Drugs: Whose Problem Is It?

A student did more than bring drugs to school one day. First,he was high. Second, he had sold "squished up pills" he had in his bag, and third, he had paraphernalia to measure out and distribute more. The Administration asked the Special Education staff how they could have allowed this to have happened? What could they do to keep this from happening in the future? What could they do to help the student? The staff was without answers.

This situation begs the question: Who's problem is it when a student brings drugs to school? I eluded to the fact that the student was in special education; so was the student whom he sold the drugs to. The students made a choice, regardless of their disability, to break the law; yet administration is asking the teachers if they worked to prevent the situation. Educators are now being questioned, and in some cases reprimanded, when students do the wrong thing. Bureaucracy, procedural inconsistencies and a lack of continuity leave a teacher in the position of dealing with students on their own within the classroom. This issue, however, is beyond the classroom. The students made a choice that resulted in their arrest and eventual prosecution but because the students are labeled "Special Ed" some how the onus is on the educator.

Money

I will be posting an education paper on this topic but I felt it needs commenting now. An administrator at my school sent all special education staff an email. The subject: Who wants MONEY????? The message:

Hey guys-
I know time is valuable, and budgets are tight. There is $250,000 available to be given in grants. Please take some extra time, and apply. It should not be too difficult to get the money. If you need things for your rooms, money for CBI so students can get community based instruction, software you think would be helpful, school supplies (white boards, organizers, etc). Please consider as our students can only benefit if we supply them with more resources.

If you are to take this email at face value, you can see that money is available for supplies and we are being given a chance to tap into that resource for the good of the students. However, the problem is the line "Please consider as our students can only benefit if we supply them with more resources." Special programs are in place for the litany of classification we can place on a student. The CBI (Community Based Instruction) program is funded by the state and is available to any special education student that qualifies. Software cannot be purchased, nor can books, programs, or other tangible supplies without approval from the district. That would be fine if it weren't for the three to six week approval process.

Bureaucracy, over-spending, and a continued lack of resourcefulness doesn't do anything to foster student growth because the system itself is broken. Until we fix the system, no amount of spending is going to provide for students any better than what we are already doing.

Consultation 1

A Guardian of a 10th grade student came to me with the following issue:
* Student is unmotivated
* Student is unwilling to complete assignments
* Student does not participate in class
* Student has multiple missing assignments
* Student is receiving F's in three classes

In any situation where the student has a lack of motivation, usually a key reason revolves within the family. The guardian in this case is the student's aunt; the sister of the student's dad. The student's dad is laying down the punishment(s) but it is the aunt that is executing the punishments. The aunt spends the most time supporting, interacting, and guiding the student. This type of fracture in the family creates a power struggle that can easily be, and often is, manipulated by the student. Simply, the aunt needs to pull away as much as possible and no longer interfere when it comes to the student's academics or education. The aunt is going to refer all communications from the school directly to the student's dad. Accountability is vital. If the student and dad care about the future, then each will need to develop an interest in the student's academic well being. Perhaps with time, the student's behavior may change but not until the parent(s)take an active roll. The issue resides with the parent not the school or the aunt. If a child fails, then support must come from the parent but there still needs to be an expectation of the student to improve.

Variety

To be an effective commentator, I am now reading seven different news sites on a daily basis. I am placing my focus on news relating to national and local needs; the variety gives great perspective and clarity on important topics. Each agency tries to show how they have the latest, most accurate information but the story is complete only when you see it from a three dimensional perspective. Think of a child’s alphabet block. On one side you see the letter “B” (in green) but when you turn it to the left, it has a picture of a cow. Turn it to the left again and it’s the letter “O” (in red). Turn it to the left again and it’s a picture of a pineapple. Flip it over and there’s the letter “K”, then the same cow, and a number 2 (followed again by the picture of a pineapple). If you only observed the block from the green “B” side you are only getting 1/6th of its content. Only when you move around content will you see the full picture. Find a variety of sources, read them diligently, and you will be able to see clearly what is going on and what you need to do about it. Too often parents, "professionals" (teachers, administrators, and pundits), and stake holders take advice from "experts" without evaluating what makes that person an expert. Education is not something to be take at face value. There is a wealth of knowledge to access that will help fit your ideas and needs. To access this variety takes effort, but never trust just one source or location. Take some time, ask the same questions to six different "professionals" and then you will start to have your three dimensional perspective.

