NOTE TO SELF: SOME TEACHERS GO ON AND ABOVE THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
It wasn't that long ago that students who walked to and from school playfully jostled each other, while still others took public transportation.
Passing courses aren't the only things students attending schools in London, England, have to worry about these days. Seems that stabbings are becoming more and more frequent and it's not part of their teaching manual or job description, but some teachers are worried enough to personally intervene.
In the wake of concern about the level of knife crime among young people, one London teacher tells of the extraordinary lengths he and his staff go to, to keep their pupils safe.
Headteacher Tom Mannion surveyed the street from his seat on a London bus and pointed to where one of his pupils was stabbed last month.
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7448817.stm
Seems like centuries ago now that teachers main concern was ensuring that their pupils learn the 3 R's. Sad and a sign of the times that they have to turn into bodyguards and it's to their credit that some do.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
A SIGN OF THE TIMES? NURSERY SCANS PARENTS FINGERPRINTS
NOTE TO SELF: HOW MUCH SECURITY IS TOO MUCH SECURITY?
It's a dangerous world these days with media reports focusing on children who have disappeared seemingly without a trace. This fear was probably one of the main reasons for the daily usage of fingerprint scanners in two nursery schools located in Kent, England, in order to check or verify the identity of parents.
The Springfield Lodge Day Nursery is scanning the prints each time parents drop off their children.
According to the owner of the nursery, the measures were for the "safety and security" of the children, however not everyone sees the move as positive. The charity, Kidscape, which aims to protect children from harm, described the measure as "paranoid and overkill" and gives the wrong message to youngsters.
Kidscape director, Michelle Elliott, provided statistics revealing that in reality of the 11 million children in the UK, on average seven to 10 were abducted and murdered each year.
"But we don't want to give children, particularly young children, the idea that the world is so dangerous that they can't even go to nursery school without being scanned."
Ms Berryman said parents at the nursery were happy with the heightened security measures.
She said it made life a lot easier for parents when dropping off and picking up so that they were not hanging around waiting for their children.
"There is no actual information recorded, only the information that we've already got," she said.
It would be interesting to know how instituting a fingerprint scanner in nursery schools or even kindergarten would go over with North American parents.
Read about Kidscape here: http://www.kidscape.org.uk/
It's a dangerous world these days with media reports focusing on children who have disappeared seemingly without a trace. This fear was probably one of the main reasons for the daily usage of fingerprint scanners in two nursery schools located in Kent, England, in order to check or verify the identity of parents.
The Springfield Lodge Day Nursery is scanning the prints each time parents drop off their children.
According to the owner of the nursery, the measures were for the "safety and security" of the children, however not everyone sees the move as positive. The charity, Kidscape, which aims to protect children from harm, described the measure as "paranoid and overkill" and gives the wrong message to youngsters.
Kidscape director, Michelle Elliott, provided statistics revealing that in reality of the 11 million children in the UK, on average seven to 10 were abducted and murdered each year.
"But we don't want to give children, particularly young children, the idea that the world is so dangerous that they can't even go to nursery school without being scanned."
Ms Berryman said parents at the nursery were happy with the heightened security measures.
She said it made life a lot easier for parents when dropping off and picking up so that they were not hanging around waiting for their children.
"There is no actual information recorded, only the information that we've already got," she said.
It would be interesting to know how instituting a fingerprint scanner in nursery schools or even kindergarten would go over with North American parents.
Read about Kidscape here: http://www.kidscape.org.uk/
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