Do parents have the right to control the behavior of their students? Do families have “family privacy” rights?
For this post it would be great if you could actually do some research on “family privacy”.
Should schools test students for drugs? Why might schools want to get involved in weekend illegal behavior of students?
What might be an economic push behind this increase of drug testing?
6 comments:
"In India, when we want the elephant to grow, we feed the elephant. We don't weigh the elephant." - Some Educator in India (quote stolen from Edutopia.org article: “Tell Students To feed Their Brains”, Milton Chen).
Now, the educator made this statement in reference to the monumental amount of testing we subject our students to here in America. However, it can also be used in reference to the drug testing they're doing in some schools.
This drug testing is NOT addressing the drug problem. It's wasting 1.7+ federal dollars that could be used in a way that actually does something to benefit education to make it look like they're doing something (a band-aide approach, I believe somebody said). We are NOT addressing the reasons WHY people do drugs (do I fail because I smoke pot, or do I smoke pot because I fail?). We ARE going to alienate/cause not to come to school at all those students who are unwilling to give up their drug use or get caught with drugs in their systems. How is this helping them?
Furthermore, this drug testing nonsense is just another step in the total criminalization of our schools. Metal detectors (not, thank G-d in QHST), "hall sweeps" (also not in QHST), detention for absolutely nothing, etc., and not drug tests. Now all we have to do is confiscate your belt and shoelaces at the door and make you pee without a stall-door and we'll already be where the government hopes half of us will end up: prison. All of these preventative measures are just perpetuating violence in schools and making kids feel more and more like criminals. (Do I act out or bring a knife to school because I just feel like being a fool or killing people today? or Do I act out or bring a knife to school because I am a youth and youth are disallowed any type of control over their lives, no one listens to youth, and people are afraid of them?) But now I’m off the topic altogether… (Not too far though…)
I really feel as if the schools are really trying to have all of this control. So that they can say to parents and the neighborhoods that are involved. Our school is being ran correctly because we test our students. So that we can make them as uncomfortable as possible. As if its not hard enough to fit into high school as it is. Now I can really stand out as the drug addict in school. I mean how far are we really trying to go with this control thing. Its getting a little out of control. Next thing we know the students will know who has HIV and who doesnt. I understand the schools have a right to be concerned about the students that they see for 6 hours out of the day. But their is a line i feel like they are crossing a very bold line. Which I dont believe is the answer to the problem they're trying to solve. Also I cant understand why if a teacher is so suspicious of a student that could be taking drugs. Why not contact a parent?Now when a child is missed behaved in class or in danger of failing. But now that you think that this child may be using drugs the parent is second to know. How could that make sense? For all the parents reading this dont you feel as if there are other ways of finding out that your child is on drugs? Besides the embaressing drug test in school. I feel as parents have alot more control over their children then a drug test would. Maybe the drug use is steming from a problem in the home. That may give the parent the knowledge that need to change the uncomfortable situation in the home. Its so many things that stem from drug use that drug testing is not going to be the answer to. I know me personally would rather my mother or family member come talk to me rather than someone in school that I dont know or know to be trustworthy. Why should a student have to disclose all that type of information unwillingly. On top of all the money being wasted on this, i feel if you have all this money to waste and that you cant find anything better to put it into than start giving it to those schools who dont have heat and books do something that would help something and someone besides you control issue.
"In India, when we want the elephant to grow, we feed the elephant. We don't weigh the elephant." - Some Educator in India (quote stolen from Edutopia.org article: “Tell Students To feed Their Brains”, Milton Chen).
Now, the educator made this statement in reference to the monumental amount of testing we subject our students to here in America. However, it can also be used in reference to the drug testing they're doing in some schools.
This drug testing is NOT addressing the drug problem. It's wasting 1.7+ federal dollars that could be used in a way that actually does something to benefit education to make it look like they're doing something (a band-aide approach, I believe somebody said). We are NOT addressing the reasons WHY people do drugs (do I fail because I smoke pot, or do I smoke pot because I fail?). We ARE going to alienate/cause not to come to school at all those students who are unwilling to give up their drug use or get caught with drugs in their systems. How is this helping them?
