Tags
San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten, SDUSD Trustee Richard Barrera
Here are some interesting articles we received and discovered this past week…
ENJOY!
Longview High School to Award Letterman Jackets for Academics
Quote from Article:
For the first time, Longview High School will award letterman jackets and patches to students for their academic achievements, an administrator said.
Dean of Instruction Linda Buie said the school’s administrative team has planned the initiative for several years.
“Students have been receiving letter jackets for sports, (University Interscholastic League competitions) and different extracurricular activities. We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to support academics,” Buie said. “The intent is to order them at the beginning of the senior year, and then they would have them throughout their senior year.”
The school will pay for the jackets, she said. Students who already have jackets will receive academic patches that can be sewn on, Buie said.
District Deeds Synopsis:
What a great idea!!!
Letterman jackets have always been a source of pride for athletes in various sports but we had never heard of using those as an incentive for academic achievement. Some of the Magnet schools in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) have no sports so this would be a great way for both the schools and the Students to show their educational accomplishments and pride!
New FBI Data: School-Based Hate Crimes Jumped 25 Percent Last Year — for the Second Year in a Row
Quote from Article:
Reported hate crimes at K-12 schools and colleges surged by 25 percent last year, according to new Federal Bureau of Investigation data — the second year in a row in which such incidents spiked by roughly a quarter.
It’s also the third consecutive year that reported hate crimes increased more broadly, according to the FBI. Across all locations, reported hate crimes rose by 17 percent in 2017. Hate crimes most frequently occurred in or near homes, accounting for 28 percent of incidents. Hate crimes were more frequently reported in schools than in commercial offices, government buildings, and churches.
While the number of hate crimes increased last year, so did the number of local law enforcement agencies reporting data to the federal government. An additional 1,000 law enforcement agencies contributed information on hate crimes last year compared with 2016, according to the FBI. The FBI’s civil rights program has made hate crimes its highest investigative priority, the agency said, and it’s working with local police to promote better reporting.
Better reporting is likely a factor in the increase, but advocacy groups say they have also observed an uptick in incidents since the 2016 presidential election campaigns began. In the days after President Donald Trump was elected, the Southern Poverty Law Center conducted a survey of education leaders, who reported an uptick in verbal harassment as well as incidents involving swastikas and Nazi salutes. In the first month of school this fall, the group identified 43 incidents of hate in schools, a majority of which centered on anti-black racism.
And…
But Nadine Connell, director of the Center for Crime and Justice Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, took a more glass-half-full perspective. While divisive campaign rhetoric may have emboldened some people to act on hateful impulses, it could have also prompted greater reporting among both victims and police. Because hate crimes are historically underreported, she said the FBI data may not represent the full extent of such incidents in America.
More reported hate crimes “could be very positive because it means these things are coming to light, they’re becoming part of the conversation, and they give us more opportunity to make change,” she told The 74. “You’re also reaching a point in policing where you can’t ignore these things anymore, or in education where you can’t ignore these things anymore.”
District Deeds Synopsis:
A very interesting article that provides some excellent data and charts.
We found the following item most troubling:
Of the 7,175 hate crimes law enforcement agencies reported to the FBI last year, 10.5 percent occurred at schools and colleges. The data also include demographic information on hate crime offenders and victims: 17 percent of perpetrators were minors, as were 12 percent of hate crime victims.
Over 700 hate crimes in schools and colleges last year!
Shocking and eye opening. Let’s hope and pray that the safety and security upgrades promised in Measure YY are real and not just another set of lies by SDUSD Board of Education Trustee “Tricky Dick” Barerra and his sidekick, pathetic Elementary School Superintendent Cindy Marten.
Unfortunately, based on the financial blunders and operational disasters promulgated by “Dumb” Barrera and “Dumber” Marten, we have no confidence that our students will actually be any safer after D & D mis-spend the $4.5 billion of Measure YY cash.
What a waste!
We All Teach SEL: Compassion Activities and Tools for Students
Building SEL (social and emotional learning) skills such as compassion requires face-to-face interactions, meaningful discussion, and reflection. Edtech is no complete substitute for that, but there are tools that can supplement the development of character in the classroom and at home. According to the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, compassion is:
the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.
While some tools focus specifically on compassion, the websites and apps you use daily (in all subjects) can be used to promote concern for others. You don’t have to stop using the tools you love or toss out your lesson or curricular plans to start developing SEL. Below we have included some tips, tools, and actionable ideas for seamlessly integrating compassion and life skills-building into your content classroom.
And…
It’s important to understand the distinction between “empathy” and “compassion.” Empathy allows us to sense other people’s emotions, like grief or joy, and imagine what someone else might be thinking. Compassion is similar but also involves a desire to help the person. Going further, compassion can lead to altruism, where people behave and act in kind and selfless ways. In a Chicago school, students felt compassion for their teacher, a survivor of cancer, and followed up with a thoughtful act. (Click the link to watch them surprise her with a song that illustrates emphatic understanding and profound care.) The difference between feeling someone’s pain (empathy) and having an urge to help (compassion) is transformational and is an important part of teaching in our classrooms.
District Deeds Synopsis:
Based on the Hate Crime stats provided in the previous article, the compassion building tools and strategies provided could prove invaluable in creating a “culture of students who are one step closer to making real, positive change in their communities n empathetic classroom, school and district.”
Please pass this article on to parents and teachers!
Now for our Quote of the Week:
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” – Albert Schweitzer
Have a great week!!!
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IF
- Your family has been injured by the San Diego Unified School District, go to the District Deeds Complaint Forms page to find instructions to fight for your Civil Rights!
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Please Click the Link Below and sign the Petition Today and READ the COMMENTS to Support the REMOVAL of Marten by SDUSD Stakeholders!
District Deeds 