Because children are members of our society, it is our duty as a whole society to protect every member. Therefore, it makes sense that Jarod’s Law would be enacted.
Essentially this law will help better protect all the members of the school society. In Kari Patrick’s presentation on Jarod’s Law, it was mentioned in a report by Deb Silverman that the safety standards in schools had not been revised since the late 1970’s (1977). This new Ohio House Bill 203 was signed by Governor Taft on December19, 2005. According to Deb Silverman from her report “Jarod’s Law Redefines School Safety Standards”, health officials have recognized it as one of the most comprehensive school safety programs in the country. Obviously, a lot of time has elapsed and through the tragedy of this young boy, new safety guidelines have to be enforced in schools (http://www.odh.ohio.gov/rules/final/f3701-54.aspx ).
Under this new law, schools will be required to have yearly inspections to identify any hazardous materials that need to be removed or stored properly, or building/playground equipment that are in violation of the code, according to Ms. Patrick. Who is going to pay to fix these problems? I like what Ms. Patrick quoted from an anonymous blog posting, “I fully support the safety of school children as much as the next human being, but I must ask, safety at what cost? At the cost of education? At the cost of interest in science and knowing, and seeking the truth with one’s own hands and intellect”(http://introverteddeviate.blogspot.com).
Yes, we need to protect all members of our society, even our children in our schools, but at the cost of their overall education, and at the cost of our tax dollar? Accidents will happen, and it is so very sad this tragic one did to the Bennett family. Will this new law take precaution to the extreme? Guess we will have to wait and see.
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Mary-
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying. But shouldn't we put our children's safety first, no matter what the cost? The research shows that this is working, since there have not been any reports of serious accidents in the schools and because of the precautions they do take. Maybe there should be a better way of funding it, to avoid taking away from the education. But how, is the question!
The safety of our children is a constant concern for all whether it be in or out of school. It is a shame we, as a society, as a culture have to wait for something devastating to happen before we find a cure. I believe in the old saying that prevention is better than a cure. At the time the incident occurred Gov. Taft stated that jarod's death "was a terrible and preventable tragedy." This was an understatement. Prior to the enactment schools were only required to focus on emergency preparation but did not address an every day issue. My concern is even though Jarod's Law is in place and official, are there follow ups when an infarction occurs? In order for something to be effective, there must be follow ups. Children are an important part of society, they are our future, they are our investment. Just as we all want our investment to prosper, so we want the same for our future generation. We need to provide a safe, secure, and nurturing environment at all times.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need safety precautions and that it's better to prevent anything from happening before it does. I mean I'm the teacher that does head counts so many times on field trips that now my kids do them automatically for me because they know I will. I just think that there should imitations on how many safety pre-cautions that teacher have to directly take responsibility for because it seems like the actual action of teaching is becoming less and less of a priority of all the responsibilities we hold as a teacher. I think we do hold a responsibility to keep the children safe, but the child should hold responsibility too and it wouldn't hurt to maybe get some extra help in making the classroom up to code .
ReplyDeleteMandy--what research are you referring to?
ReplyDeleteI agree, Britanny. I guess the question is, were teachers NOT keeping their students safe before Jarod's Law? Were they letting them get into "bad stuff" just because every ingredient was not listed on an MSD sheet?...Of course I believe our students' safety is our ultimate responsibility, and many inspections have turned up some problems that need to be addressed. Maybe if the law wasn't so sweeping in nature (which also, I believe, creates a false sense of security for parents) those issues would actually be easier to target....?
As far as follow-up, Celeste: from what I understand, schools have to set up a plan of action with a timetable--so, again, there may be no immediate change. And what if they don't follow-through? How can you force a school to do something which they don't have the money to do (since, by state law, Ohio school districts--unlike the federal government--may not operate in the red)?
Jarod Bennet's death was an unforgiveable tragedy. Is Jarod's Law the best response? I'm not sure. As you know from class, I feel the real criminal here is the company that manufactured those tables. Nine previous student deaths?! I mean really, how were they still on the market?
Lots of tough questions...