What's in that burger your child is eating at school?
So-called “pink slime” has joined ketchup-as-a-vegetable, peanut allergies and chocolate milk as the school lunch controversy of the moment.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that schools will have the choice of whether to purchase ground beef that contains the filler product critics have called “pink slime.”
The filler is beef trimmings from which the fat has been rendered and then pressed into blocks. The blocks are treated with ammonium hydroxide gas to kill bacteria and other food-borne pathogens.
The paddle at Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla. was made by students in woodshop class four years ago.
The paddle at Holmes County High school is made of ash wood. Its about 6 ounces heavy, 16 inches long, 5 inches wide, and half an inch think.
The paddle at Madison County Central elementary and middle school was made by a member in the community out of plexiglass. The paddle is about 18 inches long, 7 inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick.
The paddle at Sneads High School in Jackson County, Fla. sits on the principal’s desk.
The late comedian Richard Pryor had a classic bit about being forced to find and strip a “decent switch” so that his grandmother could administer a “decent whippin.'”
Florida students in school districts that still use a paddle to spank misbehaving pupils know the feeling.
At Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla., students make the paddles in woodshop class.
“You can’t buy them anywhere,” said Eddie Dixson, the school’s principal. “There’s not a market for them, so yeah, students make it.”
Florida State University Schools director Lynn Wicker
A charter school affiliated with Florida State University is building an online community to support the state’s more than 500 charter schools.
The site, developers say, will serve as a hub for curriculum, instruction and assessment assistance tailored for charter schools. The hub will build off the current CPALMS site, which offers the same types of support and resources to traditional public schools.
“They can see that other people are having the same challenges and share solutions,” Lynn Wicker, director of the Florida State University Schools, said in a statement. “It really won’t matter where you are geographically in the state: You’ll have the same access to the same resources.”
The project is funded by a $500,000 grant from the Florida Department of Education. More details here.
The piece also looks at school performance, referencing a Tampa Bay Times story that looked at whether any evidence exists that the school is out-performing district schools. Also worth noting is this follow-up, which shows how the school jiggered its Advanced Placement test results to a more PR-friendly figure.
The Education Week story notes that Florida Virtual is an unusual animal in the world of online education.
Gierrea Bostick, 6, was paddled on his second week of pre-school without the consent of his mom, Tenika Jones. The paddles allegedly left welts on Gierrea’s bottom and Jones has filed a notice to sue the Levy County School District.
The administrators at most schools with corporal punishment policies ask parents for permission to paddle their children. Many principals say they will not paddle a kid against the parent’s wishes.
But schools don’t always check the paperwork before they administer the punishment.
And when that happens, Florida statutes protect the principals and teachers from lawsuits.
Florida Law Protects Principals and Teachers
Robert Rush, a civil rights attorney in Gainesville, says state law does not require schools to get parental consent.
“If the school board and the principal specifically authorize corporal punishment, it can be administered lawfully against the parent’s wishes,” Rush said.
Accelerated learning — Students who want to graduate high school in less than four years can do so if Gov. Rick Scott signs this bill into law. This was a top priority of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, the education non-profit founded by former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Florida parents and teachers are finding new ways to embarrass students.
The parents of a South Florida seventh-grader forced him to wear a sandwich board to publicize his poor grades and preference for cracking up his classmates, according to WSVN television.
Michael Bell Jr. is standing at a Kendall intersection wearing the sign.
As other students enjoy their spring break, Michael will be out holding his sign. “I got an F in most of my classes, so as a punishment, I’m supposed to stay here for the whole spring break,” said Michael.
Michael’s father hopes Michael will learn a lesson and understand the importance of getting good grades. “I don’t know any other way, I’m trying to reach him. He doesn’t want to be reached, and this is my last resort,” said Michael Bell Sr.
In addition to the bad grades, Michael’s teachers told his parents he is a little bit too much of a class clown. “If you don’t do right then you get a lot of stuff taken from you,” said Michael.
In parts of the state, mostly in the rural north, getting spanked at school, on your butt, with a wooden or fiberglass board, is just part of being a misbehaving student.
“I been getting them since about first grade,” said Lucas Mixon, now a junior at Holmes County High School in Bonifay, Fla.
“It’s just regular. They tell you to put your hands up on the desk and how many swats you’re going to get.”
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