CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS Hope Village is providing housing and dining facilities for volunteers who will be coming to Minot to help flood victims rebuild their homes. But the effort could use some volunteers of its own to help with kitchen duties. Even just one day of help would be beneficial, organizers say. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. Shifts are 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through the summer. Anyone interested should email Lisa Brown at localvolunteers@hopevillagend.org or call 389-0996. Donating even one shift of time would be greatly helpful to the organizations in charge of the massive effort to house and feed the volunteers. We have no doubt Minot and other residents will respond.
TEMPER TANTRUM Does a 6-year-old deserve to be put in handcuffs for tearing items off a wall ad throwing books and toys during a temper tantrum in school? The easy answer is obviously no, that a kindergarten teacher in Georgia overreacted by calling police when the girl became upset and began throwing small items and trying to break a glass frame. But we continue to read stories from around the country about similar cases, where police are called for what we'd generally consider minor disruptions. Clearly the 6-year-old in question was out of control, according to the Associated Press story, but we see no reason the school staff couldn't have handled the situation on its own. If a school can't handle a disruptive child on its own, what does that say about the staff? Having said that, we also sympathize with teachers having to deal with such students. There are unruly children at all ages in classrooms that are difficult to handle, and those children can spoil the learning experience for the other students. Teachers must have the authority to quell such outbursts responsibly, but calling police should be an absolute last resort. And handcuffs for a 6-year-old shouldn't be necessary.