This from the School Law Blog:
A prominent federal appeals court judge said in a recent speech that courts should defer more to school administrators, and that students today are "spoiled and coddled" and should "learn to roll with the punches" and not be hypersensitive about political or religious messages in schools they might find offensive.
"Modern American kids, it seems to me, have excessive self-esteem," said Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in Chicago. "They're spoiled and coddled. Many of them have very aggressive parents."
The judge, a conservative nominee of President Ronald Reagan who is considered one of the leading intellectuals of the federal appeals courts, spoke Nov. 11 in Chicago before the national conference of the Education Law Association. That group is made up of professors who teach education law, as well as practicing lawyers and school administrators.
Judges have all been through school, of course, but "we don't have any systematic knowledge of the educational process," Posner said. "We certainly have no experience running schools. The experts are the school administrators. They know a lot more about it than judges. It seems to me judges ought to be very cautious before they try to displace the authority of the school administrators." ...
3 comments:
I am afraid we may have wandered too far down this path to turn around. As much as we spend and talk about curriculum and assessment, I think there is a strong argument to be made that one of the most significant contributing factors in stagnant US academic achievement is the growth of a culture which does not value the educational process or those who facilitiate it. I think if one were to look at Asian and European countries that consistently continue to beat us on these global academic comparisons, common themes of individual responsibility, personal discipline and respect for educators are consistent conditions.
I agree with the judge that we should defer more to school administrators than to the courts. The sad truth is that Americans today would rather have a large law suit than sit with the principal and discuss a quam they have regarding religious or political intolerance. People nowadays look for any way to get their five minutes of fame and, unfortunately, that puts the school systems under a lot more pressure. The fact of the matter is, administrators have the ability to stop problems within their schools as long as they are informed there is one. These “aggressive parents” have gotten a little too lawyer happy if you ask me.
Administrators do have the ability to stop problems they are just not supported when the issue is taken to Central Office. We need Central Office to support the decision of the schools.
Post a Comment