A reader sends the following.........
Joe:
You are the only one with the balls to tell the public about the situation at James M. Bennett High School. It is a war zone, Teachers threatened with physical harm and rape even. The Sheriff's Department is aware as the school resource officers, yes plural are in place. Teachers have been told not to talk because it will impede the investigation. The Principal there allegedly disciplined a Teacher when a camera was set up to catch who was leaving threatening notes on the teachers desk. Joe this is bad I am not going to lie. Tomorrow I will meet you at Sam's or Walmart in person face to face, but my job requires that I be annon right now, or P will join the ranks of the unemployed. The principal there has turned the place into a war zone, let it turn into a war zone.
This should get interesting! Just look at the open slots on the schedule and that's where you'll find me.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
51 comments:
Joe,
Just yesterday morning I had to pick up my grandson from Bennett High and I saw at least four policemen in the school, just from the school office to the nurses office.
Wanda Disharoon
I have heard of JMB being bad but had no idea it had gotten to this point. I can recall when that was THE school to go to. It was also known as the "snob" school due to the elite who were attending. Things sure do change. Teachers should never have to be faced with such situations at work. They are the people shaping the minds of our future. Is this what our future will be?
Its time the teachers take back the school. Any threat from the assholes and warrants for their arrest should be obtained and peace orders gotten.
I sometimes work at Bennett, and I have to agree and disagree with some of these statements. I do not believe it is the fault of the administration that the school has turned into a "warzone". Bennett has the problem of drawing from a crappy district, so consequently end up with many of the gang members Barrie Tilghman doesn't think exist. Secondly, there is too much fear. Teachers walk around in fear of these students...I have found that if you stand up to them, they get a lot less brazen. They only respect strength, so if you show them fear and timidness, they know they can push you around. Lastly, the place I think the administration suffers is in punishment...a lot of obvious offenders are given minor punishments for major wrongdoings. This is partly because the Board of Ed hamstrings everyone with all its touch feely policies. Great things happen at Bennett too, as the boys soccer team recently won a Maryland State Championship. There are many good kids at JMB, so don't let those that are disruptive fool you. The administration is doing the best it can to set the school right.
The situation at JM Bennett has been growing increasingly worse for some time now. My son graduated from Bennett a couple of years ago and it was getting bad then. The main problems come from the kids in the Princeton and Prince St. area. Because of the lack of parental supervision and guideance they are like wild animals at times. There are guns, knives, theft and drugs on a routine basis.
The schools Deputy can't see everything when there are 1400 kids moving about. There are many good kids there and they suffer from the actions of the hoodlums. They are there to get an education and some are just there to refine their skills as criminals. The teachers hands are tied and they are afraid to do anything. They will either get beat up or lose their job for trying to correct the problem. This is why there is a shortage of good teachers today. I say go back to the old way. Give the Principal and teachers the right to discipline from kindergarten to graduation. Give them a big paddle and let them warm the back side of these trouble makers. Let them snatched them out of their seat by the collar and give it to them good. Throw them in jail and expell them when they assault a teacher. Better yet, fine the parents and let them join them in jail.
I respected and feared my Principal and teachers as a youth. It only took one time of geting beat with a paddle when i was in second grade to get the message. Our society has become too passive and weak. We cant spank little Johnny because it will scar him emotionally or hurt his feelings. Well, our society is paying the price for this philosophy. You have a lawless society and schools like this. Go back to the old way and I guarentee you will see a better school and society. The behavior of a good child starts at home with good parenting.
I'm just curious.....is Bennett Middle at all like this?
You think this is bad, I heard that Salisbury EMS was called to Pinehurst ELEMENTRY school earlier this week for a teacher that was hit in the throat by a student. Anyone have any info on this ??
The only solution is build a new alternative school and make it look like a prison and run it like a prison. Remove the trash as they commit "school felonies". This will make the schools learning institutes again, snap the good kids to attention and get the trash used to prison life. Maybe then I will start sending my kids to public school.
The administration will go into cover-up mode. That is what they do. I really hope you can get in there Joe and get the truth out of them.
