Madness and Stupidity in Public Schools

[Esmeralda]

It is offensive to me, as an American, on so many levels that we are seeing so much of this kind of bullshiite. Once upon a time (not that long ago), people coming to the United States were eager to become Americans and they embraced our culture and way of life. If people coming here don't like how we celebrate, or what we celebrate, they should damned well stay in the cesspits they are fleeing. Why in the hell would you run from one cultural hole only to drag all the same narrow minded taboos and other cultural baggage with you? And if you insist on re-establishing your very own ghettos for other people wandering over here from the same backward pits you come from, keep it to yourselves. Don't inflict your "culture" on the rest of us. You don't like what we do in our schools, establish your own schools for your own kind. Oh, yeah...you're in the US now, learn to speak English.

...“We have many different nationalities, cultures and languages spoken,” Principal Carol Keenan told Fox News. “Because of that we don’t honor specific holidays."

Keenan said she did not want some students feeling left out. ...DeRuosi said there are also strict state and federal guidelines governing what kind of food is allowed inside a public school building.

“No candy, no cake, no cupcake,” the superintendent said – noting their hands were tied. “You can’t send cupcakes anymore.” ...“How does celebrating a holiday in the USA interfere with cultural and language equality,” a MyFoxBoston reader wondered...Another reader noted, “It’s disgusting that all this political correctness is basically not allowing children to be children. What a shame.”

Keenan also addressed the language barrier – noting there are 400 students in the school who don’t speak English...

Based on the link, it seems the school principal did this so that students who didn't understand it or speak English wouldn't feel left out. There is no suggestion in the link that the students or their families were offended by the celebration of Valentines day.

“This is done with all good intentions – to have all students be accepted, to have all students feel like they belong,” she said

Keenan said they were not cancelling Valentine’s Day. Instead, the elementary school is going to celebrate a modified version.

“Every student is making a friendship card for another student,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that every single student is given the opportunity to get a card and to also give a card. I didn’t want some students feeling left out.”

She said she decided to send the letter after parents made inquiries about sending birthday balloons and birthday cakes to school."

They say they are "not canceling Valentines' Day," but are making some changes in how it has been celebrated in the past so on one is left out. They are canceling candy because it is unhealthy: nothing to do with culture. Lots of parents from American culture don't like their kids having candy at school.

We also don't know if some fundamentalist Christian parents aren't offended by it because it is a pagan holiday. Many parents in the US who are fundamentalist Christians are offended by schools celebrating Halloween.

I think this is much ado about nothing.

 

[Againsheila]

I thought you right wingers supported the notion of LOCAL government.

Well, do you or not?

Clearly you don't if you bitch about a local school system making local decisions.

Supporting the "notion of local government" means acting to change it.

I doen't mean simply accepting whatever happens.

That would be like depending on a large centralized nanny state.

You ever try to change the local schools? I introduced the TEACH program to my youngest son's school when he was in second grade. I talked to the school board, all I got was it was an "experimental program" and they didn't have the resources for it. They finally instituted the program when my son was in 10th grade. Way to late to help him. I told them how to apply for a "Dynovox" from the university hospital. They got it for two weeks. They used it for my son for 30 minutes and unilaterally decided it wouldn't work for him, then sent it around to all the other schools in the district. I told them how to do it, I arranged it, it was suppose to be for him to use for the 2 weeks and then decide if it would work, not 1/2 an hour. Do you know how much that cost the school district? NOTHING!!!!! The Dynovox itself would have cost them $5,000 but to use it for 2 weeks was free. Didn't matter that I was the one that got it for them, they were damnwell going to spread it around instead of using it for my child.

I attended school board meetings, I volunteered on the school choice committee, hell I even wrote a letter to the president (Clinton at the time). What did I get for my trouble? A big thick file with the school district on how obnoxious I am. I homeschooled my oldest for 3 years, I only wish I'd continued because what the public schools did to him was criminal.

Anyone who thinks one person can make a difference is just kidding themselves. Hell 1,000 people can't make a difference. You can't fight city hall and I know that from experience.

 

[barry1960]

I thought you right wingers supported the notion of LOCAL government.

Well, do you or not?

Clearly you don't if you bitch about a local school system making local decisions.

