Only second day of PS and so far I am not impressed.

[OHGrandma]

Okay I just have to add my funny.

 

The neighbors approached ME - the die hard all public schools should be banned and illegal crusader - about WWID with this policy

 

paraphrased the best I can remember

 

"State law states that teachers do not have to allow students bathroom access during class instruction.'" IT was plastered across the syllabus from every teacher, the student handbook, and some handouts from the year.

 

Then when kids went to the bathroom during class, they were required to stay in during lunch for 10 minutes to receive instruction of what they had missed. not one single student in this large middle school -apparently parents had been talking and talking and talking- had ever had a teacher give them instruction but instead dentition. It came to me when good straight a advance students were going in school suspension and 2 students were facing out of school suspension for having too many "dentition notes" . All of them were for using the bathroom.

 

I was shocked. And then I laughed.:D They were concerned (probably by this point had 10 neighbors gathered around my driveway waiting on my reaction) Then I realized they WERE SERIOUS! They didn't know what to do!! SO they were asking the die hard homeschooler how to fix this policy!!!!

 

I sent everyone home to bring back the various papers that stated this as well as emails from the school regarding this and then called the state ed legal dept. He literally choked on his drink. I faxed him every little piece of paper and he assured me to tell the parents they would see a new policy tomorrow, if not by tonight in emails, and any one who had a child who served dentition and was punished to send him their names and he would take care of it. He said this came from a teacher trainer session that summer that had mentioned that you didn't have to stop teaching mid sentence to send a kid to the bathroom but you could wait until you were through to let them go to the bathroom. He said he knew then when the question was answered somebody was going to do something stupid with it.

 

Sometimes it pays to call your state's legal dept and make sure that the "laws" are really laws. It may just be an interruption of something else.

 

Ok, I was reading your post and thinking, 'what does teething have to do with this?' Then I realized you meant 'detention'.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Okay I just have to add my funny.

 

 

 

"State law states that teachers do not have to allow students bathroom access during class instruction.'" IT was plastered across the syllabus from every teacher, the student handbook, and some handouts from the year.

 

 

 

As a nurse this is shocking to me since they fail to realize that some children have urinary or bowel disease conditions or an immature bladder that may make it necessary for them to have frequent trips to the bathroom and not letting them do so may result in an embarrassing accident. I remember as a young child in kindergarten the teacher not acknowledging my raised hand for permission to use the bathroom and of course the results were disastrous. I also have a dear friend that told me of her plight with chron's disease and she told her date that she needed to stop at the restroom and he blew her saying that they would be at their destination in a few minutes and the result was devastating to her.

[briansmama]

Wow. The lunch inspection and resulting notification that was sent home is downright scary. This post is freaking me out...talk about intrusion! I can't believe so many families are OK with it.

 

I am SO glad we don't have to deal with the ps. Any chance you can pull dd out?

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I agree....my DS has a severe allergy to eggs and nuts....he doesn't need to injest them, just contact with any residue from these can cause a serious reaction. We've seen reactions just from him picking up a pack of crayons someone else used before him. Honestly, its pretty freakin scary. It may be inconvenient to others to have a ban in place, but it could mean death for my son (and just for the record, I don't always think a ban is necessary if proper cleaning protocol is followed)

 

 

 

My ds also has severe tree nut and peanut allergies. It is scary since peanut/tree nut reside is like rat poison to these kids. I do teach my ds every day when we go out not to take food unless mom or dad or his teachers give it to him. I also always bring safe foods/snacks for him where ever we go on the assumption that there will be no safe food for him at that particular event. He also is not allowed to eat home cooked food from others outside our family and only unopened store brought with a label intact to check. This is because something as stupid as using the knife from a peanut butter jar in the jelly jar now poisons that food for him.

 

As for bans that you may encounter, there are substitutes for peanut butter such as soy butter and sunflower butter which really tastes peanut butter.

 

I personally do not favor an all over ban for nuts in schools in most cases. However, I do think that young children should have to wipe with germinex wipes or wash hands before and after meals as a precaution. I also think that classrooms should be nut and tree nut free, if not food free, so as not to spread peanuts all over the classroom equipment. My ds attended preschool and kindergarten in a local public and private school for a while and they did agree to a peanut/tree nut free classroom, I felt the this was critical sinc ethe teacher told me that the children often ate peanut butter crackers in the classroom which would spread peanut butter dust all over the place:001_huh:.

 

One last note, I think they should have a peanut/tree nut table and not a peanut/tree nut free table since this would tend to ostracize an allergic kid every day at school. Whereas the peanut/tree nut table would only be used on the days they brought those items into school and not necessarily everyday. Just my 2 cents:)

[Supertechmom]

Ok, I was reading your post and thinking, 'what does teething have to do with this?' Then I realized you meant 'detention'.

 

 

Spell check!!! I knew it didn't look right but the baby was fussing!:D

[Barb_]

Did the school's questionnaire also include the required HIPPA paperwork? [note the sarcasm of my enquiry]

 

HA! Good point.

 

I had actually filled out the paperwork except for the 4 page medical form (where I just drew a slanted line through the page and wrote, "decline to answer") when this brought me up short:

 

AUTHORIZATION AND PERMISSION TO RELEASE

MEDICAL, EDUCATIONAL AND/OR SPECIAL EDUCATION RECORDS

 

In compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, I authorize the

release of my child's school records, including gifted, educational, medical, social or special

education information to the Litchfield Elementary School District.

