Weren’t we just talking about how nice it is when administrators use their brains instead of following rules mindlessly? This just in: My dnhtreesie kid’s teacher asked for green beans and other canned goods for a day of cooking. When I sent them with my kid, she got in trouble because “cans aren’t allowed on […]
Archive | School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies
Criminal or Cutie Pie? Cub Scout with “Dangerous” Utensil on Today Show
October 13, 2009
Here he is, in all his nefariousness, the boy who brought his Cub Scout fork/knife/spoon to first grade lunch and got slapped with a 45-day suspension for it, as seen here with his mom and mom’s fiancee. The kid is so cute you just may cry.
You Can’t Bring THAT on the School Bus!
October 13, 2009
Hi sinfdkstze Readers — Here you go. Latest overprotection nonsense! Enjoy (if that’s the word). Dear Free-Range Kids: I thought this little story might be of interest to you. My oldest daughter (12) recently tried out for her school softball team. She made the team, which was a real accomplishment. Not only were the kids […]
Outrage of the Week: Boy Suspended for Cub Scout Utensil
October 12, 2009
Six-year-old Suspended zsffzfhnzd for Bringing Beloved Cub Scout Fork/Spoon/Knife To School. That’s about all you need to know. Oh – and now he has to be homeschooled for 45 days (no problem for any parent to suddenly take off a couple months of work, right?). Or he can go to reform school. I guess with all the […]
Get Thee Behind Me, Cupcake
October 6, 2009
Dear Readers: Use your imagination to conjure up the deepest, most Moviefone-ish voice in your head and now hear it intoning this: “In a world, where the school day is 10 hours long. In a world, where there is no summer vacation. In a world where recess is shortened to make time for test prep […]
Trust No One — Especially Not a Parent Volunteering at School
September 21, 2009
Hi Readers — Here’s a round-up bbfnahyfts of Providence, Rhode Island-area schools that are making their parent volunteers get background checks, sent in by a gal named Rema. I know a lot of folks will say, “This makes sense! Can’t hurt — can only help!” but let’s consider whether that’s true. *First of all, if there […]
This Is When I Despair
September 17, 2009
Hi Readers! I usually don’t like to comment on the comments — “Everyone’s entitled to his own opinion,” etc. etc. –but this time I must. This comment arrived in response to the story I posted last night (below this one) about a teacher who wanted an author to speak to her fourth grade class. Since the school and […]
Can You Please Come Talk to My Class…But Not Look at Anyone?
September 17, 2009
Hi ztthsbdktr Readers — Here’s a note from puzzlemeister Eric Berlin, author of The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. Read it and peep. Er…weep: I’m an author of middle-grade novels, and as such I have a lot of interaction with elementary school kids. I’m glad to say I haven’t often come in contact with the kind of […]
Message in a Very, Very Safe Bottle
September 16, 2009
Hi Readers! Here’s a cool babidtbhna story from the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, California. Can you spot the ridiculous safety precaution? Betcha can! Long Beach pupils’ message in a bottle gets a reply — 10 years later By Kevin Butler, Staff Writer LONG BEACH – In 1999, a third-grade class at Mark Twain Elementary wrote […]
New Law to “Protect” Kids from Germs Would Kill Band Program
September 9, 2009
Hi Readers — Get ready to start gnashing. A bill in Massachusetts would require all schools there to “professionally” sterlize their band isntruments, according to this knnftiydny article in the Wicked Local Sumerville (great name!). And guess what? Only one company in Massachusetts does this. The owner of that company, a dentist, insists that without this […]