Supporting the "notion of local government" means acting to change it.

I doen't mean simply accepting whatever happens.

That would be like depending on a large centralized nanny state.

You ever try to change the local schools? I introduced the TEACH program to my youngest son's school when he was in second grade. I talked to the school board, all I got was it was an "experimental program" and they didn't have the resources for it. They finally instituted the program when my son was in 10th grade. Way to late to help him. I told them how to apply for a "Dynovox" from the university hospital. They got it for two weeks. They used it for my son for 30 minutes and unilaterally decided it wouldn't work for him, then sent it around to all the other schools in the district. I told them how to do it, I arranged it, it was suppose to be for him to use for the 2 weeks and then decide if it would work, not 1/2 an hour. Do you know how much that cost the school district? NOTHING!!!!! The Dynovox itself would have cost them $5,000 but to use it for 2 weeks was free. Didn't matter that I was the one that got it for them, they were damnwell going to spread it around instead of using it for my child.

I attended school board meetings, I volunteered on the school choice committee, hell I even wrote a letter to the president (Clinton at the time). What did I get for my trouble? A big thick file with the school district on how obnoxious I am. I homeschooled my oldest for 3 years, I only wish I'd continued because what the public schools did to him was criminal.

Anyone who thinks one person can make a difference is just kidding themselves. Hell 1,000 people can't make a difference. You can't fight city hall and I know that from experience.

Your school experiences do not surprise me.

I have a story of my own. My son is autistic and severely disabled. He was placed in a moderate to severely disabled special ed class. My son was rather small for his age and the class spread over three grades. The children were seated alphabetically. My son sat next to a large autistic boy. My son does hand flapping behaviors as a visual stimulation. These behaviors upset the child next to him (no fault of his as he is also autistic) and he struck my son in the face. I was observing this first day of school over the objections of school administrators. I alert an aide and separated my son. After speaking to the aide the two children were separated. The teacher, acting on orders from a school principle re-seated my son next to the other child stating that seating policy was alphaebetic. Sure enough the kid hit my son again in the face. I took my upset son home.

We met with the district's special education administrators. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation. The seating arrangement was school policy. They told me that if you fall off a horse that you get back on (not if you are going to be punched in the face). One principle suggested my son wear a football helmet to protect him from the blows.

We never returned to the school and have been homeschooling for three years.

Still we fared better than our friend whose autistic child was handcuffed to a pole on the school bus he rode in. The driver forgot about him and he was left at the bus depot. Our frantic friend called the school who found him four hours later. The parent called the cops who referred the matter to CPS. CPS then went after the parents, as in their minds (and I use that term loosely) the parents were responsible for releasing their child to the custody of the school.

Yea, schools are broken.

 

[Againsheila]

Supporting the "notion of local government" means acting to change it.

I doen't mean simply accepting whatever happens.

That would be like depending on a large centralized nanny state.

You ever try to change the local schools? I introduced the TEACH program to my youngest son's school when he was in second grade. I talked to the school board, all I got was it was an "experimental program" and they didn't have the resources for it. They finally instituted the program when my son was in 10th grade. Way to late to help him. I told them how to apply for a "Dynovox" from the university hospital. They got it for two weeks. They used it for my son for 30 minutes and unilaterally decided it wouldn't work for him, then sent it around to all the other schools in the district. I told them how to do it, I arranged it, it was suppose to be for him to use for the 2 weeks and then decide if it would work, not 1/2 an hour. Do you know how much that cost the school district? NOTHING!!!!! The Dynovox itself would have cost them $5,000 but to use it for 2 weeks was free. Didn't matter that I was the one that got it for them, they were damnwell going to spread it around instead of using it for my child.

I attended school board meetings, I volunteered on the school choice committee, hell I even wrote a letter to the president (Clinton at the time). What did I get for my trouble? A big thick file with the school district on how obnoxious I am. I homeschooled my oldest for 3 years, I only wish I'd continued because what the public schools did to him was criminal.

Anyone who thinks one person can make a difference is just kidding themselves. Hell 1,000 people can't make a difference. You can't fight city hall and I know that from experience.

Your school experiences do not surprise me.

