Should teachers take drug tests?

teachers should have hair samples, mouth swabs and at least 20mm of blood drawn.

These items should be tested for every illegal drug except hemp.

If they are dirty, they should be cast out of society...for ever.

If they are just on marijuana, spirits and tobacco, they should be exempt from further testing.

Same for Congress, Radio and TV personalities, and ALL Judges.

Cops should be allowed to take any drug they want, for deep undercover ops.

Web Name/Site Host/owners should be tested as well as all CEO's in all Banks.

Celebrities should get a free ride and no jail time, as has been the case in the past. (with few exceptions)

I also feel that teachers should be drug tested. What I do not understand is why a kid working at McDonalds must submit to a drug test and the people we entrust with our children's educations are not required to do the same thing. IF we are going to test then we should test everyone!

reply to post by redhead57


"IF we are going to test then we should test everyone! "

That is a horrible mindset to have.

You don't actually believe what you just wrote in your last post, do you?

Originally posted by redhead57
IF we are going to test then we should test everyone!

Ah-huh. Sure. Throw out all civil liberties and freedom while you're at it.

No one has the right to demand that you're drug tested. No way. Your quote only helps to usher in the NWO. They must grin every time that they read those kind of responses.

Your child's teacher is only there to deliver a curriculum. If you, as a parent, can't instill their basic values to live as a quality human being, then you've failed - not the teacher.

I'm still amazed that people think more of teachers than what's deserved of them. They're just plain and simple people, who have a job to do, like everyone else.

reply to post by Chucktah


It's the whole mindset of having to prove one's innocence that concerns me. In a job like yours, where you are in physical danger, I can see having some sort of checks to be sure the person can perform the job safely, but testing for drugs only pretends to cover the bases. What I mean is people could be dangerous without taking drugs. Maybe they have something on their mind, they're in the middle of a divorce, their kid was in an accident, their mother's in the hospital...

It's the assumption of guilt and requirement of proving innocence that is the problem, in my opinion. It's becoming a popular mindset that we should test everyone and that's what concerns me most.

You're certainly free to have your opinion on this, but I'm not going to change my mind any more than you are. I believe strongly in personal liberties and anyone who wants to take the urine from my body to run a test on it should have a specific reason for doing so. Not just some random event. It's intrusive, intimidating and unconstitutional, in my opinion.


[edit on 26-1-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

No, teachers should not be required to take 'random' drug tests. For all those people saying about how we are 'entrusted with out children...' WE KNOW THAT!!!! We take our jobs very seriously and the vast majority of us do not do anything that would impair our ability to do our job properly.

Politicians are entrusted to to run the damned country and they are not required to do the same.

Let me put this out there for discussion then. Say you have a teacher who likes to unwind with a little recreational drug use on a Friday night - in the comfort of their own home - to relax. That is the only time they ever do anything. The drug doesn't matter here - it's the situation. They are normal come Monday morning and completely on the ball. It is their choice. They know it's illegal but no-one ever knows about it. What then? Fire them?

Why do people think that Article 8 of the Human Rights Act shouldn't apply to teachers? We are human - pure and simple.

Yeah, we shouldn't do 'bad things' but guess what? People in EVERY walk of life make choices. Some of those choices are illegal and that is down to them. AS long as it doesn't interfere in their job and they don't come into their classroom wired or make it known that they do it these things it shouldn't matter. How well they teach their kids is what matters. How much their care for the kids in their classes is what matters. The fact they do an extremely hard job for crappy pay and little respect or thanks off the kids or students is what matters.

Assaults on Teachers covered up...

Teacher morale and stress

And people wonder why someone might just want to smoke something on a Friday night?

Random drug testing? No thank you. This would create a witch hunt.

Interesting and very relevant article...


Peace,

MGGG

And for the record...I just smoke waaaay too much and drink even more.

[edit on 26-1-2009 by machinegun_go_go]

reply to post by Exuberant1


That did come out sounding sort of goofy didn't it. I guess it just irritates the heck out of me that in order to work at fast food or at some lousy minimum wage job people have to pass drug tests. Like smoking a joint makes you unfit to flip burgers or assemble packages. It just seems that they test people for basic jobs that have nothing to do with safety or children and teachers are exempt.

