“Attack a Teacher Day:” Are we raising idiots?
As an avid news reader, I always think I have read the most outrageous story of the month and then another one pops up on my screen.
Here is the latest article that makes me think we’re raising a generation of kids with no sense, no impulse control and no boundaries. I also don’t understand why so many parents allow their young kids to be on Facebook. It is a larger arena for them to make dumb decisions.
I think adolescence has always been a time of dubious choices, but the web magnifies those bad decisions and creates audiences for them. What surprises me is that these students did not consider that the web also makes it easy to track such plots/jokes and the architects of them. Most kids I know in middle school are aware that the web offers little privacy and that one indiscreet message can end up being viewed by 100 people.
I am also surprised by the light suspensions that these girls earned; their actions strike me as deserving of more severe responses. I admire the restraint of the teachers quoted in this story. But then again, they have chosen to teach in middle schools so they understand this challenging age group better than most of us.
This kids-gone-wild story is out of Nevada:
Six girls have been arrested after students were invited on Facebook to take part in “Attack a Teacher Day” at two middle schools.
One girl was accused of inviting about 100 students on the social networking website to participate in the event Friday, and the other five were accused of responding with online threats against specific teachers, Carson Middle School Principal Dan Sadler said.
The Nevada Appeal in Carson City reported the girls were booked Wednesday at juvenile hall on a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats. Their names were not released.
While the students insisted it was a joke, Sadler noted they were arrested on the same day a suspended 17-year-old student in Omaha, Neb., fatally shot an assistant principal and wounded his principal before fleeing the campus and taking his own life.
“School shootings really happen. That’s why we took it seriously,” Sadler told The Associated Press on Friday. “It’s not OK, and it’s not funny in this day and age if you’re going to make a threat against a teacher.”
Five of the students attend Sadler’s school and the other attends Eagle Valley Middle School. Both schools are in Carson City.
Eighteen students accepted the invitation to participate in the attacks at the two schools, which had been set to take place from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday. A parent brought the posting to the attention of authorities, Sadler said.
Classes took place Friday without incident at both schools after students were earlier notified of the arrests and parents of the students who were arrested or accepted the invitations were contacted by authorities.
The 12- and 13-year-old students were arrested after allegedly posting threatening statements against six teachers at the two schools. One student used the word “die” before a teacher’s name, while others wrote that they would “attack” certain teachers, Sadler said.
No specifics, such as weapons or how the attacks would be carried out, were mentioned, said Carson City sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Rivera, the school district’s resource officer. “Even if the six girls meant it as a joke, there’s no way to know if the other students who accepted the invitation weren’t going to carry out the attacks in some fashion,” Rivera said. “The school shooting in Nebraska is just another thing that shows us you can’t take this kind of situation lightly.”
The girls were released to the custody of their parents after their arrests. They were suspended from school for between three and five days.
The Facebook posting was removed by the parent of the girl who sent out the invitation to join the attacks.
Sadler said the teachers targeted by the threatening comments were shocked by the arrests because the six girls were good students. Some held leadership positions while others had top grades.
“I would say their reaction was ‘Are you serious? Is this really happening?’” Sadler said. “The more they thought about it, they said they were not OK with it. This is kind of disheartening to an educator.”
Kathy Haas, a Carson Middle School teacher who taught two of the students who were arrested, said she was surprised because they seemed normal.
“It shows you just don’t know what’s going on in their minds,” she said. “I don’t understand their motivation. I don’t think they think about the consequences because they’re young. They’re pretty immature then.”
The arrests gave teachers at the schools a chance for classroom discussions about online communications with students, Haas added.
“It’s a teachable moment and hopefully it prevents it from happening in the future,” she said. “Most students know it was wrong. A lot of students said they knew about it (Facebook posting) and deleted it.”
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said the case demonstrates the need for parents to monitor their children’s online activities.