I have a story of my own. My son is autistic and severely disabled. He was placed in a moderate to severely disabled special ed class. My son was rather small for his age and the class spread over three grades. The children were seated alphabetically. My son sat next to a large autistic boy. My son does hand flapping behaviors as a visual stimulation. These behaviors upset the child next to him (no fault of his as he is also autistic) and he struck my son in the face. I was observing this first day of school over the objections of school administrators. I alert an aide and separated my son. After speaking to the aide the two children were separated. The teacher, acting on orders from a school principle re-seated my son next to the other child stating that seating policy was alphaebetic. Sure enough the kid hit my son again in the face. I took my upset son home.

We met with the district's special education administrators. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation. The seating arrangement was school policy. They told me that if you fall off a horse that you get back on (not if you are going to be punched in the face). One principle suggested my son wear a football helmet to protect him from the blows.

We never returned to the school and have been homeschooling for three years.

Still we fared better than our friend whose autistic child was handcuffed to a pole on the school bus he rode in. The driver forgot about him and he was left at the bus depot. Our frantic friend called the school who found him four hours later. The parent called the cops who referred the matter to CPS. CPS then went after the parents, as in their minds (and I use that term loosely) the parents were responsible for releasing their child to the custody of the school.

Yea, schools are broken.

I was a community Liaison for PAVE (Parents are Vital in Education) One of my clients child was abused by the aid in his classroom. We had a meeting with the administration. They promised the aid would be in another classroom and no where near their son until they investigated the matter. As soon as we left the meeting, they called CPS and reported the parents for abuse. It's a good thing the parents had already called the cops and had pictures and everything. They ended up suing the district, I don't know how much they got but if your child is abused at school, call the cops immediately, and take lots of pictures to protect yourself.

 

[Esmeralda]

Supporting the "notion of local government" means acting to change it.

I doen't mean simply accepting whatever happens.

That would be like depending on a large centralized nanny state.

You ever try to change the local schools? I introduced the TEACH program to my youngest son's school when he was in second grade. I talked to the school board, all I got was it was an "experimental program" and they didn't have the resources for it. They finally instituted the program when my son was in 10th grade. Way to late to help him. I told them how to apply for a "Dynovox" from the university hospital. They got it for two weeks. They used it for my son for 30 minutes and unilaterally decided it wouldn't work for him, then sent it around to all the other schools in the district. I told them how to do it, I arranged it, it was suppose to be for him to use for the 2 weeks and then decide if it would work, not 1/2 an hour. Do you know how much that cost the school district? NOTHING!!!!! The Dynovox itself would have cost them $5,000 but to use it for 2 weeks was free. Didn't matter that I was the one that got it for them, they were damnwell going to spread it around instead of using it for my child.

I attended school board meetings, I volunteered on the school choice committee, hell I even wrote a letter to the president (Clinton at the time). What did I get for my trouble? A big thick file with the school district on how obnoxious I am. I homeschooled my oldest for 3 years, I only wish I'd continued because what the public schools did to him was criminal.

Anyone who thinks one person can make a difference is just kidding themselves. Hell 1,000 people can't make a difference. You can't fight city hall and I know that from experience.

Your school experiences do not surprise me.

I have a story of my own. My son is autistic and severely disabled. He was placed in a moderate to severely disabled special ed class. My son was rather small for his age and the class spread over three grades. The children were seated alphabetically. My son sat next to a large autistic boy. My son does hand flapping behaviors as a visual stimulation. These behaviors upset the child next to him (no fault of his as he is also autistic) and he struck my son in the face. I was observing this first day of school over the objections of school administrators. I alert an aide and separated my son. After speaking to the aide the two children were separated. The teacher, acting on orders from a school principle re-seated my son next to the other child stating that seating policy was alphaebetic. Sure enough the kid hit my son again in the face. I took my upset son home.

We met with the district's special education administrators. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation. The seating arrangement was school policy. They told me that if you fall off a horse that you get back on (not if you are going to be punched in the face). One principle suggested my son wear a football helmet to protect him from the blows.

We never returned to the school and have been homeschooling for three years.

Still we fared better than our friend whose autistic child was handcuffed to a pole on the school bus he rode in. The driver forgot about him and he was left at the bus depot. Our frantic friend called the school who found him four hours later. The parent called the cops who referred the matter to CPS. CPS then went after the parents, as in their minds (and I use that term loosely) the parents were responsible for releasing their child to the custody of the school.

