Filing Day

Today is filing day for School Board Candidates. We have a viable candidate for each race in Votaw and Phillips. It will be interesting to see who else comes out.
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Best is to do PREVENTION. See: www.ClassroomManagementOnline.com
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Today, as a Reading First school, we were told we could choose between the new reading series Houghton-Mifflin and the old one Scott-Foresman. A choice - now???How much money did they waste on this fiasco? Research will always prove that smaller class size is better - why didn't we just reduce class size with the funds available or buy textbooks that classes did not have? What Dr. Diaz did was a deliberate and negligent criminal act - she did it only for a "power trip" and now the money is gone. Please don't tell us there is not enough money for books now - there was- and somebody screwed up big time!
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This is for the parents who have written in complaining about the audacity of school staff even thinking of disciplining their children...get over yourself. I am a parent and I work for the schools. I discipline my children the same way I would want them to be disciplined at school. I refuse to allow my kids to feel that 'mommy and daddy' will take care of all their problems. I expect them to uphold the rules of the school and district. If they break the rules, they will have to pay the consequence. Believe it or not, there are a lot of other parents who feel the same way. Our children will grow up to be strong, independent, and responsible members of society, not because they had parents who threatened anyone who made them feel bad, but because they had parents who let them learn life lessons when the consequence was small. Are you going to demand that your son or daughter be given the job they want just because you say so? Are you going to file a lawsuit against their future boss for reprimanding them or firing them when they are late or fail to do their job properly? Basically, are you ever going to let your kids grow up or are they going to be 40 years old, living with mommy and daddy, not working but still being treated like the world revolves around them? I pity your children for the failure you are setting them up for.
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From a watchful and vocal parent. I don't worry about my kids getting out of hand being that they all are honor roll students and have never been in trouble so therefore are as normal as can be but the fact of the matter is that "some LCPS teachers" are far from being trustworthy IMO and therefore I have every right to be watchful of "any teacher" that is instructing my child. If you feel offended because I have stated this I really don't care and maybe you are one of those with "something to hide". The truth is some teachers feel the need to yell at students or ridicule them and I for one will not allow that because over the years my kids have had their share of loudmouth teachers and teachers that liked to ridicule or single out students as well as take domestic problems/stress to the classroom. My kids are well informed as to what teachers can and can't do with/to them and realize that they have to follow the rules at school as well and have every right to ask questions if unsure about them. If anyone thinks that there are not teachers that are prejudiced need to "wake up" to the real world. After seeing that LCPS has had it's share of sexual offenders in it's ranks in years past the trust that was once there has now vanished. To the teacher that has honed their skills during their decades of teaching. Good for you, but it still does not mean that you are not a wolf in sheeps clothing or what goes on behind your classroom door. It is due to teachers like you (Mr. or Mrs. "I will not call you first) that I shall keep on being a watchful and vocal parent as any responsible parent would(being retired military I have all the time in the world) so take your offer of a "modified tutorial session" and put it in your pocket to put it nicely. It's not about fighting my children's battles, it's about protecting their rights and you are darn skippy I will call the PD should any LCPS staff "cross the line" in their treatment of my children should I think it is questionable enough to warrant an investigation. It's good to know that my children have teachers that are understanding of my view and who they are to call should the need arise and that their will be consequences for failure to do so. I am just making sure that my children's rights are not trampled on by any LCPS employee or treated in a questionable manner which is my right. In other words leave the disciplining of my children to me and just "do your job and teach" and I will continue to being a watchful volunteer and vocal parent and not leave "anything to chance". IMO the LCPS system needs an overhaul and a superintendent that weed out the bad apples/teachers and parents need to be in the classroom with their kid's more to see what is going on. I value my kids far too much than to let anyone in the LCPS system treat them in a questionable manner or trample on their rights so I don't feel I am wrong in that aspect or as far as discipline is concerned and besides LCPS staff has a long way before it regains my trust again if ever. Until next year! Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays whatever toots your horn.
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I agree with what I read on the link posted earlier. Yes, the majority of students are good kids who are eager to learn. We need to refocus our attention on them and put the students who don't want to learn in an alternate school environment. My daughter and her friends were approached by one of our principals during breakfast-he thanked them for being good and not causing problems. As a mom, and as a staff member at that school, I appreciated that comment. (No he did not know she was my daughter until I mentioned it later) It made those kids feel good that someone noticed them for doing what they were supposed to do. Unfortunately, that happens all too rarely. I try to thank students who are doing their job, but all too often I have to spend hours monitoring, redirecting, and documenting behaviors of students who don't want to be at school. I am so tired of having to tell the same group of kids over and over to do their work, get out supplies, stop touching others, quit cussing, etc. I spend most of my day doing that because by law I am required to make sure they are given every opportunity to succeed. Meanwhile, there are about 30 other students who want my help, but they have to figure it out on their own. I don't think it is fair to those who want to learn. Why should they suffer because I have to spend all my time redirecting a behavior problem? (BTW, I am an EA, I am required to service 32 students in 7 different classes without singling them out, which means I have to provide the same level of service to the entire class. Most of the students want to learn. I am required to give them all the same attention. But the ones who don't want to learn have figured out how to monopolize not only my time but the teacher's time as well) I do long for the good old days of school being a place to learn and not a dumping ground for kids who have never learned how to behave properly.
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As a parent who has had four kids go through LCPS, can I just say that for the most part, you can safely give the benefit of the doubt to teachers/principals in terms of discipline. I can count on one hand the number of "bad" teachers my kids have had, and even they were influenced by my meeting with them, volunteering in the classroom, etc. Very, very rarely this was NOT the case, so I found I needed to step in and advocate for my son or daughter at a higher level. But at some point, especially when kids are in middle and high school, the kid has to learn to accept the consequences of his or her behavior, and that we all have to deal with people in our lives who aren't ideal in terms of being "nice". When my daughter, who had nothing but wonderful elementary teachers through 5th grade entered middle school, it was a bit of a culture shock, especially in terms of more responsibilities, strict adherence to rules, due dates, etc. This kid who had never been in trouble in her life now had to sit in lunch detention a couple of times for forgetting permission slips, or was punished as part of the whole class because two or three kids were talking. She was outraged, and wanted me to do something to intervene. Even though I empathized with her frustration, and thought some of the things the teachers did were a bit petty, I tried to help her deal with the situation by learning what it took to be successful, encouraging her to be respectfully assertive with her teachers when she needed to speak up, but NOT by bailing her out of important learning opportunities. She toughened up quite a bit that year, got better organized, and is now a better student for it. I have found that if you work WITH the school, rather than in an adversarial position, you can create a great outcome for your child, and teach him/her that they truly have control over what happens to them.
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I have seen lots of complaints from teachers about kids behaving badly and their frustration with parents who don't do anything or even defend their kids. But what about parents who normally support and back up their children's teachers, but find that their child has one who really is inappropriate to students? Does anyone have a suggestion for a parent when a good kid gets mistreated by a teacher (eg., teacher screams in their face, calls them lazy or a liar or is mocked in front of the class for asking a "dumb" question)? How do we confront this teacher without making things worse for our child?