School Controversies

In the past decade, public awareness of our planet’s natural resources has grown, and with that understanding has come to a movement in living in environmentally sustainable “green” ways. While just a few decades ago recycling was a fringe activity, today it is a widespread practice. Hybrid vehicles have gone from fantasy to reality.

As national interest in living sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyles continues to grow, a number of public schools are joining the green movement, designing green curricula for students at all levels. In fact, some charter schools are now based around the ideals of green living.

This TED Talk discusses teaching sustainability in schools.

Green Charter Schools

The New York Times reports that across the country, public charter schools that are based around a “green” theme have been springing up. The Green Charter Schools Network, which is based in Madison, Wisconsin, says it has counted about 200 green charter schools nationwide, according to the Times. These green charter schools serve several purposes that both benefit the earth and their students’ futures.

Preparing Students for Work in the Sustainable Energy Industry

Some charter schools focus on technical skills that will prepare students to find work in the “green collar” jobs that are frequently touted as a part of a growth industry.

The Times article mentions Manhattan’s Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, which opened in Fall

Since the nation entered an economic recession in 2008, public school systems across the country have been grappling with some of the most severe state budget crises in recent memory. As governors introduce their budget proposals for the 2010-2011 school year, school districts are learning that the belt-tightening and difficult choices are likely to continue next year.

Hawaii

In Hawaii, the Department of Education has managed its budget crisis by instituting mandatory furlough days for public school teachers. The furlough days have resulted in Hawaii public schools being closed on seven Fridays since October 2009.

The closing of public schools on Fridays has prompted strong reactions from public school parents in Hawaii. Parents have formed two grassroots organizations: Save Our Schools Hawaii and Hawaii Education Matters. The groups have been pressing Hawaiian legislators to restore the 27 furlough days that are planned for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year.

Hawaii’s governor, Linda Lingle, has been working to try to find a way to get students back in school on the planned furlough days. The Honolulu Advertiser reports that the governor, the state Department of Education, and the Hawaii State Teachers’ Association are in the process of negotiating terms that might allow students to return to the classroom on some of the upcoming furlough days.

However, any solution that the negotiators propose will inevitably involve compromises. The teachers’ union is concerned that the governor’s proposal to restore furlough days will result in a severe budget shortfall for the

You'd better watch out for the offensive classroom Christmas tree. You'd better not pout about prohibiting reindeer images in class. You'd better not cry about banning candy canes for your students, and we'll tell you why. Santa Claus is no longer... politically correct.

Over the past several years, the public has been divided over whether words and images related to religious holidays, such as nativity scenes, Santa, candy canes, and menorahs, are appropriate in public schools. The debate shows no sign of stopping, and recent discussions across the country underscore the fact that emotions can run high when it comes to conversations about holiday celebrations in public schools.

Christmas Party Changed to "Celebration of Winter" in Connecticut

In Waterbury, Connecticut, an elementary school principal drew fire from school board members when he replaced the school's annual Christmas party with a "celebration of winter." The principal defended his choice to remove Christmas from the winter celebration, stating that he runs a public school and that he has to "do things that include every child."

However, two members of the district's school board took offense to the politically correct winter celebration. One of them complained that "there seems to be a war specifically targeted against those of the Christian faith," with the implication that the removal of Christmas words and images from the winter party constituted another battle wound in this war.

Although this particular incident occurred years ago, similar debates continue to emerge in schools across the country as

Songs such as “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World” have long been considered staples of the annual holiday concerts performed by school bands, orchestras, and choirs. However, friends and family of students in New Jersey’s South Orange Maplewood School District no longer hear these songs at their annual holiday concerts. Across the nation, school districts are changing their policies, banning music with religious themes at school-sponsored events.

One parent in the South Orange Maplewood district has been engaged in a legal battle with the district since 2004 aimed at restoring Christmas carols to holiday concerts, but he has been unsuccessful thus far. Michael Stratechuck, the parent in question, filed his initial lawsuit against the school district in December 2004. In his initial complaint, Stratechuk argued that that district's policy banning music with religious themes (including instrumental versions of religious songs) from being played at the school's December concerts was a violation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of worship.

Stratechuk appealed the district's court's ruling in favor of the school district, and the United States Appeals Court for the Third Circuit reheard the case in September 2009. Unfortunately for Stratechuk and his supporters, the appeals court recently issued a decision opinion affirming the lower court's ruling and declaring that the school district's policy does not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

The Case in Favor of the Christmas Carols
Government Must Not be Hostile Towards Religion

The New York Times reported that

While the unjust days of official segregation ended 40 years ago, public schools today are struggling against another type of segregation: racial isolation. Public schools in both urban and rural areas have been experiencing racial isolation, which occurs when one district is densely populated by a predominant ethnic group.

To combat these geographically-induced segregation trends, public school leaders have created integration programs to develop more diverse student populations. While the concept of mandatory racial integration may sound strange to an unfamiliar ear, schools across the country have implemented “reassignment” programs to increase diversity. In many cases, public schools have enforced specific race-based quotas – and these practices have ignited controversy on both sides of the debate.

From the Library of Congress: "The massive effort to desegregate public schools across the United States was a major goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Since the 1930s, lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had strategized to bring local lawsuits to court, arguing that separate was not equal and that every child, regardless of race, deserved a first-class education. These lawsuits were combined into the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation in schools in 1954. But the vast majority of segregated schools were not integrated until many years later. Many interviewees of the Civil Rights History Project recount a long, painful struggle that scarred many students, teachers, and parents."

Chicago Public Schools: Mandatory Racial Integration

Gaining a major