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"Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

~Ephesians 5:16

Friday, April 25, 2014

30 Minute Essays: Do schools have the right to search students’ lockers?

If an official law were passed granting the school the right to search students' lockers, controversy would most definitely ensue. To the students, it would seem like an invasion of privacy. But to school and government officials, it's a necessity in this day and age. How many school and college shootings have you heard about on the news in the last year? Granted, some of those are from outside sources that had invaded the school, but you also hear stories of kids bringing knives and guns to their place of education. How do they get away with this? Because lockers aren't checked.

A school is not a house, a student does not own his locker. The school gives it to him or her so supplies, jackets, and other things like those can be held. Basically, there's no reason why students should have a problem with school official checking their locker.

Maybe ten years ago the school things were different, but today schools most certainly should have the right to search lockers. A student can easily bring a pocket knife with him or her, and if the school doesn't check, (because this isn't like an airplane terminal where you're checked in-depth) that knife can easily be thrown into a locker. Poison spray, drugs, and even a mini revolver can be thrown into a locker and the school would never know until an event happened.

Some might use the analogy, "Well my parents gave me my room, so if they search it, it would be an invasion of privacy." But if the parents think their child may be hiding something, then they have every right to look, and so should the school. But the big difference is that the school is a government sanctioned institution where students are expected to behave at a certain standard. But the school knows not everyone will, so they should have the right to do routine checks of lockers. Of course, that's not to say men should be checking a girl's locker on a routine search, only in an emergency.

Should schools have the right to search student's lockers? The answer would be yes. It's too dangerous in society today not to have routine searching. And of course, if any student is believed to be hiding something, then it's obvious the school has the right. It's a tough thing to accept, but it's necessary to prevent school troubles.

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These 30 minute essays are short writings for practice for my College Composition exam, I call them '30 minute essays' because I have a time limit of 30 minutes to write a response to the topic question.
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2 comments:

  1. Epic post Destroyer. Writing can definitely be dicey, trust me, I've had a preeeetty strict English teacher. So, after being on the griller for the semester I figured that I'd throw in some tips. These are things that my Professor goes for, but everyone grades differently of course. Not all of my tips may be universally accepted so...you don't need to worry about them all. Plus, it's always easier to critique someone else's writing. (True fact)

    Starting a sentence with But or And may not be the best move. But is usually used as a conjunction and while using it as the lead word may be bold...it can be risky. Likewise with and.


    "How do they get away with this? Because lockers aren't checked." This one may be a little tricky. Your second sentence is the answer, but it also resembles a fragment since you started with because. Combining the sentences could work and you could still find a way to keep them separate as well.

    "A school is not a house, a student does not own his locker." A semicolon may work better in this situation, but that's really optional.


    "Basically, there's no reason why students should have a problem with school official checking their locker." You can really (I can get rid of really) get rid of the word basically. Think about it...what is basic about this scenario? Trick question, but you don't need that word. It sounds strong in theory, but in writing a paper; shorter is better. Use fewer words to say the same thing and the sentence will be stronger.

    "Some might use the analogy, "Well my parents gave me my room, so if they search it, it would be an invasion of privacy." But if the parents think their child may be hiding something, then they have every right to look, and so should the school." A bit of a run on sentence in this one. I'm not sure if you need to capitalize the but after the quotation. You could shorten the sentence, but you will probably need to restructure it.

    "But the big difference is that the school is a government sanctioned institution where students are expected to behave at a certain standard. But the school knows not everyone will, so they should have the right to do routine checks of lockers." You started two sentences with But in a row during this paragraph. That could be tricky as far as sentence variety goes. You also could delete "And of course" during the front of the sentence.

    In closing, most (If not all) of your sentences start with articles. To strengthen your sentences; I recommend using more nouns and transitions. (Additionally, Furthermore, etc) Using transitional phrases to link your sentences really makes your writing that much stronger and it also keeps your reader alert. Varying sentence lengths is also crucial, but a lot harder to do when you're writing on the spot. Still, (Unnecessary word, but I admit that it is hard not to use them) just a few things to keep in mind.

    Anyway, (Unnecessary word) that's my two cents. Admittedly, I'm also using this to practice my critiquing skills as well. I doubt that most graders will really be that strict anyway. I just went for the toughest English Professor that I could find by mistake and it's been interesting...very interesting. I like the English language as much as the next guy, but all of these rules are tricky. Solid essay Destroyer and I'm sure that you're going to do well on the exam. Go for the gold Destroyer! (Also I agree that lockers should be routinely checked, but not during school hours as that would be distracting. After hours sounds good; perhaps they could do this once a week)


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    1. I think you have the makings of being an English teacher Reager! I do often find myself using the word 'but' at the beginning of the sentence, which I need to watch. Sometimes I think it adds to the overall punch of a sentence to strengthen a point, if used in small doses of course. Good stuff!

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