Signature Date __________

Relationship to Child _______________________________________

 

First of all, FERPA specifically excludes medical records. Secondly, FERPA was passed to protect families..it was never meant to be used against them. But the wording on the above (bold mine), is a vaguely threatening and misleading demand, making it seem like FERPA is on the side of the school. Compliance indeed.

 

I don't really know much about the day to day environment in our neighborhood school, but I decided I want nothing to do with this district.

 

Barb

 

Barb

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Just adding that the local elementary school here also does not allow talking during the lunch period ever. This has been 2 years and counting and parents don't care. Boggles my mind. How can you expect 1st-3rd graders to not talk hardly at all ALL day.

 

Yep, another big reason I homeschool. I was a Social Worker in a local school and was horrified by what I saw during lunch. The kids were expected to be silent in line to lunch, then they sat down as they had been lined up (NOT near friends). They ate their lunch silently and when they were finished, they took their tray back, returned to the table and were supposed to lay their heads on the table. If they did this all perfectly, the lunchroom monitor would come around with a bag of Skittles or M&Ms and place A SINGLE Skittle or M&M on the table in front of each well-behaved child. Only when it was time to leave the lunchroom could they eat their treat and it could be confiscated if they misbehaved (by talking or moving or laughing...) after it was given.

 

It made me physically ill. The memory of it makes me so sad. No one should ever dare to ask me about socialization. I might have to ask if they have time to get a cup of coffee! :lol:

 

About the severe peanut allergies, I do totally understand that. Although my kids love peanut butter and it would keep them from even wanting to go to school, the ban wouldn't upset me more than an inconvenience if they did attend. If I put myself in the shoes of a parent whose child has a peanut allergy, I would be so scared to have that threat looming every day.

[Barb_]

I think that I would have sent it back with a copy of my birth plan, detailed accounts of the labor progression, and some very specific photos. :tongue_smilie:

 

Now THAT brought a very large smile to my face.

[Dawn in OH]

This has really been a very educational thread for me. It appears that the rules/state of public schools these days is even worse than the things I imagined.

 

When my children asked what ps was like, I described what it was like during my childhood, and they thought THAT sounded like prison. My school's rules sound like a trip to Disneyworld compared to what's been described here.

 

There's no way on Earth I would fill out that medical form. In fact, they probably would have gotten a nasty letter from me about that.

 

I could never tolerate the lunch rules. I understand about the peanut allergies. But if I want to send my kids some of my homemade, low fat, sugar free chocolate chip cookies in their lunch that's MY business. I'm sure they are serving food with HFCS since you can hardly buy anything without it in the ingredients anymore, and we don't feed our kids that.

 

My best friend's daughter at age 6 got a very serious bladder infection because the teacher wouldn't let her use the bathroom when she needed it. I can see that happening to my daughter, or daily accidents, I swear that girl has to go potty every 45 minutes.

 

I would be the mom that the school contacts begging me to pull my children out of their school.

[Nicole M]

Our daughter was in school when the schools started with the zero tolerance stuff for drugs. Their policy, among other things, did not allow children to carry an inhaler, the nurse would keep the inhaler in her office. Excuse me, but a bus ride close to an hour left her terribly exposed to an asthma attack. They finally changed their rules on some critical items like inhalers and epipens.

 

My friend's son started getting terrible, debilitating migraines about the time he hit middle school. They would hit him fast, and he would be out of commission for the rest of the day, often vomiting his guts out. It was horrible. His doctor prescribed a type of medicine that he could take the moment he felt a migraine coming on. He was very anxious about this, because he was not allowed to carry medicine on his person, and by the time he made it to the nurse's office, and she made all the appropriate phone calls to okay the medicine (if there was even a nurse on campus that day), it would be too late for the meds to be effective.

 

This family is extremely conservative, very respectful of authority and not at all rule breakers. You can see how this would be a dilemma. So the doctor leaned in and looked right in this boy's face, and told him that she authorized him to keep the pill in his sock. If he felt a migraine coming on, he simply had to be excused to the bathroom to take the pill, and for heaven's sakes, don't get caught!

 

I was so saddened that this is what we've come to. This whole thread is distressing.

 

Big hugs to those of you who have to deal with all this weirdness.

[NorthwestMom]

See now, we didn't have lunch rules like that when DS went to first grade. The kids had to eat in the classrooms, so the teacher just flipped on Cartoon Network for half an hour before recess, while they ate. This behavior was so ingrained in her, and she clearly had no idea that it might be problematic, that she immediately turned on the TV during the Family BBQ lunch day so we could all enjoy the PowerPuff Girls.

 

This answered the question of why DS never felt he had enough time to eat. He was mesmerized by the TV. I have NO idea why they would even have cable tv.

[Jean in Newcastle]

This answered the question of why DS never felt he had enough time to eat. He was mesmerized by the TV. I have NO idea why they would even have cable tv.

 

They have cable t.v. so they can watch shows like "Reading Rainbow". This was our literature for the day!

[Nicole M]

See now, we didn't have lunch rules like that when DS went to first grade. The kids had to eat in the classrooms, so the teacher just flipped on Cartoon Network for half an hour before recess, while they ate. This behavior was so ingrained in her, and she clearly had no idea that it might be problematic, that she immediately turned on the TV during the Family BBQ lunch day so we could all enjoy the PowerPuff Girls.

 

This answered the question of why DS never felt he had enough time to eat. He was mesmerized by the TV. I have NO idea why they would even have cable tv.

 

See, until I read this, I was going to suggest that the way they do lunch in Japan is much more humane; children eat in the classroom, really excellent hot meals, with their teacher. (Or they do at the school where a young friend of mine currently teaches.) But then the TV thing. Gah. It's crazy how often the TV is used in institutions to subdue people. I saw this when my sister was in the hospital. I kept turning off the boob tube, and when a nurse would come in, she's snap it back on again, without even thinking. I don't get that.

