Due to time restraints the information on gang activity at schools was brief, but they will be addressed soon at some point. Gang activity does exist in the schools and the Board has recognized this dangerous problem. The Board’s stance is that if they feel that any incident is gang related they will use all available means to investigate and determine if it is gang related. If so determined as gang related they will use the utmost extent of their powers and remedies available in doling out a punishment. They referenced problems from the time around 1992-93 when they had similar problems with local gangs in schools. They expelled them and the problem was quelled. They did not go into much details about the situation during the time.
Expelling students is hard and very likely will lead to them to be lost souls and to problems within our community being out and about on their own. This brings us to the age old question is there a point when one is totally lost? I understand each individual is special and is afforded his personhood, but when one’s actions takes him away from being a good person so far that not even an intimation of the good person one once was or could be is found, is he to be left to his immanent demise? Educators face this dilemma everyday, especially administrators who have to deal with alternative kids who are on the cusp of falling too far away or gang members who pose that ever dreadful thought of some heinous act as a shooting. What are we to do? The mission of the education system is to provide the tools and structure which is to be utilized to become productive good citizens. Some choose to ignore this mission taught by our educators and subsequently will inhibit the classroom/school.
I work in these schools and let me tell you this is real! I can look at a problem student and work back throughout his life and ultimately back to the home and give a pretty close assessment of what the student has done and where he has come from. It’s sad, it really is. These students who are coming up are our future, not to use that hackneyed term, but it is the truth. I feel, as well as others in the profession is that one of the main problems in education, especially in the area, is the support at home. If the schools commitment is not echoed back at the home then there is only so much the schools can do and have done. These kids become lost and unfortunately a detriment to the school system. I pray and hope that these kids get some insight and change. The alternative programs and teachers/administrators do get to some of these kids and become success stories, but not enough.
Why have things been getting worse? Gangs? Demographics? Local opportunities? The administrators have a huge onus of responsibility and accountability. These educators are faced with both Federal Compliance coupled with the needs of the local community and individual schools. It is hard to get these kids to succeed with the pull of a unstable home life while maintaining the standards set forth by the government and our responsibility and belief in in education of each individual. Again they can only do so much and it is up to those at home to help.
This is a constant reminder that our decisions before we have children make an impact on when we have children. If we can not support ourselves or have the skills to be these all important parents then when those who have kids are going to be at a huge uphill climb to succeed in providing a good life for those children. I give kudos to all who work to give our children an education, administrators, teachers, substitutes, janitors, coaches… For now, as our administrators work to preserve our community through education of our generations we can only commit to the ideals of the good of education, work diligently to preserve and practice these ideals, and be unwavering in our continuing effort to education. This is one battle where as Lombardi would say, “There is no substitute for victory”!
This post reflects the opinions/feelings of the Wicomico Board of Education Administrators as well as partially mine. I tried best to reflect these feelings with a limited time to get the post up.
Nick
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
18 comments:
"They expelled them"..................
If they started expelling gang members nowadays, I know for a fact that Salisbury Middle School would lose half of their students. They are the Bloods and the Crypts (sp?) My best friends' daughter goes there, and is scared to death. She walks through the halls with her cell phone in her hand......She tells me about so many fights that go on in the classrooms and in the halls. I would be curious to know at exactly how many students get suspended every week!
It is ridiculous!!!!! Barrie needs to get her head out of her ass.......and step out of denial into the real world. (My opinion only!)
You said:
"Unfortunately the safety and well being of the majority takes precedence over a few."
I hope that is not what you meant to say.
Thanks for the proof reading!
Nick,
We differ so greatly on many of the opinions you express. You're most definitely entitled to your opinion and I mean no disrespect whatsoever.
"Expelling students is hard and very likely will lead to them to be lost souls and to problems within our community..."
Expelling can never lead to lost souls. Souls are lost at home in the early stages of childhood development. Souls are laid to waste when parents fail to instill values and morals. Schools can't teach them. Expulsion is the result of the parent failing to do the right thing and is evidence that these students are already problems to their community.
"The mission of the education system is to provide the tools and structure which is to be utilized to become productive good citizens."
The mission of the education system is to provide a safe and structured environment which is conducive to providing our children receiving an education. It is the job of the parents to provide the basic molding of their children by (again) instilling values and morals which will be the building blocks of a "productive good citizen".
Since a significant number of parents are falling short in these areas, these responsibilities are being thrusted upon our education systems which are not in a position to carry them out. Liberal leaders continue to push an agenda of increased government size by throwing more money into our education system which is not the proper "tool".
