Tuesday, December 1, 1998
Thumbs up/thumbs down
Eliminating lockers
hurts kids
Thumbs down to the Pasadena Unified School District, which
eliminated lockers in an effort to reduce the number of hiding
places for weapons and drugs.
Due to the elimination of lockers, students are now carrying 30
to 40-pound loads on their backs, which can amount to almost as
much as 40 percent of a child’s body weight.
Doctors warn that students carrying heavy backpacks could
develop muscle spasms, back pains, bad posture, curvature of the
spine and even early symptoms of arthritis.
Considering that most schools already have the right to search a
student’s backpack, locker and even the students themselves,
removing lockers becomes unnecessary; furthermore, students can
still hide weapons and drugs in their backpacks.
The Pasadena school board is considering spending some of the
$40-million bond that was issued earlier this year to solve the
"locker dilemma." To use such funds to create new lockers, or as
one parent has proposed, to build "see-through lockers," is a
complete waste of funds.
To address these problems, the Pasadena School District should
allow students to use the empty lockers that currently line the
schools’ halls, instead of wasting bond money.
Davis seeks training
for teachers
Thumbs up to governor-elect Gray Davis, for proposing a state
"summer school" program for teacher training. According to
University of California president Richard Atkinson, the program
would bring new teachers "up to speed" on reading and math teaching
and brush up the skills of more experienced teachers.
Eventually, Davis hopes to have 25 centers state-wide that would
train 6,000 teachers for two-week sessions, incorporating UC and
California State University expertise into the summer training
camps.
This proposal directly addresses problems within the K-12
educational system. Teachers, both old and new, should continue to
be re-trained, ensuring that their skills and methods are
up-to-date and effective.
Welfare benefits delayed
Thumbs down to Governor Pete Wilson’s administration for
delaying welfare benefit checks to non-citizens in Los Angeles
county.
State officials want those who qualify for the Cash Assistance
Program for Immigrants to formally apply for federal funds and be
formally denied federal funds before receiving state funds.
L.A. county contends that these last-minute requirements were
never intended under the law.
This additional obstacle is yet another example of the
anti-immigration legislation that has epitomized Wilson’s term as
governor.
The additional step is an unnecessary bureaucratic measure that
will delay benefits to those who desperately need them.
Thumbs up/Thumbs down represents the majority opinion of the
Daily Bruin Editorial Board. Send comments and suggestions to
[email protected].
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© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]