Student survey destroyed after parental complaints

WOLFEBORO — On Jan. 8 most of the students who attend Crescent Lake School participated in a survey conducted by Dartmouth Medical School about movies and their effect on children’s health and behavior. By Jan. 13 Governor Wentworth Superintendent Jack Robertson and School Board Chair Charlene Seibel were traveling to Dartmouth to oversee the shredding of the completed surveys. That action came as a result of parental concern.

The process to bring the survey to Crescent Lake began in April 2002 when the district was invited to participate. Around that time, the school board had made a commitment to address media violence, drugs and tobacco use. Because of that commitment, the board voted not to renew its membership in the New Hampshire School Boards Association, because the association did not support the district’s stand on the subject. Robertson said they were enthusiastic about the survey because it was seen as an opportunity to gain tools for dealing with the topic of media violence. He said they also looked forward to the opportunity to work with Dartmouth. When asked about a possible $500 stipend the school received by participating, Robertson said it was not a motivating factor. Crescent Lake Principal Sumner Harris said he was not even aware of the money until the researchers arrived to conduct the survey. The money has since been returned.

Prior to the survey, all parents with children in grades 4, 5 and 6 were supposed to receive a letter explaining the survey goals and process. Students throughout New Hampshire and Vermont were invited to “participate in a survey about kids and media,” the letter dated Dec. 17, 2002, states. It continues, “The written survey includes questions about school, movies and television….We’ll ask about tobacco and alcohol use by the students themselves, their friends, siblings and parents.” Some students could also be selected for follow-up telephone interviews over the next two years.

However, the letter explains that the student’s information will be confidential. Because of this confidentiality, “We do not allow parents, teachers or anyone at the school to see individual students’ answers.” The tests are coded with an identifying number the researchers can cross-reference to the student’s name if they are selected for the telephone interview. Parents were then instructed that, if they did not want their child to participate, they should call Crescent Lake School by Jan. 7.

This method of notification is called “passive consent” and is one of the concerns parents have expressed with the survey.

Robertson confirmed that passive consent is not the district’s policy. Usually, for students to participate in any activities, parents need to send written permission to the school. However, Dartmouth was running the survey, not the school or the school district. Robertson said that, if the district had been conducting the survey, more information would probably have been sent to parents. However, the object of the survey was to obtain the children’s opinions, not the opinions of parents.

There was concern that, if the survey were released to parents prior to the students taking it, their responses could be tainted. According to Robertson, passive consent was used because, if written permission was required and a large enough number of parents did not respond, there would not be a good sampling of students to take the survey. At the same time, some parents have complained that they had to call to have their students excluded and did not get a chance to because of the holidays. Robertson called the situation a “Catch-22.”

Harris said the school provided Dartmouth with the mailing labels for the notification letters. He said parents who requested to be left out of the directory were called to obtain their permission to provide the labels. He said 13 parents called to have their child excluded. He also confirmed that, although the Dartmouth representatives conducted the survey, the classroom teachers were present at all times.

Robertson said that after the survey was completed he was told some parents had not received the letter notifying them of the survey. He said that concerned him because those parents did not receive the opportunity to choose. Because Dartmouth could not return select surveys in order to protect student confidentiality, and since it was unclear how many parents had not received the letter, it was decided to destroy them all.

Concerns have also been expressed about the types of questions on the survey. The questions cover topics ranging from when and where students watch TV and movies to participation in team sports to smoking and drinking by students, their parents and siblings. Questions apparently meant to gauge a student’s self-perception were also asked. They focused on such things as the student’s view of her/his own grades and looks. The questions in the telephone interview were often the same as those on the written survey.

One question asked whether the students’ fathers allow them to watch movies their mothers do not. Robertson said he asked about it and was told it was based on evidence that, in most divorced families, the children live with the mother and visit the father.

Harris said he received a copy of the survey in September. He reviewed the questions and did not see a problem. He also had Robertson review the survey. Harris said it is his usual process to have both Robertson and the school board review surveys or projects he is considering for his school. He said he will continue to carefully consider such opportunities based on their own merits. He said he also carefully considers the source of any surveys offered to the school.

