Student | Title Education

It’s Better to be Silent Than Violent

Violence can never be justified under any circumstances. There have been examples of wars being won without the use of force. Having said this, it is not an idealistic world that we live in. Violence is a common occurrence. Sometimes it is as dangerous for those who cause it as it for those against whom it is carried out. This holds true in the case of school students who indulge in any form of aggression or antagonism with fellow students. Such cases of violent behavior are highly perilous, as students might inflict fatal injuries on each other.

Students have a duty while in school, but the school also needs to keep the student’s requirements in mind. If, for certain reasons, students are unhappy, they might try and harm school property. School violence might be extended towards the staff and teachers as well. It is mandatory to provide all students with an education through a harmonious existence. Anger management workshops and activities can be encouraged among students and early signs of violent behavior must be nipped in the bud.

Violence is not limited to either a public education system or private education system and can occur in either scenario. In both cases, if it is severe, the students involved may end up facing legal consequences, which they will probably regret throughout their lives. This can also affect the mental health of the students, since they are in their formative years in school and are incapable of dealing with acute stress. This is why all possible means to discourage incidents of school violence must be implemented seriously in all schools.

Filed Under: Education, School Violence Tagged With: School violence, Student, Violence

Cell Phones–An Educational Tool?

For the last several years, as cell phones became an appendage to teenagers, teachers and educational administrators have struggled to keep cell phone use out of the classroom. The reasons were sound. Ringing or vibrating cell phones cause constant interruptions to the learning process. Students that are texting one another are not paying attention to the educational tasks at hand. Students, already hooked on gaming, are given even more opportunities to stay unconnected to real world activities.

In 2011 these are still valid reasons to limit or qualify cell phone use in the classroom. However sound the reasoning, educators have found that by invoking a zero-tolerance policy for cell phones in the classroom, they have inadvertently installed a barrier between teachers and students. Rather than enriching the educational environment by reducing distractions, students are restless and disengaged.

Today more and more teachers are finding ways to incorporate cell phone usage as part of their lesson plans and the results have been mostly positive. Some of the ways teachers are using student cell phones in the class room are:

Photographing white boards for future use
Using the cell phone as a stop watch to time experiments and free writing
Transferring files between home and school
Creating short movies for school projects.

Teachers who allow some uses of cell phones in the classroom report that students are more engaged in the educational process. In addition, students are more tolerant and respectful toward some cell phone restrictions in the classroom when it is not all or nothing.

The pocket computing capabilities of cell phones is the wave of the future. As the technology improves, educators can find even more classroom applications.

Filed Under: Education, Requirements, Students Tagged With: Education, Mobile phone, Student

Student Requirements

There are rules placed in schools that are intended to help students focus on schooling as well as developing healthy citizenship. This means that dress codes, codes of conduct, and rules of school property are all intended to help students become better adults in the community they live in, when they complete their schooling. For many schools, there are stiff consequences if students are not able to adhere to the prescribed rules, and they find that they are serving detention, being suspended, or worse, expelled from the school that they attend. It is the schools job to ensure absolute safety for all the student body, and if a student is not willing to acknowledge the rules set into place by the district, they are potential creating a situation that can cause harm to other students.

This might sound odd, but it is truly the students full-time job to be at school and participate in learning. The rules and requirements that are set in place are no different than what a student would see in a work place or with a higher education institution. Students are not just being educated while at school, they are being trained in what it takes to be a member of society once school is completed. A willingness to follow the guidelines and rules shows that a students understand the concept of respecting others, respecting themselves, and respecting the rule that were put in place regardless of the reasons. This will carry on in their lives, in their workplace, and with their own families later on in life. For those that struggle with their requirements, they may find that they have a tough transition into the real world, and that they are not treated like what they had expected.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Education, High school, School, Student, Students' union

Public Education

Public education was founded on deeply religious principles. In fact, the first text book was the Bible. This was during a very puritanical America, and many felt that all children should know the religious basis for our country’s development. The idea behind public education was not to secularize information, but rather make a public the option for students to learn to read and to write, and for families to receive it free of charge. Of course today things look much different than the little school house and hands getting smacked with rulers. Today there is a ground fundamental that all children have the right to a solid education, and that it is the obligation of every parent to ensure that their child is in school.

