Drug Testing Kids

[rutrow]

Schools have no business taking responsibility away from the parents. If they suspect drug use, they should have a conference with the parent (s). Let parents decide with school personal about what to do. Some school officials take liberties they have no right to exercise. What is to stop them from targeting a student they do not like? When my child was in elementary school, the principle did not use his noodle when investigating an incident. He paddled both my child and the other like he had a right to do whatever he wanted to with the children, and without notification of parents. He truly thought he had that right even though he was told he did not have that right. Nevertheless, we made sure that he did not ever touch our child again. And, he is not there anymore.

I said all that because I do not think that school personal in many cases ever care enough to investigate a situation thoroughly before they act. Children who are not liked get targeted frequently both by school officials and by other students. I've seen students, who were considered "good students" set up the undesirable students for trouble, knowing that school officials would automatically believe them, and not the undesirable students. What is an undesirable student? Any student who does not fit in with the other kids. They may live out of town or in a trailer. They may not have the $100 sneakers. Their parents may not be doctors or lawyers or bankers etc. They may be shy and do not take up for themselves with bullies. They may be a product of a broken home. There are a lot of reasons. Some are helped, some are scorned. Just like the little boy with head lice. I also knew a little girl who had leukemia. She had to go to Memphis for treatments. The high school personal were not sympathetic AT ALL!!! She was losing her hair and they just flippantly told her mother to get her a wig, not expressing any desire to help her with the child's feelings of being sick and losing her hair. (to a teen, that is a horrible thing) So.. if they cannot help a child who is sick with cancer, why do they want to poke their nose in these other things? (Again, not all) They just do not have the funds to adequately teach them, much less taking on things that are parental responsibility.

The public school system cannot even keep some students who are failing or near failing from falling through the cracks. They just throw up their hands and say that they do not know what to do when confronted with some of these issues. ( A literal statement made to me) So...why do they want to start getting into the parenting business thinking they know what is best for the child?

[King Rat]

There was a kid in my class who was constantly causing trouble. He loved to sass the teachers, refuse to follow rules and pick fights with other students. Every time he would get into trouble the teachers would send him to the principal and the principal would call his parents (because the parents refused corporal punishment). His father would come to the school and before long the kid would be back in class grinning like a jackass eating sawbriers, bragging how his daddy cussed the principal out. This went on for years.

My point is that the school administrators have to have some level of authority to discipline EVEN the kids whose parents think their kid can do no wrong. Isn't a child's behavior usually a reflection of what they learn at home?

[Pontotocmom]

When my kids were little K-5 I did refuse to let a teacher spank them. After the 5th grade they were on their own. I did tell them if they thought they shouldn't be paddled to tell them to call me. But lord help them if I was going to agree with the teacher. I wasn't under any illusions on what my kids might do. They were taught to behave at home and I always expected them to behave out in public. And show respect even if they didn't like the teacher. I don't have a problem with a drug test. If they were in doubt do one. Because my kids would not like it if I found out they were using. I amm 100 percent against drugs and every kid here knows it.

[granny2young]

ohh, I am against drugs in school totally, but I don't think that load should be dumped on our educators.

[rutrow]

Aw man King rat, this is what I am talking about. This kid got away with this because his father must have been somebody of influence. The ordinary working man would not have gotten away with this cussing the principal. At that point, the principal should have taken it to the superintendent (and maybe he did and was told to do nothing) and suspended the child. With parents like that, most likely the kid would not have gotten a spanking from the school anyway. I hate illicit drugs of any kind, and most prescription drugs too. But I believe that they can lay down guidelines if they suspect a child is taking drugs, or alcohol. Frank discussions with the parents should be a must first, and then if parents do nothing, then some stronger policies may be put into place. But just a random thing of testing should not be given to school authorities as they have folks there who target children they do not like.

[King Rat]

rutrow said:

Aw man King rat, this is what I am talking about. This kid got away with this because his father must have been somebody of influence.

Nope. The kid's dad was a truck driver. I knew their family and his only influence was that he was twice as big as the principal.

[granny2young]

then to me, that should fall back on the principal. If he is intimidated by the size of a man, then how he is going to maintain respect and control of his students and/or parents? He should have called his hand immediately and called the police. Threats of any kind should never be tolerated. That is the first order of business. He should have suspended the child until such time as he could be controlled, if for no other reason than to maintain order in his school. We knew where we stood with the principal as parents when the girls were in school.

