Scissor Tales » Education

Judgment day

christine watson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:22:57 +0000

An Ardmore mother will find her bank account about $3,000 lighter because her high school-age daughter kept missing school. Here’s hoping parents will get the message prosecutor Craig Ladd was aiming for. “Parents have several responsibilities when it comes to their children,” Ladd told The Daily Ardmoreite. “One responsibility that gets overlooked by some parents is making their children attend school, and we take school attendance very seriously. This case is good example of just how costly that failed responsibility can be.” Indeed. Schools have cracked down on truancy in recent years, knowing that students don’t learn if they’re not in school and because attendance rates now factor into the state’s school rating system. The ideal solution has students back in class before the case hits the court system. But when that doesn’t work, parents shouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves in front of a judge.

Just the facts

christine watson — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:39:21 +0000

Tensions are high over a school deregulation bill. Is it too much to expect top education officials to keep the debate in the adult realm? Last week, some members of the state education board weren’t shy in expressing their displeasure. One exchange had a board member saying supporters of Senate Bill 834 were drinking “Republican whiskey.” Really? That nonsense is on top of the fear tactics the Oklahoma Education Association and some other opponents are employing. All involved should just stick to the truth. Doing so would still leave plenty of room for sincere debate.

Party time’s over

christine watson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:08:53 +0000

It’s no secret that Angela Monson is one of the most well-known and respected women in the state’s Democratic Party. Good for her. But her position as the new chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board is nonpartisan, and she must avoid any appearance to the contrary. Oklahoma County’s Democratic Party was active in her election. She was even scheduled to be a “special guest” at a party-sponsored fundraising event this week. Monson was only sworn into the post on Monday; she hasn’t had time to set the tone for the board she now leads. The county party isn’t at fault for inviting Monson. Only she can make clear that she’ll keep party politics or her affiliation with any agenda-specific groups at arm’s length. She must do just that, in reality and perception.

Wasting time

christine watson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:02:54 +0000

Tough budget times tend to leave lawmakers with too much time on their hands. We’re glad to see they didn’t waste much time on yet another unnecessary proposal that would infuse science classes with faith and morality discussions. Science teachers and their students already have sufficient freedom to explore scientific issues. Teachers must use their best judgment in guiding the discussion and keeping students on track. The proposed Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act, which was killed in a Senate committee this week, and similar bills would just further muddy the academic waters. Lawmakers should stick to problems that need fixing. Academic freedom in the science classroom isn’t one of them.

Leadership appreciated

christine watson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:27:01 +0000

Kirk Humphreys barely had a chance to get started as chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board before voters bid him a hasty exit in favor of former state Sen. Angela Monson. We’re nonetheless grateful for Humphreys’ leadership during that short time, including his input in the hiring of Superintendent Karl Springer and his efforts to massage a 2007 bond issue plan so schools will get the promised projects without a tax increase. We hope history will prove that one MAPS for Kids legacy is proven leaders taking a renewed and active interest in the school district’s affairs. Patrons were fortunate to have two quality candidates to choose from in the first-ever chairman’s election. Who could’ve foreseen 10 years ago that a former mayor and former state senator would run against each other for school board?

Generous students

christine watson — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:48:59 +0000

Teenagers aren’t all bad. We know this, of course. But it doesn’t hurt to be reminded. Students in the DECA club at Edmond North High School raised $2,400 for the Coffee Creek Riding Club. The club has provided free therapeutic riding to children and adults with varied disabilities for nearly three decades. Most of the club’s students range from toddlers to pre-teens. It’s a worthy program and the Edmond North students deserve applause for making sure it lives on. Job well done.

Works both ways

j.e. mcreynolds — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:54:37 +0000

Turnabout is fair play. In response to a lawmaker’s ill-advised proposal to crack down on homeschoolers, Russell E. Spiars of Zionsville, Ind., suggests that a pro-homeschool legislator author a bill to let homeschool parents crack down on public schools. A pending bill would require parents to alert local school districts of their homeschool plans and offer academic progress reports. Spiars, in a letter to The Oklahoman, says, “I have observed many kids from both homeschools and government schools, and it is apparent to me that the most effective means of improving educational achievement would be to give homeschooling officials oversight over government schools.” Of course there’s not enough homeschool parents to go around, but it’s apparent that public schools need more oversight than homeschooling parents. Indiana has fairly lax homeschooling regulations, but it’s not as free of government interference as is Oklahoma. The proposed bill would change that.

New leader for Oral Roberts University

christine watson — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:49:43 +0000

He’s no televangelist. But the man officials want to take over at Oral Roberts University is no stranger to turning around a struggling Christian university. Mark Rutland is president of Southeastern University, a Florida private school with roots to the Pentecostal church. Officials there called Rutland a “catalyst” for growth, pointing to substantial enrollment growth and infrastructure improvements. Rutland is set to visit the Tulsa private school at month’s end as trustees consider whether to hire him as the school’s next president. Rutland has said he wants to move ORU forward. If he becomes president, we wish him luck. Overcoming the recent scandal and financial difficulties in financially troubling times will be a huge challenge.

On a Rolle toward success

owen canfield — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:35:49 +0000

The question faced by many high-level college football players this week has been, do I stay and play or go and play? That is, stay in school or go to the pros. Florida State’s Myron Rolle decided to go – and learn.

Rolle, a defensive back, was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in November and plans to take advantage of the opportunity by studying at Oxford in pursuit of a master’s degree in medical anthropology.

He could have chosen to make himself available for the NFL draft, where as a projected early round pick he likely would have made head-turning money. Instead he plans to do that in 2010.

Rolle is a true student-athlete – he took graduate-level courses this year after finishing his undergraduate work in just 2½ years, and hopes one day to attend medical school.

Free lunch

christine watson — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:26:35 +0000

It’s no secret that when many kids go home for the holiday break, they may not get another nutritious meal until school reopens. Officials with one

Ohio school district were so worried that the economy would force even more students to go hungry over the holidays that they opted to reopen some school cafeterias for several days. “The economy is so tight, and the food stamp dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to,” a school official told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is America; we’ve got to take care of each other. Food for children should not be an issue.” Indeed.