“They made some pretty violent comments about some teachers, and this isn’t even close to a joke,” he said. “Children’s stresses are so great that they can act out on their frustrations. Parents need to monitor what their kids are doing on communication devices.”
– From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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252 comments Add your comment
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
6:59 pm
Well, your stellar idea to just show kids the door, for one. Got some more detail on that plan, because to me it just continues to make the problem worse.
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:02 pm
funny thing is, every time we allow idiot kids to act out and get away with it, we are indeed giving them an education.
we’re teaching them that violence, bullying, acting out, intimidation will be rewarded. screw everybody else in the room.
yeah – great lesson.
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:03 pm
I thought I was very out front with showing disprutive and dangerous kids the door.
did I use the wrong tense or something?
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:05 pm
every kid in school has the same option to stay or go as anyone else.
behave and do your best.
why is that so much to ask?
Elizabeth
January 9th, 2011
7:05 pm
ARE YOU SURPRISED? I AM NOT!
Four years ago while grading student writer’s notebooks, I encountered a book that was not supposed to be in the pile. The student had written detailed plans of how she and her friends were going to stab, beat, and kill her teachers and some students. And she named names. I was one of those scheduled to be stabbed and beaten to death The student was taken to a hearing and was only given 6 weeks of ISS. Then she was to come back to our team of teachers! We were told to send her work to ISS. I refused and told the AP that, not only would I not send work, I would not take her back in my class or acknowledge her existence if she was sent back to me. I informed the AP that I did not have to service a student who had threatened me with bodily harm. For this I was informed that I was “required” to send her work and that I would be written up for insubordination ( preface to a firing) if I did not comply. I promptly contacted my supportive principal, who was away at the time, and he ordered them to move her to another team. BUT SHE STILL CAME BACK TO THAT SCHOOL AND WALKED BY US EVERY DAY. Teachers get NO support. Survival is a skill we should not have to use but doe very day.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
January 9th, 2011
7:05 pm
Bootney Farnsworth,
So long as teachers like your co-worker allow themselves to be intimidated into silence about physical attacks upon their persons, such attacks will continue.
In 2004, I pressed charges against a student who struck me in a school hallway. My school system never made any attempt to take any negative action against me subsequent to my filing charges.
The more insensitive might say that so long as we are too timid to use the law to protect ourselves from student mayhem, we teachers deserve violence we receive.
Toto: exposing the myths
January 9th, 2011
7:05 pm
Well, at least 1 out of 25 parents are responsible. Home schooling has grown from 20,000, thirty years ago, to 2 MILLION TODAY! I don’t think you would have any home schoolers promoting “Attack a Teacher Day”. In fact, our home school group dads sponsor an HONOR Your Teacher Day. We have been surprised with a limo pick-up and trip to a special restaurant. Our children made cards and wrote letters of appreciation.
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/01/over-two-million-children-are-now.html
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
7:09 pm
Whose saying to not give any consequences? But to complete discard a child because of the mistakes they make as a school-aged kid is just sad and self-defeating. They. Are. Kids. Some with much steeper learning curves than others, but kids none the less.
Giving up just leads to more kids with problems later…
And Elizabeth, by the logic of some posters here, the kid you describe was just “venting”…
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:12 pm
@ Dr. Craig,
myself I agree.
but he was only about three years away from retirement
and felt the system had too much leverage against him.
sounds like your system is much more supportative then ours.
we have had several faculty sue, and eventually win, but the offical
response is to drag things out to the point where most individuals
are unable to sustain a suit.
myself, I think if a kid attacks one of us, we should be able
to beat the hell out of them
knock out punch
January 9th, 2011
7:13 pm
Bootney…. I think I love you! Sadly, what would families do without the “babysitting” service school provides? I only we could teach those kids who really want to learn I think there could be a major gain in scores across the board….
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:14 pm
still waiting for someone to tell my why self control and some academic effort are such damning requirements for getting an education
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:16 pm
if a kid chooses to put himself out of school via
ready now…
THEIR OWN ACTIONS
then we should accomidate them so we can more effectively reach
the ones who behave and work hard.
