So much for Independence Day. “The majority opinion in Earls reflects some of the worst results-based decision-making we’ve seen since Bush v. Gore. And like Bush v. Gore, it is rooted in panic, expediency, and a twisting of prior precedent to fit the facts.” Dahlia Lithwick excoriates the Supreme Court for their recent decision to force urine tests on high school kids.
3 thoughts on “The Supreme Court’s War on Kids.”
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I know it’s wrong and a total slippery slope to further abuse of governmental authority, but [stage whisper] I’m all for drug testing of students . Kids who come to school stoned (or who get stoned and DON’T come to school but readily show up for school trips or athletic events) are a major drain on the resources, time, and patience of teachers and administrators and other students who actually want to learn and participate. Few things are as frustrating as dealing with a stoned kid in your classroom…at best they’re obnoxious, at worst you can’t focus because you want to report them but don’t want the wrath of some delusional “My kid would never do drugs!” parent coming down on your ass. If you’re a teenager and you want to do ILLEGAL drugs, fine…but don’t come to school and waste everybody’s time.
So I know it makes me sound all fascist and stuff, but, um, why couldn’t the students just NOT DO DRUGS? (Hey, let’s be realistic–why don’t they just do what so many of them do and just feign attention-deficit-disorder [a.k.a. laziness] to get the Ritalin hookup?) God, I’m pretty bitter for a teacher on summer break. 🙂
Well, Max, since you’re working “in the trenches,” so to speak, it’s hard to refute your well-earned cynicism. Nevertheless, I’ve several problems with these mandatory drug tests for school extracurriculars. At the macro level, as Lithwick points out, schools should “prepare pupils for citizenship in the Republic [and] inculcate the habits and manners of civility as values in themselves.” In short, high schools should treat their students as budding citizens, not as guilty prisoners.
I’m sure you’re thinking that theory’s all well and good, but I’m the one who’s gotta put up with the bastids. But the drug testing isn’t only going to weed out (sorry, bad pun) those slackers causing trouble in class, but also the kids who happen to have experimented with illegal drugs outside of school (either once at a party or on the way home every day) and not had it detract from their studies. True, that kind of dangerous lifestyle at an early age will catch up with a lot of kids, but not all of them. And thus the school is basically punishing these kids for behavior outside its rubric.
My biggest problem with these drug tests, though, a problem they share with the Bush decision to cut off financial aid to college kids who admit to have taken illegal drugs, is thus: If these are the children who are most at risk of falling off the slope and becoming dangers to themselves and to society, why on Earth would it in be the school’s interest to further marginalize them? Under this system, if a 16-year-old in the drama club and/or on the football team tests positive for marijuana, he’s kicked out of the drama club and/or off the football team..and now has nothing to do all afternoon but smoke more marijuana. That’s why, conservatives be damned, I’m for programs like midnight basketball…keep kids busy and they’ll keep out of trouble.
Smoking pot right before school is fun(Most of the time). But not too long ago I was caught smoking outside in the parking lot smoking a joint. I was held at Juvenile Court for 3 hours but it was fun because I was stoned. My punishment is 9 weeks at a alternative school and I had to pay a $25 fine. While I am there i will be drug tested. But everyone has to stop smoking dope for a little while so you can get ever higher when you smoke weed, so i am just going to think of it as a little needed time off.