Yea, schools are broken.

IMO the problem is mainstreaming, which began about 30 years ago, maybe more. It is a failure. Rather than having special education classes in the ordinary public schools for children like this, there should be special schools for these children, places where the whole school is focused on doing what is best for each child. I also believe in tracking, which also went out of fashion 30 or so years ago. Students who are at different levels and abilities should be in classes and programs that are suitable for them. For example, the way it is now, high school courses essentially prepare everyone for college, but half or more of those students will never go to college, except maybe a vocational program at a community college. Students who are not academically inclined should not be forced to study courses that prepare them for a hypothetical 4 years of college. They shouldn't have to study Shakespeare, for example. What we do wrong in the States is put everyone together in one school, and in that one school, one principal has to cope with all this variety and make it all work, when the principal, administration and teachers could be focusing on specialist areas and doing a much better job for everyone.

 

[Againsheila]

You ever try to change the local schools? I introduced the TEACH program to my youngest son's school when he was in second grade. I talked to the school board, all I got was it was an "experimental program" and they didn't have the resources for it. They finally instituted the program when my son was in 10th grade. Way to late to help him. I told them how to apply for a "Dynovox" from the university hospital. They got it for two weeks. They used it for my son for 30 minutes and unilaterally decided it wouldn't work for him, then sent it around to all the other schools in the district. I told them how to do it, I arranged it, it was suppose to be for him to use for the 2 weeks and then decide if it would work, not 1/2 an hour. Do you know how much that cost the school district? NOTHING!!!!! The Dynovox itself would have cost them $5,000 but to use it for 2 weeks was free. Didn't matter that I was the one that got it for them, they were damnwell going to spread it around instead of using it for my child.

I attended school board meetings, I volunteered on the school choice committee, hell I even wrote a letter to the president (Clinton at the time). What did I get for my trouble? A big thick file with the school district on how obnoxious I am. I homeschooled my oldest for 3 years, I only wish I'd continued because what the public schools did to him was criminal.

Anyone who thinks one person can make a difference is just kidding themselves. Hell 1,000 people can't make a difference. You can't fight city hall and I know that from experience.

Your school experiences do not surprise me.

I have a story of my own. My son is autistic and severely disabled. He was placed in a moderate to severely disabled special ed class. My son was rather small for his age and the class spread over three grades. The children were seated alphabetically. My son sat next to a large autistic boy. My son does hand flapping behaviors as a visual stimulation. These behaviors upset the child next to him (no fault of his as he is also autistic) and he struck my son in the face. I was observing this first day of school over the objections of school administrators. I alert an aide and separated my son. After speaking to the aide the two children were separated. The teacher, acting on orders from a school principle re-seated my son next to the other child stating that seating policy was alphaebetic. Sure enough the kid hit my son again in the face. I took my upset son home.

We met with the district's special education administrators. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation. The seating arrangement was school policy. They told me that if you fall off a horse that you get back on (not if you are going to be punched in the face). One principle suggested my son wear a football helmet to protect him from the blows.

We never returned to the school and have been homeschooling for three years.

Still we fared better than our friend whose autistic child was handcuffed to a pole on the school bus he rode in. The driver forgot about him and he was left at the bus depot. Our frantic friend called the school who found him four hours later. The parent called the cops who referred the matter to CPS. CPS then went after the parents, as in their minds (and I use that term loosely) the parents were responsible for releasing their child to the custody of the school.

Yea, schools are broken.

IMO the problem is mainstreaming, which began about 30 years ago, maybe more. It is a failure. Rather than having special education classes in the ordinary public schools for children like this, there should be special schools for these children, places where the whole school is focused on doing what is best for each child. I also believe in tracking, which also went out of fashion 30 or so years ago. Students who are at different levels and abilities should be in classes and programs that are suitable for them. For example, the way it is now, high school courses essentially prepare everyone for college, but half or more of those students will never go to college, except maybe a vocational program at a community college. Students who are not academically inclined should not be forced to study courses that prepare them for a hypothetical 4 years of college. They shouldn't have to study Shakespeare, for example. What we do wrong in the States is put everyone together in one school, and in that one school, one principal has to cope with all this variety and make it all work, when the principal, administration and teachers could be focusing on specialist areas and doing a much better job for everyone.