Bennett has gotten worse over the years. The students get away with everything now. The kids are allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want. They have some horrible teachers now because they just are trying to fill spots. Noone wants to work there. Administration never backs them up I hear and some of the kids are bad all the time. Good teachers have left because of horrible situations and students. I graduated a few years ago and I had one of the best teachers ever. I wasn't one of the great kids either. She was great teacher but there were always A%$holes, me included, in the room. She put up with so much but she actually did make us learn math eventually. But she never gave up on us even after we pissed her off. She made math fun and for some of us kids for the hour we were with her in her room we knew she cared. She was threatened, broke up fights and cursed out but she came back the next day willing to try to teach us a%#holes again. I hear she is gone now to teach somewhere else. They need to improve that school before they lose all their good teachers and no one cares. Bennett needs serious help. There are good teachers there and good things happening but it all won't matter when the school goes bad.
Bennett Middle is the same if not worse, I mean during American Education Week with Parents there in the building there was a gang fight that the cafeteria had to be cleared out, its a joke, Board of Ed lets this happend with letting the gang members wear there bandanas and colors to school, it is the liberal way that has made this country tear each other apart from the inside, taking away discipline and actions that could prevent this from happenning, of course this will continue because there is no backbone in society today, it pissed me off and i for one am scared that my 2 year old will have to grow up in this community, it is only going to get worse
CALLING JOE CLARK, CALLING JOE CLARK, your help is needed here on the Shore. Our school administration and the BOE have no backbone, they sold it to the Feds for No Child Left With A Mind dollars. CALLING JOE CLARK...
The public schools are a mirror of our society. Perhaps the mirror looks into the future a bit, but so be it. This is WHO we are! The question is why, and how have we become WHO we are?
The richest people in our society would like to do one thing: turn our schools into prisons. It looks to me like they are well on their way.
We must resist this aciton to turn our schools into prisons. We are teaching our own children to become slaves. They already look at the we parents live and realize there is not much hope in the future of America.
We should realize this is not happening by chance. Our society is being molded to fit an ideal. That ideal is a police state.
The problem is not just at Bennett. It is everywhere.
The 'warm fuzzy' movement has left us totally screwed, as far as discipline is concerned.
Laws have made it extremely difficult to discipline even the worst students in school - labeling your kid 504 will prevent him from ever being expelled, NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES. The most that can happen to a 504 student is a 10-day suspension.
Parents no longer want to be parents - they are too busy playing video games to worry about their kids, who for some reason do no wrong.
It is sad. I teach some of the worst students out there, and most of them don't stand a chance. When you are 14 and smoke crack with your mom, what am I supposed to do???
8:13. Thanks for the self-esteem boost and making me spit out my drink. Elite may a little too strong.I remember it being very solidly middle/upper middle class (in a good way- no "clicks"). The 'snob" school was Parkside because those softees couldnt roll without their air conditioning.
Bennett faculty were informed that to date 3000 referrals have been sent to the office--an average of 1000 a month! The principal, I believe, is simply was over her head; a school the size of Bennett with all of its attendent problems should not be assigned to a virtual neophyte.
10:24. I say this with respect but if those numbers are correct, that sounds more like a trend of teachers taking the easy way out on issues. for better or worse, the classroom is where the referral crisis originates. the sharks are simply smelling blood in the water and feeding off it. at some point teachers will have to accept certain realities and gain control of their own classrooms-even without corporal punishment- or the inmates will truly control the asylum. you have wonderful grammar and sentence structure, though. i give you a B+.
You mean Bennett is becoming more like WiHi? That school has been dangerous for some time now.
This goes back to getting rid of corporal punishment. These kids have NOTHING to fear for acting out whether dangerously or not anymore.
They know the school's hands are tied and they can do whatever they want.
As I see it, having the resource officers there may help some, but they certainly can't really do anything until AFTER something happens...by then, it is too late.
"I have heard of JMB being bad but had no idea it had gotten to this point." - And you still don't know. A letter to a blog means nothing.
How many non-citizens go to this school?
I remember the days when you could paddle a student and if you got one at school, it was even worse when you got home. Now we have to have 4 police officers in the school! Thanks to all the lets not warp their personalities, we have to let them express them selves pyschology. Just remember you reap what you sow. These students are your future. They won't be able to tolerate being told what to do when they are in the working world.
10:42, the problems at Bennett are not due to the lack of corporal punishment. I attended Bennett back when there were no problems, and there was no corporal punishment. I had previously attended a school (Delmar) that had corporal punishment and it was more of a joke than a deterent for certain behavior.
Twenty years ago we had respect for others that was taught to us by our parents, relatives, and by example. We were not "good" out of fear of a spanking; we were "good" because it was the right thing to do, and it came naturally.
