|
Home / Family / Parenting
Immigration Rally Was a Valuable Lesson For Students
By:Mike Patrick Jr, MD
The recent immigration rally on the National Mall sparked controversy for Montgomery County High School in Rockville, Maryland. School officials allowed students to participate in the march and to claim state-required "community service" hours for the experience. This decision set off the tempers of otherwise-sensible parents, who inundated district offices with irate phone calls. They wanted an explanation. After all, community service is helping old folks in the home or serving lunch at the shelter or raising money for your favorite charity. It's not about picking sides in a political debate. Or is it?
Not sure myself, I decided to visit the Maryland State Department of Education's website to get their side of the story. I discovered something interesting--Maryland doesn't require community service at all. What they require is "Student Service Learning" or SSL. Their site specifically states that SSL is not the same as volunteerism, community service, or work-study internship. So what is it?
SSL is an activity that meets 7 core criteria. First, it must fill a recognized need in the community. This may be a direct action (serving meals), an indirect action (fundraising), or an advocacy action, advocacy being defined as "educat(ing) others about a particular issue with the goal being to eliminate the cause of a particular problem." The activity must be linked to curricular studies, help develop student responsibility, establish community partnerships, and equip students with knowledge and skills. The student must plan ahead for the activity and must write a paper reflecting on the experience.
So did participation in the immigration rally meet the requirements for an SSL activity? I think it did. The rally served to educate the American public by generating discussion of immigration issues, and the goal of the rally was the elimination of problems faced by immigrants; therefore, the advocacy criteria was met. The immigration rally was certainly linked to curricular studies. The students witnessed Amendment I of the Bill of Rights in action. For those of you who forget the wording from your own curricular studies, let me refresh your memory:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
By actively exercising the right to peaceably assemble, these students gained a stronger sense of the First Amendment than they would have gotten from merely reading the words in a textbook.
But what about the other criteria? Did the rally develop student responsibility, establish community partnerships, and equip students with certain knowledge and skills? Again, I think it did. The students had to attend the rally under the supervision of CASA, a Maryland-based advocacy group for low-income Latinos in the D.C. Metropolitan Area. Through their involvement with CASA, students were exposed to other services CASA offers, such as English language and citizenship and financial skills classes.
The final two criteria were also met. Students planned ahead for the activity by contacting CASA and arranging time to attend the rally, and they were expected to complete a written report reflecting upon their experience.
In my mind, the immigration rally easily met the requirements for Student Service Learning as defined by the Maryland State Department of Education. So really, the irate parents should complain to the State if they want the advocacy clause removed, not the local school district. In the meantime, if these parents objected to the rally, they should have forbidden their minor children from participating and steered them toward a different experience.
I suspect the real problem is that the complaining parents disagree with CASA's view of immigration reform. Perhaps these parents disagree with mass citizenship for illegals. Perhaps they feel illegals should be rounded up and sent south. Perhaps they feel a wall should be built along the U.S.-Mexico border. That's fine. There is certainly merit to those opinions as our national debate on immigration reform continues.
But parent opinion on immigration issues is not the point here. The point is teaching our children that we have the right to peacefully voice our opinion in the United States of America without fear of imprisonment or execution. That is a right we should never take lightly. That is a right folks in China and Iran and North Korea hunger for. That is a right that could be extinguished in our own country if we fail to teach and defend it.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Mike Patrick Jr, MD - This article is available for free distribution. Certain restrictions apply. Please visit the editors page at pediascribe.com for a complete list of reprint guidelines.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: Pediascribe, doctor, pediatrician, pediatric, parenting, family, health, Mike-Patrick-Jr, immigration, rally, washington, student, school, community service
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Mike Patrick Jr, MD is the author of Pediascribe. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics, and a seasoned clinician with more than 10 years of patient-care experience. Mike received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed his pediatric training at Columbus Children's Hospital. He lives in Central Ohio with his wife and two school-aged children.
Pediascribe is a collection of thoughts from an American pediatrician. Always informative. Usually entertaining. Sometimes provocative. Pediascribe explores the issues most important to parents and their families.
www.pediascribe.com
|
|
| Top Parenting Articles |
- 1). Prevent Your Teenager From Becoming A Statistic By : Funky
Parents please don't be naive in thinking that your teenager is not having sex, the majority of teenagers are. We have to better educate our children on the risks of unprotected sex. This task may sound embarrassing for both you and your teenager but it must be done. Schools only scrape the surface when discussing unprotected sex, stating that they can catch STD's and fall pregnant; where they fail is by not shocking our teenagers with the realities of these subjects.
|
- 2). On-Line Business Using Baby Products By : Hege Crowton
Are you a stay at home parent who would very much like to earn some extra money but you don’t know how? Well the answer is right in front of you, your baby. This does not mean that you should make a business of your child but out of what you as a parent know a child needs.
|
- 3). Just What Is Colic – And Does My Baby Have It By : Sarah Veda
There are few things more nerve wracking than a crying baby, particularly when nothing you do seems to console him. But, how do you know when your baby’s symptoms have are just crying and when he has colic? And, just what is colic, anyway?