[SonshineLearner]

Oh, but don't you know you're supposed to just smile and nod and not question the greater wisdom of those *educators* because they've been trained and you're just the lowly parent?

 

The no nuts and egg thing would p*ss me off if I had to send ds to school (they have that at our town school, too). Maybe I'd just send whatever he wants anyway and then claim some kind of reason he has to have eggs for lunch everyday. :D

 

Here's the deal, your peanut butter is like....poison to my child....and if my child touches it...and it ends up in any membrane of her body....she can go into shock....

 

You can get SunButter:-) which makes it so my child can sit next to yours:-)

It's actually quite close and with jelly or jam....tastes pretty much just like pb&j:-)

 

At my daughter's old school, there was a pb table at the time...but I think those might be fading soon, too. (Because of cross contamination)

 

Carrie:-)

[clarkacademy]

My friend's son started getting terrible, debilitating migraines about the time he hit middle school. They would hit him fast, and he would be out of commission for the rest of the day, often vomiting his guts out. It was horrible. His doctor prescribed a type of medicine that he could take the moment he felt a migraine coming on. He was very anxious about this, because he was not allowed to carry medicine on his person, and by the time he made it to the nurse's office, and she made all the appropriate phone calls to okay the medicine (if there was even a nurse on campus that day), it would be too late for the meds to be effective.

 

This family is extremely conservative, very respectful of authority and not at all rule breakers. You can see how this would be a dilemma. So the doctor leaned in and looked right in this boy's face, and told him that she authorized him to keep the pill in his sock. If he felt a migraine coming on, he simply had to be excused to the bathroom to take the pill, and for heaven's sakes, don't get caught!

 

I was so saddened that this is what we've come to. This whole thread is distressing.

 

Big hugs to those of you who have to deal with all this weirdness.

 

 

WOW!!!! This is sad really. I think what is still sadder is when kids take their pills and don't turn them into a nurse and they lose them on the bus. The bus driver then picks up a group of 5 yr olds and one decides those pills look like candy. She spends 3 days in a hospital for an overdose of amphetimine from rittalin and her mother has to deal with another 4 days of CPS investigations while the child is placed in a foster home. Investigations that include drug testings and allowing drug dogs into her home. I feel sorry for any child and I have an asthmatic one as well but any adult who allows a kid to carry drugs of any kind, well let's just say I wouldn't trust them to watch my dog. I have no child with peanut allergies either thank God my son would freak with out his pbj but if I did I sure wouldn't want it no where near my kid either. I homeschool I no longer have these issues but if you are gonna have your child join the masses of ps kids then be prepared to follow the rules. I admit the rules don't always seem fair or make sense but they may just be there to protect the kids.

[EthiopianFood]

They have cable t.v. so they can watch shows like "Reading Rainbow". This was our literature for the day!

 

 

:lol: :eek::willy_nilly::crying: :banghead: :cursing: :scared:

 

I honestly can't decide which one. :glare:

[Lovedtodeath]

I'm so sorry... :grouphug:

 

These are some of the reasons we pulled our dd out of school this year to homeschool.

 

btw... the 3 absence may include only "unexcused" absences but not "excused" absences with a parental note.

DD was teething (molars) in Kindergarten, so I called in several times for that. She had just turned 5 in July. I got the threatening letter about truancy. One of the mothers on a yahoo group I belong to has CPS threatening to take away custody because her first grader missed too many days. I thought that school attendance wasn't mandatory until 7 or 8 years old! :confused:

 

My DD also has SPD and I drove her to school and had to try some tapping that we do because she was crying, etc. So I would walk into the school with her and try to do the tapping in the office. They were so rude! Wouldn't let me finish. I am her mother!

[JudyJudyJudy]

I must say that I'm truly surprised to see so many educated people who are so uninformed about life-threatening food allergies.

[mommytobees]

I can kind of understand a peanut butter ban at school since there are so many kids all together with just a few adults supervising, but, really, I can't imagine asking another adult not to eat something that was fried in peanut oil because my child has an allergy. And my son does have allergies! He's allergic to peanuts and has allergies to other foods that are just as serious. It also seems funny to me that the only allergen that seems important for people to avoid is the peanut allergy, when many children are just as allergic to dairy, tree nuts, eggs, fish, etc.

 

This is getting off-topic, but I belong to a field trip group where a few of the kids are severely allergic to peanuts, a few are severely allergic to dairy and then there is my son who is severely allergic to a number of other things as well. Every time we get together, we are asked not to bring anything with peanuts in it. It always seems kind of insensitive to me that this allergy takes precedence over all others. If there was going to be a ban, it should be on all foods that the kids are allergic to. I, personally, prefer no ban, but I have a hard time understanding the focus on peanuts all the time.

 

Lisa

 

There is a difference between a peanut allergy and other allergies.

 

My family deals with several allergies, including several life threatening allergies.

 

The difference between an anaphylactic peanut allergy and an anaphylactic _____ allergy is the oil. Peanut oil gets everywhere, and is even on just a standard peanut, though not as much as peanut butter or Chick-fil-a.

 

The oil you had on your hand from your PB&J gets wiped on your leg, or on your pants, or on your elbow, or on your nose. You use a napkin to wipe the oil "off". But, peanut oil doesn't actually come OFF with a napkin. Worse would be to use a wet wipe, this will actually just smear the oil around. Best would be to use hot/warm water and soap, but what if you don't get enough off. Or, what about the things you touched before getting the soap?

