Armed officers from Washington, DC's, police force will now patrol the halls of Ballou High School, and Wendy McElroy has had it with the idea that public schools are by definition safer than homeschooling:
Parents who wish to explore educational alternatives at their own expense should be encouraged to do so, yet the opposite is occurring...Two of the most viable [alternatives] are homeschooling and apprenticeships. Neither prevents anyone from choosing public schools; each merely offers a choice at no public expense. How could anyone reasonably object to that?
There are plenty of objections, but like Wendy, I find few of them "reasonable:"
In the ‘80s, when homeschooling appeared on the social radar, it was closely associated with the Religious Right. Homeschoolers were viewed as extremists and unqualified amateurs...
The accusation of harm shifted. Homeschooling is now said to mask child abuse. This was the message clearly implied by an Oct. 14 CBS News two-part report entitled "A Dark Side to Homeschooling." The report created a furor of protest in the homeschooling community; it also encouraged politicians to call for anti-homeschooling legislation.
Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin examined a push for legislation in New Jersey. Four adopted boys were found to be starving although child welfare officials claimed to have visited the home no fewer than 38 times. Rather than condemn the bureaucracy, politicians blamed the fact that the foster parents had homeschooled. Thus, all New Jersey homeschoolers may be subjected to indignities like criminal background checks and obstacles like health regulations more stringent than those imposed on public schools.
Malkin concluded, "God forbid children be taught by their own parents without oversight from the all-knowing, all-caring, infallible … child welfare-public school monopoly!"
Wendy concludes:
My purpose is not to dispute with parents who send their children to public schools. I believe the system is a brutal failure, but parents must decide for themselves. I advocate extending alternatives far beyond the typical private versus public school debate, and even beyond homeschooling.
I agree that almost anything sounds better than what's being installed at Ballou High:
D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams has approved a security plan for Ballou High School that would include armed police officers patrolling inside the building, X-ray machines to inspect all bags and packages, and secure doors that would remain locked except in an emergency.
The plan, prepared by Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey and released yesterday at the mayor's weekly news briefing, comes in response to the Feb. 2 fatal shooting of James Richardson in the cafeteria at Ballou High School. Another student has been charged in the slaying...
The plan, which Mr. Williams described as "custom-designed" for the Southeast high school of 1,097 students, will include up to 30 police officers and security guards patrolling the building in a combination of fixed and roving patrols during school days. The 24 security guards, six police officers and one school investigator called for in the plan will be under the command of a police sergeant...
Other changes at Ballou will include the purchase of four metal detectors, three X-ray machines, a computer system with a photo-ID database that will include student schedules and disciplinary infractions. Images from the school's 53 surveillance cameras also will be fed to the police department's Joint Operations Command Center.
Students will enter the school through one main doorway, and barricades will be erected to prevent them from going around security equipment. Most of the school's 120 entry points will be outfitted with delay-egress doors, which were approved by the fire department and will be locked at all times except in the event of an emergency.
That's no longer a school. That's a prison. "Joint Operations Command Center?" Barricades around security equipment? Fixed and roving patrols? And how can a school possibly have 120 entry points, unless they're counting windows?
Posted by kswygert at March 1, 2004 10:06 AM