No one knows exactly what causes colic, though many old wives tales abound. Lots of older women will tell you.
|
- 4). Autism: What Causes It, And Can It Be Cured? By : Lisa Hyde
Autism is a disorder that is affecting more and more children. But many autistic children have been able to lead normal lives.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by abnormal social interaction, communication ability, interest patterns, and behavior patterns. Autism is found to occur due to the vulnerability to environmental triggers displayed by the human genes.
|
- 5). Playing An Active Role In Your Children's Homeschooling By : Donna L. Miller
Homeschooling is an option that many parents choose when they feel that, for whatever reason, their child will not be getting the best education in a public or private school system. Homeschooling allows for a variety of curriculum and teaching techniques to be applied that suit your child's particular needs - often that is unlikely to happen in a large classroom setting.
|
- 6). Teaching a Child Responsible Behavior Begins at Home By : Lori S. Anton
Parents are teachers, too. When it comes to child rearing, one of the most important lessons a parent can teach their youngster is responsible behavior. This means helping the child learn how to interact with others in a way that displays self-respect, as well as respect toward others.
No child comes into this world pre-programmed with good manners and virtuous attributes such as a willingness to share, consideration for the feelings of others, respect for others possessions, respect for authority figures, and a selfless attitude.
|
- 7). A Gift To Be Remembered: Child Personalized Stationary By : Paolo Basauri
Benefits of Child Personalized Stationary
One of the best gifts you can give to a child that is just learning to write is child personalized stationary. Children love to be told that they’re special and personalized stationary is a concrete way to express that sentiment. Seeing their own name printed on child personalized stationary will fill a child with delight and wonder at the magic that you used to make it happen.
|
- 8). Potty Training –Not For The Faint Of Heart By : Sarah Veda
If you’ve determined that your child is ready for potty training, it’s time to take the plunge. It’s not easy, but don’t despair, your child will master potty training some time before kindergarten. It’s important to make sure you’re ready, too, because potty training requires a lot of commitment on the part of the Mom.
First, you need to make potty training a project.
|
- 9). Solving Baby Slep Problems - The Ferber Method By : Debbie Walker
Nothing can prepare new parents for the mind numbing weariness that comes with lack of sleep. A new baby may be tiny but the havoc they wreak to your sleep is huge. It can take work to establish good sleeping habits. One of the hardest things for your baby is to learn to fall asleep on his own.
I firmly believe that parents need to reclaim their evenings.
|
- 10). Why first borns fuss, seconds are resilient and youngests like to laugh By : Michael Grose
How can two or three children in the same family be so different? They are brought up in the same broad social environment, under a similar set of rules and an identical family value system. They also come from the same genetic pool yet they can be so different in personality, interests and achievement. While they may be born into the same family they are not born into the same position.
|
| New Parenting Articles |
- 1). Single Parent Adoption. Is It Worth? By : frederic lampard
In the last 20 years there has been a steady, sizable increase in the number of single-parent adoptions. Why would a successful, independent single man or woman want to give up his or her freedom and assume the responsibilities of raising a child?
|
- 2). What Every Parent Should Know By : Adam Henley
Being a parent is the most wonderful experience in the world but at times it can prove to be the most challenging as well. No matter how much you prepare and anticipate there will be many situations that will take you by surprise.
|
- 3). Making the Most of After School Time By : Rick Hendershot
Most parents realize that the time their children spend in school is only a relatively small part of their day, and that their education extends well beyond the six or so hours they spend in the classroom.
|
- 4). Show You Trust And It Will Be Returned By : Kadence Buchanan
Parenting is not something one should ever take lightly. Having children is a 24-hours business and taking good care of your kids is something you should invest time to study and learn; preferably not on their expense.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 8). Some Sources To Help You Find Adoption Grants By : Gregg Hall
Have you ever known a couple that would have made wonderful parents but they were unable to have children on their own? Did you wonder why they did not adopt children? It could have been because adoption is prohibitively expensive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