 

That residue of peanut oil is enough to send my daughter into anaphylactic shock and kill her.

 

It might be an inconvenience to you to not have peanut butter, but how are *you* going to feel knowing that you caused the death of a child.... because you couldn't be bothered to not have your food?

 

Kris

[mommytobees]

Yep. I knew a family in a homeschooling group who had a child with a serious peanut allergy. We met at the park and one day for lunch I brought a Chick-fil-a lunch for my kids. The little girl took one look at the bags and literally ran away screaming at the top of her lungs. Apparently the chicken is cooked in peanut oil. It was one of the many things her mom told her to avoid at all costs. I was politely asked to not have anything peanut related at get-togethers.

 

Ohoooo, I can't tell you how much I MISS Chick-fil-a.

 

Once Lori was finally old enough for me to feel comfortable to go and eat it (mind you, without her and IN the store - vs my car - and VERY VERY carefully) we moved to a state where there wasn't a Chick-fil-a. Japan doesn't have one their!!

 

We were cleaning up a park one day with a group of volunteers. We ended up having to leave early because my daughter picked up a box that had a Chick-fil-a bag under it. You should have seen her hand swell! Her fingers were 3's the size of normal, with Epi in her system, by the time we got to the hospital (5 minutes away).

 

Kris

[Mom0012]

There is a difference between a peanut allergy and other allergies.

 

My family deals with several allergies, including several life threatening allergies.

 

The difference between an anaphylactic peanut allergy and an anaphylactic _____ allergy is the oil. Peanut oil gets everywhere, and is even on just a standard peanut, though not as much as peanut butter or Chick-fil-a.

 

The oil you had on your hand from your PB&J gets wiped on your leg, or on your pants, or on your elbow, or on your nose. You use a napkin to wipe the oil "off". But, peanut oil doesn't actually come OFF with a napkin. Worse would be to use a wet wipe, this will actually just smear the oil around. Best would be to use hot/warm water and soap, but what if you don't get enough off. Or, what about the things you touched before getting the soap?

 

That residue of peanut oil is enough to send my daughter into anaphylactic shock and kill her.

 

It might be an inconvenience to you to not have peanut butter, but how are *you* going to feel knowing that you caused the death of a child.... because you couldn't be bothered to not have your food?

 

Kris

 

Sorry, but I disagree. It is not different than tree nut butter or cashew butter or sunflower butter for that matter for children that are allergic to sunflower seeds. I don't want children with peanut allergies to have a bad reaction. My son is one of them. However, he is just as likely to have a reaction from one of these other items.

 

I would also say that regular butter can be just as oily and spread all over as peanut butter and that cookies crumbs with wheat or dairy or soy would be just as likely to get all over the table and school equipment.

 

Also, we are not just talking about peanut butter, we are talking about peanuts in general, which do not have the properties you are talking about. Bringing in cookies with nuts and then bringing in a cake with dairy are no different in my eyes when there are children with peanut allergies v. dairy allergies.

 

I have a close friend who has a daughter with a dairy allergy and she won't even take her into a place like Chuck E Cheese because all the kids have been eating pizza and then touching all the equipment. At the movie theater, she worries about her touching the seat after people have been eating chocolate and popcorn.

 

So, no, it really isn't different. I don't know what the statistics are, but there are many, many people who have children with allergies just as severe to things other than peanuts.

 

Lisa

Edited August 17, 2009 by LisaTheresa

[OHGrandma]

They have cable t.v. so they can watch shows like "Reading Rainbow". This was our literature for the day!

About 15 years ago, when our daughter was in high school, the school signed a contract with some company to provide 'educational TV' and the company provided all the TV in the classrooms. Mandatory TV watching time in homeroom, every day! And to make things worse, the 'educational TV' was nothing more than an infomercial! I raised a fuss with the teacher & principal on that one, too.

[OHGrandma]

Spell check!!! I knew it didn't look right but the baby was fussing!:D

 

Haha, spell check wouldn't have caught it, I'd chalk that up to a Freudian slip -- dentition & a fussy baby go together!

[Saille]

But the thought that an institution that serves what the public school calls lunch would try to tell me what consitutes healthy absolutely amazes me.

 

Me, too.

[OHGrandma]

My friend's son started getting terrible, debilitating migraines about the time he hit middle school. They would hit him fast, and he would be out of commission for the rest of the day, often vomiting his guts out. It was horrible. His doctor prescribed a type of medicine that he could take the moment he felt a migraine coming on. He was very anxious about this, because he was not allowed to carry medicine on his person, and by the time he made it to the nurse's office, and she made all the appropriate phone calls to okay the medicine (if there was even a nurse on campus that day), it would be too late for the meds to be effective.

 

This family is extremely conservative, very respectful of authority and not at all rule breakers. You can see how this would be a dilemma. So the doctor leaned in and looked right in this boy's face, and told him that she authorized him to keep the pill in his sock. If he felt a migraine coming on, he simply had to be excused to the bathroom to take the pill, and for heaven's sakes, don't get caught!

 

I was so saddened that this is what we've come to. This whole thread is distressing.

 

Big hugs to those of you who have to deal with all this weirdness.

 

When our son was in high school the rules started getting stricter about carrying knives. Well, the teachers all knew the farm boys carried their knives in their pockets and if the teacher needed a knife for some reason they knew who to ask. There was never a problem. I don't know how far the zero tolerance goes now in high school.

[Saille]

I think that I would have sent it back with a copy of my birth plan, detailed accounts of the labor progression, and some very specific photos. :tongue_smilie:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

That would be SO much fun.