The "bad" kids today have not been exposed to positive relationships or interactions. It is truly a lose for society as well as for themselves. The sad part is that they dont realize or seem to care that they are actually punishing themselves. Society has taught them how to be thugs, so that is what they are.
10:17 get real! Parkside may of had the a/c but we were also labeled Parkside Prison. My sibblings went to JMB. That school was a whole different class of students. Parkside had the farmers kids, JMB had the doctors and lawyers kids. Now it appears that JMB is equal to WiHi.
My daughter attends BMS and it is just as bad. I went in for American Education Week and it was unbelievable. I only sat in two classes but neither teacher had control of their classrooms. Most of the kids did what they wanted, walked around the room, left the room, I even heard one kid behind my daughter cussing at the teacher when she tried to help him, and she acted as if it were normal for him to be cussing at her! The teachers yelled at the kids trying to get them to listen more than they taught the class. In one of the classes when a student (and there were many) disrupted the class, the teacher sent the child to another classroom! Are you kidding me? What the hell is that going to do? The kid is just going to disrupt that classroom as well! Not to mention in between classes there was a huge fight in the hallway, a very pregnant girl walking around, and two kids that I thought were about to get busy right up against the lockers in front of everybody! What the hell! My daughter is on the honor roll and I really don't know how. I don't know how any child that wants to actually learn, can learn in that kind of environment. It is unfair for our children that actually want to get an education and have a future, how the hell are they supposed to learn when the teachers are yelling more than they are teaching or when they are trying to hear the teacher, the kids around them are talking or fighting. My daughter also told me that recently two seventh grade boys had crack, marijuana and two handguns hidden up in the vent in the boys bathroom. I don't know how true that is because the school never sent any information home or called, but I do believe it happened. Give these kids two chances to sit down and act like they have some respect for their education and for the teachers and students around them or send all of their asses to the office. What will the principal do when the office is over run with these bad ass kids? The board needs to stop being so damn lenient. School is there for our children to have an education, why should the teachers have to worry about their safety? Why should our students that want to be there have to deal with this shit?
well first of all it is not mrs batts fault, if anything she is tough on these kids. teachers and administraitors cant be the parent of every child if their own parent cant be a parent.. jmb is like any school in the county it has its problems but we need to stop crtitcizing the staff. i am here everyday and it is not nearly as bad as some people are making it. i think the ones who are complianing about it are the ones whos children do not follow the rules and then have to pay the concequences and parents do not like that their "little johny or june" are being blamed for doing something wrong. i think our teachers and administrators need praised for what they are doing. its a hard job and they need parents or guardians help to make it right so people need to stop pointing the finger and look at yourself and what you can do. to all jmb staff congrats on a job well done its just to bad you dont have parental support.
We have become a reactive society instead of a proactive one.
This is at the root of the problem.
Parents are not teaching their kids that every action has a consequence, no matter if the action is good or bad.
Kids nowadays do not think about the consequences because they are not taught by their parents to think that way.
Corporal punishment certainly is also part of the problem because the corporal punishment worked as both proactive AND reactive.
The student knew going in what the rules were and if the rules were broken past a certain point, then corporal punishment would be there and be used.
Nowadays, there is no set of rules it seems. The parents are not setting them and the schools are not setting them and are unable to enforce the ones they are able to set.
It is a real shame that this generation of kids are our future.
I know there are certainly good kids out there in this generation, but they are becoming less and less in numbers it seems.
Most of this younger generation just does not give a sh*t.
I remember the day (I went to Bennett) and if a student got out of line he got his ass whipped, oh no more...... now the student has the edge, the size and ability to defend or fight hasn't changed, the laws have. It's a dam shame. Let me run into a "kid" 7th through 9th grade that threatens me or my loved ones, that will be one kid in PRMC
27 comments and nobody has mentioned the elephant in the living room, er make that the elephant in the classroom...
Race.
The person above this comment made a remark to the effect that they would do bodily harm to a 7th grader who talked tough to them. That would be showing a whole lot of maturity, buddy. I'm quite impressed.
I stumbled upon this "news" site and find it fascinating that the most intelligent argument most on here can make involves blaming the "liberals" or "conservatives" for just about every societal ill we have. You can't just throw blame on the other guy and walk away. If the country is as evenly split as it appears to be, that means writing off the opinions of 150 million people. They are not all wrong. I can offer a tip to those posting here - you are never going to be taken seriously if you belittle the other person without offering solutions.
