Let's not lose sight of what the School Board is facing --- how and when to select an Interim Superintendent. We must insist that the Board wait to make this decision after the Feb. School Board election. All new Board members (one new member is assured) should be involved with this important step.
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I would not be doing my job as a parent if I did not go to my kid's school as much as possible and make sure that teachers, principals and LCPS staff (even physical plant staff) were not infringing on the rights of my children as well as other kids. Having three kids in the district we have experienced teachers that are prejudiced against Hispanics and those that tend to yell at students as well as monitors that could use a course in manners when talking to children. I realize that there are "good teachers and staff" in the LCPS system but I shall continue to keep an eye on staff at my kid's schools to make sure that the "bad apples" know that they are being watched by a highly vocal parent not afraid to fire off at the mouth at any questionable behavior by LCPS staff. LCPS staff has no business disciplining my kids should the need arise and I have made my children's schools well aware of this and the consequences should they not comply and call a parent before saying a word to my children, because it is the job of the parent and only the parent. Parents need to take responsibility for any questionable behavior of their kids. Needless to say I do and say this because I have lost faith in the LCPS system over the years and public education as a whole. The LCPS system as a whole is in need of an overhaul IMO. A watchfull & vocal parent.
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I agree with many comments about the lack of discipline. In today's world, 3rd graders use profanity, play violent video games with parents permission, know about gangs, drugs, suicide, and sex. Its a rapidly changing world and we, as educators, need to change our approach in the classroom in order to reach them. Of course, this is just my opinion, but a lot of secondary students are given chance after chance with very little consequence. Whatever happened to long term suspension, expulsion, etc., etc. Its difficult to reach students when their behaviors in the classroom are out of control. Lets bring back the "old" system of negative consequences for negative behaviors. These days, everyone is paranoid about making a parent mad and causing a lawsuit. Educators get very little (if any) support from Principals and other administrators. Recently, even some educators have been "burned out" and accuse their co-workers of rash behavior. Our school system has become very toxic. No wonder people are jumping ship.
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The commenter below needs a vacation, an antidepressants, to change professions or possibly all three! Can we please not brush ALL the kids in the schools with the same negative brush? The majority of kids I know seem to be behaving pretty well. The problem with the earlier comment about cracking down on kids is that as a parent, I LIKE the fact that my kid's teachers and administrators use some reasonable judgment tailored to the individual in deciding how to discipline. Some kids are just being kids who are within normal limits of misbehaving, while others are truly displaying the kind of wanton disregard for others that deserves more serious punishments. I never want to go back to the days where a little 5 year-old kindergartener is suspended and referred to juvenile probation because he brought a plastic water pistol to Water Fun Day in the last week of school, and all the principal can say is "Sorry, rules are rules".
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As a parent I am doing my job to make sure the rights of my kids are not trampled on by certain teachers and principals. There is a teacher at my child's school notorious for "yelling" at students and complaints seem to fall on deaf ears with the principal being that there is a "buddy system" between them so you have to look at it both ways, there are troubled students and teachers as well. I have made it crystal clear to the principal at my childrens schools that if any disciplining is to be done to my kids it's to be done by me or my wife and failure to follow my requests will result in dire consequences but this will not happen with my kids being that they are honor roll students and have always been, along with that I have taught them that respect is a two way street and you respect the teacher so long as they respect you and if a teacher disrespects you then they don't deserve that respect and they are to inform me or their mother of any disrespectfulness done to them by teachers or principals. The trust of teachers/principals has diminished in my family. You get what you give and although there are "problem kids" aka gangbangers in our school system you can't judge all kids by a few bad apples as some teachers tend to do. My mother had the same discipline policy when I was a kid and believe me I was more afraid of my mother than any male principal in LCPS and I love her for being this way with me when I was young, so parents do need to take responsibility for their kids behavior. I would prefer my kids be homeschooled but I don't have the resources for it and it's unfortunate that the voucher thing that former Gov. Johnson I think it was had in mind fell through because I for one don't have faith in the LCPS system from the top on down.With any luck the next superintendent will change my outlook on LCPS because God knows it is a mess. A fed-up parent
posted by LCPS1 @ 6:53 PM
7 Comments:
Oh my goodness, Mr. Parent! I just hope that I do have your child in my classroom. I look forward to him/her acting like a normal kid, who might need to have his/her coat-tails pulled to get back on task. If I need to discipline the child, rest assured that I will do so right then; I will NOT call you first. However, I will show infinite respect for your child using skills that I have honed during my decades of teaching; perhaps you could use a modified tutorial session, instead! Regards to your wife, too.