[Dirtroad]

The questions on your health form are common questions used for special education screening.

 

Or you could look at it as profiling.... :glare:sometimes teachers jump to the conclusions before they see the real evidence.

 

Even without extensive background info, my family lived it with a nephew.... said he had issues with learning to read & needed testing & special assistance, etc.... parents helped him manage that grade without testing... the very next year, he became an honors student & have been for 4 years. So, it was the TEACHER:001_huh:... imagine that? But she was all ready to pass him on down the special ed pipeline.

 

I can't imagine how many PRE-conclusions they would/will make with so much information.

[Dirtroad]

I think the peanut thing is way over the top. My son is allergic to wheat, corn, milk, eggs, peanuts, apples, oranges, grapes, tomatoes, and potatoes. Can you imagine the school trying to ban all that? I think I'd have outraged parents show up on my front lawn!! (We will be testing him again soon, to see how these things truly affect him. None appear life threatening, and most he's been able to eat without problem.) If the staff were educated on how to handle life threatening allergies, and they made sure that safe food handling practices were followed by all, including thorough hand washing, there isn't any reason to not have allergens at school.

 

All those ridiculous rules and schedule conflicts would have me wiggin' out!

 

I understand the risk of peanuts for some. One child at our church stopped breathing when his mom baked pb cookies in the next room.

 

HOWEVER, 250 people have to accomodate 1-2 is not practical or even right. If these children are at such risk, the parents really should consider alternatives (eating lunch elsewhere, homeschooling, making other accomodations, etc). No punish everyone else for not having the allergy. I know it is tough... but it is safer than trusting 250 others with your child's welfare.

 

We have a friend with a daughter who is allergic to a specific B-protein in milk. Very rare. However, if she eats ANYTHING made with milk (gold fish crackers, fries at McDonalds, cake, breads, ridiculous list....) she can go into distress (they keep an Epi Pen). The least reaction is projective vomiting & severe rash over her face (& can be more of her body).

 

She starts school next year & her parents love public school b/c of sports (:confused::confused:). So.... off she will go. But I bet you money, they won't do one thing to ban milk & accomodate this life threatening allergy.

[unsinkable]

As a nurse this is shocking to me since they fail to realize that some children have urinary or bowel disease conditions or an immature bladder that may make it necessary for them to have frequent trips to the bathroom and not letting them do so may result in an embarrassing accident. I remember as a young child in kindergarten the teacher not acknowledging my raised hand for permission to use the bathroom and of course the results were disastrous. I also have a dear friend that told me of her plight with chron's disease and she told her date that she needed to stop at the restroom and he blew her saying that they would be at their destination in a few minutes and the result was devastating to her.

 

This is a sad story. Maybe you could add the word "off" to protect your friend's reputation. ;)

[MomLovesClassics]

I understand the risk of peanuts for some. One child at our church stopped breathing when his mom baked pb cookies in the next room.

 

HOWEVER, 250 people have to accomodate 1-2 is not practical or even right. If these children are at such risk, the parents really should consider alternatives (eating lunch elsewhere, homeschooling, making other accomodations, etc). No punish everyone else for not having the allergy. I know it is tough... but it is safer than trusting 250 others with your child's welfare.

 

 

:iagree:

[justamouse]

I would have pulled them after the first day. Public school is nothing but crowd control. And I have no patience for it.

[MomLovesClassics]

Anyone seen this article???

 

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95769

[Corraleno]

Anyone seen this article???

 

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95769

 

And even sadder than the story itself were the comments from posters who thought the teacher was right to put feces in a 5yo's backpack "to teach the brat a lesson." :sad:

 

Jackie

[Lovedtodeath]

Anyone seen this article???

 

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95769

 

 

This link isn't working. All I can get is the ad.

 

So many people are misinformed about what is age-appropriate behavior. So was I before I had my own children. :glare:

[EKS]

Just reading your post sets my teeth on edge. I hope things start to go better.

[MrsMe]

The day a public school would inspect my dd's lunch and throw out anything I sent or told me it was unacceptable, would be the day they'd wear it.

[MrsMe]

They're still obnoxious questions, and saying it is for "special ed screening" doesn't make it more appealing. If anything, it makes them MORE suspect, IMO. Schools get extra money for every kid they can tag with a "special ed" label.

 

In our town school, I am told there are only 30 boys in the lower grades (k-4) and that all but 4 or 5 of them have been labelled. Now, I know that it's local practice to wade in the shallow end of the gene pool, but even THAT doesn't account for such high numbers. The school just wants the money, no matter what.

 

Interesting. As I sit in and listen to these karate mom's talk last year, they mentioned someone came in and tested their kids in the class for speech impediments. 80% failed!!!! They directed them to speech therapy. Guess how old they were!

(in Oro Valley, Arizona!)

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5!

[FO4UR]

Anyone seen this article???

 

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95769

 

:glare: What's a kid to do when the teacher "has the right to refuse permission to use the bathroom"

 

Basic human dignity????????

[chaik76]

I must say that I'm truly surprised to see so many educated people who are so uninformed about life-threatening food allergies.

See below

I understand the risk of peanuts for some. One child at our church stopped breathing when his mom baked pb cookies in the next room.

 

HOWEVER, 250 people have to accomodate 1-2 is not practical or even right. If these children are at such risk, the parents really should consider alternatives (eating lunch elsewhere, homeschooling, making other accomodations, etc). No punish everyone else for not having the allergy. I know it is tough... but it is safer than trusting 250 others with your child's welfare.

