Posted on 11/30/2015 5:14:06 AM PST by Kaslin
14-year-old "Clock Boy" Ahmed Mohamed has nothing on 5-year-old "Dandelion Boy" Drew Johnson. Hands down, Johnson is the real victim of our politically correct culture.
Clock Boy has achieved global notoriety on par with Cecil the lion whereas few Americans have heard the story of Dandelion Boy: Indiana kindergartner Drew Johnson of Cumberland Elementary School. Today I'll utilize Dandelion Boy's story to explain a trend in American public schools and playgrounds that threatens your child's long-term psychological development.
Johnson is now a freshman in high school, but several years ago he was on the front lines of what is today a common technique in American grade schools to micromanage malleable minds at recess. From California to New York. From Minnesota to Texas. Children are at risk.
Dandelion Boy
One day during recess, little Drew noticed a patch of dandelions growing near the playground. He picked a few of the bright yellow flowers. Before he knew it, the principal was sentencing him to many days of lunchtime detention.
The principal informed Drew's parents that their son violated the school's ban against picking up anything off the ground during recess. Everything was off limits including non-rock items like grass, ladybugs and flowers. This rule was instituted after a group of children threw rocks on the playground. The principal hinted that lazy recess monitors who didn't want to spend the extra few seconds to find out what a child clutched in his or her hands before blowing the whistle helped shape this rule.
Playground policing like Drew experienced is a now a fashionable craze that taxpayers like you and I are being forced to subsidize. Most notably, self-described "playground consultants" from the nonprofit known as Playworks have wiggled their way into school districts in at least 21 states.
Playworks is notorious for instituting playground bans on supposedly hurtful phrases like "You’re out!" Playworks also controls and develops all activities, reducing the opportunity for children to choose a game like pick-up basketball at an open net if basketball is not on that day's allowable activity list. Most notably, children cannot invent their own games or imaginative fun.
The Threat To Your Child
As Boston College psychologist Peter Gray argues, a militant management style for children’s playtime will stymie their long-term development. Playtime is authentic and beneficial only when children develop it on their own without adults says Gray. Furthermore, author Virginia Postrel cites copious resources in Bloomberg View showing: "bans deprive children of the very experiences they need to master peaceful social interactions."
All the major research indicates that children who depend on adults to police trivialities like how to say "You're out!" (Playworks allows "Nice try!" or "Good job!") will struggle to function as adults. These children will lack the diplomatic and interpersonal skills to resolve simple disputes with friends or coworkers without enlisting an outside referee.
Playworks often cites Mathematica Policy Research and Stanford University studies indicating that its style of playground policing reduces bullying and increases focus. Certainly, treating kindergartners like robots is one way to keep them focused and in line. But there are better and healthier ways.
Parents are the best "playground consultants." No one no matter the number of certifications beside their name is more qualified than you as a parent at deciding how your child should learn.
The Clock Ticks
Sudanese American Ahmed Mohamed was treated like the World's Number One Victim when he showed up at his Texas school in September with a clock that looked like a bomb. President Obama immediately tweeted out his support for his "cool clock" and passion for "science." MIT, Facebook and Google also opened their doors to Ahmed for personalized tours and meet-and-greets.
Much ado was made of Ahmed's brief arrest. Little was said about the fact that police never charged Ahmed with a crime and swiftly turned the case back to the school upon realizing that the clock only looked like a bomb.
"I am glad that this happened to me," Ahmed said afterward. "I get to spread my word out to the people and tell them it's not about the color of your skin or your religion."
Glad indeed. Ahmed's fleeting arrest turned him into an international celebrity and garnered him a scholarship to attend the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development's Young Innovators program. Last week, his attorney Kelly Hollingsworth threatened to sue Ahmed's school and the city of Irving, Texas if they don't pay $15 million to her 14-year-old client.
Ahmed's "reputation in the global community is permanently scarred," causing severe psychological damage, his attorney wrote. Hold up. How was Ahmed scarred by having America's largest tech institutions and the world's most powerful leader the President of the United States welcome him with open arms? How was he scarred when #IStandWithAhmed became a trending topic on Twitter? Finally, how was Ahmed scarred when TIME Magazine named him one of the world's 30 Most Influential Teens? C'mon!
If any children have cause to sue their school, it's your children who are being policed by manipulative playground consultants and lazy principals. Your children are being denied the ability to play on their own; to think creatively; and to overcome mini setbacks like being called "out" in a game of tag. Your children are the real victims of our politically correct culture.
President Obama has committed to bringing 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States this year. 47 Democrats voted for a bill to block the president's wishes, showing bipartisan support against the president. We lack the ability to fully vet these refugees and even current Muslim refugees like Dr. Mudar Zahran are warning of the connection between migration and terrorism.
ISIS terrorists could easily take advantage of America's clear obsession with political correctness and send a 14-year-old Syrian girl to a school with a bomb that she says is "just a calculator." Her teacher might, in the wake of Clock Boy's petulant lawsuit, be too intimidated to call the cops. ISIS knows that Americans have a poor track record of exercising common sense. Let's not wait for a smiling schoolchild, exploited by ISIS, to blow up a school before we wake up and smell the dandelions.
Dandelion Boy picked a few flowers and was publicly shamed as a violent rock-thrower. Clock Boy carried a bomb look-alike clock into a gun-free zone and was treated like a rock star. Like Dandelion Boy, your children are being excessively policed on the playground on your dollar. Spread the facts while there's still time.
We are no longer a culture of “winners”, but, rather, a culture we’re everybody gets a trophy regardless.
Knee-jerk Islamic, Obama, immediately tweeted out his support for the "cool clock" and Ahmed's passion for "science." MIT, Facebook and Google also opened their doors to Ahmed for personalized tours and meet-and-greets.....police never charged Ahmed with a crime.
