Wheelchair Policy May Have Prevented Sex

Oh I Think I'm Going Out of My Head-

"I must think of a way
Into your heart
There is no reason why
My being shy should keep us apart" - Little Anthony and The Imperials


Thanks for "The Gradebook" for this link: "Sex to Cure Shyness".

After reading the article, I am sure everyone is as stunned as I am. Perhaps this is another one of those incidents where there may be another side of the story, according to the public comments.

What should have been a major concern, although I did not see mention of it, is whether or not the teacher had a Dr's note authorizing the use of her wheelchair on campus. According to the story, this is how the student took advantage of the teacher. The 8th grade student used the old ruse,similar to helping an old lady across a street, to push the teacher's wheelchair only for the purpose of extorting sex from the teacher for his wheelchair support service, and added the sly shy act just to nail the victim teacher.

Where is the outrage? I am shocked that the School Board did not address this issue in the same manner they did this one. If there is no policy that says teacher's need a Dr's note, then this issue must be addressed so more students don't have sex with teachers.

A Crutch, A Crutch -My District for a Crutch

I have put off making comments about this latest incident for a while. There is a chance that the reporter was negligent, unprofessional and simply wrote an irresponsible article that painted a biased picture about the local school system.

That slim chance keeps me from jumping on the band wagon and bashing the system one more time based on false information. Because that would mess up my credibility about my perception of how "the HCDS" is rampant with arrogance and ignorance and abuse of power.

Once again, my comments are not about individuals. But maybe, just maybe, if one has read all of my rants and raves about how I perceive the District as dysfunctional because of some of those who are in power are arrogant, ignorant and abuse their power, this story, if true, fits my template.

It is my hope that those who understand what I am talking about and are in a position to bring about positive change, it will give them insight. And for those who are not in a position of power, it will give insight into how your current job situation is compromised because of other's actions.

For those who want to argue that I haven't heard the whole story, I will say "you are right". And I will leave it at that, and wait for the next story and we can go through another "isolated incident" again.

So here it is: Mother: School Took Girl's Crutches

If you read the public comments, I am "RLH".


What got my attention about this article was this statement:

"We ask for a doctor's prescription or a doctor's note, but there's nothing that says take away the crutches," Cobbe said.

Again, if this is all true, this statement should be used in every professional training program the District uses.

I have had the finger of authority in my face. I have been threatened with trespassing. The day after I wrote a letter outlining serious concerns that had been ongoing. I dealt with "intimidation" and "obfuscation" in several different settings over several years. It was not "isolated incidents" and I do not use a "broad brush".

It is what it is. For those who want to say I am a "malcontent", I say one thing: Prove me wrong.

If this story is true, it fits the template of an employee who perceives their job as "controlling" as opposed to "administering". Whether it be in the classroom, the health clinic, the office, the front secretary's desk, the locker room, the lunchroom, the Velasco building or the ROSSAC, when a person sees their job as maintaining "power and control" vs "professional administration", these stories will continue to be told.

Education Institution a Catch All Institution?

Regarding the "Sound Off and Be Heard" post asking for input on thoughts about "Teen Birth Rates on the Rise".

Someone posted a link to this article regarding school counselors asking that teens get maternity leave from school after giving birth.

Several points can be made using this article. I will start from the top, first with a quote from the article and then my comments and questions (C&Q).

"Pregnant students in a Denver high school are asking for at least four weeks of maternity leave so they can heal, bond with their newborns and not be penalized with unexcused absences"

C&Q: Absent from class is absent from class. What other circumstances are excused?
Would the School District provide home schooling during this time?
Would the father, if a student, be afforded time to bond with his newborn?
Would the School District be compelled to compel the father to bond with his newborn?
_______________
"The request is unusual in Colorado's public schools, where districts tend to deal with pregnant students or new moms with specialized programs or individualized education plans."

C&Q: As used in this context, what student should not get an individualized education plan as each student is unique. This terminology should not be confused with Special Education Law that defines an individualized education plan. True educators know the many ingredients needed to make an IEP. Too many "educators" have a misconception of what an IEP is. My best advice is to read the definition yourself and not depend on homespun definitions of money saving convenience.