I do not agree with hiding our disabled from the general population which is what happens when you don't send them to the local schools. My youngest son was mainstreamed for art and PE. An aide went with him. It worked out great and the general ed kids learned as much from him as he did from them. When he drew a stick figure on the board and wrote his name under it for the first time the whole class cheered. Imagine depriving those kids and mine of that experience.

 

[Esmeralda]

Your school experiences do not surprise me.

I have a story of my own. My son is autistic and severely disabled. He was placed in a moderate to severely disabled special ed class. My son was rather small for his age and the class spread over three grades. The children were seated alphabetically. My son sat next to a large autistic boy. My son does hand flapping behaviors as a visual stimulation. These behaviors upset the child next to him (no fault of his as he is also autistic) and he struck my son in the face. I was observing this first day of school over the objections of school administrators. I alert an aide and separated my son. After speaking to the aide the two children were separated. The teacher, acting on orders from a school principle re-seated my son next to the other child stating that seating policy was alphaebetic. Sure enough the kid hit my son again in the face. I took my upset son home.

We met with the district's special education administrators. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation. The seating arrangement was school policy. They told me that if you fall off a horse that you get back on (not if you are going to be punched in the face). One principle suggested my son wear a football helmet to protect him from the blows.

We never returned to the school and have been homeschooling for three years.

Still we fared better than our friend whose autistic child was handcuffed to a pole on the school bus he rode in. The driver forgot about him and he was left at the bus depot. Our frantic friend called the school who found him four hours later. The parent called the cops who referred the matter to CPS. CPS then went after the parents, as in their minds (and I use that term loosely) the parents were responsible for releasing their child to the custody of the school.

Yea, schools are broken.

IMO the problem is mainstreaming, which began about 30 years ago, maybe more. It is a failure. Rather than having special education classes in the ordinary public schools for children like this, there should be special schools for these children, places where the whole school is focused on doing what is best for each child. I also believe in tracking, which also went out of fashion 30 or so years ago. Students who are at different levels and abilities should be in classes and programs that are suitable for them. For example, the way it is now, high school courses essentially prepare everyone for college, but half or more of those students will never go to college, except maybe a vocational program at a community college. Students who are not academically inclined should not be forced to study courses that prepare them for a hypothetical 4 years of college. They shouldn't have to study Shakespeare, for example. What we do wrong in the States is put everyone together in one school, and in that one school, one principal has to cope with all this variety and make it all work, when the principal, administration and teachers could be focusing on specialist areas and doing a much better job for everyone.

I do not agree with hiding our disabled from the general population which is what happens when you don't send them to the local schools. My youngest son was mainstreamed for art and PE. An aide went with him. It worked out great and the general ed kids learned as much from him as he did from them. When he drew a stick figure on the board and wrote his name under it for the first time the whole class cheered. Imagine depriving those kids and mine of that experience.

My suggestion has nothing to do with hiding them. It has to do with what would work best for them. Being in a school that specializes in students with special needs, with the whole school focusing on their needs.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

 

[wavingrl]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

my $.02--'The Government'.

But, I assume you already know that--I've participated in enough discussions/debates on this topic.

The article said this city/town in MA is the second most diverse in the state. Many students do not 'speak English', etc. --understand what Valentine's Day is. I just can't get 'very upset' about this--if they are focusing on teaching basic skills and developing good character then this is a very small issue.

 

[Unkotare]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

A) I have the ability for reasoned analysis

B) I know the school and the community

C) Stop being disingenuous

 

[wavingrl]

...“We have many different nationalities, cultures and languages spoken,” Principal Carol Keenan told Fox News. “Because of that we don’t honor specific holidays.”

Keenan said she did not want some students feeling left out. ...DeRuosi said there are also strict state and federal guidelines governing what kind of food is allowed inside a public school building.

“No candy, no cake, no cupcake,” the superintendent said – noting their hands were tied. “You can’t send cupcakes anymore.” ...“How does celebrating a holiday in the USA interfere with cultural and language equality,” a MyFoxBoston reader wondered...Another reader noted, “It’s disgusting that all this political correctness is basically not allowing children to be children. What a shame.”