 

We have a friend with a daughter who is allergic to a specific B-protein in milk. Very rare. However, if she eats ANYTHING made with milk (gold fish crackers, fries at McDonalds, cake, breads, ridiculous list....) she can go into distress (they keep an Epi Pen). The least reaction is projective vomiting & severe rash over her face (& can be more of her body).

 

She starts school next year & her parents love public school b/c of sports (:confused::confused:). So.... off she will go. But I bet you money, they won't do one thing to ban milk & accomodate this life threatening allergy.

:iagree:

 

I understand life threatening allergies. I have a friend with a son who has a peanut allergy. And yes, just peanut dust can threaten his life.

 

My mother has life-threatening allergies to multiple items.

 

My son has allergies to soy and a few other things...I do NOT expect special accommodations for him. My friend with the peanut-allergic son does not expect special accommodations for her son. It is unrealistic (not to mention unfair) to expect an entire school or church...or other public place...to accommodate a very, very small minority.

[MomLovesClassics]

This link isn't working. All I can get is the ad.

 

So many people are misinformed about what is age-appropriate behavior. So was I before I had my own children. :glare:

Here is the article copied and pasted:

 

 

 

 

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BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS

Teacher packs poop in 5-year-old's backpack

Note to parents: 'This little turd was on the floor in my room'

Posted: April 22, 2009

4:58 pm Eastern

 

By Joe Kovacs

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

 

Parents of a 5-year-old student were written this note by the boy's teacher in Apple Valley School in Yakima, Wash., last week. It was included with a plastic bag carrying feces. (courtesy KOMO-TV)

A father and mother in Washington state are outraged after their 5-year-old son was sent home from school, allegedly forced to carry a package of human feces along with an embarrassing note from his kindergarten teacher.

 

"This little turd was on the floor in my room," said the note from Susan Graham, an instructor at Apple Valley Elementary School in Yakima, Wash.

 

"I'm still kind of in shock over this, because why would somebody do this? It's disgusting!" said the boy's father, wishing to be identified only as "Jason."

 

Seattle's KOMO-TV reports the incident occurred last Friday, as Graham called Jason to say her classroom was "stinky." The teacher asked if the boy might have had an accident.

 

Jason acknowledged the possibility, since his son had some accidents in the classroom previously, and he informed Graham there were extra clothes in the boy's backpack.

(Story continues below)

 

 

 

He says his son rode the bus home, and his wife made the disturbing discovery when the child arrived.

 

"She found a clear plastic bag with a piece of fecal matter wrapped up in a brown paper towel with the note on it," he told the station.

 

"What would have happened if it had stayed in there and she hadn't checked the bag? And other kids were playing on the bus and it got out? And it's a very hazardous thing. It's disgusting!"

Fed up with government schools? Make sure to read "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool"

KOMO says both Graham and the school's principal, Karen Craig, are being questioned by Peter Ansingh, superintendent of the West Valley School District, and officials are planning to meet with the family next week.

 

Jason, meanwhile, is asking that his son be given a different teacher for the rest of the school year.

When asked by WND about public response, a district employee taking phone messages said, "It's been a bit busy."

 

The case has sparked a flood of comments on KOMO's messageboard, including:

 

• If the teacher still has a job after this, then we as a society get what we deserve. This sub-human does not belong in any place of employment where they have control over children.

 

 

• This isn't merely disgusting, it's cruel. If this child has accidents in the classroom, then that is a serious matter and should be dealt with collaboratively by the teacher, parents, administrators, and pediatrician. It is not something that should be used to humiliate a 5-year-old child. Something is really, really wrong with this teacher; the language in the note is even hostile and glib. You can really feel the contempt the teacher has for this kid, and he should be moved out of her class a.s.a.p. to protect what's left of his dignity.

 

 

• As the 5-year-old victim's grandmother, there are some facts I'd like to clear up. His accidents have to do with "cleanup" and it's only happened maybe three times this school year. My son has gone to the school to clean his son when he was alerted that his "tissue" technique was a bit flawed and the teacher has NEVER had this responsibility. This was something that wasn't disclosed – as my son & daughter-inlaw were still in a state of shock – they realized that my grandson was in his special ed. classes in another facility when Mrs. Graham phoned my son to tell him about the so-called stench in her classroom on Friday morning – he wasn't there! The superintendant hasn't contacted them as of this writing and my son sent e-mails to the principle at Apple Valley School and the superintendant's office on Friday evening. The principal said she would look into it and that is their only contact to date from the district.

 

 

• I have to agree with the teacher on this one. It sounds like she came up with a creative way to discipline the kid. Despite the fact that the kid is young, he should know better by age 5. According to the article, he has had several other accidents in the past. I bet the kid learns his lesson and doesn't have another accident!

 

 

• Kudos to this teacher. The parents are responsible for teaching their child basic hygiene and potty training
  not the school system. Sounds like the parents and the brat don't believe they have any responsibility or know right from wrong. Give this teacher an award for not being politically correct and teaching the parents and the brat a lesson.

 

 

• I don't think I ever heard of a 5-year-old pooping his pants, in school, then having the turd roll out onto the floor. Are the parents dressing him in boxers? Come on! Did the teacher force him to stay put in his chair? Something stinks about all of this.

 

 

• I smell a lawsuit.

 

[ConnieB]

Can you imagine the kids are not allowed to talk during class, they get two short recesses - lunch is about the only time they can socialize.

 

 

 

 

Wait, I thought the reason that homeschooling was so damaging to our kids and going to ruin their very lives was because of the lack of socializing homeschoolers get. You know, when we have them locked in the closet and all.

