The Almighty Dollar vs. Student Safety in Schools

Yes, I'm still up, waiting to see the results for the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative.

To while away the time I've been surfing the web. I came across an article that bothers me quite a bit and if I were the parents of children in that public school, I would raise a fuss.

The article, titled, Back to School for Medway Cooperative Bank, states that the bank has recently opened a new banking branch within the lobby of Medway High School to "provide hands-on banking education for high school students."

Forget for a moment that these children are being pulled from the classrooms and trained to operate a bank. Forget that consumerism is replacing the English and Mathmatics, in yet another attempt to gain credits for graduation. Before you scream, I do believe children need to be taught to work with their money (earning, saving, spending), but not at the cost of their education.

Forget that while these students might earn "credit" for their work, the bank is using the government-funded public schools to obtain free labor. Obviously, there is approval somewhere.

Forget that having a fully-functioning bank branch (even for a few hours each day) might prove disruptive to the students as they go about the business of trying to gain an education.

Forget that this will be a "full-service" bank, offering all services to students, faculty, and visitors and plans to attract new customers by "offering the complete line of Medway Co-operative Bank consumer and business banking deposit and loan services" and being "another convenient branch for current and new Medway Co-operative Bank customers."

What about student safety?

The article mentions that the branch has spent so much money on security equipment, yet it did not specify whether that money was spent only for the banking branch or also to keep tabs on all of the people who will now be hanging around the school grounds, coming in and out of the school.

Where is the parental outcry for the concern of their children?

Another reason to thank the Good Lord that my children are homeschooled!