Robertson also did not see anything wrong with the questions contained in the survey. He expressed the opinion that parents are more concerned with the way the survey was conducted than with what it contained. But parents who have spoken to this newspaper’s representatives have also said they felt that some of the questions were an invasion of their privacy.

Robertson said the district will not get involved with similarly run projects because it is too complicated. Both gentlemen have blank copies of the survey available for review.

Both men said Dartmouth has been very helpful and understanding throughout the process. When the surveys were destroyed, Robertson said he asked if any copies existed and was assured copies were not made. Robertson expressed regret that the surveys will not be able to contribute to the research study. He said the information is critical if a difference is to be made in media violence. But, he said, “Schools can’t do it alone.” Participation is necessary for success. Robertson added that parents have been very supportive of the district’s stand on media violence. Parents who spoke to the newspaper, however, said they felt the survey went far beyond “media research.”

Dr. Madeline Dalton, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, is one of the people involved in the research. When asked about the goals of the study Dalton said she is “not at liberty to discuss the study” because it is on going and also to protect the confidentiality of the school. She said the study is about media and other health issues. She also pointed out that schools received a copy before it was distributed to students.

She then faxed the following statement: “Dartmouth followed proper procedure in its human subject review process for this research survey, as it does in all surveys. This process is informed by federal regulations, which we monitor regularly to make sure we are following all the relevant processes. In addition, the protocol is reviewed and approved by all schools before the surveys are administered. After the survey was administered, it was brought to our attention that our protocol was not consistent with Crescent Lake’s internal school policy. Therefore, we agreed, in conjunction with the school department, to destroy the data in the survey from this particular school. While we regret that we will not have the data from this particular school we appreciate Wolfeboro’s support for the goals of our research.”

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State College Area School District has used that for years. For things where they have a potential for injury liability you have to send signed consent (field trips, sports participation), but for watching controversial movies, participating in surveys from Univeristy people, being involved in group seminars (experiments) it's all passive consent. They send out an incredible amount of mail to parents (no budget problems there) and it's often difficult to discern what's important and what isn't.

Heads up. "Passive consent", coming soon to a public school near you.

Passive consent to molest children's minds and bodies, to drug them and engage in subversive activities destroying families by creating division among them and using the children as their spies so they can freely promote the homosexual agenda, the idolatry of vain philosophies, and any other destructive activities that will undermine the United States of America...

We've had "passive consent" baloney here for at least 5 years. Our middle school came to expect a call from me when these "surveys" came out. Sadly, I think I was the only one who opted their kids out. On the one hand, you hear that schools are "having" to provide so much to kids (counseling, medical care, food, etc.) because "the parents just aren't there for them", and then they have passive consent... THEY know what they're doing, and it's not good.
I'm glad my kids are in college (one- Trinity U, San Antonio, two- Pt. Loma Nazarene U, San Diego) now, and wise enough to see through this junk as well.

I have been plastering this all over, it is applicable to so many things - - from the waging of war abroad and to that we wage here at home:

Part IV. Of the Kingdom of Darkness
Chap. xlvii. Of the Benefit that proceedeth from such Darkness
Besides these sovereign powers, divine and human, of which I have hitherto discoursed, there is mention in Scripture of another power, namely, that of "the rulers of the darkness of this world," [Ephesians, 6. 12] "the kingdom of Satan," [Matthew, 12. 26] and "the principality of Beelzebub over demons," [Ibid., 9. 34] that is to say, over phantasms that appear in the air: for which cause Satan is also called "the prince of the power of the air";[Ephesians, 2. 2] and, because he ruleth in the darkness of this world, "the prince of this world":[John, 16. 11] and in consequence hereunto, they who are under his dominion, in opposition to the faithful, who are the "children of the light," are called the "children of darkness." For seeing Beelzebub is prince of phantasms, inhabitants of his dominion of air and darkness, the children of darkness, and these demons, phantasms, or spirits of illusion, signify allegorically the same thing. This considered, the kingdom of darkness, as it is set forth in these and other places of the Scripture, is nothing else but a confederacy of deceivers that, to obtain dominion over men in this present world, endeavour, by dark and erroneous doctrines, to extinguish in them the light, both of nature and of the gospel; and so to disprepare them for the kingdom of God to come.

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