I don't promote bullies and, yes, children should be taught how to get along and respect others. But when I read the "red hot rhetoric" surrounding the Anti-Bullying Curriculum, I have visions of South Park characters floating in my head.
South Park - Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Southpark is a quiet and peaceful place until the latest Terrance and Philip movie comes out. Once all the kids see it, all hell breaks loose, as the parents try to find a way to stop their kids from saying all the naughty words coming out of their mouths. The parents blame Terrance and Philip, place them under Citizen's Arrest, and declare war on Canada. It is up to the kids to save the world from Satan and keep Terrance and Philip from being executed.
Anti-bullying campaigns seem to bubble to the top of the agenda every few years. Seems to me that a school-based curriculum hasn't really been the answer, has it?
As I posted elsewhere in the blogsphere, KIDS ARE BRUTAL. They will find a way to establish a pecking order and will find a way to pick on anybody who is different. Do we really think the kids who have a bullying personality are paying attention? Why does that bullying kid have that attitude anyway? Maybe the answers are at home, not at school.
Now I'm not suggesting that the law of the jungle rule the playground. That's what detention and suspension is all about. Whatever happened to "YOU, kid, are a troublemaker and these are the consequences..." What about a little trash pickup after school? Maybe help the janitor clean up some classrooms for a few days. Work the lunch line. Serve the very kids you're bullying. Ever noticed that in all of the "bully literature" the only way the bully learns a lesson is to get a comeuppance?
My opinion (and I'm entitled to it) is that we kid ourselves that the indoctrination approach actually works. We justify this with abstract concepts like "civil liberties" and "individual rights." Seriously? You think your average grade school kid understands this? Their daily focus is "When do I get snack?"
Maybe, just maybe, if we let them, kids can figure this stuff out. They certainly can figure out how to get around whatever controls their parents want to put in place at any given time. And if South Park is any example, the kids usually wind up saving the place from their parents' hysteria.
9 comments:
You're entitled to your opinion, but what's your point? I don't think anyone is claiming that the proposed update to the curriculum is going to end bullying (if they are, they're naive). But that doesn't negate its value. To claim otherwise would be like saying there's no point posting speed limits because some people will always ignore them.
Well, there are 2 points:
1) Alameda's level of rhetoric on this (and any topic) borders on South Park-ian hilarty
2) Given all of AUSD's issues, I am confounded why so much time, talent and resource is being committed to this investment at THIS time.
Agree on 1. But what you do expect? - this is Alameda after all. When have people round here ever walked away from a good flamewar? :-)
On 2, also true, but if not now, when? One thing that isn't being committed is money, which is admittedly in short supply. Time and energy appear to be in abundance.
The proposed update to the curriculum seems a bit pointless to me. How are they planning to end bullying? That task is a pretty difficult one, if not impossible to resolve. Don't get me wrong, there definitely needs to be an agenda on how to solve this problem, but will it solve anything? I don't think so...
Take care, Julie
Andy - do you REALLY think that no money will be spent on this?
The people that developed the curriculum and the writer's that authored the books all need to be paid. This is a big money business - and it's a true expense (AUSD will write a check).
Then the school district will need to divert internal resources to manage, administer and monitor the program. With the activity-based voodoo accounting that is used in public government, this will wind up actually costing quite a bit.
I don't have the details, but they'll come out next summer when the school district threatens to drop music, art and sports again.
And this goes back to my point 2 - given all of the other priorities, what will we be asked to trade off in support of this program that is of highly questionable tangible benefit?
Like I originally wrote, I don't support bullying, but I'm a bigger supporter of music, arts and sports.
The safe schools curriculum is already in place. I doubt this addition to it represents a significant, new, ongoing commitment of funds.
Hey fellas,
I believe the cost of the curriculum is $6,000.
Thanks for that info, Michele.
Frankly, I don't believe it. We're talking direct costs:
- schoolbooks for how many K-5 school children?
- training materials for how many teachers?
- delivering materials
Given what schoolbooks go for these days, I find this highly improbable.
Those are the direct costs. Then there will be the voodoo costs of:
- training the trainers
- training the teachers
- monitoring the program
- measuring the program
- administering the program
These are the costs that really get us because the district isn't really paying anyone EXTRA for this activity, but because they do it it gets plussed up in the budget. This is how many teachers, trainers and administrators at how many hours?
Don't get me started on the opportunity costs.
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