 

Hmmm, now I'm going to have a sleepness night worrying that since I not only let my children talk at EVERY meal, but even encourage by joining in that I'm ruining them even more!

 

But, I can comfort myself with the fact that we have classical music playing in the house while my little Cinderellas clean the chimney and during art/craft time. So obviously I'm ok there.

 

 

Heavens!

 

I have missed why your daughter is in school now, but if it was because she wanted it, that phase may pass really really soon. Just remember that there is no disgrace in pulling her back outta there! In fact, we'd all probably cheer you on! :grouphug: Only 160 days or so to go.

[Lacie]

When Diva was in ps, they inspected lunches every.single.day. The excuse was a peanut ban, as well as making sure everything was nutritional. You're lucky you got the choc bar back, Diva's were just confiscated. Even a granola bar, clearly labeled by the manufacturer as being peanut free was nabbed.

 

I swear, I loathed those peanut bans with all my heart. Diva *loved* pbj and begged for it constantly. It would have cut costs for lunches too...but nope.

 

And then no egg salad, because someone had an egg allergy. *sigh*

 

I have never heard of a school banning foods because of one child's allergy. We are homeschooling, but if we did decide differently my son's allergies would cause a problem.... he can't have soy protein or any dairy.

 

I know the physical costs of a child getting something they are allergic to, but I just don't see it being fair to all the other students.

[dirty ethel rackham]

As much as I hate the food police, there is something about peanut allergies that is so very dangerous. It is not so much about ingesting it, but it's very presence. A girl in our town was homeschooled because of her severe peanut allergies. She simply could not be in a room where there were nuts of any kind. Things seemed to be better and the school promised that they had made some changes. The girl returned to school and died of anaphalactic shock due to exposure to some nuts that apparently were not confescated.

 

It is such a fine line. Do we deny a public education to someone who wants it? I don't know what the answer is.

[TraceyS/FL]

It is such a fine line. Do we deny a public education to someone who wants it? I don't know what the answer is.

 

On the flip side though, and not to make light of what you posted, HOW will these kids be able to hold down jobs and junction in the real world?

 

Live in a college dorm? Deal with a break room full of junk food? (where no one cleans up after themselves.... EVER)

 

School is about the only place it can be controlled to this level... and it makes it really hard for the rest of us should we need to make sure everything is peanut free. And since it's not just the sandwich - what about the lunch bag sitting on the counter in the peanut butter that they spilled on Sunday?

[MomLovesClassics]

Did anyone see the article about dogs being trained to sniff a room for the food alergies? I saw it on tv a while back, the dog would sniff to make sure no peanuts were in the room.

[babysparkler]

 

HOWEVER, 250 people have to accomodate 1-2 is not practical or even right. If these children are at such risk, the parents really should consider alternatives (eating lunch elsewhere, homeschooling, making other accomodations, etc). No punish everyone else for not having the allergy. I know it is tough... but it is safer than trusting 250 others with your child's welfare.

 

I tend to agree with this. I had similar allergic reactions to cats as a child. A house that contained a cat, or even someone with a few hairs on their sweater from their cat from home could send me into a severe asthma attack. I was hospitalized many times each year for this. I never expected the children at school to get rid of their cats (or not touch them in the morning before coming to school) just because it would cause a reaction for me... I would just be extra cautious and stay away from the kids who had cats. I kept my inhailer with me and my mom or an ambulance was only a phone call away. I dealt with it. (And I still do, though I suspect that the severity of my condition has lessened and though I can't be near a cat, I believe that a hair or two on someones clothes won't bother me to that same extent anymore.)

[KristenS]

One difference ... when these kids grow up, they can be more proactive in their own care. You can't expect a 7yo to notice his neighbor's lunch harbors a poison (especially given how many things have peanut processing on the label!), but a 17yo can have better sense, and remember to carry hand wipes and sanitizer and stuff.

 

I have a pretty severe cat/dog allergy. Not life-threatening, though ... being careful to wash gets me by. I also am pretty allergic to all those lovely poison vines. Sigh. Those take heavy doses of meds for me to overcome. Again, been lucky, nothing life threatening. But I know of kids for whom the merest touch of peanut oil sends them straight to the hospital. To me, that's worth making the effort for. I don't know WHAT effort is best to make ... but there's a difference between being merely sick for a time and risking death, and no one wants to contribute to the death of a child!

[JudyJudyJudy]

On the flip side though, and not to make light of what you posted, HOW will these kids be able to hold down jobs and junction in the real world?

You aren't truly comparing a child to an adult, are you? Do you leave your 5 and 6-year-old kids alone at home? Do you expect them to make their own medical decisions and take care of themselves at all times? Of course not—because they're kids. With maturity, they will be able to take care of themselves and advocate for themselves, but in the meantime, someone else has to do it for them.

 

Kids can't even carry Epi-pens in school, and small kids shouldn't be expected to do so. Adults, on the other hand, can and do. Also, in most working environments, they aren't dealing with 800 people in one small crowded place, and the coworkers are made aware of the situation and are generally more than happy to accommodate. An adult more easily recognizes dangerous situations and also recognizes when he needs to use his Epi-pen. In a school situation, by the time a teacher would realize there was a problem, the child could very well be dead.

 

I recently went into an office that had a sign on the door that said, "Do not bring ANY cinnamon products into this office. An employee here has a severe cinnamon allergy and even reacts to synthetic cinnamon products." Basically, even in work environments, people work to protect their employees.

 

 

Live in a college dorm?