I really think the whole drug testing has gotten out of control. I was interviewed for a position and had to take a screen. I am on narcotic pain meds prescribed by my physician. I told the woman at the lab I was on meds that would show up in the screen. I started the job for 2 days and when the results came back the employer would not even listen to me when I wanted to provide him with the information from the doctor.

I guess the post reflected a bit of a sour grape attitude. Thanks for pulling my coat on that one. red

reply to post by tezzajw


I will have to respectfully disagree there.

I don't think you want a high mechanic doing your breaks or working on your childrens schoolbus.

I don't think you want a high doctor coming up with your diagnosis.

I don't think you want high truck or train drivers out there on the road. Look what happens when you have a drunk captain steering a massive oil tanker on the ocean.

But teachers? I don't think so. Children are already miseducated so I don't think more harm can be done.

Teachers should not be tested for drugs. The private life of an individual is exactly that, private. The evaluations from the teacher's performance in the classroom should be the measure to judge effective teachers, not evaluations of their personal life.

Trying to equate children in school with adults in school is a fallacy. I don't think schools should be testing students in the first place. The school is an educational institution, not a function of the police state.

In should be the parents decision to test their child, not the states nor the schools.

this shocked me because tif students have to then teachers should.

Originally posted by Chucktah
I do agree that random drug testing does impose, but at the same time, would you want someone who is responsible for teaching your children to be looking after them after a weekend coke binge?

Drug testing does not work very well for ANY drug accept pot. Coke, heroin and most other hard drugs leave your system between 24-48 hours.

Pot can be detected up to 3 months. This is an invasion of privacy and the people let it happen.

When it comes to drug testing we should "Just say no"

reply to post by Chucktah


No, I'm not wrong and no it is not your business what anyone does in the privacy of their own home. Please spare us the "my tax dollars go to this" line. Your tax money gets wasted on much more useless things, if you don't realize that then maybe you outta wake up. But if you are willing to use this arguement then why not direct toward the teachers performance. If the teacher is clearly intoxicated then they should be subject to termination. But if they're job performance is excellent, but turns out they snort a line at home each morning as a pick me up then is it fair to fire them? There are many teachers that have a smoke before and after work. Since smoking is evil these days, should they be tested for that and should they lose their job for that? Drug use should be treated the same way as alcohal, as long as it's not affecting your job performance, then it's ok. Last I checked drinking alcohal is perfectly legal, and I have no doubt that the majority of them consume it no more or less than the rest of us. But do they show up drunk to school? Not to often, but if they do, guess what, they aren't going to have that job much longer.

It's really quite comical to read some of the replies that are within this thread.

I had a lot of hangovers in the 26yrs I served in the military. Sometimes we would have a week or two that we would party after work and then have to suffer with the hangover for part of the day until we started again. That is military life for some, wash away the stress and anger. Push the Happy Hour to the soldier.

I can still remember the laughter from my supervisors when they would see their shift personnel trying to sit and perform their duties when they couldn't even function properly due to alcohol intake the night before.... Some would come in unshaven, improperly dressed, late, you name it, it happened. I only remember once that someone was pulled into the office to discuss his drinking and the effect it had on his work. Usually it was a badge of honor.

But, then there were those that would instead smoke the night before; different crowd. They would sit and usually talk, not argue like the drinkers, about various things that usually left them departing at the end of the night, happy. The bosses didn't suspect anything about them and frequently asked why they won't participate in shift functions. They participated, but just not with the drinkers. They out-performed the drinkers in work, came in on time and dressed properly. They also had no effect of "partying" the night before.

I've seen teachers come in after a weekend/christmas party that looked pretty rough and get the old thumbs up from the principal and a comment like, "I felt like you look before my coffee and aspirin" with a laugh.


As I said in an earlier post, my ex was a teacher and she was on anti-depressants for about 4yrs. The list of side-effects that occurred was long and usually spilled over into her work environment; frequently missed work and sometimes blew up at the kids. Not to mention the problems that occurred at home because of the meds.

Drugs are part of our society and people must realize that they are good or bad depending on what the PTB say. You must use your own judgment to actually decipher what is bad.

