24 May 2015

Memorial Day 2015

As Memorial Day 2015 approaches, it is the start of the summer season!  School will be just wrapping up for the 2014-15 school year and the countless high school graduations, not to mention those summer road trips.

But there's the real meaning of Memorial Day, which is celebrated on the last Monday of May.  It is a time to remember our men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have given the supreme sacrifice to keep our nation - as well as our cherished freedoms that we Americans take for granted - safe.

And while we're on that same subject, let's not forget our veterans who have somehow succumbed to the restrictive confines of guardianship thanks to Chapter 744 of the Florida Statutes.  All it takes is the allegations of a concerned adult, especially a social worker, to begin a process which destroys a veteran's dignity, respect and well being.

To our veterans out there observing Memorial Day, we salute you!
 

28 March 2015

Has Zephyrhills High School become a correctional institution? Or a mini-North Korea?

Previously I have covered numerous topics regarding school principals who trump parental rights with all the power at their disposal, the most noteworthy being Virgil Mills Elementary School and their anti-parental rights policy which can turn parents into criminals by the mere issuance of a trespass warning.  Now our public schools are getting much more like a closed neverworld akin to a correctional facility or even a mini-North Korea.

Of recently, high school principals are pushing all their power over their students to a new level.  A great example can be found at Zephyrhills High School in Zephyrhills, which is 20 miles northeast of Tampa.  On the edict of Zephyrhills High School's principal, Andrew Frelick, he has ordered that all students needing to use the restroom be under a strict staff escort at all times, according to Bay News 9 and WTSP 10 News.

What?  Bathroom escort at all times?  Has Zephyrhills High School become a state correctional facility?  Or, better yet, has Zephyrhills High School seceded from the United States?  To me, this is absurd.

Unfortunately, principal Andrew Frelick's edict turned the entire Zephyrhills High School student body of 1,500 into state correctional institution inmates.  Let's make that better:  Principal Andrew Frelick decided to let Zephyrhills High School secede from the United States and become a territory of the repressive Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which we also know as North Korea.  I would be sure that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, would like administering an American high school from Pyongyang.

After all, if you happen to travel to North Korea - which the U.S. State Department considers non-routine for American citizens - you will be under escort at all times by your tour guide who is an agent of the North Korean government from the time you step off the plane at Pyongyang and your passport and visa are checked to the time you get back on the plane to head to Beijing to catch your return flight home.  While you are in North Korea, the threat of detention (not the detention you see in an American public school for minor transgressions of school rules) and imprisonment looms over your head at all times, even if you have the proper paperwork to enter North Korea.

Besides, having to be escorted to the restroom at Zephyrhills High School - or anywhere else on campus - is demeaning to students.  That's like treating students like state prison inmates, only without the handcuffs and leg irons that are applied by the correctional officers prior to moving a prisoner from a cell.

Perhaps Dr. Kurt Browning, the Pasco County Superintendent of Schools, needs to overrule principal Andrew Frelick's authority and do away with this draconian treatment of students who need to use the restroom.  If a school principal is concerned about abuse of restroom privileges, there are other ways to address the issue.

After all, Dr. Browning, as superintendent of schools for Pasco County, is the head principal in charge.

Parents of students in Zephyrhills High School, you have a voice.  Voice your displeasure to Zephyrhills High School principal Andrew Frelick.  Voice your displeasure to Pasco County Schools Superintendent Dr. Kurt Browning as well as to the Pasco County School Board in Land o' Lakes.

Believe me, if I had any children attending Zephyrhills High School, they would be immediately pulled out of that school and either sent to private school or homeschool.  Students are people, not prison inmates nor North Korean citizens.

Besides, Dr. Browning needs to replace Andrew Frelick as principal of Zephyrhills High School with another principal that cares not only about students but their parents as well.  By enacting this draconian bathroom escort policy and treating students like prison inmates or North Korean citizens, Principal Andrew Frelick does not care one bit about his students.

That's my opinion.

NOTE:  Comments for this blog entry are closed.
 

28 February 2015

Day Out With Thomas 2015

I know, I've been busy with a lot of things but I try to keep the Edward Ringwald Blog as fresh as possible with new content.  But we got a friendly tank engine that you may know which is just around the corner.

If you guessed Day Out With Thomas, you are right!  Day Out With Thomas 2015 is just around the corner at both the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami as well as the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish!

Here are the dates for Day Out With Thomas 2015 in March at the two railroad museums:

Gold Coast Railroad Museum:  7 and 8 March 2015 as well as 14 and 15 March 2015.  Admission is $20.00.

Florida Railroad Museum:  14 and 15 March 2015 as well as 21 and 22 March 2015.  Admission is $19.00.

Advance purchase of tickets for Day Out With Thomas is highly recommended.  That way, you can purchase your tickets online and on the day of the event, just head on over to the Will Call window and pick up your tickets.  I agree, you and your family will have plenty of Thomas fun!

To purchase tickets, click on either the Gold Coast Railroad Museum or the Florida Railroad Museum links above to go to that railroad museum's website.  Then click on the link at the railroad museum website for Day Out With Thomas and select the date and time for your ride.

OK.  Now where is the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami as well as the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish?  Glad you asked!

The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is located in Miami on the grounds of Zoo Miami, 12450 SW 152nd Street in Miami.  The entrance to both the zoo and the museum is located about a mile west of the Florida Turnpike at Exit 16, which is the exit for FL 992, SW 152nd Street.  From southwest Florida follow Interstate 75 across Alligator Alley to Exit 5, which is the exit for southbound Florida Turnpike.  Continue south on the turnpike to Exit 16, SW 152nd Street.

The Florida Railroad Museum is located in Parrish, east of US 301 at 12210 83rd Street East.  The museum is 35 miles south of Tampa, 15 miles south of St. Petersburg (via Interstate 275 and the Sunshine Skyway) and 25 miles north of Sarasota and can be reached from Interstate 75 at Exit 229, Moccasin Wallow Road.  East on Moccasin Wallow Road for five miles to US 301, then south on US 301 to 83rd Street East and the museum entrance.

For those of you coming from St. Petersburg via Interstate 275 and the Sunshine Skyway, follow Interstate 275 to its southern terminus at Interstate 75.  When you get to Interstate 75 you will want to follow the signage for northbound Interstate 75 to Tampa but you will exit at the very next exit at Exit 229, Moccasin Wallow Road to Parrish.

Be sure to check out my adventures with the 2014 Day Out With Thomas at two railroad museums in two states over at EdwardRingwald.com!  That way, you can get yourself an idea of what a Day Out With Thomas is like.  In fact, HiT Entertainment - the proprietors of Thomas the Tank Engine including Day Out With Thomas - have plenty of great ideas so that you and your children can plan for an exciting Day Out With Thomas!