RICHLAND — A novel about a 9-year-old boy dealing with the death of his father on Sept. 11 has sparked a months-long discussion in the Richland School District about how far teachers need to go to inform parents about a book's content.
School Board members already have reshaped policy dealing with the way novels are approved for classroom use. Tuesday, they're poised to consider how to notify parents of "objectionable" content, such as profanity, sex and violence.
The options range from including a short statement in course syllabi to instituting a ratings system. The latter has some worried it could lead to censorship and questioning how such a system — which would be subjective by nature — would even work.
Others say the bottom line is current practice isn't good enough and needs to be changed.
School Board President Rick Jansons said the board's goal has been to find the best path when it comes to
Teachers agree to shorten LAUSD school year LA TImes: Union members OK the deal that could save the district up to $140 million, save about 2,100 jobs and maintain class sizes. It will become effective if approved by the school board Tuesday... Subjects covered by standardized tests could expand Pittsburgh Times Review: Under President Obama's proposed blueprint for education, students could take standardized tests in history, science and foreign languages — not just math and reading — to evaluate how well their schools are performing... Teacher tells NH police he didn't encourage shock Boston Globe: The teacher of a high school class in which a New Hampshire student was critically injured by an electrical shock has told police he denied encouraging the shock, as some students told police...Bilingual Ed., Immersion Found to Work Equally Well EdWeek: A randomized study shows students are as successful learning English through English-immersion or bilingual education programs...Wis. teachers, students mystified by sex education warning AP: Mike Taake has taught sex education for 30 years, and he says he knows what doesn’t work: just telling students to wait...Role-playing games pull reluctant school kids into a supportive crowd CSM: For kids with a troubled school life, role-playing games teach valuable life skills such as risk-taking and leadership.