If you want to make a difference, stop blaming and start DOING. Get involved. If you are a parent, be more active in the life of your child's school. Become a big brother or a big sister. Read to a child. Evaluate with all the objectivity you can muster proposals about education reforms from every side of the political spectrum. Education is, and in some ways, must remain, a bureaucracy. They are slow to change without concentrated effort to effect change from the outside. So be part of that effort by doing something productive to help. Offer solutions, not partisan hate. Peace.
2:14pm:
I sadly agree...
When I was in school last year, the majority of the problem was one race...
I really hate to say it... but to an extent, it is the truth.
The Incident invovles a case of threatening, and harassment of a teacher by a student.I heard about this over a month ago. Then the adminstration was aware of the problem and the law was called in but then, they have not been able to solve the case. I understand it has since spread from one individual to multiple individuals (teachers being threatened of being killed or I am going to get you).
As a teacher in another county I don't understand why this has gone so long. I would not want to be in this teachers shoes. I hope it is resolved soon.
Crack down hard on these hoodlums !! If they want to act like a bad ass then treat them like a bad ass !!
There are parents that are trying to raise their children right. It is very hard to do when you make your children follow the rules, be respectful and some of these other kids get away with anything because nobody wants to deal with them. When your child gets bullied by some of these other kids that think they rule the school you get nowhere with the admin. of the school. They try to cover up the problems they have with these kids. They would rather disipline your child because it is easier for them. It isn't just JMB it is all of the schools. They make up crap to tell you and say they investigated the situation when they know they didn't. They let it go on so long that it does turn into a horrible situation where people get hurt. They all need to be held accountable. The lies need to stop. The parents of these problem children should also be held accountable. Maybe you would see some changes if the parents and admin face some penalties for these kids actions.
12:35. OK...you talked me into it. In retrospect I guess we were cooler than you ....i just should have had richer girlfriends (or girlfriends with richer fathers I should say). Story of my life.
You mean Bennett is becoming more like WiHi? That school has been dangerous for some time now
Really? Look at the numbers - Wi-Hi has HALF the fights that either JMB or PKS has. HALF.
It has been the safest HS in the city for some time, just those who grew up here won't let go of old stereotypes.
My wife is a school teacher but not in Wicomico County. I fear for her safety as there are NO Police Officers in her school but she says she does not worry about anything and that she feels safe.
..."a lot of obvious offenders are given minor punishments for major wrongdoings. This is partly because the Board of Ed hamstrings everyone with all its touch feely policies.
8:28 AM"
You know alot of this also comes from the very liberal Maryland juvenile justice system which hasn't worked for years and will continue to not work until someone with some guts makes the necessary changes to treat these little gangsters like adults such in the way Delaware does.
Anon 214 dont be ashamed of say what you have observed. If the roo fits wear it. The thug count at that school is overwhelming. I see no obvious fix other than to exspell those involved. If infact the demographics work out that a certain race is problem then oh well. That is a major problem with society today we are all affraid to speak our minds because if you are not of color you are a racist. Yet day in and day out you hear the same cry. We are picked on because we are "Black". Well act like you have the sense god gave you and get an education. One never knoews you may truly turn out to be the next president. I am growing weary of the blame game and guilt trip that even our children feel over this issue. It is time to move on and call a thug a thug and deal with them no matter what race they are. It is a true shame the D.R.I.L.L. Academy went south if was anideal tool for just these kids not the felons they put out there to make the unit pay for itself. Extreme measures for extreme behavior. It is really that simple. If you sociolly pass these kids they just end up on the court docket 80% of the time. There needs to be a purging of the student who are there to disprupt the good kids trying to get by. The Aletrnative Correctional facilty' Choices" what ever the heck you want to call it is a failure. There needs to be a comprehensive system that deels harshly with those who prohibit those trying to get an education. Anon 214 be strong and proud that you are not affraid to speak the truth so many refuse to speak or see because it is not politically correct. I suugest you stay annonymous or you could end up a statistic and that is truly sad. Also stop using words like neophtye it just confuses the crap out of me LOL. I give myself a D for grammer but an A+ for content.
This is what a government education gets you.