Today teachers are well versed in their particular area of study, and have mastered very detailed aspects of different topics. This is why students change classrooms for different subjects because the information is so detailed that is could not possibly be taught by one person. This is the case with science and foreign language. It would be impossible for one teacher to know the deepest details of mitosis and be able to teach Spanish, Calculus, American Literature, and History to the depth of what students are required to know these days. Public educators are masters at their particular area of study, and that is of a great benefit for students as they are provided a well-rounded and deep education.

For the beginnings of public school, many students were taught to read and to write, and they were also in a tiny room of students that were from grades k-12. Many students did not remain in school until they reached the 12th grade, as many of them had to help with the family. We are so fortunate to have a system that allows us the ability to be educated without pressure of taking care of a family at the same time.

Filed Under: Private School Tagged With: Calculus, Education, Student, Teacher

Legal Rights Of Schools

Schools have many legal rights, and because they are with students all day long, it is important that parents recognize the role that schools play, and the right that they have. This is especially true of providing safety for your student. Most people think of schools as just a place to learn, and a place where educators promote education. However, because there are so many other things that students are exposed to, teachers and administrators must be aware of certain topics, and must be provided training on how to handle precarious situations. This was made very clear with a case that went court in the early 1990′s. A female student went into the bathroom, and shortly after entering smoke was seen coming out of the door. The bathroom was not on fire, and the smoke had a precarious odor similar to cigarettes. The male Principal witnessed this, and when the female student exited the bathroom, the Principal asked for her purse to inspect its contents. The student refused, and security was called. During that time the student handed her purse over, and marijuana was found inside. The parents sued, and lost with the reasoning that schools are the legal guardians over students while they are on the campus and during school hours.

This was quite a shocking ruling, but in all truth was accurate. While a student is at school the administrators and teachers are in the place of guardianship according to federal law. This is why they must report abuse, drug use, suicidal threats, and other such issues, because they are considered the guardian during school hours. This is not a benefit for schools, rather it is a mechanism used to protect students, and those that are around them that may be caught up in something that can cause harm. The main cause of awareness came after the Columbine shooting, and there is not a school in America that is willing to allow that to happen again.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Legal guardian, Natural and legal rights, School, Student

Private Schooling

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Private schools have been on the map for some time. They started out originally as boarding schools, and then quickly spread to include specific religious affiliations. The most popular of these affiliations with the Catholic Church. These schools hold reputations for being very thorough in their studies and in the way they teach the three r’s, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. In fact, most Catholic school students are given preferential treatment for college entrance placement because there is the assumption that remedial classes were never taken. This is proven by the Notre Dame entrance exam including advanced Calculus.

Private education has been long sought after because it is believed that student receive more one on one attention from teachers, that the discipline is more strict, and that students are taught to respect, listen, and obey in a way that public schools simply cannot do. The other aspect so private schooling is that for many students, this is their only option. For some students that have found that their public school experience was not optimal, or they found that they were in getting themselves into trouble on a regular basis, private schools accept these students, and prepare a plan of attack on how to create a student that is going to be a life long learner, and become a responsible citizen. Public schools are not always able to do that because of their class sizes and lack of support by other overwhelmed administrators.

Many public school teachers are not in favor of private schooling as they believe that it creates a sheltered environment. This is the case as many feel that having a religious affiliation is more of an indoctrination process than an educational process. Private school teachers feel that public school is over saturated and students lack individual attention. Regardless of the opinion, most agree that making a student the center of the equation is the best policy.

Filed Under: Private School Tagged With: Education, Private school, School, State school, Student, Teacher

School Violence

School violence is an epidemic that has gained national attention in the last 20 years. The biggest event that drew much of the awareness was the event at Columbine High School. There were three students that had allegedly conspired to retaliate against bullies that had been mean to them for a significant portion of their schooling. It turns out that one of the assailants was reported to having significant mental issues, and planned the brunt of the attack. He recruited the other two boys that helped him to carry out his plan. After reading his journal it was discovered that he was a severely disturbed young man, and that there had been many warning signs that would attest to this. The problem was that many teachers were not trained to recognize these types of issues, and when recognized how to handle the situation.

Since this horrific day, schools nationwide have been trained on how to handle such an event, how to notice warning signs, and the proper procedures for ensuring student safety. In fact, most public high schools now have one to two full-time police officers that are on staff that roam the halls of high schools. They are notified of suspicious activity, and there are psychologist on staff that assist in the detection of emotional disturbances. There has even been an extensive study completed that suggests that many of these students that exhibit violent emotional behaviors are in need of special services, anti-psychotic medications, and individualized attention that is intended to address the behavior and help correct it so that the student can function in a mainstream environment. This has been most beneficial as the occurrences in school violence committed by individual students has dropped significantly. Students also have free counseling services that allow them to reach out to professionals in an anonymous fashion, and they can receive help free of charge. This also includes therapy for suicidal tendencies, and physical threats against teachers.

