Outrage as 200 schools in Germany 'punish' children with ADHD by asking them to wear 13lb sand-filled vests to weigh them down in their seats

Hyperactive children were once seen simply as "naughty" and flogged for it.  This seems a better alternative

Schools in Germany are asking naughty and hyperactive children to wear heavy sand-filled vests to calm them down and keep them in their seats.

The controversial sand vests, weighing between 2.7 and 13lb, are used by 200 schools in the country - despite reservations of some parents and psychiatrists.

Supporters of the vests, which cost between £124 and £150, say they are very effective at curbing children's restlessness in many cases.

Increasingly more children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) each year in Germany, as elsewhere.

Schools using the vests say they are a straightforward way of tackling the problem and a kinder and less complex form of therapy than drugs such as Ritalin.

Gerhild de Wall, head of the inclusion unit at the Grumbrechtstrasse school in the Harburg district of Hamburg, says children love wearing the vests and they are never forced into putting them on.

She first came across them while teaching in the United States, where they are referred to as 'compression vests' or 'squeeze jackets' and sometimes used for autistic children.

De Wall thinks the vests help children feel centred and concentrate better rather than acting as a constraint.

But she says that even though the weight is evenly spread over the child's upper body, they should not be worn for more than 30 minutes at a time.

Barbara Truller-Voigt, whose nine-year-old son Frederick has worn a 2kg sand vest at his Hamburg school for the past three years to treat his ADHD, said her son thinks it helps him and doesn't mind wearing it.

'He can concentrate better and is more able to take an active part in lessons because he's not spending the whole time trying to keep his arms and legs under control,' she said.   

But critics say they are similar to straitjackets worn by violent patients in psychiatric hospitals and could stigmatise their wearers.

One parent said she thought people had 'lost the plot', writing on Facebook: 'It would be best if we avoided such torture methods.

'How can you say to a child, 'You're sick, and as a punishment you have to wear this sand-filled jacket which is not only physical agony but will make you look like an idiot in front of the rest of the class.''

And many psychiatrists are sceptical about the vests, especially because the long-term effects of wearing them are unknown.

Michael Schulte-Markwort, director at the Child and Youth Psychiatry University Clinic in Eppendorf, Hamburg, told German newspaper Die Tageszeitung they were 'ethically questionable'.

He also said they could be seen as a one-size-fits-all remedy for attention deficiency disorders and schools should instead focus on the child's individual problems.

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Community split on New Mexico charter school raffling off GUNS  for fundraiser to build a new school building

A school in New Mexico is making fast enemy out of parents concerned about a gun raffle fundraiser that has been happening annually for years. 

Estancia Valley Classical Academy in Moriarty, New Mexico, has a fundraising group comprised of staff and parents. They host numerous fundraisers every year in hopes of constructing a new school building.

At the 2017 'Made in America' fundraiser, the big-ticket items were a gun and a rifle.

And while those living near the school didn't comment, KRQU News 13 spoke with families in Alburquerque who felt those were warranted items. 

'I think it's good for the kids to build familiarity with the firearms and know what they're doing,' said Albuquerque resident Colt Noah.

According to the Public Education Department, it is up to individual districts or schools to decide how they wish to raise money and the state has no control. The state is only able to enforce that the money be used for proper ventures.

According to the school's website, they've been holding gun raffles during the fundraiser since 2015.

The school is a charter school meaning it is run independently separate from public schools.

And while they are less stringent with their guidelines, other schools do have rules on what can be sold at fundraisers. 

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Muslims win one in London

A primary school that controversially banned pupils from wearing hijabs appears to have backed down after the chair of governors announced his resignation following complaints from parents.

St Stephen’s primary school in Newham, east London, hit the headlines at the weekend after the Sunday Times reported it had banned Muslim girls under the age of eight from wearing headscarves, to the delight of campaigners who argued it enforces religious conformity on children.

That decision, along with curbs on children fasting on school days during Ramadan, upset many parents, who said they had not been consulted.

On Friday, the school’s chair of governors, Arif Qawi, said he was stepping down, telling colleagues in an email: “I wish the school continued success and am truly sorry that my actions have caused any harm to the reputation of the fantastic school.”

Qawi’s comments regarding “Islamisation” posted on social media attracted sustained criticism, while parents complained that they first heard about the ban through the media rather than the school.

The website for St Stephen’s posted a note on Friday, headlined as a uniform policy update, that read: “Having spoken to our school community we now have a deeper understanding of the matter and have decided to reverse our position with immediate effect.”

The note was later amended to read: “The school has taken the decision to make the changes to this policy with immediate effect and this follows on from conversations with our school community. We will work with out school community to continue to review this policy going forward in the best interests of our children.”

Miqdaad Versi, the assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said his organisation welcomed Qawi’s resignation because of his “appalling” statements in support of the ban.

“This decision on religious symbols did not appear to target adherents of other faiths and appears to have been made without consulting the parents or community,” Versi said. “Yet serious questions remain unanswered as to the school leadership’s attitude towards Muslims, which are potentially discriminatory.

“It is deeply disappointing that a primary school with such a reputation has acted in this way. We hope that future decisions are made carefully and with full consultation with local communities.”

Amina Lone, an activist who has lobbied the government to bar hijabs in schools for young girls, was disappointed by the school’s U-turn: “A result of clicktivism in all its polarised glory. So much for choice and individual liberty. Terribly sad day for a secular democracy,” Lone wrote on Twitter.

Earlier this week, a group of Newham councillors criticised the school’s decision for creating a “toxic atmosphere” and called for the hijab ban to be reversed.

“It is troubling that the school has decided on a course of action that has clearly divided them from the very community they look to serve,” the councillors said in a statement.

The Department for Education’s policy is for individual schools to set their own uniform policies.

The Sunday Times had previously claimed that St Stephen’s was the best primary school in England last year, based on its outstanding key stage two test results. But the DfE’s performance tables show that a small number of other primaries achieved better results.

The school did not respond to attempts to contact it.

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