Students packing rosaries at Atrisco Heritage

The editors take notice, link; APS is just begging for a lawsuit over a ban on the wearing of rosaries at school.  Begging is exactly the right word; their lawyers will make a killing litigating settlements.

The editors write, Albuquerque Public Schools must have a lot of extra money lying around for lawsuits.  Actually they do, in the form of an "unlimited budget" in support of litigation.

They spend so much money on litigation, their insurer, United Educators, raised our premiums on that basis.  They spend so much money on litigation, they won't tell us how much they spend on litigation.

In any case, in the war on gangs at Atrisco Heritage High, the administration has decided to prohibit the wearing of rosaries.  Gang members have apparently adopted rosaries as their flags.  They understand their wearing of rosaries for even for comparatively nefarious purposes, is a protected activity.  Protected activity meaning; protected by the Constitution of the United States; in this case, the First Amendment.

The problem is; there are two kinds of kids and only one kind of APS school.  There are kids who do and don't want to learn, and a school system that insists on educating them together.

An efficient and effective learning environment requires obedience to a set of standards that maintain effectiveness and efficiency.

Period.

It's one of the reasons most charter schools do better than APS schools.  They have a better plan for dealing with chronically disruptive students.

APS Supt Winston Brooks and the school board have no plan to deal with chronically disruptive students.  Except to enable them to continue to disrupt the education of other students.  That and continue to pretend they don't exist.

The leadership of the APS is fond of arguing, any child can learn.

In simple truth, only children who are engaged in their learning can learn.  You can't drag a horse to water and make him drink.

It is not so much that there are kids in schools who don't want to learn; it's what they do instead.  Instead of learning, they entertain themselves and each other by disrupting the learning around them.

The Supt and board have surrendered to out of control students, control over what goes on in schools.

Who is really in charge, the administrator who writes a rule, or the student who deliberately breaks it?  The person whose will is being done, is in charge.

In couple of months, the people have an opportunity to elect school board members who will work to re-establish adult control over students in school.

In couple of months, the people will still be ignorant about the student discipline problem in the APS.  The Journal still will have not investigated and reported upon student discipline problems in the APS.

Why they will not investigate and report upon student discipline problems, according to someone other than Brooks or board members, is a question they don't have to answer.

At least, not when I ask it.