Friday, October 10, 2008

Why I pull my hair out sometimes

Natalie explains in her post at Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Exclusively inclusive

Suspicious Behavior

Any student in the Hattiesburg Public School District soon will be able to be tested for alcohol or drugs based on suspicious behavior. That new policy was passed by the school board Tuesday night.

I wonder if they have taken into consideration the many things that can cause false positives and the possible law suites that will be brought as a result.

More than 250 over the counter or prescription drugs can cause you to test positive on a drug test.
  • Pain relievers such as Advil, Nuprin, Motrin
  • Menstrual cramp medications like Midol and Trendar
  • Ibuprofen is known to cause positive samples for Marijuana
  • Anti inflammatories such as Naproxyn
  • Dristan Nasal Spray, Neosynephren, Vicks Nasal Spray, Sudafed
  • Over the counter appetite suppressants which contain propanolamine
  • Common nasal decongestants can cause a positive reading for Amphetamines
  • Medications containing chloropromazine and fluspirilene may yield a positive when tested for amphetamines
  • Vicks Formula 44M containing Dextromethorphan, and Primatene-M containing perylamine as well as the pain reliever Demerol, and prescription anti-depressant Elavil test positive for opiates up to three days
  • Quinine water can also cause a positive reading for opiates.
  • Poppy Seeds such as the ones on a bagel from your favorite deli, represent a potentially serious source of falsely positive results in testing opiate abuse.
  • Nyquil Nighttime Cold Medicine will test positive for Methadone up to two days.
  • Amoxicillin has caused positives for cocaine
  • Diazepam tests positive for PCP
  • A small fraction of the population excrete large amounts of endogenons lysozyme or malate dehydrogenase in their urine which can produce a positive drug test.
  • Africans and certain Orientals might test positive for marijuana due to the pigment melanin in their skin which shows up in a dark person's urine sample.
  • Second hand marijuana or cocaine that you might inhale may give your test a positive result for several days.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

So glad that SPEAK became PEAK

Visit Natalie's Ramblings, Rants & Remedies: Personally secular, socially inclusive to find out why.

Doubts about the quality and integrity of a homeschool education

I know many public school parents who have their child volunteer to work on a political campaign. I also know public school teachers who encourage the students under their supervision to work on a political campaign. Some public school teachers even go so far as to offer extra credit to students who do so.

So why isn’t that a problem for the NNN?
This development becomes a little bit disturbing, though, in light of this PACs suspect efforts to recruit home schooled children as free labor for the McCoy campaign. When young people get involved of their own volition, as a step in developing their own political consciousness, that's a definite benefit to our democracy. But, where this involvement might cross the line into their school curriculum - dictated by parents pursuing their own political purposes - one starts to get a sense of why so many have such serious doubts about the quality and integrity of home school education.

Homeschoolers certainly have the same rights as public school parents and teachers. For anyone to imply otherwise is absurd.

Read Principled Discovery's Doubts about the quality and integrity of a homeschool education to learn more.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Public School Parents Complain About Hit List

Toriano Holloway, principal of the St. Martin 8th and 9th grades, announced over the intercom on Sept. 26 that he had a "hit list" of students he was targeting.

Edutards like this are the #1 reason I homeschool.