28 replies to this topic

[Whisky Dude]

Had something pretty strange happen 2 days ago at my sons Junior high.  He is 11 years old and in the 6th grade,..........so take that into account.

Heres the story...


The other day he came home from school and it was pretty easy to see that he was upset.   We asked him what was wrong and he said that not only himself,.......but that the entire class had been crying.   of course we wanted to know why.  He then told us what happened.......

In a pre planned setting,....one of the guidance counselors  came into his normal science class and along with his science teacher went into the subject of bad things that happen to people in life and how to deal with them.  As I said..........this was pre planned.


So, his science teacher, a female, told the class that she would start so as everyone else would feel more at ease.  She then went on to tell the class that when she was in college, 21 years old,........she slept with a man at a party that she didnt know,  and got pregnant......  That she had no clue who the father was,......and for years and years she told everyone that the child was the mans she eventually married.


She then prompted the class to let out their deep dark secrets.   One kid.........talked about how it hurts him so bad that his mom and dad are divorced "  several had this same story"   but that it was better than when they were together because they used to beat each other up all the time....


Another girl talked about how bad she felt when her mother would tell her she was a mistake, and wished she never had her........


Another girl said her dad was always mean to her and would hit her,........thats when the teacher said......"  well, we JUST HAPPEN to have officer X here today and he would really like to talk to you about this.  The police officer then walked in the room and asked the girl to come talk with him.  


Anyway.........my son told us that by the end of class every kid in there was crying their eyes out from either telling their own story, or hearing the stories of others.


BUT................Heres how it ended.  The teacher told the class that one of the reasons  they  did this was to get kids to think about what other kids were going thru at home. Lots of bullying takes place in schools and if kids would think about what others may be going thru they would never bully anyone.To be good to one another.  This is a GREAT POINT, in fact...I made the exact same point to my son not 3 weeks ago, thinking what others may be going thru that is.  

Not real sure how I feel about this whole thing. In many ways I think this was VERY good,..............yet I cant get this feeling out of the back of my mind that there is just something not really too kosher about it either.

Somewhat confused on the whole episode to be honest.

[Whisky Dude]

I guess my son DID learn a good, hard lesson though.   He was grounded a few weeks back, just for a few days. Minor infraction...LOL  Anyway..........after some grumbling on his part I told him how lucky he was to have the family he has.  That some kids grow up in abusive homes, or have parents addicted to drugs and booze.  He said,.........Nahhhhhh,  none of that stuff happens at my school to any of those kids.   Well.........I guess now he sees that it does.  

Real shame too.

[Whisky Dude]

I guess the part that kinda rubs me the wrong way is.................almost kinda seems like this was some pre planned thing along with the police and social services to see whats going on in peoples homes.  Like an invasion of privacy almost.


BUT.............If it saves a kid, or saves a family,.......then I can see how it is actually a VERY good thing. Plus I really like the point about being good to one another because you never know what someone else may be going thru.  Yet,  its pretty easy to see how something like this could VERY EASILY be abused.   See what I mean?  Kinda confusing.

[George F. Will]

And we wonder why our educational system sucks...

Do you think they pull this [Craig James] in Japan?

[burford]

Bunk.  Asking kids to reveal those things  and using preside is wrong.  Tellnthem to stick to science although I would bet you could track this back to some grainy program from our bullying czar from DC

[fnfreebird]

burford, on 10 February 2012 - 12:17 PM, said:

Bunk.  Asking kids to reveal those things  and using preside is wrong.  Tellnthem to stick to science although I would bet you could track this back to some grainy program from our bullying czar from DC

I have little doubt this was completely by accident especially considering the officer being on "standby".

Communist at work. Squeal on your neighbor so the government can aquire information to use against us.
Wonder how many kids got caught up in the moment and  s t r e t c h e d  the truth just a little....ultimately could end up destroying their very own family foundation. Happens everyday.  Liberals never stop to think ....what if?

This was most certainly out of place in a science classroom.