Coached by his Islamic handlers, Ahmed was gleeful: "I am glad that this happened to me, I get to spread my word out to the people and tell them it's not about the color of your skin or your religion."
The Clockmeds hightailed it out of Dodge City to wealthy Islamic Qatar...... and are suing the school district for $15 million dollars.
So, let's see how the Clockmeds respond to the "discovery" procedure in lawsuits. Taxpayers burdened by this frightening family of clock/bombers demand to know:
<><> how many US govt checks is the Clockmed family cashing?
<><>did the father claim "asylum" to suck up monthly SS checks?
<><> did the Clockmed family falsify govt documents to collect food stamps, welfare, Section 8 housing?
<><> did the candidate father travel to campaign in Sudan on the taxpayers' dime?
<><> are Clockmed, his sister (an earlier bomb hoaxer), and their other siblings collecting disability checks for Attention Deficit Disorder---or one of the common scams used among parasitic immigrants.
<><> we demand the bomber family list the number of orgnizations they belong to that advocate the overthrow of the US govt.
<><> are any of the Clockmed people registered as agents for foreign governments?
<><>Americans demand to know how many identities the Clockmeds are using?
<><> are the Clockmed family registered to vote?
<><> did the Clockmed people ever vote illegally?
Father Clockmed supposedly ran three businesses.
<><> How did he dispose of the business assets to move to Qatar?
<><> did the Clockmed businesses pay state and federal taxes?
<><> how many people did they employ?
<><> did the businesses pay assessments UI for its employees?
<><> did Clockmed provide health insurance coverage for employees?
And so on and so forth ad infinitum, ad nauseaum.
As an old fart, I can remember when we (kids) would play baseball - a game with fairly rules - without adult supervision. Everyone knew the rules and followed them.
As a teacher I have occasion to watch modern children try to play simple games like dodge ball while lacking the ability to self-organize.
They are incapable of establishing and following rules and cheat with impunity. This cheating carries over into the classroom and is not even considered beyond the pale.
I'm sure most FReepers have noticed that this lack of a moral compass is becoming commonplace in our society.
Thanks to the “progressives” the US is made into a nation of wussies.
Katie Kieffer is right on this, however, government school is child abuse no matter how you slice it.
I have found it odd that that clock was the best a 14 year old youth could do....
When I was that age I was working, jamming guitars, riding the motorcycle, saving for a truck, smoking cigarettes, shooting/hunting, sneaking alcohol and mj, had an older girlfriend with a car, etc.
Had many friends much smarter and building things above and beyond a pencil-case clock.
Achmed is a mussosexual or something. Just an odd, strange, kid.
You nailed it.
You may not be aware (snix) but in the Muslim culture, young jihadis are not permitted to grow penises, until they prove they are adept at terrorism skills.
Now we know why he was so gleeful.
ROTFLOL.
The 5 year old deserves to be paid a million dollars for the unfair treatment that he received.
The mizlim deserves jail, since he pulled his stunt to prove that America is racist. (his own words.)
More progressive social-engineering paid for by printed money and debt. With a real, hard, non-centrally planned currency, none of this nonsense would be possible. Money is the life-blood of society. Get rid of the Federal Reserve and this progressive nonsense dies immediately.
It was a deliberate troll. All he did was remove the guts from a digital clock and place them in a small case, in a way that made it look like a small suitcase bomb. He invented nothing.
“Of course it’s a clock!”
How is it that this kid builds a dummy time bomb brings it to school and gets an invitation to the white house and if my kid points his finger and thumb in the shape of a handgun and says pow he gets suspended?? We are truly living in Bizzaro world.
Thank you, you hit the nail on the head.
Kids today lack effort, knowledge of rules, and the ability to cope with adversity. They’re playing golf without rules and a hole. Many remain clueless although a few catch on. Mostly, they expect to succeed in the real world without these attributes. They are taught they are always right and never wrong. They are self-centered victims of the digital age where everyone must be equal, non-racist, and politically correct. IMO, they are so screwed.
As kids, we played (unsupervised) sandlot sports on the school yards and streets, organized ourselves into teams, agreed and followed the rules, and played to improve our skills and build confidence. Sometimes we got hurt or injured, called names (no political correctness back then), or fought among each other for what we thought was right and fair. We made friends and enemies. We learned our strengths and weaknesses. We learned not to be victims, but to cope with adversity. Yes, we learned real world knowledge that followed us through life there on the sandlot or street.
And now look how the universities and colleges are having to entertain them.
“How is it that this kid builds a dummy time bomb brings it to school and gets an invitation to the white house”
It was preplanned.
Part of a preplanned campaign to blame any opposition to muslims as “right wing extremism”.
Because that arrogant pos occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is a Muslim, as is the kid. Do you think he would have been invited if he is a Christian?
Soon to be in 'college' with snowflakes; if not turned into one himself.
We are orphans!
Bet you also played with clackers and lawn darts and weren’t sent out wrapped up in bubble wrap. How we ever lived to tell about it, huh.
Our tween aged nephews came for part of their summer vacation a couple years ago. What ninnies. They aren’t allowed to play in their own backyard so refused to even go out into the garage to play with some new born kittens. They refused to learn how to ride bikes, refused to play with RC cars in the drive, refused to go fishing, play croquet, catch or a dozen other yard games or fly kites, learn to make arrowheads, go hiking or geocaching, go to 3 parks, take a cave tour, help hubby with the bbq, roast marshmallows or light some sparklers. They even refused to make a big Kinex roller coaster inside and other inside activities. It was noses in their games 24/7. And, whaaa, they wouldn’t eat because we didn’t serve them steak. They were shipped to their aunt’s early. You think college students are wimpy little things who need safe places, just wait a few years for the younger set to reach adulthood.
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