As the calendar has moved to October, I want to look at three “back to school” stories that have stuck with me this fall. With a new school year comes a flurry of school-related stories in the media. I always imagine newsrooms across the continent plowing through school websites, newsletters, and getting tips from parents and staff in the community for their September stories. There is no time during the year that education seems to get more attention as when summer ends, and kids go back to school. And the best stories that reporters find are often ones that point to a generational shift – that remind the community that schools are not what they used to be. These are the kind of stories that often elicit letters to the editor and can carry multiple segments on talk-radio.
I often roll-my-eyes at some of the school stories that are actually news in September, but three stood out for me this year – stories about water, dress codes and computer filters (how is that for an eclectic mix?). And if in the business of September you didn’t see them, they are worth your attention. So here we go:
Water
The first story, comes from Alexander Elementary School in Duncan, BC. To quote the CBC story:
A Vancouver Island elementary school is attempting to do away with the lunchtime juice box, encouraging staff and students to go water-only during school hours.
Since classes began this week, Alexander Elementary in Duncan has been conducting an experiment to see if pop, juice and other sugary drinks could be eliminated.
This story garnered some attention by a number of other local and national news outlets. It did seem to be largely well-received. The only negative comment I picked up in various media reports was this one from the Cowichan Valley Citizen:
So glad I’m not a student anymore. Won’t allow any choices at all in school anymore yet we can’t figure out why people are unprepared for the real world. The over control of students is becoming quite the systemic issue lately,” Alex Deakins wrote.
For me it seems like such a smart idea. The school PAC in this case provided water bottles to all the students and just like our work around other areas of physical and mental health in recent years, it seems like a great grass-roots initiative. And maybe I have a particular affinity to the initiative as for the first time in my life I am trying to bring a water bottle with me everyday to work, and stay away from the Diet Pepsi.
Dress Codes
Stories about dress codes always make great news. It was Victoria in the news this fall with reports that it was “eliminating” all dress codes except in cases related to the BC Human Rights Code:
Our school is committed to creating a learning community that values diversity and is free of all forms of discrimination. In line with the B.C. Human Rights Code which prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and age, (insert school name) promotes a climate of understanding and mutual respect where all are equal in dignity and rights. Actions through verbal and non-verbal communication (including clothing) must demonstrate support for the B.C. Human Rights Code.
I see from the various news stories, this issue has stirred debate and plans for the change have been delayed. As we have been thinking so much more thoughtfully around gender in recent years, from curriculum to washrooms, this is definitely a timely topic. I am a bit of two-minds. One, all the energy and emotion that is being spent on this topic is a distraction from discussions about learning, and dress codes are not something that are talked about much in schools anyway, it has been largely a dated idea for decades. The other being, I side with those who argue that our traditional thinking around dress codes has absolutely had gender bias against young women, and sent some very poor messages to kids. The idea, which I think was true a generation ago, that girls should dress a certain way as to not distract the boys is a dinosaur from another era. If you are struggling for dinner party conversation, I suspect asking if your local school should have a dress code will get things stirred up.
Computer Filters
Also this fall it was Hamilton, Ontario that was a hot-bed for debate on internet filtering for students. As the story reads, students in grade 9 were given Chromebooks and it had parents upset that outside of school they would have complete access to the internet. To quote the story:
When Tabitha Boronka, 13, started high school this week, the public school board handed the Grade 9 student a $330 laptop she can use to explore everything, anywhere.
Her mother Irina Boronka is displeased. “They can’t just give out unfiltered internet to 13-year-old kids that they can access at any time,” she said.
“Every parent should be concerned about stuff like pornography, gambling, meeting people there, being exploited, all kinds of inappropriate things that I think they should not have any access to at all.”
When I feel like we are finished having these conversations they come back again. I am not opposed to having filters on the internet. And I agree that for kids (or heck probably adults too) surfing pornography and gambling sites is not desirable. We should not use filters as a replacement for teaching and parenting. If you don’t want your child to be on Netflix, don’t give them your password. If you don’t want your child texting you from school, stop texting them back. And if you want your child to be thoughtful about what they do on the internet, talk to him/her about it. It is hard work but blocking the internet is just false security. When I see a story about a school district “blocking” sites from Youtube to Snapchat, I know the next day I will probably see a story about students getting around the very expensive security system that was put in place.
And while it is worthwhile to be reminded of the dangers that “lurk” on the internet, let’s be sure to help young people realize the amazing possibilities that come with digital world as well.
Conclusions
So, those are three stories that stuck for me this fall. I leave the month thinking we should continue to have kids drink more water, we should modernize our thinking on dress codes and we should not turn the difficult job of teaching and parenting over to software that blocks the internet.
Anything in education stand out for you this month in the news?
cultureofyes.ca 
Yes, I agree that too much energy and time is spent on the dress code thing. That said:
I have worked as a consultant in the public education system in Singapore for a number of years. It is a tri-culture city state, well known for its ability to go from nothing to what it is today in less than 50 years. The 3 main cultures: Chinese, Malay and Tamal live together in maybe the most successful racial harmony in the world. Each culture is protected by the government through traditional celebrations, mother tongue is a core part of school curriculum and people from the three cultures work in all aspects of the country’s economy and the governing body of the country.
In the public school system school uniforms are the rule. The canteens serve the 3 main cultures’ dishes. The teachers can wear their cultural dress.
The country values their diversity and honors the individual’s religious and cultural norms however, the overarching value is country before the individual. There is some tension, this is normal in any grouping of people. All of this is easier to accomplish in a nation that is more of a dictatorship (a benevolent one), has just under 6 million people and is on a land mass that takes about 2 hours to drive across.
I am not advocating for school uniforms here in Canada, just sharing what I have seen and been a part of in another country where cultural diversity is the norm.
Susan
Good choices of stories to share with us Chris! Food for thought and a moment to consider where we are on these issues. We all, parents and teachers, need to teach our children how to m make good choices for themselves, informed choices, and they can’t do that if we persist in building protecting walls around them.