Cops in Texas schools

[softwareNerd]

I just came across an article about cops in Texas schools. I'm not sure if the article is objective, but arresting kids for disruptive classroom behavior which does not come close to any type of physical violence or threat of violence is simply nuts. As with most issues in public school, the fact that schools are owned by the government is at the root of the problem. Nevertheless, this reminds me of the Christian pastors who champion hitting one's kids as the means to discipline them.

Some quotes from the article:

Among the more extreme cases documented by Appleseed is of a teacher who had a pupil arrested after the child responded to a question as to where a word could be found in a text by saying: "In your culo(arse)", making the other children laugh. Another pupil was arrested for throwing paper aeroplanes.

Students are also regularly fined for "disorderly behaviour", which includes playground scraps not serious enough to warrant an assault charge or for swearing or an offensive gesture. One teenage student was arrested and sent to court in Houston after he and his girlfriend poured milk on each other after they broke up. Nearly one third of tickets involve drugs or alcohol. Although a relatively high number of tickets – up to 20% in some school districts – involve charges over the use of weapons, mostly the weapons used were fists.

The very young are not spared. According to Appleseed, Texas records show more than 1,000 tickets were issued to primary schoolchildren over the past six years (although these have no legal force at that age). Appleseed said that "several districts ticketed a six-year-old at least once in the last five years".

[SapereAude]

Horrible. But not at all surprising.