Many public schools not only fail to educate our children, they can also be dangerous places. These schools are a natural breeding ground for drugs and violence. Children are packed into classrooms with twenty or more other immature children or teenagers, all the same age. Here, peer pressure becomes socialization, pushing many children into using drugs and alcohol.
Put twenty teenagers in the same room, or hundreds of teenagers in the same school, and you have a breeding ground for violence. Young boys and girls have raging hormones and budding sexuality, and male teenage testosterone levels are high. Teenagers are in the half-child, half-adult stage of life and often lack judgment and are emotionally immature.
Pack these teenagers together into cramped little classrooms, six to eight hours a day, and you have a mixture that can lead to trouble. It's inevitable that violence will break out-it's built into the system.
Also, even the most conscientious teacher is usually too busy and overworked to give children the individual attention they need. Critics of home-schooling often say that home-schoolers don't get proper socialization. However, so-called socialization in public schools is often cruel and violent. Bullying, peer pressure, racial cliques, sexual tensions, and competition for the teacher's approval all create a stressful, sometimes violent environment.
Compulsory-attendance laws also contribute to violence in the schools. In most states, these laws force children to stay in school until they are sixteen years old or graduate high school. Teenagers who hate school, or are aggressive or potentially violent sociopaths, can't leave. As a result, they often take out their hatred and aggression on other students. Those children want to learn are forced to endure bullying and violence by these troubled teens.
Also, the law is on the side of violent or disruptive students who are classified as "disabled." In 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Based on this legislation, in 1988 the Supreme Court ruled that schools could not remove disruptive disabled children from classrooms without a parent's consent. If parents don't consent, teachers are out of luck. Those 'disabled' children who are socially impaired, can't get along with other kids, or sometimes turn violent, therefore fall under this category. Of course, this adds yet another layer of potentially violent children who teachers can't remove from class.
Violence in public schools can literally kill your child. In the 2000-2001 school year, students were victims of about 1.9 million nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, assault, and robbery. This figure equals about 9,000 violent incidents every school day throughout America, or about one every three seconds.
Public schools are also a drug pusher's heaven. Thousands of teenagers, pushed by intense peer-pressure, smoke, drink beer, and try marijuana or hard drugs. Schools put hundreds of children together in one big building or courtyard. Mix in overworked or indifferent teachers who have little time or desire to supervise extracurricular activities. That's why drug pushers circle schoolyards like vultures. Where else can they find groups of vulnerable victims all herded together for their convenience? Is it any wonder that drug and alcohol use is a major problem in public schools?
In the 2001-2002 school year, 34.9 percent of tenth-grade students surveyed said they had smoked cigarettes within the past year. Fifty-one and two tenths percent said they had drunk beer, and 33.4 percent said they got bombed on that beer. Also, 29.8 percent of the same tenth-grade students said they had smoked marijuana within the past year, and 78.7 percent of these marijuana users said they got "bombed or very high" on it.
When children are home-schooled, parents can advise and watch over their kids. At home, there is no peer pressure to try drugs, as there is in public schools. Drug pushers don't hover around private residences.
Parents should therefore ask themselves: Do my children belong in violent, drug-infested public schools? Are there other education options for my children? In "Public Schools, Public Menace," I discuss many quality, low-cost education options parents can use right now if they decide to take their children out of public school.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children." Contact Information: Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Phone: 718-447-7348. Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel. NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..There are few thoughts as terrifying as the abduction of... Read More
All children will likely have many different health problems during... Read More
"What age should my child start school?"This is a common... Read More
In school, kids are encouraged to create, draw, color, paint... Read More
"Will my doubts and fears affect my child?" This father... Read More
When growing up, my father frequently reminded me to "pay... Read More
Nail biting in all its various forms is problematic... Read More
Q. We are getting to the stage with our kids... Read More
Individualism is a common thing in today's modern society. Many... Read More
When a child is born, a new number is added... Read More
Often, the struggle at dinnertime with your picky eater is... Read More
Late vs. Too LateEvery now and then, I'll hear a... Read More
My kids ask me all the time to take them... Read More
Bullies are an ugly but very real part of childhood.... Read More
I was in the life insurance sales industry for over... Read More
As I sit here and reflect on the past two... Read More
Researching career education uncovered the following shocking statistic: The average... Read More
Recently, a parent came to me, conflicted over whether to... Read More
The biggest complaint you hear from parents about their children... Read More
Ah, potty training! Go to a local bookseller and you... Read More
One of the few decisions you'll make during pregnancy that... Read More
Vouchers, which give tax money to parents to pay for... Read More
Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your... Read More
How bad is the illegal drug problem here in the... Read More
One of my first memories of childhood is that of... Read More
maid service near Glenview ..Before my daughter was born my house was... Read More
"I wipe my baby's chin with my college diploma and... Read More
Predicament:My son is 4 1/2 years old. His younger brother... Read More
Do you ever wonder what is behind the occasional nasty... Read More
Remember when cash was a tangible commodity in all of... Read More
Prenatal intelligence, also known as fetal intelligence, has become a... Read More
As a hypnotherapist, I am acutely aware of the power... Read More
It's the first day of the summer holiday. Five year-old... Read More
1. Make stronger connections among individuals and, therefore, creates a... Read More
Despite the potentially dangerous side-effects of Ritalin, public school authorities... Read More
We know that ancient cultures and Indians and the like... Read More
1. Create... Read More
When it comes to the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity... Read More
Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your... Read More
Baby names are as diverse as the people to whom... Read More
Finding out that a child has been born with a... Read More
I'll never forget my first lesson in a glider.I'd been... Read More
1. New Word of the DayIntroduce your preschooler to a... Read More
It's back to school time again. Does the thought of... Read More
John Bishop's Goal Setting for Students.comParents ? Minimize Homework Hassles?It's... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 31,... Read More
You can learn a lot from children.The best part of... Read More
Should a parent give a child a tangible reward when... Read More
Winifred or Willow? Thomas or Troy? The name you choose... Read More
Often, the struggle at dinnertime with your picky eater is... Read More
Parenting |