Definition

For today’s posting, I thought it best to give some insight as to the reason for this Manifesto. This is going to be a never-ending conversation about Real Education. Real Education is defined as “The experiences an individual has that increases their knowledge of necessary information required to live.” I have no intention of quoting, researching, or pontificating the individuals who claim to be in the field of education. Such individuals are self serving and should not be given the credibility as education researchers. The reason for this is their continuous reinvention of things that don’t need reinventing. We have done and can continue to do great things as a people, if we seek out self sufficiency and reflect upon the lessons of the past. It seems man is unable to do this without condemnation but now is the time to start. This blog is the start of reflection with guidance from the past, to evaluate the present, in the hope of changing the future into a stable, consistent and self sufficient environment for our Nation to grow.

The Education Papers: 1

Rights

With the passage of time, many things have become rights in our nation without definition or support from the Constitution. Though the Constitution provides a person the opportunity to live a life of their choosing, free from persecution or state interference, it was purposefully open to adjustments. This constant reassessment of rights has perpetuated the idea that any issue is a civil issue and, therefore a violation of one’s rights, if the issue is not provide for. Education is one “right” that is without foundation within the Constitution. I propose that it has been the establishment of education as a right that has hindered our nation both socially and economically.

Some will say this thesis minimizes the issues of race, gender, and disability. That continued discrimination by the people has warranted the need for legislation and funding to bring about national equality. To that I say it is the pursuit of freedom that will lead to equality, not the other way around. Freedom to think, to dream, to work and live as the person sees fit brings about the greatest form of prosperity, because it emphasizes the individual’s definition of success. In the fight for equality, a request for equivalent books and supplies was interpreted as a request for wanting to be in the same building as the discriminating ethnicity. On the issue of gender, the numbers (rather than want and desire) force situations that perpetuate and encourage negative stereotypes. Economics are used to demonstrate how race and gender are improving, based on dollars spent rather than successes earned. Without active participants, that have a clear personal desire and motivation to be a success, money can do little to improve the state of equality in our nation. Just like a horse can be led to water but not forced to drink, so too is the effectiveness of forcing participation on individuals who lack the motivation. If a person has a desire and a will to bring a goal to fulfillment, a want and a need to have something beyond what their family had or has, to show another individual that they are a proud citizen of our nation, than that person need only the desire and fortitude to achieve their goal. Though individuals might not accomplish their goal, as quickly as another, nor in the same manner, it should be the fulfillment of the goal that should be desired. Our society needs to see that merely wanting something is only the admission that something is missing. We cannot legislate the compliance of an individual’s education for any reason. If a person is to become a truly free member of society, then they need to seek out a life for themselves built on the knowledge they attained through effort, dedication, and time.

Our country needs a sense of self-motivation, the like of which we have not observed since the great march west. Opportunity for land, a life and wealth were handed out but it was the fortitude and willingness of the settlers that made their success; not the support of the government. Education is the Great Frontier, but the spirit of the frontier, of exploration, adventure and self motivation is lacking in our nation. We look to a broken and fractured system that is politicized, over-funded and always lacking in some way to force our children to become productive citizens rather than free-thinking and independently minded citizens. This lack of free-thinking and self-motivated individuals has dramatically limited our nation’s capacity for self-governed growth and motivation that is based upon the will of the people. Our Manifest Destiny to our landing on the moon was done by those who found solutions to the impossible and kept seeking to make their answers better than the last.

These individuals were not forced to go to school, nor given excuses when they didn’t. It is by this example that a move back to this should take place. Students need to find that our nation cannot grow until they do. We can’t force maturity or growth, but we can certainly provide the opportunity for a student to do so. Questions and answers can only come through experimentation. Students should be allowed shop classes where they build, design and think through how to get a job done. Students should go back into the kitchen and learn how to feed themselves and how to manage a family budget. Such things are places where math, history, science and English all merge into practical applications that are engaging and give unlimited opportunity for the students to grow.