Keenan also addressed the language barrier – noting there are 400 students in the school who don’t speak English...

Based on the link, it seems the school principal did this so that students who didn't understand it or speak English wouldn't feel left out. There is no suggestion in the link that the students or their families were offended by the celebration of Valentines day.

“This is done with all good intentions – to have all students be accepted, to have all students feel like they belong,” she said

"Keenan said they were not cancelling Valentine’s Day. Instead, the elementary school is going to celebrate a modified version."

“Every student is making a friendship card for another student,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that every single student is given the opportunity to get a card and to also give a card. I didn’t want some students feeling left out.”

"She said she decided to send the letter after parents made inquiries about sending birthday balloons and birthday cakes to school."

They say they are "not canceling Valentines' Day," but are making some changes in how it has been celebrated in the past so on one is left out. They are canceling candy because it is unhealthy: nothing to do with culture. Lots of parents from American culture don't like their kids having candy at school.

We also don't know if some fundamentalist Christian parents aren't offended by it because it is a pagan holiday. Many parents in the US who are fundamentalist Christians are offended by schools celebrating Halloween.

I think this is much ado about nothing.

I think so, too.

fwiw--There has already been a lengthy discussion on whether or not Valentine's Day can be considered a 'pagan' holiday.

If the kids grasp the concept of 'Friendship'--then that is enough.

If they grasp the idea of 'simplifying your life'--staying focused on what is really important--I think that is even better.

 

[Papawx3]

I thought the purpose of moving to or living in the US was to become an American. Celebrating Valentine's Day is an American custom, so would it not be counter-productive to prohibit American customs in our schools? And how can an immigrant, legal or otherwise, learn what it means to be an American if we don't encourage those immigrants to partake of our customs?

 

[wavingrl]

I thought the purpose of moving to or living in the US was to become an American. Celebrating Valentine's Day is an American custom, so would it not be counter-productive to prohibit American customs in our schools? And how can an immigrant, legal or otherwise, learn what it means to be an American if we don't encourage those immigrants to partake of our customs?

I thought Valentine's Day was celebrated internationally--not able to provide detailed documentation.

Yes, it has been a tradition in the US for years.

What is so wrong with modifying a tradition like that to current priorities?

After about 4/5th grade the 'thrill' was gone from the experience for me--old enough to be a grandmother myself.

I would be willing to wager that the kids didn't care that much. They probably had time at school to make some sort of cards and exchanged them.

I'm fairly certain that the culture of the US is absorbed in many ways--not just from attending school.

I've heard moms discussing what to do about Valentine's Day and the consensus was that many schools from preschool on are restricting candy/sugar--and they think that is a good thing.

 

[Esmeralda]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

I thought the purpose of moving to or living in the US was to become an American. Celebrating Valentine's Day is an American custom, so would it not be counter-productive to prohibit American customs in our schools? And how can an immigrant, legal or otherwise, learn what it means to be an American if we don't encourage those immigrants to partake of our customs?

I thought Valentine's Day was celebrated internationally--not able to provide detailed documentation.

From what I've seen, and I've spent quite a bit of time overseas, it is celebrated internationally, as is Christmas. People are not thinking of any underlying meaning for it, just the fun of cards, roses, presents, candy, etc. And this doesn't happen in just Christian countries. From what I've seen, people all over the world just like a reason to have fun, to eat special things, give gifts to each other, to make an otherwise ordinary day special, etc. It's a shame some Americans are so down on doing that when it comes to the cultural celebrations of some of their own minorities.

 

[wavingrl]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

I thought the purpose of moving to or living in the US was to become an American. Celebrating Valentine's Day is an American custom, so would it not be counter-productive to prohibit American customs in our schools? And how can an immigrant, legal or otherwise, learn what it means to be an American if we don't encourage those immigrants to partake of our customs?

I thought Valentine's Day was celebrated internationally--not able to provide detailed documentation.

From what I've seen, and I've spent quite a bit of time overseas, it is celebrated internationally, as is Christmas. People are not thinking of any underlying meaning for it, just the fun of cards, roses, presents, candy, etc. And this doesn't happen in just Christian countries. From what I've seen, people all over the world just like a reason to have fun, to eat special things, give gifts to each other, to make an otherwise ordinary day special, etc. It's a shame some Americans are so down on doing that when it comes to the cultural celebrations of some of their own minorities.

