Dogs are for petting and snuggling-Period!

In today's NY Times (Saturday, March 28) there's an article entitled Well-Regarded New Jersey High School to Use Drug-Sniffing Dogs. If you can grab this article and read it, I suggest you do. But I'm warning you: if you like your vision of high school romanticized and you like spending a good deal of time with your head buried in the sand, don't bother reading this. You will be depressed over a number of issues, and I don't want to feel somehow responsible for that. But if you're game, check it out and allow yourself to really get angry. I'm angry. And I'm sad. What could possibly be running through the head of a principal who wants to bring in drug sniffing dogs to roam the hallways of his school? Is anyone really that delusional to think the presence of these dogs is going to stop the students from selling or doing drugs? Hey, I experienced a drug bust when I was a wee freshman at Flint Christian High School. Yes, the place where a Bible class was mandatory every year of your life had students who took and dealt drugs. Go figure. Of course, now that I'm an adult and a teacher, I understand the serious need/desire/down-right hunger to want to control all situations. But I also know, as most thinking adults do, that type of control simply isn't possible. So what to do-let kids run around the hallways doing whatever they please? No, of course not. Each community is different and this high school in New Jersey (a high achieving one too-don't go thinking it's an "urban" school with "urban" problems) needs to assess this situation hearing all voices that are impacted-faculty, staff, students, administrators, parents, all of them. From that point, they need to figure out a way to take action, making sure the proposed action honors as many of those aforementioned voices as possible, and that it offers viable solutions to the problem at hand. And I cannot fathom there's a possiblity one of those solutions involves drug-sniffing dogs. Mr. Miron, the principal at Millburn High, is quoted as saying " we have a very relaxed atmosphere here." "But we feel like this is the final step that we can do to say that we're doing our part." Mr. Miron, first, if this atmosphere represents relaxed for you I'd hate to visit your house, I mean Alcatraz. Second, you are doing your part by being an educator-stop trying to be a police officer and then an educator. Confront this controversy-teach this controversy-solve this controversy. Then please do us all a favor and go pet a dog or something. Howl On my friends...Howl On. A special howl to Gabrielle M. who is a treat to have in my Non-fiction American Literature class!