Let's look at this analogy. If you have a bolt that needs to be loosened, you look for a wrench in your toolbox. To your disappointment you can't find a wrench. So you grab a screwdriver. Try as you will you cannot get the bolt loosened. The tool is not working. Next, you go to the store and you spend the money to buy a bigger screwdriver. It still doesn't work. It's the wrong tool. Very basic analogy...I understand.
The education system is a screwdriver. But what do you do when it's the only tool you have?
The education system has already taken over the role of the parent in too many aspects. They feed the children breakfast AND lunch. They provide tramsportation to and from school for those students who can't seem to get along on the bus. They provide health care at the expense of the taxpayer and can do so without the permission of the parent. I don't have the answer but I can't see where an ever increasing education system which only treats the symptoms is working. It would be more effective to treat the problem rather than the symptom.
Okay thats great, lets expel or suspend students who are gang members so their have total idle time in the community to rape, rob, and pillage. Well, see we got away from paddling years ago and now whenever one of these wayward kids is locked up or etc. the parents get pissed off at the cops for locking their kids up! So, lets see how we can fix society real quick like:
1) Beat kids asses in school that are gangsters and other criminal idiots. Beat parents asses that complain that their kids got their asses beat for wearing all red with little weed pictures printed on their shirts with dollar bill signs and jeans with little guns sewn into them. Beat the parents asses once kids wearing these items are seen.
2) Beat criminal's asses who require beating.
3) Lock up criminals and kids who are criminals - beat both their asses. Do away with the current Juvenile system because it is totally wrecked. Reinstate old days of "boys homes" where they got their asses beat.
4) Declare martial law in salisbury and surrounding
5) Remove civil liability from police who are arresting criminals and authorize ass beatings and reinstate the rule that allows police to shoot fleeing felons.
6. Remove long appeals/reinstate capital punishment to include electric chair. Do away with lethal injection, not violent enough. One appeal then strapped in a chair located to the back of the court room and turned to broil.
7. Fry all drug dealers.
8. Fry all child molesters, rapists, murders (1st, 2nd degree etc), and armed robbers also.
POOF! Problems solved. Wait, sounds like the old days? Wow. Hey, heres another good idea how about we elect celery clinton or broccoli obama to the whitehouse! That will solve our crime issues!
Wait, better yet, why don't we just move to other countries and let the criminals have america to plunder! Wait, other countries are liberial too. How about we launch into outer space and fly to the moon! Wait, people are "buying" land on the moon. Okay, okay, lets fly to Mars! Wait, there are little robots crawling on mars already. Okay, Jupiter where we would die of exposure instantly but we must first remember to give half of our savings and property (or paychecks) to the criminals and peices of shit so they can drive big cars and huge trucks with huge eight thousand dollar chrome rims, live free, thumb their noses at us, buy gold grills for their teeth, get flat hats with stickers all over them, deal drugs, and sit back and watch big screen rent a center TV's, while we drive our 1993 hondas and volvos to Jupiter! Problems solved-ed! Oh wait, we can't afford gas anymore. Shit.
Nevermind. Back to square one.
As you know the Maryland State Department of Education has told local educators that too many minority, special ed. students are being suspended. It doesn't seem to matter that they deserve to be suspended. Talk to, write to or email your state and federal legislators. It is ludicrous to see how much money, time and human resources are spent on students who have no intention of working in school. They come to disrupt, show off and see what types of intimidation they can get away with. I am tired of the excuse that these kids don't know what is expected, that the rules aren't clear. Don't grab other people, don't throw people up against the wall, don't steal, don't scream in the halls, don't threaten to hurt other people, don't whistle and sing and yell in class are not hard to understand, especially after so many years of being in school.
Most kids think you need an education to get a job to support yourself and your family. Some know that isn't true and take full advantage of it. They know they don't have to work to support a family. Their goal is to have as many children as possible so the government (taxpayers) will suppport them forever. The more children, the more money they get. Until that changes drastically, we continue to have, as Allen Brown said so perfectly, "people who think it is the job of the system to raise their children."
Sirrobert:
Love it, love it, love it!
You sound just like my dad. We were always good kids cause we were scared of our father, what he would do to us when he got home. (as our mother constantly threatened) Despite the warnings, we got our share of whuppin's.
And we lived to tell about it. He didn't really hurt us, just our pride.
We knew he meant business.
We knew respect, yes sir, no, ma'm to all our elders. We knew courtesy, discipline (making oneself do that which is required & especially when it was required), honor integrity. In short we behaved.
And we've lived to tell about it.
Spare the rod & spoil the child.
