Spread the word, strip-searches, dropping out and brainwashing (forum posts)

(my essay) Spread the Word
Whole class gets strip-searched.
The more people that drop out the better?
Definitive proof that school is a brainwashing process?

Are 'No-Fail' Grading Systems Hurting or Helping Students?

What's a kid gotta do to get an "F" these days? At a growing number of middle schools and high schools across the country, students no longer receive failing marks when they fail. Instead, they get an "H" — for "held" — on their report cards, and they're given a chance to rectify their poor performance without tanking the entire semester. Educators in schools from Costa Mesa, Calif., to Maynard, Mass., are also employing a policy known in school hallways as ZAP — or "Zeros Aren't Permitted" — which gives students an opportunity to finish the homework they neglected to do on time.
Read More: Are 'No-Fail' Grading Systems Hurting or Helping Students?

Stop Your Representative From Sponsoring Federal Bill to Mislabel Video Games

As you read this, your Congressperson may be considering co-sponsoring the newest regulatory assault on video games - Rep. Joe Baca's (D-CA) bill H.R. 231 "The Video Game Health Labeling Act." Baca's bill mandates that video games rated Teen or higher receive the following warning label: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior." Baca's bill is misguided, unnecessary, and simply unconstitutional. In a letter seeking co-sponsors of this bill, Rep. Baca points to research claiming a causal link between video games and aggressive behavior, even though this very same research was rejected as faulty by a majority of federal and state courts.
Read More: Stop Your Representative From Sponsoring Federal Bill to Mislabel Video Games
Forum Post: We have to do something about this

Pupils at truant school to get Savile Row suits by Prince Charles's tailor to boost morale

A school with one of the country's worst truancy records is issuing its pupils with Savile Row suits. Tom Mahon - tailor to Prince Charles - has designed suits to replace the replace polo shirts and sweaters worn by the 750 children at the Manchester school. The Savile Row touch is being applied as part of a rebranding exercise that will see Parklands High School in Wythenshawe transformed into the Manchester Enterprise Academy in September.
Read More: Pupils at truant school to get Savile Row suits by Prince Charles's tailor to boost morale

Celebrity culture is fuelling violence and sex among children, says schools tsar

Unruly pupils are copying the worst behaviour they see from footballers and celebrities on television, the Government's discipline tsar said today. Sir Alan Steer, a retired head who has conducted a four-year investigation into school discipline, claimed that abusive football stars fuelled violence in the playground while celebrity sex scandals encouraged teenage promiscuity. Sir Alan called for parents to spend more time and less money on their children, and must be prepared to say "No" more often to their demands. He suggested a ban on televisions in children's bedrooms to minimise the influence of popular culture on the young.
Read More: Celebrity culture is fuelling violence and sex among children, says schools tsar

Girl sues sperm bank for father's 'defective' sperm

An American teenager, who was born with a genetic disorder called X syndrome causing mental impairment, has filed a suit against the sperm bank that her mother used to conceive her. Thirteen-year-old Brittany Donovan from Pennsylvania is suing the sperm bank, Idant Laboratories in New York, after a judge gave her the go ahead to pursue the case under product liability laws applicable to manufacturing defects. Donovan does not have to show that Idant was negligent, only that the sperm it provided was unsafe and caused injury, according to NewScientist.
Read More: Girl sues sperm bank for father's 'defective' sperm

All Under 19's in UK to do Community Service

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to ensure every young person has done 50 hours of voluntary work by the time they are 19 years old. Mr Brown said a promise to bring in compulsory community service would be a part of his next election manifesto. Under the scheme, the work may include helping charities and is likely to become part of the school curriculum. The scheme would be woven into plans to make everyone stay in education or training until the age of 18 by 2011.
Read More: All Under 19's in UK to do Community Service

Naked men line-up at Bristol school to help with sex education

A Bristol secondary school has tried out a new style of sex education by letting teenage pupils examine a line-up of naked men. The pupils at Hanham High School, aged 14 to 16, watched a screen in the main hall showing a live feed of different men who were being filmed in the school's gym. The youngsters were told to ask which areas of which man's body they wanted to look at, with the idea of showing them that every person's body is different.
Read More: Naked men line-up at Bristol school to help with sex education

Student suspended for passing gas on bus

An eighth-grader was suspended from riding the school bus for three days after being accused of passing gas. The bus driver wrote on a misbehavior form that a 15-year-old teen passing gas on the bus on March 16 to make the other children laugh, creating a stench so bad that it was difficult to breathe. The bus driver handed the teen the suspension form the next day.
Read More: Student suspended for passing gas on bus
Forum Post: There are no words to describe this besides rage