Hey there, Annapolis.
That time of year is coming up. The shops in the Harbour Center have apparently skipped Thanksgiving and put up wreaths and lights already. The leaves are scattered across the yard, causing the little kids to run outside and launch themselves into giant leaf piles with inimitable glee, and the teenagers who might be recruited for yard work to stay very, very, very, very far away from their parents. So, in the spirit of the Holidays, columns on Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping will be coming soon–but for now, while trolling the Hometown Annapolis and Eye On Annapolis sites for any relevant topics for discussion, there were a couple of posts that I thought I might discuss.
For a moment, let’s venture into the scary, unknown world of The Capital website), and check out this article:
The issue here, one that has parents at High Point Elementary School up in arms, is about an attendance incentive program for its classes.
Basically, if a class has 97% or higher attendance in a month, they get a popcorn party and a guest reader.
Not a bad deal, right?
“Wrong,” say kids with swine flu.
“Wrong,” say their parents.
The idea of popcorn and story time for kids has a powerful allure–equivalent to that of gourmet chocolates and uninterrupted prime-time TV for adults–that may cause many swine flu infectees to drag themselves out of bed, grope their sickly way to school, and agonizingly sit through a day with the disease, to keep the attendance record perfect and get one step closer to popcorn (also available on the cheap at your local grocery store, kids, so you don’t have to kill yourself for it).
Remarkable commitment, soldier. But still, really?
Obviously, this is a genuine concern–after all, an infected child can infect his entire class by the time the day is over (I made that up, but I think it has some truth to it).
However, it doesn’t seem like a genuine issue to me. The attendance rate hasn’t dipped significantly, and it sounds fishy to me that the complaining mother interviewed was, quote “One of about 10 parents who expressed concern after they were asked to coordinate the parties.”
I think there are much more efficient ways to combat swine flu–for instance, getting hands-free sinks or water coolers with individual cups in lieu of water fountains–than taking away kids’ popcorn parties.
Let’s go to another article on swine flu, from our very own Eye On Annapolis:
Free clinics, yay! Schools around the area are hosting swine flu vaccination centers from 4-7 pm. (And here I was thinking it would get me out of Geometry. Nuts.) It’ll be held in the cafeterias of the various schools, which is fine provided that students aren’t stepping on accidentally discarded needles when they’re getting their bag of french fries healthy fruits and vegetables.
I encourage my fellow high schoolers to beg their parents to take them–even if you don’t want the swine flu shot, it’s an exhilarating form of schadenfreude to watch people jabbed in the arm. But in all seriousness, while swine flu may not be as serious as it was originally made to be, it can still get you sick and should be protected against.
Here are the people who can (and should) go:
Pregnant women, kids from 6mos to 24 yrs, people who live with or care for kids under 6mos, health care personnel, and 25-64 year olds who have chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.
I noticed that seniors aren’t included on here. I suppose the people who wrote up the regulations had had “YOU KIDS GET OFF MY $&#$@$! LAWN!!!” screamed at them too many times.
And for the final article:
It encourages you to speak up if you’ve been bullied, in remembrance of the sad story of Christopher Jones, who was killed in a bullying incident.
It also included a survey by Anne Arundel County Public Schools, asking for information. Even though I’m a private school student, I filled it out just to see what it was like. My apologies to Old Mill High School (or whoever the heck I filled the form out for).
It consisted of mostly generic questions–has your child been bullied? Where has your child been bullied? How has your child been bullied? (In my view, it failed to ask the more important question, BY WHOM has your child been bullied, but I suppose school officials know what’s best.)
Bullying is a serious issue, and I’m glad Anne Arundel County Schools are countering it by taking drastic measures such as sending out surveys.
Oh wait.
I can see it now–a student is getting beat up by a bully as a poll-taker stands next to him.
“Sir, would you say you are in mild, moderate, or severe pain right now?”
Let’s act on this issue, Anne Arundel County schools!
Peace,
