War on Kids

[Michael]

War on Kids (documentary)

IMDB - War on Kids (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1505145/)

War on Kids (http://www.polfilms.com/waronkids.html)

I just saw this documentary based on the US school system. It was really depressing the way public schools have adopted a policy of oppression and close-mindedness. It seems as if the US public school system has given up on education and seeks only to establish authoritarian control over student behavior.

I think it is time for a new Michel Foucault to describe the discursive formation known as 'the school' - and how it appears to be remarkably similar to 'the prison'. That of course shouldn't surprise anyone since schools and prisons - as institutions - apparently serve similar state goals of social control.

(In case anyone is unclear on my reference here, Michel Foucault did a famous series of sociological studies upon the institutions of medicine, the prison and the mental asylum - these studies reveal the inherent authoritarianism that is the driving theoretical-model of these institutions).

Really quite eye-opening. I had no idea that the US public school system had degenerated this badly.

Btw, I might add that this documentary is one of the best I've seen - it is quite entertaining and fast paced without the usual segments of some boring grey-haired professor droning on about the theoretical problem.

[Donkey]

Interesting, I may check it out.

Does it focus on public schools, or does it expand to standard private schools as well?

[Margot]

I'll have to check it out. Then again, I only escaped that rat-race two years ago. I can almost guarantee that the documentary still leaves room for me to say "you have no idea."

[Michael]

Interesting, I may check it out.

Does it focus on public schools, or does it expand to standard private schools as well?
The focus appears to be 'general' to schools of the k-12 variety and does include references and examples from private schools, though the focus is usually on public schools.

I'll have to check it out. Then again, I only escaped that rat-race two years ago. I can almost guarantee that the documentary still leaves room for me to say "you have no idea."
Probably, but the critique being made is a 'meta' critique, not necessarily an exhaustive listing of all possible failings of the system.

The principle critique is twofold: 1) the US school system is being modeled on the prison system, and 2) the result of this is a general policy to enforce conformity and close-mindedness, which are the opposite values to the goals of education in the first place.

[Non Sequitur]

Probably, but the critique being made is a 'meta' critique, not necessarily an exhaustive listing of all possible failings of the system.

The principle critique is twofold: 1) the US school system is being modeled on the prison system, and 2) the result of this is a general policy to enforce conformity and close-mindedness, which are the opposite values to the goals of education in the first place.

So do they have proposed solutions to these problems?

[Michael]

So do they have proposed solutions to these problems?
Alas no. The documentary is focused upon identifying the problem and raising awareness of it.

Identifying the problem is the first stage in dealing with a solution. This is a valid concern because I follow education theory issues and the nature of this problem is completely invisible to educational theorists, school administrators, politicians and the public (which is why the problem is still progressively getting worse).

[Michael]

Here's a good newspaper article that raises issues related to this topic of how school children are being treated like prisoners. This obsession with 'strong-armed' behavior control is very disturbing (and revealing!).

Cops vs. Kids

If you don’t think the police in New York City need to be reined in, consider the way the cops and their agents are treating youngsters in the city’s schools.

In March 2009, a girl and a boy in the sixth grade at the Hunts Point School in the Bronx were fooling around and each drew a line on the other’s desk with an erasable marker. The teacher told them to erase the lines, and the kids went to get tissues. This blew up into a major offense when school safety officers became involved.

The safety officers, who have been accused in many instances of mistreating children, are peace officers assigned to the schools. They wear uniforms, work for the New York Police Department and have the power to detain, search, handcuff and arrest students. They do not carry guns.

In this case, the officers seized the two pupils and handcuffed them. Before long, an armed police officer showed up to question the youngsters. The girl asked for her mother and began to cry. Tears were no defense in the minds of the brave New York City law enforcers surrounding this errant child. They were determined to keep the city safe from sixth graders armed with Magic Markers.

The children were transported in handcuffs to the local precinct.

Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/opinion/06herbert.html)

Particularly disturbing is the assertion of 'mental illness' as the cause of all non-compliant behavior. Very scary.

It does appear that 'education of free-thinkers' is not on the agenda here - ruthlessly controled and regimented behavior is. These kinds of policies are the opposite to education. This is a policy to train students to be docile, close-minded and afraid of challenging authority.

[Zarquon]

Its provocative, but very one-sided, and seemingly offers homeschooling as the solution to everything.
Sort of agree with this review (http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/movies/18kids.html).

[Michael]

Its provocative, but very one-sided, and seemingly offers homeschooling as the solution to everything.
Sort of agree with this review (http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/movies/18kids.html).

It is not "very one-sided" since it only looks at the problems and seeks to raise awareness of those problems.

"One sided" implies bias and that only applies if they actually tried to address some issues and chose to ignore or mis-represent one side of the debate. In this case, that's nonsense since no solutions are offered, merely a litany of problems are identified.

And the review you linked to doesn't mention a word about "one-sided" or bias at all.

[Zarquon]

It is not "very one-sided" since it only looks at the problems and seeks to raise awareness of those problems.

"One sided" implies bias and that only applies if they actually tried to address some issues and chose to ignore or mis-represent one side of the debate. In this case, that's nonsense since no solutions are offered, merely a litany of problems are identified.

And the review you linked to doesn't mention a word about "one-sided" or bias at all.
Are ritalin and adhd a BigPharma fraud(as the movie implies)?

[Michael]

Are ritalin and adhd a BigPharma fraud(as the movie implies)?

Outside of officially approved government channels, that's the general consensus that I'm aware of.

As a general rule, there are more kids on Ritalin in any given US county than in the whole of the rest of the world combined. There is no clinical support for the existence of ADD outside of the USA. It just isn't recognized.