Pat On The Back For Home Schooling

The Mississippi legislature has a resolution before it to recognize the state’s “unwavering” support for home schooling with House Concurrent Resolution 77  which states:

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING MISSISSIPPI’S UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION IN THE DESIGNATION OF THE WEEK OF MAY 11-15, 2009, AS MISSISSIPPI HOME EDUCATION WEEK IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

Let us be honest home schooling for the most part is attempted because the parents do not want their children mixing with minorities or other religious teachings.  It is a form of racism.

The resolution spotlights the home schooling of Geo. Washington and Patrick Henry…thinking…it was in a frontier area and the early 18th century, there was about 4 schools in the Colonies and home schooling was about the only way to be educated.  But the most ludicrous example was Booker T. Washington….the man was born in slavery and they were not ALLOWED to be educated….so home schooling was the only option his family had.

There is a good reason that home schooling in Mississippi should be recognized and that is that the educational programs in Mississippi suck wind.  instead of making the hime schooling sound more noble than it is, maybe they should use it as a way to justify improving education in the state.

Being Educated In Mississippi

The truth is…..one does not have to be educated….that could explain a lot of the causes of the decline in the state’s living standards.

Mississippi was moving to make school attendance mandatory…but as usual no need for that because an educated population would demand more of their government than one with the IQ of their shoe.

The attempt was HB 16:

AN ACT TO REENACT SECTIONS 37-13-80 THROUGH 37-13-89, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF DROPOUT PREVENTION AND THE OFFICE OF COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ENFORCEMENT WITHIN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND PRESCRIBE THOSE OFFICES’ POWERS AND DUTIES; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-13-90, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REPEALS SECTIONS 37-13-80 THROUGH 37-13-90, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH CREAE THE OFFICE OF COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND ENFORCEMENT AND PRESCRIBES ITS POWERS AND DUTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

But the attempt is dead…it died in committee where ALL good bills wind up in the Mississippi legislature.

Stuck In The Past

Just when you think Mississippi is ready to move into the 21st century you are sadly mistaken.  Recently a bill was introduced into the state legislature that would create a pilot program for sex education in the state.  That bill would have been HB 234 which stated:

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, ACTING JOINTLY WITH THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION PILOT PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO DETERMINE THE GRADE OR GRADES IN WHICH THE PILOT PROGRAM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO SELECT SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO DEVELOP CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES PROMOTING PREGNANCY PREVENTION AND PROVIDING INFORMATION ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNPROTECTED, UNINFORMED AND UNDERAGE SEXUAL ACTIVITY; TO PROVIDE THAT NO STUDENT SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS OR COURSE IN THE PILOT PROGRAM IF THE STUDENT’S PARENT OR GUARDIAN SUBMITS WRITTEN OBJECTION TO THAT PARTICIPATION; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WITH THE INPUT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, TO SUBMIT A REPORT ON THE PILOT PROGRAM TO THE CHAIRMEN OF CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2012; TO AMEND SECTIONS 41-79-5 AND 37-14-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

All in all it would have proven that Mississippi was trying to find its way into the new century….but as normal the state will do everything possible to stay in the cultural dark ages.  The bill died in committee.  So Mississippi will continue to stress a proiven failure as their answer to sex ed…abstinance.  The program has not worked anywhere in the US, but that is okay for Mississippi and the religious right will continue to preach a worthless program and wonder why they have an ever exploding teen pregnancy problem.

Do You Have Twins?

If so, is this legislation needed?  Oh sorry, that would be the proposed bill HB 1191.  This bill proposes that the parents have the option to keep their twins in the same classes or change it, for that matter, the same or different schools.  Have you parents of twins been concerned about this sort of thing?  Does the state need revision of the Code to cover this?

In case there is any confusion on what the act would say.

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-11-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE PARENTS OF TWINS OR HIGHER ORDER MULTIPLES TO REQUEST THAT THE CHILDREN BE ASSIGNED TO THE SAME CLASSROOM OR SEPARATE CLASSROOMS IN THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Is this something that is really needed to be covered by the legislature when the economy is tanking around out ears?  They cannot find enough money to fund the needed programs the state has now, but they want to waste time and energy on crap like this.

The Rest Of The Sex Story

A recently fired teacher is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old female student at the teacher’s Ocean Springs home in November, said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd.

Deputies arrested Steven Seth Tadlock, 25, on Friday, charging him with sexual battery. Tadlock had been terminated a week earlier from his teaching position in Bay St. Louis.