An older child or an adult can go to college without living in a dorm. However, if he does live in a dorm, he would have a private room or make sure that he had a roommate who would not pose risks to his health. Again, though, by this point, he is mature enough to deal with his own health issues.

 

 

Deal with a break room full of junk food? (where no one cleans up after themselves.... EVER)

The adults I know with severe peanut or nut allergies don't go into break rooms. It's something that is easily avoided.

 

 

School is about the only place it can be controlled to this level...

School is about the only place it needs to be controlled to this level.

 

 

and it makes it really hard for the rest of us should we need to make sure everything is peanut free.

I'm truly having a hard time wrapping my head around the "it's too hard" mentality. I can't think of any time when I've thought that anything was too hard to protect someone's life.

 

Not referring specifically to you but rather to others in the thread, but I especially can't understand the attitude that "My kid's right to have a peanut butter sandwich is just as important as another person's kid's right to live." It seems like common sense to me.

 

 

And since it's not just the sandwich - what about the lunch bag sitting on the counter in the peanut butter that they spilled on Sunday?

Well, obviously, not every little single situation can be avoided, but every one that can is best. Arguing that because one situation can't be controlled means that no situations should be controlled is like arguing that we shouldn't have laws against speeding since some people are going to do it anyway.

[katilac]

You can't expect a 7yo to notice his neighbor's lunch harbors a poison (especially given how many things have peanut processing on the label!),

 

That's one of my worries, though, with allergy bans - - you can't expect a classroom full of 7-yr-olds to remember the many items that may contain peanut oil, or to wash their hands with precision and thoroughness if they happen to have peanut butter in the morning, or to make sure their backpack/lunch bag/whatever doesn't touch peanut butter at any time.

 

If a child dies at a school that has a peanut ban, I'm sure they'll try to figure out how it happened. The kid who accidentally brought the allergen is going to suffer horrible guilt.

 

I personally would have no problem trying to accomodate an allergy if it's as simple as "don't bring peanut butter sandwiches to school" but I'd hate to be responsible for ensuring that not a drop of peanut dust is on my child or her belongings, kwim? It's very hard for even the parents of the allergic child to figure out labels and such, isn't it?

 

I would never have imagined that Chik-fil-A was a problem, and I can easily imagine sending leftover nuggets for lunch. A 7-yr-old might be very careful about protecting his classmate, while never thinking that a non-peanut-butter granola bar could be a danger.

 

I'm not sure what the solution is. If a tiny amount of peanut dust could cause my child to die, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable assuming that any place hundreds upon hundreds of people inhabit can be made peanut-free. I realize that not everyone can homeschool, but if it's at all a choice, I certainly think it's a better one.

 

I'm wondering why children with severe allergies can't be in a classroom with an aide trained to use an Epi-pen? They aren't difficult to use.

 

Schools routinely assign aides to classrooms with kids who need assistance of various kinds - - kids on the autistic spectrum, and with other special needs, physical or academic. When my nephew was suffering from seizures, he was always in a room with an aid (and there were aids on duty during lunch/recess/assemblies).

 

If I had a child in school with severe allergies, I'd certainly look into this. Should the school tell me it wasn't for kids with allergies, I'd read the actual law and/or regulation, or hire a lawyer to do so. In this age of inclusion, I can't imagine there are many schools who don't have at least one aid per grade level.

[JudyJudyJudy]

That's one of my worries, though, with allergy bans - - you can't expect a classroom full of 7-yr-olds to remember the many items that may contain peanut oil, or to wash their hands with precision and thoroughness if they happen to have peanut butter in the morning, or to make sure their backpack/lunch bag/whatever doesn't touch peanut butter at any time.

 

If a child dies at a school that has a peanut ban, I'm sure they'll try to figure out how it happened. The kid who accidentally brought the allergen is going to suffer horrible guilt.

 

I personally would have no problem trying to accomodate an allergy if it's as simple as "don't bring peanut butter sandwiches to school" but I'd hate to be responsible for ensuring that not a drop of peanut dust is on my child or her belongings, kwim? It's very hard for even the parents of the allergic child to figure out labels and such, isn't it?

 

I would never have imagined that Chik-fil-A was a problem, and I can easily imagine sending leftover nuggets for lunch. A 7-yr-old might be very careful about protecting his classmate, while never thinking that a non-peanut-butter granola bar could be a danger.

 

I'm not sure what the solution is. If a tiny amount of peanut dust could cause my child to die, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable assuming that any place hundreds upon hundreds of people inhabit can be made peanut-free. I realize that not everyone can homeschool, but if it's at all a choice, I certainly think it's a better one.

 

I'm wondering why children with severe allergies can't be in a classroom with an aide trained to use an Epi-pen? They aren't difficult to use.

 

Schools routinely assign aides to classrooms with kids who need assistance of various kinds - - kids on the autistic spectrum, and with other special needs, physical or academic. When my nephew was suffering from seizures, he was always in a room with an aid (and there were aids on duty during lunch/recess/assemblies).

 

If I had a child in school with severe allergies, I'd certainly look into this. Should the school tell me it wasn't for kids with allergies, I'd read the actual law and/or regulation, or hire a lawyer to do so. In this age of inclusion, I can't imagine there are many schools who don't have at least one aid per grade level.

But using an Epi-pen poses health risks as well, so it's best to try to avoid the need for it. Of course, it's possible that a school will never be 100% peanut-free, but it's better for a child to face a 0.1% chance of having an anaphylactic reaction at school than a 100% chance of reaction.

 

As for a child feeling guilt if he caused another child to die, that's nothing compared to what the family of the dead child will feel.