As a single mom, raising a teen boy was not easy. Hard to face the size & quenched fists in anger. But, he knew in no uncertain terms what he wasn't gonna get away with. He wasn't easy at school and I was always working. But now his friends want to meet the woman who could handle him. Once, he carried me out the door on his back when he said I couldn't stop him from doing something. When he realized I wasn't gonna "get off", he stopped at the porch door. The promise that sooner or later, he was gonna want something and the answer was gonna be NO, wasn't too hard to keep. The first big NO came when it was time to drive... It's called TOUGH LOVE!
Maybe he thinks I don't love him, I do but also I don't want him to be a sh*t.
Perhaps these unruly kids could perform some sort of community service before being allowed to return to school. With supervision, of course. In so doing, they wouldn't be "out & about" causing further mayhem.
An aside, wanna run for our congress?
Why aren't these kids in the alternative school? We're paying for it so they can be away from kids who actually will work. Why are the constant discipline problems still in regular school?
The schools don't have the tools to resources to handle these problem children. The problems start at home, these kids are being raised by gang members, drug dealers, and crack head prostitutes. What do you expect from these kids, this is the only life they know. Let's start at home by beating and arresting the parents. Put these kids in long term juv detention centers. The juv system is a joke and all these little thugs know it. They know they can get away with anything.
Grandad, again I think we are on the same page but different approaches. I feel that expelling will loose souls because they are loosing the one place which provides structure and the opportunity to improve themselves. I completely agree that problems start at home and the schools can only do so much "If the schools commitment is not echoed back at the home then there is only so much the schools can do and have done." The problems need addressed at home as well at school. The lessons need to be shown as examples at all the levels. Education cannot be administered with these problem kids, its a catch 22. We have had success in reducing such Supreme Court precedents in reducing the scope of Tinker v. Des Moisne which is overbroad in students rights. Still much has to be done. It's just a bad situation.
Grandad, obviously we need to sit down and get on the same page in the same book we are on.
Why aren't these kids in the alternative school? We're paying for it so they can be away from kids who actually will work. Why are the constant discipline problems still in regular school?
The reprocussions are not reflected back at home, thats a major reason. I have been incontact with administrators who are willing to talk with me about these problems and the situation as a whole. It's a big issue.
Grandad could you e-mail me your address. Part of the post is both editorial and the reflections of administrators in which I tried to reflect.
Tools and structure I mean knowledge and discipline as well as skills which are needed in practical everyday experiences.
country girl- your friends daughter is exagerating a bit. There are far few less fights at sms than any other wico school besides mardela. sms is an outstanding school. i am there 2 to 3 days a week. since the beginning of the school year i have only witnessed 3 fights if you even call it that because it will last about 12 seconds. and the majority of fights at sms are girls. also if your friends daughter walked through the hall with her phone in her hand, mr cody would take it.
Most kids who misbehave get a zillion warnings, dozens of referrals, tons of alternate punishments, and then (months later) have enough suspension days for the alternative school. How about we look at how many responsible kids are wasting time while the teacher deals with the do-nothings. Imagine being the children who go to school to learn and know how to behave. How do they stand 6 hours a day of thugs? Multiply that by 180 days of school per year times the number of years the children have been in school. Why should they have to watch their educations go down the drain? "Alternative" means just what it says, so give the kids who are out of control an alternative because being in the regular school is not working.
Parents, take back your schools. You have a right to observe your child's classes. So spend your day off in school. You have to check in at the main office, but then you can visit. Make every week American Education Week. Just remember you can't reprimand or grab any of the kids who have no self-control. Otherwise, make yourself visible. Kids will tell you to stay home but go in droves.
Middle schools and high schools have an in school suspension room. Kids who are assigned there are to work all day, talk to no one in there with them except the teacher, have no contact with any other students in the school, etc. If they cannot follow those rules, we need to face the fact they have intention of working in school. Many have no intention of ever working. They have to go.
Also, schools need the drug-sniffing dogs to sniff the kids and their possessions. Having dogs sniff the lockers is a joke. The drugs are on the kids and in their gym bags. Sometimes the drugs are hidden around the school, but they are not in the locker assigned to the drug dealer.
I am afraid that there is no instant fix for a problem that has grown for a couple of generations. Todays parents are the offspring of parents that didn't have much upbringing when they were kids, so todays kids will suffer as well as tomorrows kids. We need to start a system that helps our young kids be productive from day one, not wait until they get to be teens.
I say bring back the old system where the teacher had more control in the classroom. Todays policies have given false rights to many, just because they may complain about being repremanded or punished. I agree with Anon 8:28 I also did not die from my Dads hand? My parents brought up 3 boys can you imagine? We got our butts tanned daily, before and after school. We survived and now our children have become productive in our society. Bring back the yardstick....it works!!!
Post a Comment