I do my science demonstrations a couple of times a semester in schools at that level. Just did one earlier this week. It's hard to watch all the misinformation being foisted at these kids today. Especially all the AGW junk. And discover what a complete lack of current science information some of these teachers are even aware of. They simply teach the TEKS or STAAR out of the books or per programmed sources.  That is all the teachers and kids are judged on. Such an injustice. No wonder kids are so bored in school.
I try to make it fun for them for awhile. They love it and always ask me to come back ...sometimes the next day.
Science can be fun ...lots of fun.

All the very liberal minded "in a perfect world" junk science is dumbing them down and a waste of time and money.
...again
This has absolutely no place in the science classroom...there are other venues for that.
Not a bad idea for kids to bear their thoughts and feelings. Need a little more controlled setting however.

Me thinks that teach needs some counseling herself.

Ever get that haunting feeling you may have one or two of your own out there somewhere we missed knowing??

She must have just watched this weeks Mobbed...have to admit that one really got to me.

[fnfreebird]

Whisky Dude, on 10 February 2012 - 05:23 AM, said:

Had something pretty strange happen 2 days ago at my sons Junior high.  He is 11 years old and in the 6th grade,..........so take that into account.
Heres the story...
The other day he came home from school and it was pretty easy to see that he was upset.   We asked him what was wrong and he said that not only himself,.......but that the entire class had been crying.   of course we wanted to know why.  He then told us what happened.......
In a pre planned setting,....one of the guidance counselors  came into his normal science class and along with his science teacher went into the subject of bad things that happen to people in life and how to deal with them.  As I said..........this was pre planned.
So, his science teacher, a female, told the class that she would start so as everyone else would feel more at ease.  She then went on to tell the class that when she was in college, 21 years old,........she slept with a man at a party that she didnt know,  and got pregnant......  That she had no clue who the father was,......and for years and years she told everyone that the child was the mans she eventually married.
She then prompted the class to let out their deep dark secrets.   One kid.........talked about how it hurts him so bad that his mom and dad are divorced "  several had this same story"   but that it was better than when they were together because they used to beat each other up all the time....
Another girl talked about how bad she felt when her mother would tell her she was a mistake, and wished she never had her........
Another girl said her dad was always mean to her and would hit her,........thats when the teacher said......"  well, we JUST HAPPEN to have officer X here today and he would really like to talk to you about this.  The police officer then walked in the room and asked the girl to come talk with him.
Anyway.........my son told us that by the end of class every kid in there was crying their eyes out from either telling their own story, or hearing the stories of others.
BUT................Heres how it ended.  The teacher told the class that one of the reasons  they  did this was to get kids to think about what other kids were going thru at home. Lots of bullying takes place in schools and if kids would think about what others may be going thru they would never bully anyone.To be good to one another.  This is a GREAT POINT, in fact...I made the exact same point to my son not 3 weeks ago, thinking what others may be going thru that is.  
Not real sure how I feel about this whole thing. In many ways I think this was VERY good,..............yet I cant get this feeling out of the back of my mind that there is just something not really too kosher about it either.
Somewhat confused on the whole episode to be honest.

RESULT:  US lags way behind in science, math grads

Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:54 AM EST

— When it comes to churning out young workers with college degrees in math and science, the United States ranks low among advanced democracies.


http://www.newsvine....ence-math-grads

[Whisky Dude]

Like I say,...........the whole thing is VERY strange to me.  I can see some good that could come from it, but can also see how a whole lot of bad could come from it, and how it could easily be abused and twisted.   Something just doesnt feel right about it at all.....

[steelfrog]

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

[steelfrog]

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

[steelfrog]

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

[steelfrog]

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

[steelfrog]

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

[fnfreebird]

steelfrog, on 10 February 2012 - 06:14 PM, said:

Look, the education system (public and private) is much more about social engineering than ABCs and 123s; just another example...

You can say that again...

[TCUSA]

Steel's having a stuttering problem on several posts....

