Lunch date has teens squirming (Can't we all just get along Alert)

St Paul Pioneer (de)Press ^ | 11/22/02 | TAMMY J. OSEID

[nicollo]

What an amazing combination of irrelevants dredging for an issue... the Pioneer Press? Southern Poverty Law Center?

Ever see a SPLC fundraiser brochure? Evil abounds. You can't make a right turn without bumping into truckloads of racism, homophobia, and... high school clicks?

We really ought think of throwing these fools a bone every now and then, just to keep 'em busy. I like this one, too: luncheon diversity. They can hit up the State prison cafeteria next. That'll start some interesting conversations. We can turn them into little leftest lapdogs, performing for the guests. Heh, poochie, see any racism over in that corner? Good boy! Look! poochie, there's a bible! Atta boy, gitit, gitit!

[KC_for_Freedom]

The trend towards student testing (and thus more stringent requirements for teachers) will be strangled in infancy by the move to an all-self-esteem-all-the-time program...

Gad I hope you are wrong, this touchy stuff and multiculturism need to die a swift death. Nothing threatens the US future more.

Even terrorism is aided by the self esteem movement, teaching Islam in schools, providing special passes through airport screening because they are a minority...

[Ulysses]

Just what I was thinking, Wurlitzer! Let's pick those rights apart one by one, shall we? That way, they won't even know what hit 'em! And when they realize it, it'll be too late...the process will be complete!

[Valin]

Well they ARE better, smarter, more caring then we little people. So it is their it is their duty to show us the error of our ways.

[valkyrieanne]

Good for the students who ignored this stupid social engineering.

[Kozak]

My daughter was subjected to this yesterday. She told us over dinner how angry she was because lunch is the ONLY time she gets to see her friends in other "houses" ( the grade is divided into 3 houses and you take all your classes within the house).


What was so funny was just the night before the South Park episode was " Mr Garrisons Tolerance Death Camp". The kids get sent to reeducation camp because they won't go to class where theire teacher, Mr Garrison is busy trying to get fired for being gay, so that he can cash in on the multimillion dollar settlement.

That does it. Next year it's private school.

[general_re]

Gad I hope you are wrong, this touchy stuff and multiculturism need to die a swift death.

Agreed. But it won't die without a fight, though. I don't want and don't need the schools teaching my son that he's wrong to want to sit with his friends, or bribing him to get him to sit with someone else. Teaching him how to fit into society and deal with others is my job, and I just plain don't trust them to do it for me.

It's no accident that they assign themselves fuzzy, amorphous goals, though. They suck at the goals that are measurable, like teaching math, so they've hit on the solution of teaching them things that can't be measured. It's a curious kind of arrogance to think that you can teach kids to be good people, when you mostly can't even manage to teach them to read...

[Valin]

Measurable Goals! NO NO NO, That would mean some might be "better" than others and we can't have that, it might lead to a lowering of someones self-esteem.

[JimRed]

Good for the students who ignored this stupid social engineering.

You beat me to it! The only way this kind of thing works is when there is a genuine desire by the kids involved to learn about one another; otherwise it's a waste of time.

[general_re]

Horrors. Not that.

My wife went out to get her teaching certificate a few years ago, while she was working on her graduate degree, and I think she had a lot of fun puncturing the illusions of the people in her ed. classes - she told me about their discussion on student self-esteem, and how wonderful it was that self-esteem was being promoted these days. And how nobody seemed willing to address her point that the prisons are just chock-full of guys who are positively loaded with self-esteem ;)

[Hemingway's Ghost]

You were a punk... im kinda disappointed punks and skateboarders tended to be troublemakers.

I traded my mohawk for a plebe haircut in '88. That straightened me out.

[Lizavetta]

Another example of how liberals look at schoolchildren as nothing more than guinea pigs on which to practice their social engineering. How long do you think the average liberal would last before suing, if his office manager forced him to do this?

"OK, Marvin, as part of our Get to Know Your Enemy program, today you have to share an office with a Michael Savage listener, a pro-lifer, and a homeschool advocate."

[jonascord]

Yes, but the Democrat terriers just spin in the middle of the floor, yapping, until they leave a wet spot, and get whacked with a rolled newspaper.

On the other hand, the Republican Golden Retriever rolls his eyes at you until you get out the shotgun and tell him it's time to go to Work, hunting.

I'm personally in favor of this sort of post-60's Kum-by-yaa foolishness. Those who sponsor and participate instantly out themselves as proles who should not be trusted with sharp tools....

[Ben Ficklin]

Come'on people now, smile on your brother.
everybody get together and love one another.

[RippleFire]

Rainbow Barf Bump

[Flashlight]

There are two main reasons this experiment was doomed to fail -

It was done during the students' free time. And it was forced on them.

If they'd have found a way to do this during school hours (not lunchtime) and only assigned "compulsary" seats to those who volunteered (since they were giving away prizes, they'd have gotten tons of volunteers. Prizes only go to those who play along. Those who didn't want to could sit where they want and do homework or something.)

Also, free food or snacks would have helped. And, it shouldn't be a one-time thing. Anyone who didn't like the first time wouldn't be back the next time.

I might be nuts, but if it was done this way it doesn't sound so bad. The students might actually look forward to this time as a way of meeting new people, and having a little fun break from school, enjoying the free snacks, and trying to win the prizes.

I'm not saying this is the world's greatest idea, but if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right.