To the parent who feels the need to serve as a watchdog in defense of his or her child at school, remember that the law (In loco Parentis=in place of the parent) states that teachers and administrators serve in place of the parent during the school day and have not only the right but the legal obligation to provide proper care and control over the children that are in their schools and classrooms. Parents have an obligation to support this process. If they cannot, then perhaps they should consider home schooling their children or better yet, placing them in a boarding school program. If a parent has a concern that is reasonable, then this should be addressed to the teacher and the building administrator for the purpose of seeking a solution. It is parents who lack appropriate training and State Licensure while insisting on involving themselves inappropriately in the running of our school programs who are creating more problems than they solve. If you have a problem with a teacher or administrator, School Board Policy provide an appropriate avenue to pursue your complaint.
Here's one possible solution to the discipline problems facing schools today.
http://consilience.typepad.com/teachers_lounge/2006/12/simple_yet_comp.html
Anyone here who, A) wants to do more than bitch and moan and, B) cares about LCPS becoming a flagship public school system and wanting some great ideas on how to get there?
Check out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's High School Education page at
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/Education/TransformingHighSchools/default.htm. Also, take a look at the recent "Skills of the American Workforce" report by the NCEE at
http://www.skillscommission.org/. We have to quit focusing on the minutae, folks, and get to work educating our kids!!!! The Gates foundation especially emphasizes that countering the problems in our American public education system cannot happen without implementing one important strategy: reduce the size of America's schools to create a sense of connectedness, mutual goals, community, and caring between educators, students and parents, so that focused educational strategy's can have the most impact on kids.
At the risk of sounding naive, I have to agree with them. I am more and more convinced that if we would just cut the size of the middle and high schools in half, or created smaller learning communities within our existing schools, we would see the positive effects almost overnight (in "school time"). With the LCPS high schools at 2200 and the middle schools at 800, we can barely manage the crowded atmospheres at lunch time, much less find a way to make kids feel like more than one of a big, anonymous, crowd. But create a smaller environment within the schools and something great can and does happen. For example, take a look at the MIddle School Magnet programs: I bet they have fewer serious discipline related distractions than the general populations at those schools, not because the kids come from "better families" but because there is a sense of community within the groups in the magnate. The teachers (who probably have a little better job satisfaction as a result of all this) know the kids, the teachers know the kid's parents and vice versa, and there are a shared set of goals they all are moving toward together. I know as the parent of a child in Sierra's Science Magnet that I am much far more appreciated, welcomed, and informed by my child's teachers than I was at her two older brother's "regular" middle school, where I never knew what the heck was going on until some big problem reared its head. As a result, I try and volunteer more, etc. because I seem to be wanted and my time seems to make a difference. In all my kids elementary years at our neighborhood school, I felt this way, which kept me connected and contributed to terrific elementary experiences for them. Why do you think we all want our bright kids in AES--it means someone is designated to keep a watch on your kid and shrinks the feel of school for all involved. What if we could create this kind of experience all over the schools in town? We accomplished some good things a few years ago when we innovated by creating school choice and open enrollment--why can't we do that again with a comprehensive effort to make our schools feel like small communities to our teachers and students?
Teachers, maybe you've heard of Madeline Hunter...maybe not. Her work is an inspiration for all teachers, as she was helpful when I hired her as a consultant, for three years, in a federal project that contributed much to the formulation of methods of accountable management of curriculum. Her 'Mastery Teaching', and guide to lesson-planning, should be familiar to all teachers. Insights are available on the Internet... just look up Madeline Hunter. (Some of what you'll find are modern interpretations and applications of her principles. These may, or may not, be helpful.)
Congratulations watchful and vocal parent! You have educated your child that any and all battles will be fought by their parents. You have taught your children that teachers and school rules have no value. Will you inform the police depaartment of the same? Are all experienced teachers prejudiced against Hispanics? Is it you that is prejudiced? Having taught in all black school I have had the race card pulled on me before. I politely inform the parent/child that I do discriminate against any child who chooses to break the rules! I discriminate against rule breakers by enforcing consequneces!
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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