I for one know that someone who is NOT a "pot head", one the smokes occasionally, is better off psychologically than someone who drinks and takes doctor prescribed chemicals. I'd rather have a pot smoker teaching my kids than a drinker who stinks like alcohol and promotes drinking to the kids.

Rgds


[edit on 26-1-2009 by AllTiedTogether]

Drug hysteria strucks again, watch out for ten foot drug fiends that might attack your kids while trying to teach them.

reply to post by AllTiedTogether


This post made me think of my high school earth science teacher. The guy was actually a genius in his subject, but he was a well known drunk. I remember he'd be doing a lecture, he'd stop midsentence, disappear for 15-20 min and came back smelling like jack daniels. In fact, I remember a lot of times when I'd ditch school, I would leave out the back door and there he would be smoking a cigarette and drinking out of his flask. He didn't care. I think because he had taught at that school for over 40 years, they probably didn't have the heart to let him go. There's a liquor store a block away from the high school, and every single day you'd see him walking out of there with a brown paper bag with some bottles in it. He wasn't a bad teacher, he kind of had that at the end of the road way about him, and he was amusing cause the simplest things would set him off, but bigger things he would just ignore.

Originally posted by Flighty
Marijuana and other illicit drugs are ILLEGAL.

So is speeding. Speeding, many times, leads to injury or death. Should the motor vehicle records of teachers be scrutinized as well? How fast do you drive?

Marijuana smoked privately in the home leads to... well... watching cartoons and eating chocolate. My, what a grave threat to America's children!!

Do you follow, 100%, the letter AND spirit of the Law?

Unless you're Ned Flanders, chances are in our over-legislated society, you're doing SOMETHING illegal. You may not even know it.

So unless you're perfectly squeaky-clean and never commit ANY crime, knowingly or not, you have zero room to talk about the private habits of others, regardless of whether those habits are illegal. If they're dumb enough to bring it to school and smoke it in the lounge then fine, fire 'em for stupidity.

But leave work at work, and home at home. It's really not that difficult.

Hell, the stuff oughta be legalized anyway. The government can make more money off it in taxes than they ever could from busting users and small-time dealers, and its side effects are far better than those of either alcohol or tobacco.

Hmph.

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that a website full of would-be "freedom fighters" and anti-tax, pro-gun, pro-individual-rights folks is also full of anti-drug, anti-working-class zealots who support employers' rights to run the lives of their hapless wage-slaves? And that in many cases, these people are one and the same?

Originally posted by The Nighthawk
Am I the only one who finds it ironic that a website full of would-be "freedom fighters" and anti-tax, pro-gun, pro-individual-rights folks is also full of anti-drug, anti-working-class zealots who support employers' rights to run the lives of their hapless wage-slaves? And that in many cases, these people are one and the same?

No, you're not the only one! Some of us can see the crap for what it is. I have to shake my head in dismay at some of the replies in this thread. So many people willing to piss in a cup because someone tells them too... it's sad.

Drugs, such as the common street drugs we are discussing, are illegal in the US. Also, taking presciption drugs without a legal presciption...such as presciption pain meds....is also illegal in the US. (this for all the "pain killer" that find their way across the borders).

Teachers - call it what you want - invasion of privacy...etc.

The drugs being discussed are illegal in the US. If they were legal, this would be a boring discussion.

One question people will ask is:

How long will it take before you need a quick hit/fix/drink before going to teach in the morning or even while at work? Who will it hurt? You'll be fine. You promise. You just need to unwind a little, you know, take the edge off. You're in control, remember? You can stop.

* Yes, politicians should be drug screened.

* Yes, all of the PUBLIC school faculty and staff, bus drivers, janitors, lunch ladies...principals.....PUBLIC school employees should be tested.

* Yes, you should be made aware before taking the job at the specific school that you will be tested prior to getting the job and that there will be random drug screens during your career there. If you test positive, the school should offer assistance to help you stop taking drugs. (my place of work does). This would help you retain your job.


My 2 cents.