_________________________________________________

"It's critical that these young women have a chance to bond with their babies," Moss said. "Maybe we do need a policy. Clearly, as a district, we have to look at what is going on with our young women. We've got to look at the birth-control issues and teen pregnancy and how we best help them deal with it and still graduate."

C&Q: A policy. Focused on pregnant women. It takes two to have a kid. Perhaps the school system is perpetuating a significant cause of pregnancy by excluding the male partner in birth-control issues and teen pregnancy and rearing responsibilities. If the school system isn't going to develop policies for student fathers, why not?

Or, does any one ask if these teens just simply want to get pregnant? They may be saying no to please others, but what if they really want to get pregnant for what could be many reasons beyond sexual gratification. If so, will the school district be able to address that issue?

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"Denver has one of the highest teen-pregnancy rates in the state."

C&Q: This is interesting. Does anyone know why this is? If the school district assumes it can change this statistic, do they know they are not a reason for it?

_________________________________________________________

"The district has a school for pregnant teens and new moms, Florence Crittenton School, but it has a waiting list. Plus, many students want to remain at the school where they started, said Head, the counselor at East.

Cherry Creek, Adams 12, Jefferson County and Douglas County school districts have policies in which students work with counselors and principals to devise plans that will keep them in school.

Several districts have special schools with child-care services for new moms. Others have programs that allow students to receive high-school credit.

"When a girl tells us she is pregnant, we advise her to work one on one with her counselor and go from there to see what they can work out," said Michelle Ancell, spokeswoman for Cherry Creek Schools.

"The counselor plays middleman between the principal and the student," said Melissa Reeves of Jefferson County Schools, who added that the district has started a computer-based credit-recovery program that students can use during evening hours.

Douglas County has had a program for 19 years called WINGS, or Winning in New Growth Situations, that offers support and instruction for the girls once a week, allowing them to earn elective credits in nutrition and parenting. The program has 20 students, said coordinator Susan Anderson.

The district has a school that begins at 4:30 p.m. for new parents that is attached to Highlands Ranch High School. Students also are able to stay in their schools, but that is not easy for many new moms...."

C&Q: All of these services. Some for 19 years. Might give some credence to the previous question.

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And last but not least, the question arises:

"If there are young mothers asking for maternity leave, the board should listen to them," said Lori Casillas, executive director of the Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention. "If they think it is a barrier to graduation, the board should look at that."

Her organization advocates that schools provide child-care services for new moms. Too many girls drop out after giving birth, and schools must do something to keep them, Casillas said.

Students at one high school in southern Colorado wanted to set up a child-care center, but the principal forbade it, saying it would encourage teen pregnancy, she said.

"There is no evidence that has ever happened," Casillas said. "I don't think schools have been proactive at creating policies that encourage young mothers to remain in school. Schools need to say, 'What if you do come back, then what?'

"Schools need to say, 'This is what we do to support your learning.' That's not happening."

_____________________________

C&Q: Which side of this issue is the principal who thinks setting up a child-care center would encourage teen pregnancy come down on? Could this be the same argument used by those who say that teaching birth control encourages sexual activity which leads to pregnancy? Is teen pregnancy related to moral upbringing and other factors that public education systems shy away from? Or does any of these issues have any effect on the real reason that teen pregnancy is increasing?

Whats that young Spears girl's name? You know, the one that has a TV show and has the famous sister that can't afford underwear.

Sex - Can the Classroom overcome off campus Influences?

I am all for education. I am sure we have all heard the different myths that different cultures have about how girls get pregnant, home spun beliefs that certain positions and actions will prevent pregnancy and the same mis-guided beliefs to keep from getting STD's. Educated people recognize these false premises and think that proper education of these uneducated groups of people will have a significant effect on their sexual behavior.

I am all for education. But, from my understanding of history and when I continue to hear about current human sexual behavior that continues to occur even with strong outside influence to curb it, I must ask why.


I read this today: China Communists sacked for having too many children: state media

See article below.

While this article does not directly speak to the level of education of the people effected, one would think that in a group that contained "seven national and local lawmakers or political advisors" and "More party members, celebrities and well-off people", there would be a cursory level of sex knowledge.