Tadlock is the second Coast teacher within a week to be charged with a sex crime alleged to involve a student.

Byrd said Tadlock allegedly had sex with a student at the latter’s residence in Highland Park, a mobile home complex on Gibson Road.

Byrd said he expected Tadlock to remain in custody without bond over the weekend pending an initial court appearance. Later Friday, he learned Tadlock was released from jail after Jackson County Judge Larry T. Wilson set bond at $10,000.

Bay-Waveland Schools Superintendent Kim Stasny this week released a written statement saying Tadlock was terminated Feb. 13 “for violation of school policies.”

School board Attorney Ronnie Artigues confirmed a similar complaint against Tadlock and a different student had been investigated the previous school year but he said the allegations were unfounded.

Bay St. Louis police announced Thursday they had concluded an investigation of Tadlock’s alleged inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl and found no evidence of a criminal act in their jurisdiction.

Byrd said he could neither confirm nor deny the girl in the Jackson County case is the same student referred to in the recent investigation by Bay St. Louis police.

Byrd said the charge meets the criteria for sexual battery.

“Rape isn’t what’s alleged,” Byrd said.

The legal age for consent to sex in Mississippi is 16. However, state law makes it illegal for a person in a position of trust or authority to engage in sexual penetration with a child under the age of 18.

More Teacher/Student Sex?

An unnamed teacher has been dismissed from the Bay-Waveland School District for policy violations that were not publicly specified.

The teacher and school involved were not identified by the Superintendent of Education, but the Sun Herald has learned the case involves a teacher at Bay High School and allegations of questionable activities with a student.

Superintendent of Education Kim Stasny said in a statement that the administration is cooperating with a police investigation in the matter. Stasny was out of town at a conference and could not be reached by the Sun Herald for further comment.

School Board Attorney Ronnie Artigues confirmed the dismissal, and that the teacher had been employed at Bay High. Similar allegations involving the same teacher had arisen last school year, he said. “There was in the past a rumor that a similar thing was going on, not with this student but another,” he said. “That was thoroughly investigated, and there was absolutely nothing to it.” In the current case, “The school district is cooperating with the police department in that investigation,” Stasny’s statement said. Information on the teacher’s name or sex was withheld.

Teacher/Student Sex Hits In South MS

North Gulfport 7th and 8th Grade teacher Catryna L. Martin has been arrested on charges accusing her of sex crimes against a former student she’d apparently been tutoring at her home, Gulfport Police Chief Alan Weatherford said.

Martin, 28, was arrested Friday and charged with one count each of molestation and sexual battery, both while in a position of trust.

Martin is accused of having a sexual relationship with the girl while she was at her teacher’s home for tutoring. Harrison County Justice Court Judge set Martin’s bond at $1 million.

As more details are released this story will develope further……This seems to be a rising problem in the US—-teacher having sex with their students…….the legislature has bills that it is considering on this very subject….but will it help the passage of new laws or not?

Oh God, Give Me Strength

For years upon years I have been fighting the urge to move out of my state.  I have watched it stay in the 1930’s not really wanting to step out of those days.  I will say that it has made some progress, but not enough for it to take its place in the 21st century.  Its political system is the same system that it had in the 30’s, the “good old boys” system, its people are still some of the least educated because they do wanna go to school, and they settle for menial employment because they are told that is the best they can get.

But now, the crap is really hitting the fan–S-E-X education!  The words that every bible banger has dreaded for 30 years.  For many, many years teachers and the publiuc and especially the legislaors have avoided uttering the words.  But now that bird has come home to roost.

Here comes the religious right’s 19th nervous breakdown–SB 2291

Sex education has emerged as a topic during the first weeks of the legislative session after a recent federal report said Mississippi has the nation’s highest teen birth rate.

Mississippi’s rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, according to new state statistics released earlier this month from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sexually transmitted diseases also are on the rise in the state, and experts say Mississippi’s perpetual poverty is tied to the number of teenage, single parents.

Openly discussing sex, particularly with teens, is still considered taboo in many circles of the Bible Belt state. State law doesn’t require sex education in public schools.

Rep. Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, is among those opposed to sex education courses that would include information about birth control. Any information beyond simple instruction about the reproductive process should come from parents, he said.

“By teaching kids how to have sex and telling them these techniques, they are endorsing the practice. Abstinence is the way to go,” Gunn said. “All of my beliefs stem from my understanding of Scripture.”