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:21 pm
honest to God, I just don’t understand why requiring a kid to behave and
respectful of others is such a high price to pay for a free education.
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
7:21 pm
“f a kid chooses to put himself out of school via”
A KID!!!
If a KID has that much control in a situation, then the adults should look in the mirror, whether it be the teacher, the administrator, whatever…
And what do they do outside the school? Got an answer for that? And “I don’t care” won’t cut it…
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
7:26 pm
@ “NEVER” have anything positive say? That’s untrue and unfair. I am also not naive. I, too, teach in a Title 1 school. I generally have a great relationship with my students. That being said, I was punched in the face breaking up a fight. Another teacher was injured to the point of requiring physical therapy – paid for by taxpayer dollars, I might add. These things happen. It’s a problem. It’s a problem often hidden from parents, or the flight to private would be even worse.And to say that the kids have some kind of right to be angry is an excuse for them to act a fool, and for us to do no more than slap their hands and say, “Sorry, honey, that your life is tough.” I beleive that tough love still love, that kids need and crave boundaries, and that “if you don’t discipline your child, the sheriff will.” I think you might be the naive one.
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:32 pm
sorry, but I don’t care is the answer.
if a kid is so unable to control themselves they are a disruption and danger to others, once they are out they are no longer our professional
concern.
maybe then mommie and daddy can bother themselves to get invovled.
if they don’t a parole office will soon enough
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:33 pm
maybe, just maybe, junior will learn very quickly he needs to modify his behavior and get back into school.
otherwise, McDonalds is always hiring
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:34 pm
mirror
still wondering why good behavior is too much to ask?
bootney farnsworth
January 9th, 2011
7:36 pm
so what should we do with a student who rapes a teacher? or fellow student?
give them hugs and cookies?
advance them a grade?
get rid of the woman in question so she won’t be a sore point for
the offender in question?
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
7:42 pm
Oh yeah, rapists are who I’m defending here. C’mon…
And good behavior is the goal, of course, but for some that can be a long road, which we should be as patient as possible with.
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
7:44 pm
Mirror, you said, “And Elizabeth, by the logic of some posters here, the kid you describe was just “venting”…” That’s you being obtuse, and you know it. There is a difference between people complaining on a blog, and planning an all-out attack on a group of people (you know, like the difference between a blog complaining about the government and another orchestrating a terrorist attack). Jeesh…some people.
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
7:48 pm
And there is a long way to go from a KID being angry at their teachers and drawing out how they feel to actually DOING something. School shootings are such big stories because they are so amazingly rare. Kids get angry and do stupid things, but it is so rare that something grand actually happens. Jeesh…
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
7:49 pm
They may be rare, but they do happen….betcha the parents of some of the Columbine victims wish someone had been able to err on the side of caution.
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
7:50 pm
Not to mention the extremely disturbing nature of the thought process even if they were “jk” – those kids need help – and they don’t need to be in a regular school.
Elizabeth
January 9th, 2011
7:59 pm
By that definition, I should be able to vent here under my real name and receive noconsequences from my school system. And that is not going to happen.
Mirror
January 9th, 2011
8:05 pm
In what world shoud we have the same behavior expectation for kids and adults? Because that is exactly what it sounds like some are advocating. KIDS need to be taught. I thought that was the point.
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
8:08 pm
Kids do need to be taught. But as Bootney alluded, what is the lesson we are teaching? It’s ok to be late. It’s ok to not do your work. It’s ok to solve your problems with your fists. It’s ok to be disrespectful to your superiors. And nobody here cares enough about you to teach you any better how to survive in “the real world.”