But it does speak to a 30 year plus, "harsh punishments and brutal methods to enforce it", policy that for some reason "has been routinely ignored in recent years in rural areas, while increasing numbers of China's urban new rich have been able to afford the requisite fines for violating the rules."

When one looks at sexual behavior of groups of people, cultural, social and economic factors may have more influence than sex education.

Are we to believe that if these people that violated the government policy had more sex education, they would not have had more than one child?

Is one to believe that these parents were not educated in the policy? And, since education didn't work, harsher consequences and polices will follow.

Understanding true influences on sexual behavior may be a key on how to effectively address changing it.



Article in full:
"Authorities in a central China province have expelled hundreds of people from the Communist Party or their government posts for having more than one child, state media said Monday.
At least 93,084 people in Hubei province last year had more children than they were allowed under the policy of one per family, Xinhua news agency said quoting the provincial family planning commission.

They included 1,678 officials or party members, it added, saying about 500 had been expelled from the party and 395 stripped of their official posts.

Previous reports said the officials had also been fined.

The violators included seven national and local lawmakers or political advisors, Xinhua added.

"More party members, celebrities and well-off people are violating the policies... which has undermined social equality," commission director Yang Youwang was quoted as saying.

No information was given as to the punishments meted out to the more than 90,000 other people in Hubei who violated the "one-child" policy last year.

China's family planning policy began in the late 1970s as a way to control the world's largest population, now at 1.3 billion people.

Generally, urban families can have one child and rural families can have two if the first is a girl. About 400 million births have been averted thanks to the policy, the government has said.

But in recent years the policy has been routinely ignored in rural areas, while increasing numbers of China's urban new rich have been able to afford the requisite fines for violating the rules.

Chinese parents have traditionally favoured large families -- and sons, in particular -- to support them in their old age.

The policy has been notorious from the start for the harsh punishments and brutal methods used to enforce it, such as forced late-term abortions and the sterilisation of women.

Several areas of the poor southern province of Guangxi erupted in riots last year after officials launched a harsh crackdown to enforce the policy, with residents saying forced abortions were among the methods used by authorities.

We are Playing Those Mind Games Together

Hillsborough: Suspension without rules


I have written before about obfuscation.

I have a question. The administration (some)say that these suspensions are not a punishment.

How does a student process this information? From an educational point of view? From a behavior modification point of view?

In this case, we are talking a student with a processing difficulty.

Does anyone know what concrete thinking is?

Does anyone know what abstract thinking is?

Does anyone know how to ascertain when these different cognitive skills are needed to process information?

I keep hearing echos in my mind "But I didn't do anything wrong". (inside voice - I didn't get punished, so must not have done anything wrong.)

But other kids, when they get suspended, they are being punished. Why am I different? They are just playing mind games with me.

Training kids that suspension is not a consequence for "their" behavior, but the suspension is for the "parents" behavior is somewhat confusing.

Do they have different colored suspension forms so one can tell if it is the student behavior that gets the student suspended or the parents behavior that gets the student suspended?

Must be hell to have a parent that won't contact the school. In more ways than one.

Abuse of Power under the premise of sexual pleasure -wink wink

"Students in America’s schools are groped. They’re raped. They’re pursued, seduced, and think they’re in love."


And they think they're in love.


This is an example of abuse of power. It is more than about sex.

But we won't pay attention to this. We will promote our A Rated Schools, our 5 Star Schools and brag about our National Recognition.

From my experiences, I understand full well the difference between "paper" compliance and real compliance.

The proof is in what really goes on in the schools, not just the classrooms.

As the system complains more and more about "bad parents", what is being done to address this real phenomenon?

As the system does not address the unlawful actions of teachers, what is being done to address this real phenomenon?

A Cool Smoke after Hot Sex

There is an update about the King Middle School in Maine.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=142408&ac=PHnws

Having read a lot of the comments, there seems to be other issues with the Board.

Of interest to note is that the "health clinic" is "housed "in the school. One comment seemed to indicate that the actions of the health clinic were separate from the school. If so, then why is the School Board making a decision about how the health clinic will operate.

Frequently, so I have heard, some people like to smoke a cigarette after the physical exertion of passionate love making.

When I was a kid, well a "mature high school'er", I always heard that girls that smoked put out.

