I have now heard news reports of teachers calling the police for students having toy guns or bb-guns viewed over ‘distance learning’. I have also heard news reports of teachers enforcing mask-wearing mandates during ‘distance learning’. For those that do not know, ‘distance learning’ is computer-aided video-conferencing, where the students log in from home, rather than attending a school campus in-person. ZOOM and Microsoft Teams appear to be the usual software utilized, but the concepts are exactly the same.
Let me help:
1. During this odd occurrence of ‘distance learning’, the teacher is invited into the homes of their students. Teachers should act like a guest in this regard.
2. It is NOT illegal for children of ANY age to have toys. While a school may ban the students from bringing some toys to school, that is where the common sense line should be drawn.
3. It is NOT illegal for parents to buy their children bb-guns. While a school may ban the students from bringing them to school, that is where the common sense line should be drawn.
4. HOME IS NOT SCHOOL. Other than a teacher observing POSSIBLE ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR (think abuse, incest, illegal drugs, etc.), the teacher has ZERO ROLE in the student’s home life.
5. Any teacher that cannot tell the difference between a SCHOOL CAMPUS and the student’s HOME should be fired immediately. As should any school administrator enabling such nonsense–such as “We are treating ‘distance learning’ exactly as we do on-campus learning.” That statement alone should result in job loss.
6. Any teacher enforcing mask-wearing while ‘distance learning’ should be fired immediately. See 4. above. Any school district that tries to enact such nonsense should be ignored.
The follow-up news item: some school districts want to make the parents sign a ‘will not listen in’ to classes. Gee, other than teaching material that is inappropriate (think the teacher’s political views) or flat-out wrong (see Howard Zenn’s book on US History), there is ZERO reason why a parent cannot listen in to what teachers are teaching their children. Parents SHOULD be listening in! This is a rare opportunity to audit the content of what is really being taught. The parents are involuntarily funding public schools via property taxes, or indirectly via rent that pays property taxes. That teachers or administrators think they can create a new contract out of thin air is preposterous. I’m not even sure that the ‘contract’ is valid. In order for a contract to be valid, there must be offer, acceptance, and consideration (monetary). This is a one-way document, with zero value for the parent. If they are making this a condition of honoring the original agreement (we pay them via taxes, they teach), they are amending a contract without permission. Lawyers out there, what am I missing?
I’ve now heard some of these teacher’s actions have resulted in student suspensions–for having legal toys at HOME! If these suspensions are upheld, the parent has two options: litigation and/or home schooling. It is truly insane that schools feel they have the wherewithal to suspend students in this manner–I would LOVE to see that verbiage, if it exists, taken to as far up the court chain as it needs to go. Legal organizations–please take this case on.
Those folks who have at-risk people at home ALREADY are doing everything they can to keep everyone safe. Again, completely outside the responsibility of the school system—butt out. Your virtue signaling has as much value as your curricula of sex-Ed for 2nd graders, gender fluidity, and other PC stuff: zero. Maybe if you focused on traditional class work, we’d have less ignorant graduates? Until you can successfully teach needed basics, maybe we shouldn’t expand the curriculum to populate your jobs programs? Thanks in advance.
