Nov 9, 2018, NorthJersey.com: Paterson advocates say city schools have too few counselors, too many cops https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/passaic/paterson/2018/11/09/paterson-advocates-say-schools-have-too-few-counselors-too-many-cops/1947323002/ Local education advocates say the Paterson district should consider increasing its counseling staff and cutting the number of police officers and security guards in schools. … Speakers at the event held at Eastside High School asserted that counselors are more qualified to reach and address the social and emotional needs of children. … The Paterson school district has 73 guidance counselors and 12 student assistance coordinators. Its security staff includes 12 off-duty city police officers, 49 district security officers and 116 staff members from a private security company. “I do want more counselors, and I want more professional development for staff so that they are trained to handle some of the situations that our security staff handle,” said Paterson Schools Superintendent Eileen Shafer in a statement. “I want more counselors for students to address mental health issues and provide individual and group counseling.” … “As a school district, we face the never-ending challenge of making sure that all students are safe while providing all students with every opportunity for academic success in the face of very limited resources,” said Shafer…. Robert Scott, president of the districtwide parents council, said security is needed to ensure schools are safe. Wendell Crawford, a counsellor at Eastside, defended the presence of police in schools. …
top of page
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
bottom of page