LK Education Bulletin

Check out this article from Denver Colorado.  Seems that a child drew an inappropriate picture which depicted him in stick figure wielding a gun towards his teacher.  As a result the school had the child arrested and taken away in handcuffs to the jail where he was "booked" fingerprinted and had his mug shot taken.  The parents are plenty upset about this.  The kicker is the article indicates that the child has been diagnosed with ADHD and his therapist suggested that he draw pictures when he became upset instead of acting out in class.  The child followed the therapist's directions and was arrested for this.  If this child is classified as eligible for special education services for ADHD, or some other disability, I hope the school conducted a manifestation meeting before referring this to the police/sheriff.  If he was not eligible before this conduct, serious consideration should be given to making him eligible.  Clearly, the child's behavior negatively impacts his ability to learn and in fact may impact the learning of others.  This could be a serious situation for the school district at issue.  Take a second to look at the article and give us all your comments etc. 

Yesterday I posted an article and video related to a Houston School District's firing of a teacher for beating a child in her class. I just read an article stating that the student's parents have now filed a lawsuit against the teacher and the school. I have linked the article below. Keep checking for updates regarding this story. I will post new information as it is available. Have a great weekend.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100514/ap_on_re_us/us_houston_videotaped_beating

I just saw this article on the Web. Then I visited the link and watched the video. This is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. The good news is the teacher has been fired. The question I have is how do we keep things like this from happening in the classroom. As a parent myself, I have a problem with the possibility that something like this could happen to one of my children. The other part I find incredible is that on of the articles about this alleges that other teachers were watching this happen and did nothing about it. Take a look at the article and video I have linked below and give us all your comments.  If this doesn’t get you talking nothing will.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/051410dntexhoubeating.1e26c23.html

http://blogs.chron.com/momhouston/2010/05/video_of_a_houston_teacher_beatin.html

Below is an article regarding a California school's decision to send five students home for refusing to change their clothes. These students all wore garments that had American flags depicted in some way. According to the article the school administration decided that these garments were "deemed 'incendiary' on Cinco de Mayo." Student's exercise of their first amendment rights can be a challenge for school personnel and administrators. It is important to know the legal issues that will confront a school system in these situations. Take a look at the article and post your comments for discussion. Have a great weekend.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/california-students-sent-home-wearing-flags-cinco-mayo/

I have received several requests to post my recent Facebook presentation on the Blog.  It is now posted on the Education Pods section and is listed as Sam Facebook.ppt.  This is the PowerPoint presentation.  I hope this is helpful to everyone.