Sexually transmitted diseases are a persistent problem for the state’s youth, according to data from the Department of Health. In 2007, there were 432 new cases of chlamydia in youth ages 10-14. The number was 8,444 for ages 15-19. New cases of gonorrhea were 118 and 2,641, respectively. There were 36 new HIV cases in the 15-19 age group and none among the younger teens.

The growing incidence of teen births places an economic strain on the state, Marianne Hill, a senior economist with the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, told the House panel last week.

Hill placed the figure at about $150 million in state and federal dollars, based on providing health care, foster care and other expenditures in addition to lost tax revenue and lower earnings.

It would seem that they, the politicians and the religious right, can no longer ignore that 800 lb gorilla standing next to them in the room and now they have to acknowledge the problem.  The old stand-by “ignore it and it will go away” no longer works.

Bad news is that it will be swept under the rug until next session and probably many more sessions to come.  It will not be ignored just made to go to the back of the bus…..for now.

The Problem Of The High Rate Of Obesity

If you recall, last legislative session, the state was attempting to force restaurants to refuse service to overweight people and now this session we have yet another brilliant plan.

Alrighty then–the state has proposed a pilot program to study the problem of the high rate of fat people in the state with congressional bill, HB 1530.  BTW which states:

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF THE HIGH RATE OF OBESITY IN MISSISSIPPI, BY PROVIDING FOR THE TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY AND RELATED CONDITIONS THROUGH VARIOUS METHODS, INCLUDING THE USE OF BARIATRIC SURGERY AS A TREATMENT OPTION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PILOT PROGRAM SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY THE MEDICAID PROGRAM AND BY THE STATE AND SCHOOL EMPLOYEES HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN, AT LOCATIONS IN AT LEAST THREE COUNTIES IN THE STATE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 25-15-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE BENEFITS UNDER THE STATE AND SCHOOL EMPLOYEES HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 43-13-117.3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A PILOT PROGRAM UNDER MEDICAID TO PROVIDE BARIATRIC SURGERY AS A TREATMENT OPTION IN THE MORBIDLY OBESE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

So basically the answer to the problem of fat people is to perform surgery on them.  Is that about right?  We, the taxpayer, will be footing the bill to doctors and hospitals, the same doctors and hospitals that are guilty of overcharging and such, right?  And it will be charged to Medicaid,  the state same program that is taking a hit from the budget cutting knife at this time, right?

Where is the logic in this?

Would not treating the cause be a better way to spend any money?  Do you think that the massive poverty in the state might have something to do with the people’s eating habits?  How about the lack of education?  Could that possibly be a cause?  Would programs addressing poverty and eliminating poverty help more than the intrusion of a scalpel?  Why do the politicians refuse to face this problem head on?

Why Cannot Mississippi Lead The Way?

Mississippi is the leader in so many things, like the fattest, the poorest, the least educated, on and on, but very few are positive in any way.  I feel it is beyond time for Mississippi to become a leader in some positive way.

This is a re-post from early last year on GSFP.

I have been thinking a lot about the energy problems we are having and will have in the future and I do not understand why Mississippi has not become a research center. we have Coast winds, tidal action and lots of damn sunshine, so why is Mississippi not doing more in research and production?

Jobs would be created, good jobs. The state has numerous universities and colleges and they should be in the forefront of the research and production.

Of course to be a leader in this field would take the cooperation of the Legislature and anyone that lives in Mississippi knows what a screaming bunch of do-nothings they are.

We Mississippians should be demanding that more be done, but we seem to worry about the next casino and not the problems that await just over the horizon.

Now with that said I found another idea that could and should be considered by the legislature and should be adopted and pushed by the schools as a project for the kids to get involved with.  Mississippi is notorious for its litter on highways and byways and its massive amounts of plastic bag usage.

This from the Denver area.

A group of high school students is lobbying for legislation that they hope will blow away the plastic shopping bags that litter Colorado’s landscape.

The Kent Denver School students have lined up Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, to sponsor a bill that would eliminate the plastic tote sacks from supermarkets and other large stores in three years.

The proposal would apply only to businesses that are the largest sources of the bags — stores of 10,000 square feet or more and those that generate more than $1 million in annual revenues.

The bags would be eliminated from those stores after three years.

None of this would take that much in spending to implement and would go a long way to putting the state in the forefront of the new “green revolution”.

What would it hurt to try?