Furthermore, this drug testing nonsense is just another step in the total criminalization of our schools. Metal detectors (not, thank G-d in QHST), "hall sweeps" (also not in QHST), detention for absolutely nothing, etc., and not drug tests. Now all we have to do is confiscate your belt and shoelaces at the door and make you pee without a stall-door and we'll already be where the government hopes half of us will end up: prison. All of these preventative measures are just perpetuating violence in schools and making kids feel more and more like criminals. (Do I act out or bring a knife to school because I just feel like being a fool or killing people today? or Do I act out or bring a knife to school because I am a youth and youth are disallowed any type of control over their lives, no one listens to youth, and people are afraid of them?) But now I’m off the topic altogether… (Not too far though…)I really feel as if the schools are really trying to have all of this control. So that they can say to parents and the neighborhoods that are involved. Our school is being ran correctly because we test our students. So that we can make them as uncomfortable as possible. As if its not hard enough to fit into high school as it is. Now I can really stand out as the drug addict in school. I mean how far are we really trying to go with this control thing. Its getting a little out of control. Next thing we know the students will know who has HIV and who doesnt. I understand the schools have a right to be concerned about the students that they see for 6 hours out of the day. But their is a line i feel like they are crossing a very bold line. Which I dont believe is the answer to the problem they're trying to solve. Also I cant understand why if a teacher is so suspicious of a student that could be taking drugs. Why not contact a parent?Now when a child is missed behaved in class or in danger of failing. But now that you think that this child may be using drugs the parent is second to know. How could that make sense? For all the parents reading this dont you feel as if there are other ways of finding out that your child is on drugs? Besides the embaressing drug test in school. I feel as parents have alot more control over their children then a drug test would. Maybe the drug use is steming from a problem in the home. That may give the parent the knowledge that need to change the uncomfortable situation in the home. Its so many things that stem from drug use that drug testing is not going to be the answer to. I know me personally would rather my mother or family member come talk to me rather than someone in school that I dont know or know to be trustworthy. Why should a student have to disclose all that type of information unwillingly. On top of all the money being wasted on this, i feel if you have all this money to waste and that you cant find anything better to put it into than start giving it to those schools who dont have heat and books do something that would help something and someone besides you control issue. I had to agree to what Christine and Superfly said.
I do think that the parents have to control the behavior of their students because that’s there child. My parents always know what I am doing because I tell them. Parents don’t want their children to get into trouble and keep them safe. A parents worst nightmare is when they find out there kid was killed and they didn’t know why. There child could have been drinking, doing drugs or in a car with someone who was driving.
I think families do have the right of privacy. They don’t want people outside of there home knowing what’s going on. I think that a good idea because drugs take a big role in a teenagers life. Teenagers only do it because they think its cool just like smoking. It will help keep those kids safe on the weekend so parents won’t have to worry about their child. The economic push to all this that the big company’s will make millions of dollars on the Board of education.
I think that parents do have the right to control the behavior of their children because they did give birth to them and brought them into the world expecting them to live up to their expectations and follow their rules in their house. If a parent is acceptable of the way their child acts, then its okay for the child to act the way they do but if a parent isn’t acceptable of it then there are problems. I feel that families do have a privacy right because parents have kids so that they can raise them the way they want to be raised. What’s done in a household is private and among family members. Different families have different traditions and morals which are all taught at home because they are personal and private. I think that its ridiculous for schools to test for drugs because its none of their business. I agree with Carolina that if a child is doing drugs and is doing good in school there is no problem with that because they can handle what they do. If a teen is doing reckless on drugs and is failing all their classes due to it then maybe there’s a problem but I don’t think it’s the schools right to be nosey and find out that drugs is the problem because all they can do is remind you that you do it, and just ban you from things that probably keep you from doing drugs all the time such as doing an extra curricular. Drug tests isn’t as private as they say it is, if they take away your activities because that gets suspicious and pretty obvious why you were on a team to start with and now aren’t. I can see why schools want to get involved in weekend illegal behaviors due to school work, but that isn’t any of their business because school isn’t every single day of the year, and once school breaks for the summer, students would be tempted to go on a drug frenzy since they cant do it all school year. The more you tell students, kids or anyone not to do something, they will find a way to work around it and get what they want. I don’t see any economical benefits of having this increase in drug testing because it wastes money to have these tests administered and to have a staff that comes in to do them, and analyze them. I think it’s a waste of money and time. I think it cramps the life of teenagers and takes away from teens actually being teenagers. Teens are targeted in so many ways by society, all this would be doing is giving them another reason to feel as a prisoner in their own community. I also wouldn’t like a lady such as the one in the article who feels the urine to see if its fresh and probably even wants to taste it at times. That’s just creepy and unnecessary to have people jump down teens throats for not giving a correct urine sample. If I was asked to give a urine sample during class I’d feel embarrassed and targeted in a way that’s rude. I feel that getting urine tested feels like a slap in the face to me because I would have never expected to feel like a criminal inside of school, where I thought I did all the right things. Even though I may be drug free, I still have my pride and I don’t need a drug test to show anyone that I am drug free. Why should I give in to prove something like that when it should just be expected of me, and show that my parents raised me to be the person I am. If I took drugs and my parents didn’t know about it, it would be their fault for not knowing and their business to find out why I am taking them instead of it being the schools task to hunt down the perpetrators.
in our school we dont have metal detecors and hall sweeps brcause it doesnt do anything you just got caught in the hall after the bell or time and there's not drug test ... what's the point of doing drug tests to high school students if they get pressure from other students and grades and getting ready for college. do agree with christne and suoerfly have to say because it's all true... if we do drug tests now in schools its going to feel like were going to jail at 14 and getting out at 18... it doesnt make sense..
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