[King Rat]

Yep, he should've, but he didn't. Actually, we had a couple different principals during high school and this went on constantly with this kid.

[Pontotocmom]

cpurdon said:

rutrow said:

Aw man King rat, this is what I am talking about. This kid got away with this because his father must have been somebody of influence.

Nope. The kid's dad was a truck driver. I knew their family and his only influence was that he was twice as big as the principal.

Truck drivers are tough people sometimes. But mothers are tougher. One principal told me he had rather face a raging bull than a raging mother..lol

[granny2young]

that I can agree on Mom. Never cross a mad mother, nothing good can come out of it

[rutrow]

granny2young said:

then to me, that should fall back on the principal. If he is intimidated by the size of a man, then how he is going to maintain respect and control of his students and/or parents? He should have called his hand immediately and called the police. Threats of any kind should never be tolerated. That is the first order of business. He should have suspended the child until such time as he could be controlled, if for no other reason than to maintain order in his school. We knew where we stood with the principal as parents when the girls were in school.

Absolutely granny. If he is principal, then he has authority and the obligation to put a stop to this one little kid. It makes no sense to punish all kids because of one or a few. That only leads to discouragement of the ones who try to do right, act right.

[warriorswan]

rutrow said:

Aw man King rat, this is what I am talking about. This kid got away with this because his father must have been somebody of influence. The ordinary working man would not have gotten away with this cussing the principal. At that point, the principal should have taken it to the superintendent (and maybe he did and was told to do nothing) and suspended the child. With parents like that, most likely the kid would not have gotten a spanking from the school anyway. I hate illicit drugs of any kind, and most prescription drugs too. But I believe that they can lay down guidelines if they suspect a child is taking drugs, or alcohol. Frank discussions with the parents should be a must first, and then if parents do nothing, then some stronger policies may be put into place. But just a random thing of testing should not be given to school authorities as they have folks there who target children they do not like.

You are so Correct, but why stop at the kid's. Drug test all member's of the school system. Everybody would be Suprized, LOL. Drug's and children is NO laughing matter, same with alcohol. IMRO-

[King Rat]

I once knew this 15-year old kid who would go out on the weekends and get drunker'n Cooter Brown. He laughed about the fact that his father (who was a drunk) actually furnished him with all the beer he wanted at home. The dad's theory was that if he let the kid drink at home he wouldn't sneak out and do it. Wrong.

Some parents just don't care what their kids do. So society can either allow the kids to attend school, do drugs and disrupt the learning process for the good kids or it can kick the kid out of school where he will almost certainly end up dead or in prison. Or, society could identify these kids, drug test them, and put them into some type of rehab program to get them off the drugs. Look, I am all for parental rights and I think DHS does about as much wrong as it does right but a parent's rights should end once they have abused or neglected their child.

[Pontotocmom]

As I was growing up my parents, did give us a taste of what they were drinking, they did NOT let us have but a sip. And yes we did find out that most of it was nasty tasting, worse than medicine. None of my brothers or sisters are drinkers to this day. I also think D.A.R.E. is a joke and a waste of time. Totally useless. I don't have the answer for drugs. People start using to fit in, or just for kicks. It is a total waste, they don't realize that they are wasting their whole life and the life of their kids. I know some people quit on their own, but a lot of times it is too late to save their family. They have missed most of their kids life and the kids get to hating them. Some, I'm sure not all, teach their kids to lie for them and to cover up for them, and that is a form of abuse to me. No parent should ever have their child to evade the truth or lie for them.

[rutrow]

cpurdon said:

Some parents just don't care what their kids do. So society can either allow the kids to attend school, do drugs and disrupt the learning process for the good kids or it can kick the kid out of school where he will almost certainly end up dead or in prison. Or, society could identify these kids, drug test them, and put them into some type of rehab program to get them off the drugs. Look, I am all for parental rights and I think DHS does about as much wrong as it does right but a parent's rights should end once they have abused or neglected their child.

Now, that I agree with. Identify those kids, not random drug testing on kids who are not troublemakers, or the poor, or the shy. Everybody at school knows who those kids are, their reputations follow them. Only drag those good-for-nothing parents who are dope-heads and drunks into the school and make sure they know what their kid is doing.

Most of the time these kids nowdays get these myspace or Xanga sites and tell all about what they do anyways. They even put their pics on these spaces and tell about how they get drunk or high. They ain't got no sense I 'spose.