Handcuffs, metal detectors, K-9 inspections, warrantless searches...

[Sandpiper]

Where is this? A prison? you might ask...


Nope, just your local public school, where the youth of the Fatherland...err...homeland, are learning to be good little Germans...err...American citizens.

[havocmom]

1. Yeah, and the Patriot Act has made it impossible for us to get

our favorite bleu cheese! Who knew cheese was so dangerous?

[illini]

2. I am not so sure I disapprove of the handcuffing.

I at this point don't know enough to make a call one way or another. From what I know its an "empty threat" problem. Once the threat of arrest was made it needed to be carried out. The wasn't the first time they had been called. If the girl knew that the police were not going to do anything their effectiveness in the situation would be diminished in the future. Having said that the situation should not have gotten to the point where the police needed to be called in the first place.

[H2O Man]

3. My son was

among about 50 who were rounded up a few years back in his school. The administration had a private firm come in with drug-sniffing dogs. The school brought the 50+ kids into a large room, and then took them out one-by-one to search their lockers and their person. They had called the state police after the dogs indicated what lockers and kids needed a good searching. But they never called parents.

At the end of the searches of lockers and students, they had not found so much as a single marijuana seed or stalk or even a pipe or a rolling paper. There were over 50 kids who had been held and searched -- lockers, coats, person -- and the dogs had made over 50 "false positives." My son had lip balm, and the dogs' handlers explained that lip balm was one of the more common causes for the false positives.

I went to the very next school board meeting. The board members didn't want to address it with me, but I insisted that it was in everyone's best interests, and so we talked about it. I'm not in favor of kids using drugs, and I surely do not advocate kids getting high during school. But I'm guessing the problem might not be exactly what the school officials believed it was, or they would have found that seed or stalk or pipe or rolling paper.

The principal asked me with that "if you're so smart, Mr. Water Man" attitude, what I would recommend the school do? I suggested that if the problem is getting out of control, they consider having a public meeting with a panel discussion. Include administrators, faculty, and students on the panel. Get some community involvement. Start there.

I was surprised when they took me seriously. They had the panel discussion, and the school had a great turn-out. My son, who was the student council president, made me proud with his insights on that panel. And it sure looked better in the next day's newspapers than the dog-sniffing did.

I said that, to say this: schools can't afford not to be creative.

[nolabels]

4. Who should we blame?

My daughter is home schooling for this second semester(I am home during the day to help her). The high school she just left has all kinds of discipline problems. My daughter the self appointed problem solver got between a few gansta girls while she was trying to protect her friends from being pushed around. She has got in a few fights before like this, but this last time they brought knives. Me and my wife are just glad she got her semester grades done (mostly A's). The schools around here really suck, too many dope dealers and other assorted things.