Danger! Public School Classrooms Awash in Lawlessness

Fistfights, name calling, classroom chaos, and students disrespecting each other and their teachers are everyday occurrences in many, if not most, U.S. public schools. Yet these antics are overshadowed by the myriad other woes plaguing K-12 education, such as low test scores, illiteracy, bizarre math curricula, CRT, social emotional learning, and LGBT indoctrination. Preoccupation with students’ gender preferences, including their preferred pronouns, sexual proclivities, and the status of their feelings, rule the day in many schools.

But as former teacher and author Daniel Buck pointed out in National Review on August 2nd, the gravity of classroom violence has reached alarming proportions, surpassing all else. He observed that “the dramatic turn toward lawlessness post-pandemic is perhaps the most consequential story in education that receives little to no coverage. We bicker about phonics or whole-language instruction, which books to read or banish from library shelves, whether Texas teachers can include the Bible as literature in curriculum — all the while teachers cannot maintain basic control of their classrooms, and students crack skulls on pavement.”

Feds Punish Whistleblower in Texas Children’s Hospital Case

A whistleblower who tried to expose wrongdoing at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) is being prosecuted by the Federal government for allegedly releasing HIPAA-protected patient information. Dr. Eithan Haim is accused of illegally providing the intel, which was carefully redacted to conceal “all personal information,” to Manhattan Institute senior fellow, Christopher Rufo. According to Rufo, the information Haim released “remained within the bounds of privacy laws,” but the Biden Administration is going after him anyway.

At issue is the hospital’s continuation of its gender transitioning program, which it claimed had been halted in 2022 in response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s issuance of an opinion that transgender procedures and treatments “can constitute child abuse under section 261.001(1)(C), 261.001(1)(A), and 261.001 (1)(B)” of the Texas Practice Guide for Child Protective Services.

Bad Grades? Dumb Down the Grading System

It was only a matter of time. As the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores continued to tumble despite the dumbing down of the tests themselves — they now measure social-emotional characteristics in addition to academics — public-school administrators had to do something. The solution, at least in California and reportedly soon if not already in other states, is to lower the grading scale.

In April, reports surfaced of a dumbed-down California grading system (shown below), which was purportedly posted on Facebook by a concerned California parent and brought to light nationally on the Dr. Phil TV show. The chart turned up on X, courtesy of a user called “Joker King,” who wrote: “84-100 is an A? 24-44 is a D? In my day, anything below 65 was failing, now it’s a C. This is unacceptable....”

What Books Should Kids be Reading?

(Seventh in our series of recommended reading lists for children of all ages. We will continue this feature in Education Reporter until all our lists have been republished. — Ed.)

Classic children’s books are scarcely to be found in school classrooms and libraries today, so parents must ensure that their kids are reading books that educate, absorb, and entertain in a manner that stimulates curiosity and increases the child’s eagerness to learn about the world.