Should Teachers Really Have Guns?

Image from source, ThinkProgress

It's so automatic now, that it's become a morbid joke: if there is a mass shooting--regardless of the circumstances--argument will be made that if only the victims/bystanders were armed, the shooter would have been stopped. The answer to gun violence is allegedly more guns, which seems like the old cold war "mutually assured destruction" to me, but what do I know?

So, it's not surprising that when there was a school shooting, many gun rights supporters responded by saying that teachers should be armed. Sounds kind of good on the surface, if you don't think about it much. I mean, you're adding a rather hefty job requirement onto teachers, aren't you? Not only are you asking them to be willing to carry a gun, but presumably to be trained in the art of using it. In a time where the same side of the political aisle are preaching austerity, and slashing government jobs (such as teachers), they want to also enlist those remaining teachers on the payroll to also be armed security?

But let's take a different tangent here. Think back to your school days. Think about the teachers you liked best, the ones with quirky eccentricities, the ones who seemed a bit "off," and the ones you downright hated. I don't know about you, but I had all sorts of teachers who I wouldn't trust with a firearm. Flighty airheads, short-tempered coaches, paranoid task-masters, alcoholic misfits. . .and those are just the bad examples. I also had wonderful teachers, from frail older ladies to wispy delicate beauties to kindly middle-aged bookish gentlemen. With rare exceptions, most of my teachers would have made horrifying choices to be playing Dirty Harry or John McClane through the school halls.

[Excerpt]

South Dakota Now Permits Teachers To Carry Guns In Classroom

On Friday, South Dakota become the first state to enact legislation, in the aftermath of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, explicitly authorizing teachers and staff in K-12 schools to carry firearms. The measure “leaves it up to school districts to decide whether to allow armed teachers” and requires those who wish to carry guns to “undergo training similar to what law enforcement officers receive. . .”

Read more at: Think Progress

Facepalm! Ohio School Makes Black Kid "Slave" in Exercise

This one is so bad, I had to create a new category for it. Behold, FacePalm, a segment of the blog devoted to stories that are so mind-bogglingly unbelievable, that your first reaction is just to put your hands over your eyes, and bow your head in shame/embarrassment/disbelief. And this one is from the town that was our school's alleged arch rival, back when I went to good ol' Whitehall-Yearling High School. Ugh. Thanks to my friend Tracy for the link.

[Excerpt]

Chapelfield Elementary School Sorry For Making Black Student 'Slave'



GAHANNA, Ohio — The mother of a black Ohio fifth grader assigned to play a slave for a social studies lesson says the school should be more sensitive. . .
 
Read more at: Huffington Post

Gay Kids of America: It Gets Better

There is a new movement, started (I think) by advice columnist Dan Savage, called "It Gets Better."  It's for kids in school who are gay, bisexual, or otherwise different.  They get picked on, or at least think they will be if they come out. I was there, boy howdy. But the message is, don't get depressed, don't get all down on yourself, it gets better.  And this is the best video I've seen that expresses that.

My Alma Mater Gets Rebooted

Living in Las Vegas, you think I'd be used to history being bulldozed, and being rebuilt bigger and better. But when I found out today, via Facebook that my high school is being demolished, it kind of made my heart hurt. And it's worse than that! They're not just replacing my high school, but the junior high and elementary schools too, and every other school in the Whitehall, Ohio school district.

Far be it for me to be sad that all of those construction workers (and attendant trades) are going to be working. But really, is this necessary?  Knocking down and rebuilding every school from scratch?  I can see upgrading, building on, even wiping out a wing here and there and starting over.  But this screams of overkill.  My mom went to school in the 1950s and 60s. Her school still stands, and is a full campus of buildings, all quite lovely.

Whitehall's schools can't claim to be lovely.  The town was incorporated after World War II, and much of the town is evidence of that.  The Victorian redo of a section of town to make sort of a faux "Main Street" (but not on Main Street, it's on Yearling Road) looks ridiculous.  But the alumni that have travelled the halls of Etna Road Elementary, Beechwood Elementary, Kae Avenue Elementary, Rosemore Junior High School and Whitehall-Yearling High School are having their history wiped out.  "Heaven guard and keep you, we shall never fail you, dear Whitehall-Yearling High!" Well, I guess we failed.  Unless you believe in reincarnation.

[Excerpt]


Whitehall students can see the future as new schools go up



The first day of school is always full of change. There are new pencils, new books, new teachers and new homework to grumble over.


Whitehall students start class today, earlier than others, and they'll encounter something else new - construction. . .


Read more at: The Columbus Dispatch

Rachel Maddow's Yearbook Photo

Just, wow. . .

Source: Huffington Post

Rachel Maddow on Obama's Speech: Schoolhouse Crock

No, it wasn't President Obama's speech that was a crock, only the ridiculous fear campaign spread by the right-wing. This clip from The Rachel Maddow Show doesn't just have a brilliant title, it's pretty entertaining as well. You might even learn something.

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President Obama's Speech to School Children

It sounded all right to me, in fact, downright inspiring. Most people can point to a person, an event, or an idea that inspired them in their lives. If this did that for even a small group of today's kids, it was worth it, don't you think? And I can't find any socialism, Marxism, communism, anti-Americanism, or anything else the right was so verklempt about. Can you?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

George H.W. Bush ALSO Asked for Input from Kids

I'm sure that in the next day or so after President Obama addresses the school children, this bizarre controversy over it will dissipate. But it bears repeating that not only have other Presidents done similar speeches, they've also done the very things that the right wing is now so upset about. Watch.