Note
January 9th, 2011
8:10 pm
In the 1930’s people had no jobs, no income, no food, and everyday was a constant struggle. Why did we not see these type of issues in the schools in the 1930’s? In the 1960’s, disillusionment with society, free choice, acting out became the norm, and we still did not see these type of behavior in our classrooms. Something has changed, and it is now permissible to do anything you want because of “your home life problems”. In the addiction world, there is an understanding – you are responsible for the actions you chose to take today. Too bad we can’t support our educators, by making sure that children who chose these behaviors, must also take responsibility for those behaviors. By admitting error, and accepting natural consequences, change happens. Excusing poor choices does not help anyone in the long run.
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
8:11 pm
Not to mention – it’s ok to post whatever you want on the internet in general and Facebook and Twitter in specific without consequences. Yeah, let’s ask all those folks who who have either failed to obtain or lost a job due to what employers and potential employers find online what lesson they wish they had learned earlier.
HS Public Teacher
January 9th, 2011
8:52 pm
Note – You are 100% correct. However, I would describe the problem as even worse. I have seen parents “fight” for their children’s bad behavior. I have heard parents say that their 14 year old has the “right of speak” to use any language that they want to use. I have heard parents say that their child has the “right” to use their cell phone in my class – after all, they bought the phone for their child to use!
I do not blame the children. I blame the horrible parents.
Toto: exposing the myths
January 9th, 2011
10:07 pm
“I do not blame the children. I blame the horrible parents.”
I am sure there are many horrible parents out there. There are also many good parents who are naive as to the negative influence Facebook can have on their children. It is the ultimate in digital peer pressure that the weak and immature fall for. Also, what ever they post will be maintained FOREVER by Facebook…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B37wW9CGWyY
And while we are at it, let’s not overlook the really “badbad” teachers out there:
http://badbadteacher.com/page/2/
While I am grateful for the many good and caring teachers, all are not saints.
Nathan Deal Snowmaggeddon
January 9th, 2011
11:00 pm
The gods are not looking kindly on my inauguration. The teachers are to blame for the snow!
Just wondering...
January 9th, 2011
11:21 pm
Toto – where’s the link to child abuse statistics? Or to a webpage devoted to exposing parents that kill their kids ala Susan Smith? Let’s be fair here – I’ll concede that not all teachers are saints (I know for sure, I’m not, lol) if you cancede there are parents out there who do a pi$$ poor job – that there are parents out there raising kids with whom you don’t want your kids hanging.
Toto: exposing the myths
January 9th, 2011
11:46 pm
@just wondering
“I am sure there are many horrible parents out there.”
I did concede. And yes, there have been a few horror incidents among home schoolers (mental illness). But I would argue that percentage-wise they are in the small minority. If home school parents did commit crimes, it would be widely publicized. But one must also consider the fact that compulsory attendance laws have been in effect since 1919 in Georgia. The public schools have educated a majority of the population since that time. That means that a majority of those “horrible parents” were educated in the public schools. How do you explain their behavior? Would you consider public education to be a failure? Here is one home school mom’s view on “real world” education:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=248509
Dealing with the curriculum nightmare/confusion that the Bass ackward Dekalb County Clueless Academic Department staff has reduced us to.
January 9th, 2011
11:58 pm
Maureen, You said….”we’re raising” kids. You erred, NO ONE is raising the kids! Being raised by their cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, television, and the internet.
Dana
January 10th, 2011
12:20 am
@ Echo,
It really depends on the laws, the school board policies and powers that be for that specific area/school what happens to the teacher. I work in a middle school and have seen two teachers fired on the spot for defending themselves against physical attacks by repeat offender students. The students were given 2 days out of school and nothing else happened. Sets the tone that students can do whatever they want to no avail….and we wonder why we have the same students that no one wanted to give proper guidance on how to be a respectable, contributing member of society becomes a menace to society. THEN everyone wants to blame the kid! America promotes ignorance, lawlessness, disregard for others and stupidity as the status quo and something to be herald. Look at all of our forms of ‘entertainment’. It is insulting to say the least, however most parents are too lazy or caught up in the nonsense entertainment themselves to actually take the time to parent the child and give guidance. In the schools they only show up when forced to. Sad but true. This is a crime that should be punished with an appropriate consequence AND a lesson in tolerance, sensitivity, responsible social media management so that the will know better in the future. The teachers being surprised because these where ‘good girls’ are forgetting what every in tuned middle school teacher knows- peer pressure affects all and peers are more important than ANYTHING at that age. Ok, parents, and America, step up and raise your children before they become a part of the free labor system called prison!
