RandySF
RandySF's JournalIs the PTA supposed to represent the parents, or the people who run the school?
I feel like my school's PTA is not there for parents. And if you dare say anything negative, they close ranks and shut you out. Anyone here ever experience that?
Berkeley, CA police chief used police to look for son's phone, some on overtime.
Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan, already under fire for sending an officer to a reporter's house after midnight, ordered police - some on overtime - to look for his teenage son's stolen cell phone in Oakland, authorities said Monday.
Officers did not file a police report about the January incident, "an oversight that came to our attention when researching your questions," said police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, a department spokeswoman.
On Jan. 11, Meehan's son reported that somebody stole his iPhone from his locker at Berkeley High School. The phone was equipped with tracking software. The chief showed his own phone to the property crimes sergeant, who deployed his team and drug task force officers to look for the missing phone, Kusmiss said.
The signal stopped updating the phone's position near 55th Street and San Pablo in North Oakland. The phone wasn't found.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/21/BAGC1OLH7R.DTL#ixzz1vZR4Af3B
Farewell, San Francisco USD
We tried. We really did. We enrolled our son at the local public school for kindergarten because we believed in the concept of the neighborhood school. We volunteered every chance we got for the regular student body and after-school program. We love our teacher who cares deeply for her kids and we love most of the kids and parents. But from the beginning of the school year right up to this point, administrators have been unwilling and unable to do anything about a small but significant core of students who bully my son (among others) and make it their mission to disrupt class. The principal is a foot-dragger who refuses to address issues until you go directly to the school board. The after school was a blessing and the best part of his day, but it was too small a portion to justify continuing to send him there.
SFUSD claims to have a anti-bullying policy, but their solutions based of "social and restorative" justice guarantee that the school day will be dominated by those who have no interest in learning or getting along with others, and the rights of others come second. So, we reached the VERY painful conclusion that a local parochial school will provide the environment the kid needs to focus on working in class without having someone grabbing it away, damaging it and coming back the next day to do it again. Yes, kids have a right to an education, but it should not supersede the rights of those who want to learn. SFUSD doesn't grasp this concept, so we are bidding them adieu.
School threatens to expel kids who won't quit Facebook
A school in Australia has threatened to expel students under the age of 13 (Facebook's minimum age for its users) who refuse to delete their accounts from the social media site. "A student who contravenes the law ... may need to meet with the Principal" to discuss continued enrollment, Harlaxton State School principal Leonie Hultgren warned. She explained she'd based her decision on "considerable Facebook traffic that either bullies a child of this school or ... denigrates some staff and the school."
Many parents don't "Like" this development. One cybersafety expert noted, "You could not print the response to the principal that some of the mothers wrote on Facebook." Guess the apples don't fall far from the trees.
http://now.msn.com/now/0516-australia-school-expel-facebook.aspx
Gay Republicans Slam Romney For Speaking At Liberty
LYNCHBURG, VA – The gay consevative group GOProud is not happy Mitt Romney chose to speak at Liberty University Saturday.
A statement from GOProud co-founder Jimmy LaSalvia was sent to reporters as Romney delivered his address:
Today, Governor Mitt Romney spoke at Liberty University. Liberty was founded by the late Jerry Falwell, who in 2007 said, “AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh’s charioteers … AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/gay-republicans-slam-romney-for-speaking-at-liberty
Why is Rmoney tripling down on the anti-gay rhetoric?
He has the nomination in hand and I am sure the right wing hates Obama enough to let their guy tack to the middle. But Willard's deciding to move out into territory where even many rank and file Republicans don't want to go. Is this some kind of game plan, or is he leeting the real Romney out of its cage?
Romney gives ringing endorsement of anti-gay fast food chain at Liberty University.
LYNCHBURG, VA – Mitt Romney’s commencement speech at Liberty University here Saturday came after the evangelical school gave an honorary degree to S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick Fil A, a chain that has drawn criticism from gay rights advocates.
Romney gave the chain and its sandwiches his full endorsement. From his prepared remarks:
The Romney campaign comes to a sudden stop when we spot a Chick-fil-A. Your chicken sandwiches were our comfort food through the primary season, and heaven knows there were days that we needed a lot of comfort. So, Truett, thank you and congratulations on your well-deserved honor today.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-gives-chick-fil-shoutout-in-liberty-commencement
‘Bully’ Documentary Director: Romney Should Lead On This Issue
Mitt Romney’s prep-school days have been under intense scrutiny this week after a report detailed an incident where he held down a classmate and cut his hair. But instead of dismissing the incident as long-ago “hijinks,” the former Massachusetts governor should use the attention as an opportunity to lead on the issue of bullying, said Lee Hirsch, the director of “Bully”, a new documentary that focuses on bullying in U.S. schools.
“What I see is an opportunity for Mitt Romney to lead and really be an advocate for decreasing bullying,” Hirsch told TPM in a phone interview Friday. “It’s sad to hear what occurred many years ago characterized as ‘pranks’ and ‘horsing around.’ We’re no longer conformable with the notion of describing bullying as ‘kids will be kids.’ This was a presidential moment, and this should be a teachable moment for him.”
The Washington Post’s report this week detailed Romney’s behavior in high school. The likely Republican presidential nominee reportedly went after a boy his classmates suspected was gay and cut his hair as the boy screamed for help. Romney has said he doesn’t remember the incident, but he doesn’t deny the report.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/mitt-romney-bully-lee-hirsch-documentary.php?ref=fpa
Romney Backs Away From Gay Adoptions
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday backed away from his support of adoptions by gay couples, saying that he simply “acknowledges” the legality of such adoptions in many states.
A day earlier, Romney, in an interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto, had indicated that while he does not support same-sex marriage, he considers the adoption of children by gay couples a “right.”
He said on Thursday: “And if two people of the same gender want to live together, want to have a loving relationship, or even to adopt a child — in my state, individuals of the same sex were able to adopt children. In my view, that’s something that people have a right to do. But to call that 'marriage' is something that, in my view, is a departure from the real meaning of that word.”
On Friday,he was asked, in an interview with CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte, N.C., how his opposition to gay marriage “squared” with his support for gay adoptions. Romney told anchor Paul Cameron, “Well, actually I think all states but one allow gay adoption, so that’s a position which has been decided by most of the state legislatures, including the one in my state some time ago. So I simply acknowledge the fact that gay adoption is legal in all states but one.”
http://news.yahoo.com/romney-backs-away-gay-adoptions-183344202.html
Bullying: I thank God that my son goes to school under Seth's Law.
Middle School, in Michigan during the mid-80's was the worst three years of my life. No matter how much I endured, administrators would do nothing. And, in 7th Grade, when I finally fought back, I was the one nearly suspended. Later, another mom told my mom that the school officials gave up on ever dealing with the other kid and just decided to take action against those who actually cared about doing well in school. Now, it's 2012 in California and we have Seth's Law which requires every public school to develop a plan to stop bullying when it starts. Hopefully, he will have a better experience than I did.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 58,728