Political Cartoon of the Week: Obama in Schools

Brilliant.

Source: The Moderate Voice

Newsflash: George H.W. Bush Spoke to the School Children

The crazy idea of the President of the United States of America addressing the nation's school children still has people in a lather. But like every other ridiculous controversy this year, there is little thinking involved. As I posted earlier, Ronald Reagan, patron saint of the Republican Party not only addressed school kids, his really was a political message. George W. Bush was in a classroom on the morning of September 11, 2001, for goodness' sake, in one of his many embarrassing moments.

I'm not sure if Bill Clinton addressed kids in this way, but I wouldn't be surprised. One thing is for sure, George H.W. Bush did, and it's on his official Presidential Library web site. So, when you hear some wingnut say that this sort of thing is unheard of, link them to the following:

[Excerpt]

Remarks to Students and Faculty at Alice Deal Junior High School (1991-10-01)

Thank you, Ms. Mostoller, and thanks for allowing me to visit your classroom to talk to you and all these students, and millions more in classrooms all across the country. (Ed: emphasis mine).

You know, long before I became President I was a parent. I remember the times that my kids came up with a really tough question or a difficult decision. I tried my best never to shut them down with a quick ``no.'' I would simply say those three magic words that made that problem disappear: ``Ask your Mother.'' [Laughter]

Let me tell you why I've made the trip up from the White House to Alice Deal Junior High. I'm not here to teach a lesson. You already have a very good teacher. I'm not here to tell you what to do or what to think. Maybe you're accustomed to adults talking about you and at you; well, today, I'm here to talk to you and challenge you. Education matters, and what you do today, and what you don't do can change your future. . .

Read more at: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum

Presidents Talk to Students Sometimes. Where's the Controversy?

Image from nj.com

Through Facebook, and later on the radio, it became clear to me that there is more trouble afoot between the Obama Administration, and the rabid right. Apparently, President Obama is scheduled to speak on C-SPAN, and has urged schools to show the speech to their students. In response, the usual suspects (*cough* GLENN BECK!!! *cough*) have actually been saying that people should keep their kids out of school that day.

Stranger than that, there are talks about fireworks and "patriotic activities" at home. Hmm. Apparently that patriotism does not extend to watching the President give a speech. One of the little Facebook quizzes posed the question, "Should President Obama be allowed to do a nationwide address to school children without parental consent?" Allowed responses were Yes, No, I don't care. Not surprisingly, the responses I saw from my Facebook "friends" were all "No." And it was equally predictable that the commentary that followed got contentious.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why a President addressing school children should be in any way controversial. I'm sure other recent Presidents--maybe all of them--spoke to kids during their terms. But not Obama, oh no. I'm waiting for someone to slip and finally say what it is that they find so objectionable about the man. It isn't fascism, socialism, Marxism, communism, or any of those other words that the tea baggers don't understand. So what is it? Oh, I think you know.

Anyway, isn't it interesting that the nearly sainted after death Ronald Reagan spoke to kids, oh yes he did. And it wasn't about school or studying, it was political. Horrors!

[Excerpt]

Conservative media take note: Reagan preached tax cut gospel to America’s students

Putting aside possible ulterior motives, the conservative freak-out over President Obama’s planned speech to students urging them to stay in school and work hard is due to fears that Obama will use his platform as an opportunity to push his agenda on unsuspecting students. Ironically, that’s exactly what President Reagan did two decades ago. . .

Read more at: Media Matters

What the Hell is a Frumpet?

Image from Horn-U-Copia.net

This post exists for no other reason than to answer the question, "what did you play in band?"

Yes, I'm a band geek. But oddly, in my school at least, the band members were not known--at least to each other--as geeks. The band was heralded in our school. Sure, there were probably those in the school who looked down upon us, but we didn't know it. Our band was fairly acclaimed, and we didn't suffer ostricization.

But when I answer the question, "what did you play," and answer, "the frumpet," nobody knows what I'm talking about. During the winter doldrums of the school year, I played the French horn. You couldn't be in marching band without also finishing out the year in concert band, or symphonic band. And in those more austere bands, the French horn was the instrument of choice for those of us who couldn't play melody, with the trumpets.

During marching band season however (the most fun part of band), the French horn was deemed too clumsy. So we marched with either an alto horn (even more obscure), or the frumpet. A frumpet looks sort of like a pregnant trumpet. It isn't as flashy as a Flugelhorn, or as sexy as the alto saxophone. It's heavy, has a tiny dime-sized mouthpiece that causes lip indentation, and holds copious amounts of spit. But we held the more-important-than-realized responsibility for producing harmony, and reproducing other sounds from popular music otherwise performed by bass guitars and such.

While in marching band, I dutifully learned the parts to Hawaiian War Chant, String of Pearls, On Broadway, and Hit Me With Your Best Shot. This was, after all, 1980-1984. But truth be told, I never actually learned every note of the Whitehall-Yearling High School fight song. And I never memorized the Star Spangled Banner. Faked 'em, all the way through. The Alma Mater too. But I faked it gooood.