2 August 2006
Drug Testing at school
At the Abbey School in Faversham students can be hauled out of class and taken for a mouth swab. The drug testing progamme has been so succesful that the head teacher who started it left his job to become "Britain's official ambassador for drug testing" according to AP.
The parents have to consent - more than 80% have - and the pupils have to agree to be tested. But if they don't they are given 'counselling'. This is Soviet era mind control - if you don't conform there must be something wrong with you and you need psychiatric intervention. Some students who declined were told by the headmaster that it would be 'wise' not to refuse.
It is a resaonable question to ask how many students at this school are being given damaging amphetemines or Ritalin to treat the faked condition 'ADHD' - a label for children who can't sit still - while others are being 'counselled' for refusing to be tested for blow.
I find something distasteful about taking children from their class to do a mouth swab. It creates a culture around learning of mistrust (why not just ask them?) and something quite horrible really. What do teachers want to be doing sticking swabs in children's mouths. They are paid to teach not intefere with their saliva.
In terms of justice it is the justice of the ducking stool; if you don't take a test you have to be 'counselled'. This is the same (?punishment) as those who test and test positive. So not taking the test is assumed to be evidence of guilt; rather than a child standing up for their privacy.
What this is about is teacher's poking their noses, or at least their swabs, into children's orifices. An invasion of privacy. The Amercian Council for Civil Liberties points out that one problem with the tests is that students have to give private medical information to educational staff who have no right to know. Again; this is about teachers playing mind control games with children rather than getting on with what they are paid for - teaching.
A reasoned approach to drugs would focus on education, facts, discussion. (And we could include Ritalin in that dicussion too). This could help to educate children to discuss matters, to evaulate evidence, to understand how laws are made in a (nominally) democratic country etc. So far all they will be learning at this school is that adults want to pry into every aspect of their lives using a sinister combination of saliva tests and 'counselling'.
And I would suggest this shows the counselling service used to be more about the idea of no one can have any privacy than about the 'healing' that counselling claims to be about. One imagines that will resemble a rather horrible emotional rape. 'Now, have you got anything to hide, Johnny; do you need help with whatever it is you're hiding. come on now, tell all to mother....'
Fuck them all.
Drug Testing at school
At the Abbey School in Faversham students can be hauled out of class and taken for a mouth swab. The drug testing progamme has been so succesful that the head teacher who started it left his job to become "Britain's official ambassador for drug testing" according to AP.
The parents have to consent - more than 80% have - and the pupils have to agree to be tested. But if they don't they are given 'counselling'. This is Soviet era mind control - if you don't conform there must be something wrong with you and you need psychiatric intervention. Some students who declined were told by the headmaster that it would be 'wise' not to refuse.
It is a resaonable question to ask how many students at this school are being given damaging amphetemines or Ritalin to treat the faked condition 'ADHD' - a label for children who can't sit still - while others are being 'counselled' for refusing to be tested for blow.
I find something distasteful about taking children from their class to do a mouth swab. It creates a culture around learning of mistrust (why not just ask them?) and something quite horrible really. What do teachers want to be doing sticking swabs in children's mouths. They are paid to teach not intefere with their saliva.
In terms of justice it is the justice of the ducking stool; if you don't take a test you have to be 'counselled'. This is the same (?punishment) as those who test and test positive. So not taking the test is assumed to be evidence of guilt; rather than a child standing up for their privacy.
What this is about is teacher's poking their noses, or at least their swabs, into children's orifices. An invasion of privacy. The Amercian Council for Civil Liberties points out that one problem with the tests is that students have to give private medical information to educational staff who have no right to know. Again; this is about teachers playing mind control games with children rather than getting on with what they are paid for - teaching.
A reasoned approach to drugs would focus on education, facts, discussion. (And we could include Ritalin in that dicussion too). This could help to educate children to discuss matters, to evaulate evidence, to understand how laws are made in a (nominally) democratic country etc. So far all they will be learning at this school is that adults want to pry into every aspect of their lives using a sinister combination of saliva tests and 'counselling'.
And I would suggest this shows the counselling service used to be more about the idea of no one can have any privacy than about the 'healing' that counselling claims to be about. One imagines that will resemble a rather horrible emotional rape. 'Now, have you got anything to hide, Johnny; do you need help with whatever it is you're hiding. come on now, tell all to mother....'
Fuck them all.