But yeah, I don't think this kind of "workshop" has any place in an elementary school.  IF a teacher thinks there's something amiss at a kid's home, then he/she needs to pull them aside and either ask themselves or send the kid to a counselor who's trained to deal with these kinds of issues.  Opening it up to a classroom setting invites exactly the kind of bullying they're trying to avoid.  Here, a kid who's predisposed to bullying, would have a catalog of things to use to intimidate and subjugate their classmates.  Further, it teaches kids that there are no personal issues--that all problems are to be shared and talked about with everyone--and that does them a real disservice later in life.

[Whisky Dude]

Heres another thing that I dont know how to feel about............Remember the kid I told you about that said he was upset because his parents used to beat each other up?

That kid is the QB on my sons Pop Warner football team.   His dad is one of the assistant coaches of the football team.  You think those kids are ever going to look at him the same after this?  Pretty doubtful.  If in fact he's ever allowed to coach again.  People CAN change you know.


Having said that...........He should have maybe thought about that before he and his wife thought it was a good idea to beat on each other in front of their kids.


Like I say....this is VERY confusing.

[Whisky Dude]

I know for SURE Having a cop there was a set up deal.   I think that because............the school already has a city cop that they use as a liaison officer but he is one of the young cops on the force,....not exactly a crime wave at a Jr high.....LOL

But the cop they trotted out for this thing is a long time city cop with over 20 years on the force instead of using the young and inexperienced liaison.

[fnfreebird]

Whisky Dude, on 11 February 2012 - 05:04 AM, said:

Heres another thing that I dont know how to feel about............Remember the kid I told you about that said he was upset because his parents used to beat each other up?
That kid is the QB on my sons Pop Warner football team.   His dad is one of the assistant coaches of the football team.  You think those kids are ever going to look at him the same after this?  Pretty doubtful.  If in fact he's ever allowed to coach again.  People CAN change you know.
Having said that...........He should have maybe thought about that before he and his wife thought it was a good idea to beat on each other in front of their kids.
Like I say....this is VERY confusing.

Did the young man say who won the fights? Mom or dad?
Doubt anyone would want him to be a football coach if Mom was the one doing the clobberin'.
Perhaps he was confused with what he heard emulating out of the bedroom.
Though it was a beating with all the yelling and screaming and stuff ...
Went out a few times with a wildcat like that a long time ago...she even scared me.......I'm just sayin.... someone married her...

[Whisky Dude]

TCUSA, on 11 February 2012 - 12:00 AM, said:

Steel's having a stuttering problem on several posts....

But yeah, I don't think this kind of "workshop" has any place in an elementary school.  IF a teacher thinks there's something amiss at a kid's home, then he/she needs to pull them aside and either ask themselves or send the kid to a counselor who's trained to deal with these kinds of issues.  Opening it up to a classroom setting invites exactly the kind of bullying they're trying to avoid.  Here, a kid who's predisposed to bullying, would have a catalog of things to use to intimidate and subjugate their classmates.  Further, it teaches kids that there are no personal issues--that all problems are to be shared and talked about with everyone--and that does them a real disservice later in life.

These are all excellent points!

[SFA Frog]

I think that something like this is fine as long as instructional time is not missed.  In my school 4th and 5th grade students are one a six day rotation for specials programs.  They go to these special classes while their homeroom teacher is on their conference/planning period.  Currently the students rotate between music, art, dance, PE (x2) and desktop publishing.  If during this time the school decided to pull groups of students to go and allow the school counselors to actually do their job (instead of making them responsible for mostly testing and scheduling as ours our) I think it would be pretty cool.  I think if done properly that it could actually benefit some of the students.  

I'm not sure how it would work once it got to sixth grade at a campus like mine.  We have a 7 period day where all students must take ELA, science, SS, math (double block), PE/Pre-athetics and a non-credit elective (dance, band, choir, desktop publishing).  In that situation I would pull the kids out of their elective periods every so often to do it.  

I do not like a few things about the way that what you said happened.  If done, it should not cut into core curriculum instruction time.  It should be in a specially paired groupings of students as a type of advisory class or special pullout program.  So I do like the idea but not necessarily the implementation.

What was learned from the experience was probably invaluable to the school employees and maybe even the other students.  It is almost impossible to teach someone without knowing where they are coming from and without trying to build a bond of empathy and compassion with them.