They did celebrate --just in a different way.

I hope things work out for them. If the idea of being kind/friendship is celebrated on many days and in many ways that is what is important.

 

[Pogo]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

A) I have the ability for reasoned analysis

B) I know the school and the community

C) Stop being disingenuous

You have the ability to be a mindless idiot. Your entire thread is based on a fallacy. I pointed it out, and the poster above is pointing out the same thing. So did Esmerelda.
But it's everybody else who's wrong, huh?

Self-absorbed asshole.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

It's like there is some looney left-wing unthink tank somewhere employing a team of numbskulls who just sit around coming up with stupid shit like this all day. When they hit on something stupid enough, they find a public school principal somewhere who thinks it's a great idea. Soon, every normal person in the country is left shaking their heads - AGAIN.

School Bans Valentine?s Day Cards, Candy | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

Where exactly in the article does it document the proof that the policy is the product of ‘the left’? Or endorsed by ‘the left’? The article doesn’t even mention anything about ‘the left.’

A) I have the ability for reasoned analysis

B) I know the school and the community

C) Stop being disingenuous

A) You have the ability to make subjective partisan inferences.
B) Irrelevant.
C) There remains no proof or even evidence.

 

[koshergrl]

Ok, so you DO assume your own ignorance to be universal? That must make you feel better.

Logic is universal, yes. That you would term it "ignorance" so that you can go on defending blatant violations of it, says a lot.
In fact that in itself is a fallacy, since you're poisoning the well of Logic itself -- which Logic tells us is a fallacy.

Where did I term logic as ignorance? Are you really this stupid? Why don't you go back and read the first post in this thread before humiliating yourself further? I'll understand if you want to slink away with your tail between your legs.

Illiteracy posing as intelligence: http://www.usmessageboard.com/the-flame-zone/278855-illiteracy-and-posting.html

 

[Unkotare]

Your entire thread is based on a fallacy.

And I've corrected you on that several times now.

 

[Againsheila]

IMO the problem is mainstreaming, which began about 30 years ago, maybe more. It is a failure. Rather than having special education classes in the ordinary public schools for children like this, there should be special schools for these children, places where the whole school is focused on doing what is best for each child. I also believe in tracking, which also went out of fashion 30 or so years ago. Students who are at different levels and abilities should be in classes and programs that are suitable for them. For example, the way it is now, high school courses essentially prepare everyone for college, but half or more of those students will never go to college, except maybe a vocational program at a community college. Students who are not academically inclined should not be forced to study courses that prepare them for a hypothetical 4 years of college. They shouldn't have to study Shakespeare, for example. What we do wrong in the States is put everyone together in one school, and in that one school, one principal has to cope with all this variety and make it all work, when the principal, administration and teachers could be focusing on specialist areas and doing a much better job for everyone.

I do not agree with hiding our disabled from the general population which is what happens when you don't send them to the local schools. My youngest son was mainstreamed for art and PE. An aide went with him. It worked out great and the general ed kids learned as much from him as he did from them. When he drew a stick figure on the board and wrote his name under it for the first time the whole class cheered. Imagine depriving those kids and mine of that experience.

My suggestion has nothing to do with hiding them. It has to do with what would work best for them. Being in a school that specializes in students with special needs, with the whole school focusing on their needs.

It would effectively hide them from the main population. No, I disagree. And you'll notice that the other parent of an autistic child points out that her child was also in a special class. Your "mainstreaming" isn't what you think it is. You read one article years ago where some school dropped the ball and applied it to all the disabled kids in all the schools everywhere. Mainstreaming an autistic kid for art and PE is a good thing for everyone involved. No reason why an autistic kid can't run around the gym with the other kids.

Now if you want to talk about specialized schools for certain special people, there is a school in Boston that specialized in teaching kids with autism. It is an off shoot of a school in Japan. The one in Japan is paid for by the Japanese people. The one here is private. 15 years ago, when I looked into it, tuition was $56,000 per student and that was for those who commuted. Do you really think you or any other taxpayer is going to agree to that?

No what you want is to warehouse the disabled so your kids don't get exposed. Not good for anyone.