sacked from the Islamic College of South Australia’s West Croydon campus after three warnings if they do not wear a headscarf to cover their hair.

The order, from the school’s governing board and chairman Faruk Kahn, contradicts the policy of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

Mr Kahn yesterday referred The Advertiser to AFIC for comment on the matter. “I have no comment … I think you better go to AFIC, they are the only ones that are to make comment,” Mr Kahn said.

School principal Kadir Emniyet did not return calls.

AFIC assistant secretary Keysar Trad said the policy was at odds with the national federation, but it was powerless to intervene.

“I’m aware there’s a policy at that school with respect to the scarf,” Mr Trad said.

“The AFIC policy is not to require any teacher to observe the hijab. In SA, the board itself has decided they want to operate in their way and we are not allowed to interfere in the matter.

“We maintain that staff should dress modestly but not be required by the nature of policy to wear the hijab.”

Mr Trad said that matters of unfair dismissal resulting from teachers disobeying the school’s hijab policy should be referred to Fair Work Australia.

“It’s confusing for our children to see their teachers wearing the scarf in school and then they take it off when they are out shopping and the children see them there,” he said.

“It is also a respect thing for our staff. If they are not Muslim they should not be forced to dress as Muslim.”

One long-term teacher at the Islamic College of SA said a new school board was now “forcing teachers to put hijabs back on”.

“There’s no discussion … you wear it or you’re fired,” the teacher said. “The teachers have always adhered to the policies and we are respectful of that.

“We are respectful of their religion but they are not going to respect us.”

The college has about 800 students and 40 staff.

Guidelines from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils to other Islamic schools do not require teachers to wear hijabs.

Glen Seidel, state secretary of the Independent Education Union, said the union was monitoring the policy.

“Essentially it means female staff have to wear a scarf covering most of their hair, and not have legs and arms exposed,” he said.

“In 2012, the requirement was being managed moderately, but with a new principal in 2013 enacting the decisions of a very conservative school board, there is no room for compromise.”

Mr Seidel said the union’s view is staff should be free to decide whether to wear a scarf.

“The ultimate test would be in an unfair dismissal action to see if that requirement would be considered a `reasonable direction’ and the termination therefore being reasonable.

“This is not a matter (in which) religious organisations are exempted from equal opportunity legislation in order to not cause offence to the `adherents of the faith’,” Mr Seidel said.

“Non-Islamic staff are not being discriminated (against) in their employment as it is the same code for all.

“Non-Islamic staff can, however, feel rightly aggrieved that they are being coerced to adopt the dress code of a religion to which they do not belong.”

 

Click on the link to read The School Food Fight that Lead to 9 Arrests

Click on the link to read Students are Continually Treated Like Prisoners

Click on the link to read How About Punishing the Students Who do Something Wrong?

Click on the link to read Potty Training at a Restaurant Table!

Click on the link to read Mother Shaves Numbers Into Quadruplets Heads So People Can Tell Them Apart

A Toilet Break is a Right Not a Privilege

December 3, 2012

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It is absolutely bewildering to me how obsessive some teachers get about toilet breaks. Sure, they can be a disturbance to class and it can get very annoying to have a student ask to go to the toilet only minutes after recess, but you just don’t interfere with a child’s need to go to the toilet.

I wouldn’t dare stop a child who badly needs to go to the toilet from going:

The mother of a seven-year-old boy at an elementary school in Irving, Texas says her son wet his pants in class because he hadn’t accumulated enough good behavior credits to secure a trip to the bathroom.

The teacher at J.O. Davis Elementary rewards students for good behavior with “Boyd Bucks,” reports KXAS-TV5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Her students can use the restroom outside of three scheduled breaks throughout the day, but the price of each trip is two Boyd Bucks.

Sonja Cross’s son was fresh out of Boyd Bucks on Thursday afternoon when nature called urgently. When the boy’s teacher denied his request to use the facilities, he sat back down.

