Pubdate: Tue, 04 Dec 2001 Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA) Copyright: 2001 Athens Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.onlineathens.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535 Author: Michael A. Ashmore ARTICLE ABOUT DRUGS IN SCHOOLS ONLY HIGHLIGHTED NEGATIVES Only in the best of all possible worlds would the media refuse to take great sport in drawing blood when reporting the unseemly, and the negative that often occur in the school systems across our great nation. Because no quarter was given by the press, those who criticize Clarke County Schools are given more ammunition. Particularly helped are those who figure that a solution to every educational dilemma is to simply move to any of the outlying counties. November 26's report, viewed through several lenses, leads me to question what faction this article was written for. In particular and of note was: a story which was biased and holistically covered the negative side of the issue much more diligently than the positive; a presentation too simplistic in its view of the problem; a display weak in understanding the complexity of school life in contemporary America; an appalling lack of understanding of statistics and social science research. School administrators, like Dr. Lewis Holloway, Dr. Maxine Easom and Mr. Charles Worthy, whose job is often a thankless one, walk a fine line balancing the demand of parents who insist that the schools remain drug-free regardless of the cost to the student rights, while another camp demands the school administrators respect the rights of students at any cost. In the best of all possible worlds, drug-sniffing dogs would have no place on a high school campus. But this is not the best of all possible worlds. Michael A. Ashmore - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart