Sunday, September 23, 2007

Drug testing students is a misguided approach

Long-time Turner Report readers know that I am strongly opposed to drug testing of students. Not only is it an invasion of privacy that goes against everything that the students should be learning about American freedoms in their government classes, but there are no statistics to show it works, and many reasons to believe that it does not.

Drug testing students is a feel good measure taken by well-meaning boards of education to try to do something about the drug problem in today's society. Since the law currently does not permit testing of all students, the testing is restricted to those who wish to participate in extracurricular activities. I have seen many instances in which these activities are the only things that keep a borderline student in school. Unfortunately, there are some who will avoid these activities because of the testing, and end up becoming involved in activities which, not only could cause them to drop out of school, but might also cause them to wind up in jail.

What I have found most troubling is how easily students roll over for these intrusions into their privacy. They use the same twisted logic that is used by those who want to give the government carte blanche to listen in on our telephone conversations and intercept our e-mails: "If they aren't doing anything wrong, they don't have any reason to worry." I am sure the same arguments were used by the Gestapo.

When these intrusions are allowed to take place in one area, it makes it that much easier for more liberties to be taken. Well-meaning elected officials can turn out to be the greatest enemies of the American way of life.

(For more information on drug testing of students, read this article from today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about drug testing of teachers?

Randy said...

I am against that, too. However, if you have a teacher who runs into a problem with the law concerning drugs, the teacher should be fired if it is a felony-type problem and should be required to undergo regular drug tests as a condition of continued employment if a school elects to keep that person on staff following a misdemeanor. Any type of drug situation involving students should, of course, bring an automatic dismissal, and the pulling of the teacher's license.

Anonymous said...

Randy, you are 100% correct. Our american people are so willing to roll over and play dead anytime someone in authority thinks they should give up another freedom. Its the same way boarding an airplane. You are a terrorist and a mobster unless you can prove otherwise. I doubt that I could ever attend school again, I always carried a pocket knife anytime I had on a pair of pants, as did every other boy in school. To say that everyone carrying a pocket knife or having a rifle in the back window of their pickup makes them dangerous is absolutely assinine. This society of ours no longer has room for common sense. It is ruled on the whims of the ridiculous thinkers.

Anonymous said...

They should drug test ALL students. It is just another way schools are trying to protect themselves as the government tells them that they have to keep schools safe. In many schools in the immediate area, drug testing members of athletics and other ex. curricular activities would hit about 50-60% of students. At least that would be in some of the smaller schools, maybe not Joplin.

Anonymous said...

What about this sobriety test of Mr. Turners?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5647123191805660433

Anonymous said...

That's a funny video, but it isn't this Mr. Turner. LOL.

Anonymous said...

I've heard these drug testing sessions are a fluke anyway. Some small towns, whose only source of fame is their athletics, wave their great athletes who don't test well... Ironically, they don't test well in anything. But that's OK as long as they can throw a ball. -so I've heard.