Thank you, Myra. The reasoning behind raising standards is really hilarious. It's, as you point out, based on a faulty assumption that the primary cause for a student not achieving is that the bar is not high enough. We do not carry this line of thinking into any other area. Gone is the notion that cognitive and developmental readiness have anything to do with learning. We entertain such a false sense of control. We think we can fool biology and mother nature if we just increase our demands. We have at hand all of the expertise to design effective curriculum. We just ignore it because we are seduced by money, power, and ego.

@matt1141a: Common sense is not a trait of mentally ill people, period. The last time I checked the DSM did not include political affiliation as part of it's diagnostic criteria. There is no medical diagnosis for either "conservative" or "liberal." Mental illness is medical and has nothing to do with politics.

@matt1141a: uh oh-- back to namecalling.

@GroversMill: I will need a background check each year that I work as a volunteer in Clarke County schools. It never occurred to me that this might be the gateway to further encroachment on my citizen rights. Yikes. Is this check really a code word for the secret agenda of my local school system?

Thank you, Tina. I also appreciate that you referred to this as a "gun debate" rather than the NRA term, "culture war." Debate is not war. I can't imagine being "at war" with other Americans because we have different social, cultural or political values and opinions. Why do different points of view immediately deteriorate into labeling and "namecalling?"

This is like a blame-game contest. Which "side" is the most hateful? No wonder we can't get any problems solved. Instead of looking for commonalities, we seek blame.

[quote][b]johnthebrewer[/b] - Thanks Leonard.
Several of these comments prove you to be correct.
[/quote]

The level of anger in these comments is exactly what Pitts is talking about. When did free speech become rage-filled speech? Why do so many people have difficulty expressing themselves clearly and without namecalling? Why do we seem to divide everything into good guys and bad guys? I would seriously like to read a book that would explain, from a sociological point of view, how this has come to be. There are, I'm sure, no simple answers; this rage culture came about from multiple, probably complex factors. It's interesting that we can work up so much extreme emotion that we talk about destroying each other.

And he had male foster children in his home.

Great article, Myra. Let's begin with the "emperor's clothes" myth that no one ever wants to mention---the fact that there is great variability among students. Just like they have different learning styles, they have different learning RATES. All kids CAN learn, BUT ALL KIDS CANNOT BE ON GRADE LEVEL. Period. We humans are created of equal value and worth--- in the eyes of God or the universe if you will. But, we do not have equal intellectual ability, interpersonal skills, creativity, musical ability, physical ability, and so on through every trait you can name. Standards and expectations are great, but the standards better be as varied as the people for whom they are created. Why can't we get this???? Give me an intellectually gifted kid and a marginal teacher, and you will get grade-level performance. Give me a slow learning student with minimal home support and a gifted teacher, and you will probably NOT get grade-level performance. Ever. Even if you hold the kid back multiple times --- which would virtually guarantee a drop out. Teach in an upper middle class community and you will get great scores. Teach in a disadvantaged community and you will probably not. Who is the better teacher? This may not be PC, but friends, it is the truth that we continue to ignore.

This gun issue seems to bring out more namecalling than most others. Oh, and religion is right up there with guns. Most of the namecalling seems to come from the pro gun gang, which now make up the minority of the American public. Even though some of the recent horrific events have changed the American conscience, they are not powerful enough to change the minds of our NRA-dependent representatives. It is interesting that one comment the other day stated that our representatives really aren't supposed to represent their constituents, but rather to uphold their interpretation of the constitution.This could make for an interesting debate in itself. OK, boys, let the namecalling begin. Will you prove my point?

Wow! I can see where the readers lie on this issue. I am so confused by this vote. It makes no sense that all public school employees need background checks, and when I volunteered in my neighborhood school this year I needed one. And yet, our congress is against this when we know that many of our most heinous mass shootings have been by people who are mentally ill. I just don't get the logic. I believe that we all must sacrifice some " rights" when we live in community, for the well-being of all and the rights of others. This, in my opinion, does not take away our liberty. My liberty ends when your rights are threatened by me. What am I missing here?

Wow! I can see where the readers lie on this issue. I am so confused by this vote. It makes no sense that all public school employees need background checks, and when I volunteered in my neighborhood school this year I needed one. And yet, our congress is against this when we know that many of our most heinous mass shootings have been by people who are mentally ill. I just don't get the logic. I believe that we all must sacrifice some " rights" when we live in community, for the well-being of all and the rights of others. This, in my opinion, does not take away our liberty. My liberty ends when your rights are threatened by me. What am I missin

Self-esteem is not a commodity that can be conferred on another person, nor can environmental factors be manipulated in order to manufacture it. Much harm has been done in the name of SELF-ESTEEM. Mastery is the key here. You can't pat yourself on the back for doing something easy. Those who have the easiest, most sheltered, fun-filled lives do not necessarily feel more worthwhile or valued. Pride comes from overcoming obstacles and thereby growing. Just look at the smile on the face of a baby taking his or her first steps. Prizes without effort are bogus, and lead to a false sense of entitlement.

Where in the Jennings Mill plan is there a traffic light scheduled for Jennings Mill Rd. and the Atlanta Hwy? What a congested mess, with cars jammed willy nilly in the center area, no one having a clue where to go in order to make a turn. Left turns are a real mess, complicated by bad line of sight due to cars everywhere in the intersection. Even some painted lines and arrows might help. I am not aware of any other intersection in Athens that is as confusing. Anyone know if there is a game plan in place?

