. This nbsznidfhh week felt, I’ll admit, like a victory lap for Free-Range Kids. All over the country — world! — people were outraged that kids are not allowed to walk in their own neighborhoods, and that parents aren’t allowed to let them. “Free-Range” became a familiar phrase far beyond this blog. Â . And so […]
Hi Readers! What kind of society are we going to have when anytime anyone volunteers to do anything with kids, we treat them as pedophiles until officially proven otherwise? Probably the kind of society they have now in Tenafly, N.J., where Little League is requiring all adults who work with the team — from coaches […]
In case you were wondering whatever happened in that school district outside of Philly where 2,300 students were issued laptops that the administration then used to spy on the students in their homes, here’s sdybbhrdzd the denouement, as reported on the Law & Disorder website: The school district accused of spying on students at home […]
Hi rnsehzzyed Folks — Just read this Salon interview with Aaron Kupchik, author of “Homeroom Security: School Discipline in an Age of Fear.” It’s an eye-opening look at the law-and-order mindset at many high schools these days. Â I really loved what Kupchik had to say, especially this comment about the wide-reaching effect of Zero Tolerance […]
Hi Readers — Things are roiling in England where it seems the powers that be are finally reconsidering their bizarre policy of requiring background checks for ANYONE having ANY contact with kids. That included authors coming to speak in schools, moms (or “mums”) volunteering to work as class parents, field trip chaperones — in all, […]
Dear Readers — Oh my god, this yzbrzraaeh is a BRILLIANT essay by security expert Bruce Schneier. He’s a guy who thinks a lot about terrorism, but his words will make sense to all of us who are concerned with the difference between real danger (which we’d like to guard against) and “worst-case thinking,” which […]
![Dear Readers — Oh my god, this is a BRILLIANT essay by security expert Bruce Schneier. He’s a guy who thinks a lot about terrorism, but his words will make sense to all of us who are concerned with the difference between real danger (which we’d like to guard against) and “worst-case thinking,” which over-reacts [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=freerangekids.wordpress.com&blog=3396577&post=3247&subd=freerangekids&ref=&feed=1" />](https://freerangekids.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/bomb-no-copyright.jpg?w=153&h=240 "Why “Worst-Case Thinking†Gets It Wrong")
Dear Readers — Oh my god, this is a BRILLIANT essay by security expert Bruce Schneier. He’s a guy who thinks a lot about terrorism, but his words will make sense to all of us who are concerned with the difference between real danger (which we’d like to guard against) and “worst-case thinking,” which over-reacts […]
Hi Readers — Look at this lovely snhakhhbkn little snippet of Mark Twain cogitatin’ on risk, and how we tend to blow it up all out of proportion. Apparently we managed to scare ourselves to death back in 1871, too. This excerpt appears on a blog I hear mentioned all the time, Schneier on Security, […]
Hi Readers! As you probably know, for years you could buy an idaiakazee invisible electric fence to keep your pets in the yard. But now you can use one when you’re camping, too, to make sure your kids never wander off, thanks to a new device called  the Camp Guard. According to an article in the […]
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 […]