“He tried to hold it as much as he could, but he just couldn’t,” Cross told the NBC affiliate. “He came home from school, and he was crying and really upset.”

“I was absolutely appalled,” Cross told the NBC affiliate. “I could not believe it.”

Cross initially took up her complaint directly with the teacher, who is reportedly in her first year with the school. However, Cross said, she wasn’t satisfied with the outcome of that conversation.

“Originally when I first spoke with the teacher, she was just going to show my son special treatment, but then I said, ‘That’s just not good enough. I need for you to stop this for all the children,’” Cross explained.

 

Students are Continually Treated Like Prisoners

November 29, 2012

One of my biggest goals since entering teaching was that my students appreciate my classes enough to actually want to attend them.

My dream is to have my students wake up on a school morning and say:

“Hey, I’ve got school today, and that’s OK”.

Fundamentally, it is the job of the educator to teach well enough to engage their students. We have to do better than forcing our children to attend school, we have got to find a way to make them feel comfortable with going out of their own volition.

Fitting GPS tracking devices to their IDs is sending the message that our system has given up trying. It has decided that it hasn’t got the time, energy or creativity to make school palatable, so it has no choice but to make prisoners out of the school population.

Students will therefore be getting the following message:

1. School is tedious;

2. The school administration think of us like prisoners;

3. The school administration don’t trust us;

4. We ate just a number. Just a blip on a computer screen. We are not unique, special or important. Just a sheep being watched over by a duty bound shepard.

To 15-year-old Andrea Hernandez, the tracking microchip embedded in her student ID card is a “mark of the beast,” sacrilege to her Christian faith – not to mention how it pinpoints her location, even in the school bathroom.

But to her budget-reeling San Antonio school district, those chips carry a potential $1.7 million in classroom funds.

Starting this fall, the fourth-largest school district in Texas is experimenting with “locator” chips in student ID badges on two of its campuses, allowing administrators to track the whereabouts of 4,200 students with GPS-like precision. Hernandez’s refusal to participate isn’t a twist on teenage rebellion, but has launched a debate over privacy and religion that has forged a rare like-mindedness between typically opposing groups.

Click on the link to read What’s Next? A No Breathing Rule?

Click on the link to read Never Mistake Compassion with the Threat of a Lawsuit

Click on the link to read How About Punishing the Students Who do Something Wrong?

Click on the link to read Potty Training at a Restaurant Table!

Click on the link to read Mother Shaves Numbers Into Quadruplets Heads So People Can Tell Them Apart

How About Punishing the Students Who do Something Wrong?

November 19, 2012

 

What is the point of punishing students whose only sin was to dye their hair to raise money for charity? How many students do you know of who actively use their time and energy for raising money for a worthy cause? Not that many I assume. So why demean the concept of consequences and victimise a bunch of selfless students all the the name of order and control.

And does any sane person out there think the punishment these girls had to endure, fits the crime?

Two mothers have been left furious after their daughters were thrown into a school’s locked barred-windowed ‘isolation block’ because they dyed their hair for charity.

Friends Lucy Gyte and Rudi Stables, both 13, were given a dressing down by senior staff after the October half-term when they arrived with their hair dyed in aid of Breast Cancer Research and Children In Need.

Lucy and Rudi – who dyed their hair pink and blue respectively – were inspired to do something for charity after watching last month’s Pride of Britain Awards.

Now their mother’s claim the girls were left too scared to return to school after teachers punished the teenagers by sending them to an ‘isolation block’.

The parents criticised teachers at Wath Comprehensive, Wath near Rotherham, South Yorks, for what they saw as a disproportionate response to the incident.

Mothers Sue Gyte and Jakki Harrison said that their daughters missed three days of school after a ‘terrifying’ experience behind the barred windows and locked doors of the school’s ‘isolation block’.

They also claim the girl’s stay in the block, which lasted for the duration of three individual school days, left them open to bullying.

Click on the link to read What’s Next? A No Breathing Rule?