I'm not sure what the game of "conkers" is like but, at the gut level, UK Independent Schools Association chair John Gibson certainly resonates, probably with most parents, when he says that playing outside "as a child and taking part in activities such as putting an oily chain back on a bike, or playing conkers, exposes children to emotions such as disappointment which prepare them for … [Read more...] about Schools as ‘prison houses’: Misunderstanding media
school policy
Zero tolerance = zero intelligence: Juvenile judge
Most schools in the Atlanta area - "and across the nation" - have “zero-tolerance” policies where fighting's considered, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. But Judge Steven Teske, president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges of Georgia, told the Journal-Constitution that "zero tolerance is zero intelligence. It’s merely a political response, a knee-jerk reaction and often not much … [Read more...] about Zero tolerance = zero intelligence: Juvenile judge
Why technopanics are bad
Remember the predator panic? It's not over, of course - presentations with titles like "Facebook, the Sex Offenders' Catalog" and "MySpace the Predator's New Playground" (actual titles) are still being given at a time when we need to empower young social media users and their parents, not scare them to death (for more on this, see "A new online safety: The means, not the end"). Now we really … [Read more...] about Why technopanics are bad
Anti-bullying & -cyberbullying reports, projects
So far this year there have been four suicides in the US because of bullying, writes Chicago mental health examiner Jerilyn Dufresne, marking the suicide of 11-year-old bullying victim Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover in The Examiner. His mother is asking her state government, Massachusetts, to investigate the school Carl attended, MassLive.com reports. The family of a 17-year-old bullying and suicide … [Read more...] about Anti-bullying & -cyberbullying reports, projects
Asst. principal tells his own story
Two months after his boss, the principal of Freedom High School in Loudoun County, Va., told him to store a photo of a semi-naked girl on his computer "in case we needed it later," Asst. Principal Ting-Yi Oei was charged with "failure to report suspected child abuse" and put on administrative leave (he hadn't been able to ID the girl because the photo was taken from the neck down). That was last … [Read more...] about Asst. principal tells his own story