I love how the majority of you people on here base your evidence off of things you here on this blog (no offense Joe) and the things you hear from the media such as WBOC and what not. None of you should be able to speak until you actually spend a day in the school or try to see what really goes on. I am a student there and yes, there are fights, yes there is bad behavior, yes some things that have been said are true, but the fact of the matter is that any time you get 1400 teenagers together you are bound to have problems. thats just life. You cant just blame it on things like overpopulation because then your just blaming yourselves. I work and pay taxes just like everyone else and until we as a community decide that the education of our youth is important enough to recieve more funding by doing things such as removing the tax limit in wicomico county, nothing is going to change. You know what else happens in that building though? Education happens. Believe it or not the majority of kids who go to that school do learn. I know of multiple students who within the last five years and even this year who are seniors have been accepted into prestigious universities and been very successful in todays work force. This is just some, Im sure there are many more. As far as the Board of Education, what else would you like them to do? their hands are tied jsut as much as anyone with the No Child Left Behind Act. We cannot just say no to it because we need the funding. Without the funding, facilites and teaching material and tools become even worse. So while No Child Left Behind is in affect dont expect much to change. Bennet is not a "Warzone" it is just the victim of how society is changing. Stuff happens.
Help is on the way. We have Dr. Fredrickson who is expelling kids. Something that was not done much in the past.
11:57, you have some very good comments. However, No Child Left Behind has very little to do with bad behavior. It is a program that primarily measures academic progression. Bennett is a little unusual in that the very best and the very worst attend. It is no secret that a majority of the top scholars are from Bennett--I am a retired teacher--but there are so many from the lowest echelon of society who also go to Bennett. Those who are in AP and Honors classes are primarily insulated from the riff-raff except during lunchtime and a few electives such as PE. It is the other group that is out of control and makes Bennett seem out of control.
10:46PM _ You are wrong. NCLB also has components for graduation and attendance rates by sub groups like Special Ed, African Americans, etc. Wicomico was told by the State that they suspend too many African American Special Ed Students and that teachers must receive more training in how to address their behaviors without class disruption. The county was also told that graduation and attendance rates among minorities are too low so the county must do more to keep kids in school so that "No child is left behind."
Also these expectations come as the local county doesn't fund the BOE budget requests.
We have Dr. Fredrickson who is expelling kids. Something that was not done much in the past.
WRONG - those kids getting kicked out of Bennett are getting shipped to Wi-Hi, with instructions NOT to tell the staff, because Bennett can't handle them and since Wi-Hi is doing so much better with behavior management, Wi-Hi gets them. I know kids who go there, and they find out on their own - the teacher's don't even know.
One hit two teachers at JMB & got shipped to Wi-Hi without even a stop at the alternative school because Mommy wouldn't agree to it, so the board just shipped her to Wi-Hi with no warning.
And don't get me started on the "child" who's offense required him to register any change of address in a neighboring state. He got shipped over a few weeks ago, again, no warning. I couldn't believe it when the neighborhood kids told me, but I looked it up, and sure enough, there he was. I hear Wi-Hi's principal is really upset about what teh Board's making him take into his school...
6:13 PM, I am not wrong when I wrote that NCLB is PRIMARILY about academic progress. Yes, there are other components such as the suspension rate. I said long ago that, since the suspension rate was one of those measurements used to "grade" schools, then the school system would do the obvious to get a satisfactor ranking for suspension rate: Not suspend students. Special ed kids are often given lesser penalties than "regular" kids just because of their special ed classification. How fair is that?
As a former Teacher at JMB High School, I can attest that enviroment at the HS has went south ever since the former principal left. This pricipal had control. But anyone who has mentioned race they are correct. Most of the referrals I had to write where for the THUGS. If they want to act like criminals treat them like criminals. Put them in jail and dont give them a right to earn an education. They don't deserve it.
anon 7:35 check your facts students have been expelled in wicomico county this year
you are so wrong saying things got worse since the new principal left if anything it got better. mrs batts is harder on these students making them more accountable for their actions un like the parents of these students. she is not their mother. and yes more harsher punishments should be given like i remember when i was in school we got a butt whipping. unfortunitly we cant do this because parents might get upset that their little tug or thugett be diciplined that way. well if parents would do something at home the schools would not have such a problem. this redistricting thing only spread the problems out it did not solve the problem. our kids do what they learn at home. i would not be anywhere than jmb the staff is great and admin. they can only do so much.
people talking why do you have to be anonomyous if you have something to say say it but tell us who you are dont be afraid stand up for what you believe in
Mary, many Teachers have been threatened with their jobs if they speak to the Press.
i understand that but some people who are bashing jmb are not fully up to date or might be getting mis info. i just feel bad that jmb staff and admin are getting the blund of something that is not true.
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