Should schools focus on increasing test scores, or decreasing bullying?
Is our nation’s drive for testing-related accountability really squeezing public school budgets to the point where necessary programs are being cut in response? Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post thinks so: Derrick Shaver admits that he used to be a bully. At his suburban elementary school near Denver, the fourth-grader would call classmates ugly names, and he lost friends as a consequence. Then a new school program taught other kids how to tell him to stop. The 9-year-old said he got the message… The program was started two years ago at Vivian Elementary School in Lakewood, Colo., about 12 miles from the site of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School. It engages every child and adult in an effort to instill respect for others: Students are taught that bullying is not acceptable; that bystanders should get involved; and, contrary to what they might think, bullies are not cool… But at a time when these concerns are rising, the ability of many schools to respond is being ham