Both sex and smoking are illegal at some age. I think 11, 12 and 13 year olds are still illegal, but I am not sure about that.

Why doesn't the School Board provide "the nicotine patch" to those youngsters who ask for it along with the "the pill". Seems logical to me. Don't want the kids to get lung cancer. Those kids are going to smoke anyway. They won't tell their parents. Hit the "Mighty Mouse" cue: "Here he comes to save the day!!!".

The school board could easily put nicotine patches in the non-disclosed health services they provide. The unknowing parent, who trusts the school's authority, will never know.

I was under the impression that if a parent is found negligent to the point that the welfare of the child was endangered, the State had a legal process to deal with this negligence.

But if a parent is negligent when it comes to the child's sexual behavior, the State somehow decides to "take care of the welfare of the child" without notifying the parent. And the School Board holds up their hands since it is out of their control.
After they exerted their control to start the process.

Am I misssing something?

Sex in the classroom

There was a recent article in the Tampa Tribune about two parents that were pursuing legal action against the School Board over a teacher's behavior with their daughters. A wrinkle in the story was the teacher died a while back, and apparently the school board closed the case. So what is the function of the parents' suit? Some say money, some say because it's "what did the District know and when did they know it" and the resulting actions or inaction. Time will tell.

Interesting to note, within the last few days, an Associated Press report came out.
I have seen it online in many many newspapers. Again, interesting to note, I have not seen it in the St. Pete Times or the Tampa Tribune.

This is one site randomly picked:

Special AP Report: Sexual misconduct plagues U.S. schools
Martha Irvine and Robert Tanner - Associated Press National Writers
OneNewsNow.com October 20, 2007

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/special_ap_report_sexual_misco.php

"Beyond the horror of individual crimes, the larger shame is that the institutions that govern education have only sporadically addressed a problem that's been apparent for years."

If the statistics are true and the reported actions of the education system are true, then society should act. It is an abuse of power towards the kids.

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In April 2005, there was this:

"According to a draft report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, in compliance with the 2002 "No Child Left Behind" act signed into law by President Bush, between 6 percent and 10 percent of public school children across the country have been sexually abused or harassed by school employees and teachers.

Charol Shakeshaft, the Hofstra University scholar who prepared the report, said the number of abuse cases—which range from unwanted sexual comments to rape—could be much higher.

"So we think the Catholic Church has a problem?" she told industry newspaper Education Week in a March 10 interview.

To support her contention, Shakeshaft compared the priest abuse data with data collected in a national survey for the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation in 2000. Extrapolating data from the latter, she estimated roughly 290,000 students experienced some sort of physical sexual abuse by a school employee from a single decade—1991-2000. That compares with about five decades of cases of abusive priests.

Such figures led her to contend "the physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests."

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/5/01552.shtml

Again, if these figures are true, then society should act. It is an abuse of power towards the kids.

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Recently a middle school in Maine authorized a policy that will provide birth control pills to the girls if they ask for them. The parents have to have signed some type of consent form previously, but the fact remains that when it comes to Birth Control, by law the school cannot tell the parents. The schools includes girls 11 to 13, plus older girls who were retained.

If this information is wrong, please correct it. I am not here to spin or twist information to further my beliefs. I am fully aware of how corrupt the media can be.

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My first question is how did a governmental education system ever been given the authority to address sexual behavior?

My next question is how does the School Board's responsibility to teach "Health Education" and the School Board's responsibility for sexual behavior fall under the same category.

Do Political Science classes take students to the poll to vote? Can't wait for this answer: "no, because they are too young to vote".

Do Science classes take students out to hunt cats or frogs?


Is there any other curriculum that conveys this much responsibility to a School Board?

I don't see School Boards providing cars or purchasing auto insurance for students in Drivers Ed.

Yet, it seems to be the "Group Think" thing to do for School Boards to take on the responsibility of student's sexual behavior.

Take each stated reason a School Board should have the power to monitor a student's sexual behavior and ask one question - "why isn't this the parent's responsibility"?

If parent's are irresponsible with their children, it certainly is a societal problem, but why are school's the next in line for being responsible?

My guess is it has something to do with power and money. What else could it be?