I blame Fox

 At the risk of seeming political, I blame Fox. Allow me to explain.

News : informal removals that schools use to remove challenging students with disabilities from class

A former colleague is a principal and she has a problem. She has a student with behavioral issues which include shouting, pushing and non-violent aggression, and in general he interrupts and even halts most of his classes. He also has an IEP and when she met with the parents after one incident, they made clear that their advocacy for him would include litigation should she do almost anything. Over the last two years, around 50 students have left the school citing specifically this student's negative effect on learning and/or fears of potential violence.

I broke my finger; the solution is to chop off my arm

We hear again and again that the public district school system is broken and not fit for purpose. Some of these criticisms are justified and supported by evidence, some are valid but hard to pinpoint and thus hard to evidence, and some are just wrong. Inevitably the result is almost entirely political. Instead of fixing what is broken, the solution is to create something new. This is not even treating the symptom and ignoring the disease. This is cutting off an arm beause of a broken finger.

News : I'm a 2nd-generation private school reject. Why kick out those who might need it most?

So somebody at a non-public school does something or many things and as a result is asked to leave. Clearly the school is at fault and must be publically excoriated, at least in the mind of the compainer. However I beg to differ. No school is right for every child, and sometimes the only option for a student (or family) who is not mission-appopriate, and assuing that discrimination is not a factor, is to ask him or her to leave.

News : Houston-area teacher fired for attending drag show at downtown bar

Again we have a report of a teacher being fired for doing something in her own time, and again she is in the wrong. Let me explain.

News : Gov. Katie Hobbs sounds the alarm over a school voucher program she agreed to fund

I have taught in both public and non-public schools and am a fan of the latter. However, I am not a fan of vouchers and current events in Arizona add support to my position.

Surprises from going private (tutoring)

I've recently taken a few private students for tutoring which is both fun and quite interesting, and at the same time keeps me a little in touch. The current crop includes G4, G8, G10 and G11 from three different schools and I am apparently English-ing and Math-ing.

Surprise Billing

I heard a commentary this morning on a medical Surprise Billing situation and though I would reprise my own experience. However to this day I remain convinced I was not victim to Surprise Billing, but instead of medical fraud.

A school fails to act; tragedy follows

This is both a strange and tragic story. A very young child brings a gun to school and shoots his teacher. Reportedly, he had previously threatened this and other violent actions so it was not impulsive which is my normal Preschool and Elementary behavior barometer. What concerns me are the actions of the school.

Arrested for attending school - not really

Right-leaning publications are reporting that a Canadian student has been arrested for attending classes at his high school, and/or that he was arrested for hsi political views. Of course, neither is true and none of the many reports I have read address the main issue.