[edit on 26-1-2009 by wdkirk]

Originally posted by wdkirk
Drugs, such as the common street drugs we are discussing, are illegal in the US. Also, taking presciption drugs without a legal presciption...such as presciption pain meds....is also illegal in the US. (this for all the "pain killer" that find their way across the borders).

Teachers - call it what you want - invasion of privacy...etc.

The drugs being discussed are illegal in the US. If they were legal, this would be a boring discussion.

One question people will ask is:

How long will it take before you need a quick hit/fix/drink before going to teach in the morning or even while at work? Who will it hurt? You'll be fine. You promise. You just need to unwind a little, you know, take the edge off. You're in control, remember? You can stop.

* Yes, politicians should be drug screened.

* Yes, all of the PUBLIC school faculty and staff, bus drivers, janitors, lunch ladies...principals.....PUBLIC school employees should be tested.

* Yes, you should be made aware before taking the job at the specific school that you will be tested prior to getting the job and that there will be random drug screens during your career there. If you test positive, the school should offer assistance to help you stop taking drugs. (my place of work does). This would help you retain your job.


My 2 cents.

Or, we could just go back to trusting our fellow human beings until they give us a good reason not to. Frankly I care not if a high school teacher smokes some pot in his own home after a long week of working in a prison for adolescent D-bags.

Unless and until it becomes a problem in the classroom it's perfectly fine by me. And all those parents who think the civil rights of others should be violated so little Johnny, whose activities they barely pay any attention to anyway, can face a marginally smaller risk of frying his brain with narcotics (as opposed to the "prescription" meds so many kids are force-fed these days) should frankly be ashamed of themselves. Especially those who themselves are drunks, adulterers, drug users, junk food addicts, and/or beat and neglect their children.

And if it's a question of how teachers perform in the classroom, well, what's the difference between the teacher who stumbles out of a bar at 2am and gets in his car to go home, and the teacher who stayed home with his wife and smoked a joint?

The guy smoking pot isn't likely to kill himself or anyone else around him with his recklessness, and by morning he'll be 100% lucid and functional to boot while the other, assuming he made it home in one piece, will barely be able to crawl out of bed.

reply to post by wdkirk


Legality does not make it good for you.
Illegality does not make it bad for you.

This is someone deciding for you. Do you agree with everything that they have deemed legal and illegal?

Are you guilty of any of the following which are illegal in some areas of the US;
- speeding
- swearing
- urinating on the side of the road
- certain s.x acts
- sharing meds(ex doctor prescribed Advil(normal) with a label)
- drinking on the job(many military will drink during lunch at the ranks club)
- making copies of CDs/DVDs

Now you may not be guilty of anything I've provided but I bet that you've done something illegal, without knowing it if you can't admit it. Now what I'm wondering is what should be done with people who break these rules and others like it. Speeding kills and has killed more people than MJ and yet I know lots of teachers and military who speed regularly. Brag because they never get caught going 30mph over.

Should teachers who speed be teaching our children? I hope you said no, because these teacher are drilling it into our kids heads that it is OK to break the law. These teachers are the ones that will get the student into the mindset that MJ is illegal and is OK to smoke. And yes, the students usually heard about things like that that occurred to the teachers. Teachers and students love to throw the banter and kidding back and forth.

Teacher 1 gets pulled over for speeding to work, 30mph over, and is ticketed. The kids don't hear about this one.

Teacher 2 get pulled over for speeding to work, 30mph over, and is ticketed. The kids hear about it and proceed to rib the teacher and proceed to call her "Lead Foot". This is a grade five class.

What do you do in the case of teacher 2??? This is a real scenario by the way. And in case you haven't got it, the scenario with teacher 1 is real also; happens everyday probably with the amount of teachers in the US.


I mean we can all see that most peoples actions do not affect our world and those around it, like the person who may smoke without anyone knowing it. If it isn't a problem then it won't get dealt with. If there is a problem and the supervisor doesn't address it, then that is a supervisory problem.

Why don't they pull the teachers in for counseling when it concerns periodic hangovers that affect the school day? Because there is an agenda to outlaw the use of marijuana by the pharmaceutical companies because they know the benefits.

I see this for what it is, a way to outlaw one of the most beneficial plants that has been known to mankind.

Rgds