Why do folks feel the need to slander a parent for the acts of an adult child? People who do this hold the mistaken belief that we humans have control over other humans. If you have had more than one child, you have probably learned that this is not the case. If grades were given, it would be possible to be an "A" parent with an "F" child, as well as an "F" parent with an "A" child. We all have free will. Part of understanding the full scope of responsibility is understanding that one adult cannot MAKE another adult behave the way they wish. Oh, but if that were only true we'd live in a near perfect world.

Currently our standards are lower than national standards. I have evaluated hundreds of students, and the CRCT, based on our state curriculum, consistently places students higher than do scores on individually- administered tests with national norms. We congratulate ourselves on how many students "passed" this very minimum measure of academic achievement. The only way to see how our students are really achieving is to align ourselves with national, not local standards. In some cases control and standards should be national and not local. Colleges are not interested in state or local norms. The SAT is not a test designed to measure achievement based on a Georgia-tailored curriculum. You bet our scores will drop initially, but our current scores are an illusion of success anyway. Let's bite the bullet and jump on the reality train Georgians.

Instead of "playing" we have "play dates." We also have "date night." UGH! I guess your children CANNOT have play dates on your date night... Unless they are at someone else's home... In which case, those parents are most definitely not having a date night, or play date, or WHATEVER.

Thank you for giving an alternative and reasonable Republican view. As a moderate Democrat, I am always hopeful that Broun and his ilk do not ever become the primary voice of the Republican party. It's so embarrassing for our state when one of Broun's rants makes national news. We hear from friends around the country who unfortunately think he reflects how most of us think. They wonder how we can stand to live in GA. They wonder how we can live in a respected university city and have a representative who is anti-science and anti-intellectual. I want to be REPRESENTED by someone who is respected and makes sense, regardless of party.

It's amazing how many folks are so quick to jump to judgement here. The assumption many are making is that this is an unwanted child, born out of wedlock, who has a weak mother who needs to learn more aggressive discipline strategies. Note how often comments suggest that she is responsible. This is the attitude that makes it so hard for parents to accept early on that there may be other issues at play. And then, down the road, we wonder why no one recognized early on that there were serious mental health issues emerging. This is National School Counselors Week. I hope this child's counselor is reaching out to this mom and helping her to access services -- other than those related to the judicial system.

Will educators who are against being armed be forced to carry a gun anyway? Will local school boards be able to mandate that? Does that constitute an impingement of the rights of an educator to be a conscientious objector? Will there be opportunities for appeal? Will failure to carry a weapon be considered insubordination? What kind of legal action might be taken against an educator, should an incident occur in his or her school, if s/he is not armed? What kind of legal action might be taken against an armed educator who hits an innocent bystander? How much training will school leaders need in order to be considered proficient in a gun fight? Will this become part of the future Leadership certification in Georgia. Which is the greater freedom---to be able to carry a weapon or to be able to refuse to carry a weapon?

Mr. Galis is correct with his stats. According to Time (Jan. 28), the NYPD was able to hit a gunman with a 30 percent hit rate when the target did not fire back. When the gunman fired at the officer, the rate dropped to 18 percent. Do we honestly think a teacher or principal would do better? What about innocent bystanders? We cannot predict what the human brain will do under threat. How much money are we willing to drain from already-depleted educational funds to train educators to outperform the NYPD? One in 3 million school children are shot yearly at school. Very sad. How many are hurt by poor legislative support for school funding? Is it a "misfire" to train teachers to use guns rather than train children to read books? What is this American love affair with guns and freedom? Why are we not equally appalled when children do not get a free and appropriate public education. Thank you, Mr. Galis.

Although I had met all of the requirements for license renewal, I waited to renew online until the latter part of Dec. for personal budgetary reasons (renewal costs several hundred dollars). Since this process has previously resulted in almost instant license renewal, I did not know until I got to the site that the new law affected me (I've held the same license in GA since 1985--renewed every two years), and that I would have to fax or snail mail the licensing board "secure and identifiable documentation" (i.e. drivers license). As of yesterday my license was still "pending" which means that I cannot legally practice in my state. Good thing I'm retired and not immediately affected by this delay. We needed a warning months ago about the wait time--sort of like they do at Disney for rides.

Ms. Cooper has done a great job of highlighting some of the key issues. Because of the shame so many families feel when they are dealing with mental illness, there is a "no talk" rule that seems to take over. Although science continues to reveal that so much mental illness is biologically based, we still hold on to the outdated notion that it is basically caused by poor parenting (Thanks, Dr. Freud). Shame causes families to withdraw and turn inward, thus cutting off the support and very resources that are needed. People leave their church families, stop going to family events, cut off neighbors, stop inviting friends over, and short circuit conversations about anything that might reveal "the secret." Our rugged individualism says that if we just work hard enough we can control anything-- all by ourselves. The opposite is actually the case-- we need each other.

I think this is right on the money. We look for simple answers to complex problems, in our sincere effort to end horrific societal events. But more often it is a complex interplay of factors. There is so much research showing that exposure to violent media increases aggression in individuals with certain characteristics. We also know that "systematic desensitization" occurs with repeated exposure to even the most adverse stimuli. Now, add availability of guns (assault rifles) to that, and we have a potentially explosive mix.

I have tried the hand-pulling method and you just can't get to the real problem, which are the rhizomes underground. It's a hopeless battle. Pre- emergents help ssome. I find that regular spraying with Image every few weeks will keep it under control--- pretty much. If it's in bedding, you might have to "paint" the Image on individual weeds. Certainly not an organic route. I guess it just depends how much it bothers you. It bothers me.