I find this truly disturbing. We have almost lost the free press, due to the demise of many newspapers, the network news has become infotainment, at best, and now we are limiting or undermining freedom of expression. It is a sad commentary that the 'government' and fear mongering special interests keep telling us how they are protecting us by gradually eroding our freedoms. Like ancient Rome, we are rotting from the inside out, and have become a timid, petty and hateful nation where fear and intolerance seem to have won out over discussion, compromise, and compassion. Obviously, reasonable people no longer seem able to agree to disagree, they must discredit those with whom they disagree. Has the nation become so polarized that we can no longer discuss issues, or tolerate minority opinions or questions about how things are run, or who really benefits from changes to our economy and laws? We seem to be so preoccupied hating each other that we fail to notice the government taking away our freedoms and our economic well being while we become a nation of uneducated automatons mindlessly playing with our communication devices saying nothing important to everyone we know. How the mighty have fallen, and how sad to watch today's youth believe they are entitled to everything, and willing to do nothing to achieve it.

Yes, I know. I am a middle school teacher, and an amazing array of messages never make it home. Most of my students don't have Internet Access at home, so email doesn't always work. My own children bring home papers, and we also get emails from their schools. You make a good point though, that parents should not overreact until they get the facts from the school...

I saw something similar in a school where I teach. A research project involving a group of children was asked to participate after parental permission and notification and consent were given, detailing the purpose of the project, asking for permission for blood samples and a complete physical given to the child free of charge. The students were awarded gift certificates and other free items such as calculators, CD carriers, and water bottles. The heart monitors were worn during gym class only, and the heart rates were compared prior to and after exercised to measure heart rate resting times. The data was tied to numbers, not names, and was stored that way, so there were no long term consequences of the test, and all information was shared with parents. If you have not given your permission for this testing, I would certainly be upset as a parent that you have not been given any information as to the use of the data, or the confidentiality of the data.