{"id":1241,"date":"2007-06-01T11:49:32","date_gmt":"2007-06-01T18:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/to_test_or_not\/"},"modified":"2007-06-01T11:49:32","modified_gmt":"2007-06-01T18:49:32","slug":"to_test_or_not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/to_test_or_not\/","title":{"rendered":"To Test or Not to Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can’t file this entry under On The Soapbox, because I don’t intend to solve the world’s problems with my thoughts. Actually, my thoughts are more than a bit scrambled on this issue, so I’m just putting forth information I’ve learned recently, and we’ll see what YOU think about it.
\nSt. Viator, a private school in the Chicago suburbs, which has more than 1,000 students, has announced that this coming fall, EVERY student will be tested for drugs. A student who refuses the test will need to get their education elsewhere. In the past, random testing has been done at school dances, and the boys hockey and football teams have been tested.
\nEach test will cost $45.00. The Daily Herald<\/a> states: “Hair samples will be tested for cocaine, opiates, PCP, marijuana, amphetamines and Ecstasy, whose use within 90 days of the test can be detected. It does not detect steroids or alcohol.”
\nI think testing is a great idea toward helping students get an early start on managing drug problems, and perhaps avoiding addiction. It’s possible that the school’s follow-through on the testing needs to be stronger. Just making the problem known is not going to be enough to end it.
\nI think it’s appalling the amount of information the school will have on the student, which may possibly follow them in their school record for life.
\nThis is a private school. They have the option to make the rules for their student body, and anyone wishing to attend this school needs to abide by their rules.
\nIt’s possible this will make a safer environment. But, the school says it doesn’t have a drug problem. Are they being pro-active and trying to make sure a problem doesn’t develop. Is the School Board aware of a problem in the community that they want to head off?
\nIs it fair to test the students and not test the faculty and staff?
\nI’m not sure where I stand. On one hand, I’m concerned about the loss of rights, and the danger of personal information being stored where it could fall into the wrong hands. On the other, a step toward showing kids that we are serious about the dangers of drugs, and creating a safe environment for the kids, is very appealing.
\nAny thoughts on this? I’d love to hear more pros or cons on the situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can’t file this entry under On The Soapbox, because I don’t intend to solve the world’s problems with my thoughts. Actually, my thoughts are more than a bit scrambled on this issue, so I’m just putting forth information I’ve … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redeaglespirit.com\/arrrgh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}