Kids with pencils: the new terrorists

[Bruno@MT]

http://newsblaze.com/story/20101119111941reye.nb/topstory.html

any students caught with pencils or pens after Nov. 15 would face disciplinary action for having materials 'to build weapons.'

The insanity reaches new depths.

 

[Carol]

Yup. Good ol' Massachusetts, where they don't keep score in soccer games so it won't hurt the kids feelings.

On second thought...pens and pencils? Who uses them anymore?

 

[Bruno@MT]

They... don't count score anymore...?

Sheesh. Life has winners and losers. If they don't learn to deal with that as kids, it is not going to be easier as adults. Learning to lose is just as important as striving to win.

 

[Empty Hands]

"North Brookfield School District interim Superintendent Gordon Noseworthy said Wendy Scott, one of two sixth-grade teachers at North Brookfield Elementary School, did not get approval from administrators before sending the memo to all sixth-grade parents...Noseworthy said the memo does not represent district policy."

So apparently the insanity is limited to one teacher and does not represent policy. It was right there at the top of the article. Which was an Op-Ed.

Seriously?

 

[Blade96]

The insanity reaches new depths.

Yep. The nutbars need to be worried about gettin out. Those rubber rooms aint got no windows. :uhyeah:

 

[MJS]

This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've seen in a long, long time! I mean really, how ****ing stupid can some people honestly be??? Whats next...making the kids eat their lunch with their hands, because the plastic silverware will be too dangerous.

So, they dont want the kids to carry pencils because they can build weapons. What kind of weapon are they going to build? What are they worried about, some kid stabbing another with a pencil? Yet the kids will be provided with these supposed 'weapons' as they move from class to class. If they're worried about someone being stabbed, they're still providing the kids with the tools to do it.

The new WMD....a pencil!! LMFAO!! LMFAO!!!!

 

[Mark Jordan]

The pencil is mightier than the sword.

So, what's next? Ban chairs and tables - a violent person can use these as weapons if he/she really wants to.

Was shocked to learn they don't keep score in soccer games so it won't hurt the kids feelings.

Life is not a winning streak and one has to deal with losing. And it is only through losing that you learn how to lose gracefully, learn from your mistakes, feel grateful for the "little" blessings that come your way etc.

 

[Carol]

Its also not just the kids that learn how to win and lose, it is also the parents. With top athletes winning generous scholarships to posh colleges, many parents can be very aggressive from the bleachers, esp. if their kids are not stellar academically. Not keeping score also takes a bit of oomph out of the referees job as well, in Mass. young teens can learn how to ref kids games usually by the time they reach 8th grade. If you're refereeing a game with no score, isn't that also cheating the teenager out of an opportunity to learn how to make split second decisions under pressure?

Here's the 2006 article from the Boston Globe, sorry it is subscription only.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/05/keeping_score_isnt_goal____or_is_it/

Since the 2006 article, some communities have bucked the trends and gone back to keeping score in kids games. Others, including some of the wealthier communities, have not.

 

[Rayban]

Be sure to wrap your kids in buble wrap and escort them to school, shooting anyone who comes within 10 meters of them....

Has the world gone completely mad? Or are all the sane people just hiding?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

When I was in grade school, the school instituted a policy of not admitting students into the school until 15 minutes before start. Raining, snowing, line up outside and shut up. This was for safety, security and discipline.

In high school they decided first to ban going to your locker between classes. You could only go at the start of the day, before and after lunch and the end of the day. Caught at a locker otherwise, you got detention.

Shortly after I graduated they banned backpacks, and demanded you carry all your books all day. This was again, for safety, security, etc.

Kids are getting expelled over pointing their fingers at someone and saying bang (zero tolerance weapon policy), for having an aspirin (drug policy) and for bringing actual tableware in (again, weapons).

Classes are graded on curves, no one is allowed to fail (except designated bad kids), and we wonder why Johnny can't read?

 

[Bruno@MT]

Luckily you still have a strong economy, global goodwill and the respect of other nation states...

Europe and China are getting economically stronger compared to the US. And not only because we are working hard for it, but also because you are handing us the global economy on a silver platter. Because if little Johnny can't read or deal with adversity, he'll be just slightly more useful than a doorstop once he hits the working force.

 

[Carol]

Luckily you still have a strong economy, global goodwill and the respect of other nation states...

Europe and China are getting economically stronger compared to the US. And not only because we are working hard for it, but also because you are handing us the global economy on a silver platter. Because if little Johnny can't read or deal with adversity, he'll be just slightly more useful than a doorstop once he hits the working force.

Massachusetts is one of the few states in the nation that is losing population, year over year. Granted, there are many places in the state where kids involved in athletics play for teams where they actually keep score, and school kids can bring pencils and pens to school without those implements being regarded as weapons. However, there are also a lot of households (including mine) who have chosen to simply vote with our own feet and leave the state (and its taxes) behind.

 

[Rayban]

I know this is a fairly pesemistic veiw but, to me, the world is getting stupider. Much of this is because of the way students are being taught and the way they are being censored.

By censored I mean "not allowed to be kids anymore"
Children are supposed to play rough and muck around. Its as much a learning experience in the playground as is the classroom.

You can publish as many studies as you like and play with stats enough to back any view you like. But you can't ignore the correlation between the "new method" of teching and the way people are these days compared to the way things used to be.

Again this is a personal view and it is open to debate. I just get fired up with these issues

 

[elder999]

Luckily you still have a strong economy, global goodwill and the respect of other nation states...

Europe and China are getting economically stronger compared to the US. And not only because we are working hard for it, but also because you are handing us the global economy on a silver platter. Because if little Johnny can't read or deal with adversity, he'll be just slightly more useful than a doorstop once he hits the working force.

I'd leave Europe out of that. You've bailed out Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and now the EU is contemplating bailing out Spain, an economy two times as large as those three combined.

It's literally too big to fail. Where have we heard that before? :lfao:

You're probably about to run the Euro aground....

 

[Bruno@MT]

We have some problematic member states, aye. Sadly.
However, a part of the problems are results of the implosion of the US housing debt scam. That can't be laid entirely at our feet. We still have to deal with that of course, and it will be painful, but otoh there are also countries and industries doing well.
As for Ireland... I honestly don't get why they were allowed in the Euro zone, and Greece's financial mismanagement was tolerated for far too long.

anyway, The US company I work for is building its new pharma plant next to the one where I work (which itself was also built here instead of the US). Of course, this is anecdotal, but we are still doing better than the US in the current financial climate. And if the US persists in ruining their education system and selling their debt to China, we will be keep improving over the US.

Btw, I just saw the irony of a state like Massachusetts being home to MIT

 

[elder999]

We have some problematic member states, aye. Sadly.
However, a part of the problems are results of the implosion of the US housing debt scam. That can't be laid entirely at our feet. We still have to deal with that of course, and it will be painful, but otoh there are also countries and industries doing well.
As for Ireland... I honestly don't get why they were allowed in the Euro zone, and Greece's financial mismanagement was tolerated for far too long.

The larger part is due to individual member states following Ireland's lead an guaranteeing all deposits and instruments regardless of amount, and fleeing capital from people going to more trustworthy banks.

we are still doing better than the US in the current financial climate.

Not for long. Trust me. You don't have the luxury of China propping up your economy to the tune of $772 billion in debt that isn't likely to get paid anytime soon......:lfao: