"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

In Drug Testing We Trust

As Spellings hops from city to city doling out millions for random drug testing to school systems more interested in policing than educating, a large Catholic school in Missouri is toying with a new low in the destruction of community trust and the imposition of a police state mentality:
One of St. Louis' largest Catholic boys schools is considering mandatory drug-testing for its teachers, board members and staff, a plan that could become the first in the area and one of just a few in the country.

Leaders at Christian Brothers College high school in Town and Country emphasized that they have just begun discussing the idea. It follows closely a decision to begin drug testing students at the start of next school year.

CBC's principal, Brother David Poos, said he has much to do before anything is decided, including getting formal input from his staff. But he said he had not heard resistance from teachers so far.

"Many have said, 'Let me be the first,'" he said. "I've said that."

National education leaders, however, were concerned by the precedent. Teaching, they said, is a profession that has long enjoyed a reputation for virtuous behavior. A move like this could corrode the relationship between teacher and student.

"I would be upset if we had to come to something like that," said Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Education Association. She said she had not heard of a similar plan in the United States. "We know our teachers better than that. We trust our teachers more than that."

Poos insisted that CBC leaders aren't looking at the idea in response to drug abuse among teachers.

It's more a show of solidarity with students, he said - adults setting an example for students.
Solidarity, indeed. It is a clear demonstration to students that their role models are willing to capitulate to the shameless disregard by some for Constitutional guarantees and common human decency that have been the hallmarks of our democratic experiment. It says in a loud voice that no one is worthy of trust. It says unequivocally that liberty and responsibility, the two components of human freedom, have just been transferred to the bosses of the urine examiners.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:28 PM

    Random drug-testing will begin, at CBC, in the 2007-8 school year. No opposition of any kind has been voiced. Meanwhile, one of the neighbor kids, a CBC sophomore, has his friends over whenever his parents are away. They all arrive with little coolers. In the morning, I can see the empty Anheuser Busch containers they forgot to pick up. This kind of moral hypocrisy is par for the course, here in Bud Light Land.

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  2. Anonymous10:13 PM

    I am a student at cbc, a junior. I am against the drug testing. Even though they say they are trying to give us a reason to say no, I think they are just trying to catch kids. Lots of people joke about the drug test and seem to think they are just trying to scare us. I dont know what to expect next from CBC, it seems like everything is getting way too personal. I mean, if kids want to try it, let them. The kids should be able to say NO themselves, besides if they don't experiment now, college will be the new place to do it. It isnt really going to help that much. Maybe it will make the faculty feel better but it could destroy students futures...

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  3. Anonymous6:41 PM

    I agree with you, if a student wants to experiment with drugs he will whether it is now or in college. Isn't it better to let them do it now while their still under the roof and protection of their parents?
    -CBC Sophmore

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