tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post7243770749659987249..comments2023-05-28T07:46:13.657-04:00Comments on social issues: The Underpants of Justice, Huge and SmallLeonard Wakshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10948820385522641682noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-76084967968735277372009-05-14T16:19:00.000-04:002009-05-14T16:19:00.000-04:00I curious to hear what people think the roles of p...I curious to hear what people think the roles of public institutions(schools being one)are in respect to the safety of their students?<br /> I am aware of one strip search that was performed on a student in my high school in which a surprisingly large knife was found secured to his person. While I realize there is a world of difference between a knife and an anti-inflammatory pill, there probably has to be some concrete definition of when it actually is appropriate to strip search a child(personally I'm not sure there is). <br /> I also realize that I have the distinction of graduating in the year of Columbine, and that probably influenced my school's decision to perform said strip search considering that emotions related to child safety in schools were at an all time high.PLeggatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07661211100189186455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-65505349708360485892009-04-28T19:08:00.000-04:002009-04-28T19:08:00.000-04:00I dunno, Amy. I don't know what respect for one's ...I dunno, Amy. I don't know what respect for one's body has to do with whether or not it is okay to have prescription-strength Ibuprofen on your person. It seems to me that the "war on drugs" is simply mindless, and in its zero-tolerance approach to things, it has little to do with anything reasonable. In fact, "reasonable" and "zero-tolerance" are contradictory, because the latter is supposed to take away administrators' discretion, which is, in the end, all they've got.Craig A. Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18160288758906798678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-10891063764296514692009-04-28T16:07:00.000-04:002009-04-28T16:07:00.000-04:00There is another important consideration here: the...There is another important consideration here: the aims of public school. One important aim is to teach students to value the good (and humane) principles associated with life in democratic state. Treating children as if they live in a military state by subjecting them to strip searches does nothing to teach a love of liberty and does much to teach a resentment of the state (and probably creates a desire to subvert it). The connection to torture is telling. Just as torture does not get us closer to reliable information, strip searches will not restore order in schools or prevent drug abuse. Far better to educate, as Shuffelton suggests, students in such a way that they feel respected and will in turn respect themselves. Smaller schools where students have good relationships with adults and do not feel institutionalized would be far more effective. <br />I empathize the the impulse to take extreme measures against drug use and abuse--I was a teacher who dealt with things like this a lot and it is incredibly frustrating. But there are limits to state power, and this is one of them.pMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586919078942308242noreply@blogger.com