Filed Under: School Violence Tagged With: High school, School violence, Student, Violence and Abuse

It Is Everyone’s Responsibility

It should come as no surprise that our students are faced with discrimination. While many schools, teachers and administrators actively seek to end any practices that are discriminatory and to address any students who behave in discriminatory ways, some students are still faced with discrimination. Because of this, many teachers, schools, districts and state school boards are adopting strict discrimination policies aimed at protecting students, teachers and staff alike.

These policies, sometimes called codes of conduct or ethics, often start with explaining the ethical principles that teachers and schools should follow. This generally means that teachers, administrators and other staff should always recognize the inherent dignity and value of each student, teacher, peer and parent. It is only with this recognition that we can hope to pursue truth, devote ourselves to excellence and to continue to acquire knowledge.

In order for our society to continue to grow, our students must have access to equal educational opportunities. No student should be discriminated against due to their age, gender, sexual preference, religion or infirmity. Maintaining the highest of ethical and moral is necessary in order to provide this type of education to everyone.

Students have responsibilities in the arena of discrimination as well. They must also take steps to ensure that discrimination is not occurring in their environment. Students should take steps to ensure that fellow students have access to the same facilities, are offered the same degree of education and are not discriminated against.

The problem is discrimination, in spite of all the changes that have been made to negate it, is still often considered a ‘dirty little secret’ or too difficult to prove. Many people still avoid drawing attention to possible incidents of discrimination. It long past time we stop has to enforce these laws. It’s too bad we still have to.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Discrimination, Education, Student

It Is A Trade Off

When you stop and think about it, schools have a ton of legal responsibilities. They are not just responsible to their students. In fact, schools are responsible to their students, to their teachers, to their support staff and to their school district or other governing board. This veritable quagmire of rules and regulations is enough to bog down any administrator. Even so, parents, students and the community at large should have a general understanding of the legal responsibilities of their schools.

Schools are legally responsible for the safety of students while they are in class. This encompasses a wide variety of ideas. For example, schools must carefully following safety regulations and building codes. Students must also be protected from violence, self-harm and just about anything else that could harm a student. Schools are also responsible for reporting signs of abuse or violence outside of their boundaries. In general, a school is a sort of legal safety net for students and is designed to keep them safe.

Schools are also bound by the rules and regulations of their local school boards and their state board of education. These governing bodies dictate policy, course content and curriculum and a variety of other areas. For example, schools must adhere to regulations relating to the number of schools days, the length of those days and what information is taught.

They are further legally responsible for their employees. They must adhere to employment rules and regulations and safeguard their teachers. The same holds true for the rest of their staff.

The truth is there are a wide number of rules and regulations that schools must follow. It might seem that school administrators must spend all of their time ensuring their schools are in compliance with these rules. That logically means less time spent developing programs to better educate our children. Maybe it is a trade off.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Student

Common Sense

We really need to stop to consider how rules impact our students. Having too few rules can lead to chaos – a poor learning environment indeed. Too many rules can restrict personal freedom and the ability for students to express themselves – never a good prescription for those who are trying to learn and develop themselves. Schools boards, teachers, administrators, students and parents should work together to develop a set of rules that protect students, allowing them to have a safe and secure learning environment while still allowing them the freedom to develop and grow.

For this reason, it is important to carefully consider what rules and regulations are put in place at a school or learning institution. For example, schools who are considering instituting a uniform rule. Uniforms can have a positive impact on students by removing a lot of temptation and the need to impress others. Still, there is some indication that by removing a student’s individuality and ability to express themselves we may be removing a crucial component of student freedom and expression.

This same idea must be applied to any rules and regulations developed for a school. Even so, there are many rules that simply make sense. Schools must include rules designed to protect the safety of their students. Rules protecting students against harassment and discrimination are important as well. There are other common sense rules that nearly all schools have in place. These are rules such as a ban on curse words, an ethics code and a morality code.

Schools simply must have rules. It is unfortunate, but in the world we live in is built on laws and rules. They govern our attitudes, define right and wrong and help guide us through what can often be a complicated world. We can only hope that those that make the rules for our students use a bit of common sense when they do so.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Common sense, Student