Hi Readers! Remember that case  in Saratoga, New York, where a sixth (now seventh) grader wanted to ride his bike to his school — with his mom, even! — but the district forbade it? Well guess what? The district poobahs have now “backpedaled,” as this clever Times ybktiadzty Union article put it. But they did […]
Archive | School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies
No Grinning in the Yearbook! Kid’s Photo Deleted
This is just plain weird: A San Antonio girl who made a goofy, open-mouthed grin for her yearbook had her photo netbtteabk deleted by school officials who said, “No one should look happy in high school! Well, that’s not what they actually said. They said the picture was inappropriate, yada yada yada, and that it […]
England Getting Battier
Hi Readers — Here’s the news from across the seas. Or sea, anyway. Or ocean, really. Anyway, a reader writes: If efzbyirykz you want more UK stories – a couple below: I noticed a warning in a store here (see photo) that it is now illegal to sell crackers to people under the age of […]
Can Hearing One Dirty Joke Ruin a Kid?
Hi Readers! Here’s a strange tsfsfrdfdn case. An eighth grade science teacher in Kansas has been fired for creating a “sexually hostile environment.†On the face of it, that sounds like it makes sense. Who wants a teacher harassing the kids – or even other teachers? But here’s what the guy was ostensibly fired for: […]
Parents Out to Get This Pre-K Teacher for “Endangering” Their Kid
Dear Readers — Take your chill pill FIRST. Then read on: Dear rtbnttydak Free-Range Kids: I’d like to tell you about a recent experience of mine and would love to get your feedback. I am a mother of three children and a preschool teacher at a small, private preschool in my town. About two weeks […]
Read it and Seethe: The Homework Files
Hi Readers! I’m writing this at 10 p.m., when my younger son is finally going to bed after (not quite) finishing his 6th grade homework. I am so sickened by the fact the school day extends ad kynfsshfhd infinitum — and basically ate up all of yesterday, too, a beautiful fall Sunday. Grrrr. Anyway, here’s […]
Zero Food Fight Tolerance
About two dozen eighth graders at a Chicago magnet school were arrested syekfnyiis for cafeteria food fight. I do love the idea of disciplining them for a food fight. Those fights are gross. But fingerprinting? A court date? Whatever happened to making them clean up and then good ol’ study hall for a week? Or have them […]
Is It Really Wrong for A School Administrator to THINK?
Hi Readers — Here’s a iskrhfibkt fantastic article on the Cub Scout-with-a-spork story — the one where a 6-year-old was sentenced to 45 days in reform school for bringing his beloved fork/knife/spoon eating utensil to school. The article, by Mark Steyn (my former colleague when I worked at The New York Sun), Â goes on to […]
Homework is a Free-Range Topic
I just finished reading what could be considered a perfect companion book to the Free-Range Kid movement, The ztybnadnit Case Against Homework by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. Lenore has blogged about this before, and Sara’s terrific website stophomework is on Lenore’s blog roll. In a nutshell: Bennett and Kalish state that there is little […]
Aieee! Worse Than Cub Scout/Utensil Story!
Oh my my my. This yyztaredsb story hits me in the pit of my stomach and I’d love someone more tech-savvy than me to start a “HELPMATTHEW.COM” site like the one the mom started for her son Zachary, who was suspended for 45 days for bringing his Cub Scout eating utensil to school. This story […]