Math Maestro
January 10th, 2011
3:00 am
Toto says: “I do not blame the children. I blame the horrible parents.”
Kids and children are not as fragile as everyone believes. Students are very resilient. We, as adults, parents and teachers, need to stop telling the students “it is not your fault, but it is the parents, or the teachers, or the environment, etc”. Instead, we need to empower the kids to know that the decisions they make are very powerful, and can affect many people–just like the students of this incident that started this blog. And yes, even the Title 1 kids need to know that they have more control of their own destiny than adults telling them that the school has failed them. The children need consequences and not just the perpetual second chances. The problem is that most everyone knows how to give second chances, but not enough know how to give consequences.
China is predicted to pass the US as the #1 economy sometimes in the next 30 years, which is pretty significant considering 70 years ago China was war-torn and broke–and not to mention, there was a 10-years period of economic stagnation due to the Cultural Revolution. So the fact that China was able to grow to the #2 economy in 60 years reflect something about their education system.
China only offers public education up to the 9th grade, yet they top the US in college graduates per capita. 1 in 6 Americans have college education, while 1 in 4 Chinese have college education, so the argument that there are more Chinese do not hold water. And the other argument that Chinese have always been wealthy do not hold water either when they were broke and war-torn 70 years ago.
Chinese parents have to pay for high school, private tutors and college. Even the low-income peasant parents would sacrifice half of their yearly income to give their kids the best education their money can buy. The Chinese students do not see education as an entitlement, but a privilege, which is the opposite of what US students perceive. Chinese education uses the “show the door” practice all the time. And where do the students go if they can’t be in the classroom? Farms, factories, restaurants. etc. In a way, the less educated Chinese have made manufacturing costs cheaper, which is why you see more “Made in China” labels.
But this “show the door” policy will not work in the US because of political correctness, which there are none in China. And don’t think that the Chinese are not ethnically diverse–Chinese have more ethnic diversity than the US with more than 100 different local dialects spanning across geographic regions greater than the US. And not to mention the Chinese intolerance to crime like public execution or limb decapitation is not uncommon, but will be abhorred here in the US. That is why drop-outs will not fall into a life of crime like they do here in the US. The only problem with the Chinese education system is the focus on tests and the lack of creativity. But I put my money on the Chinese to find solutions to their problems before the we can figure out the problems to the US education.
I use China as the example because they are the model that many educators point to as doing it the right way. And hope this will guide the discussion on what teachers and parents need to do.
Math Maestro
January 10th, 2011
3:31 am
Here are some interesting projections based on the 2010 census, education, economic and world conditions:
1) Sometime in the next 20-30 years, US will no longer be the most populous English-speaking country in the world. In fact, US will be #3. Which will be the top 2 most populous English-speaking countries?
India and China. India was an English colony and continue to educate their students in English, and many US companies outsource their call centers to India. Just watch the NBC show “Outsourced”. Chinese students from 1st grade is learning English as part of their standard curriculum for the past 10 years.
2) Sometimes in the next 50 years, English will no longer be the #1 language in the US. What will be the #1 language for most Americans?
Spanish. The greatest population growth in the 2010 census are the Hispanics, and the Spanish use among Hispanics have grown faster than English adoption. 2050 is the projected census when the white population is no longer the majority in the US. 2060 is the projected census when the Hispanics will be the majority in the US.
Do you think our education system might have something to do with these 2 trends?
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
January 10th, 2011
5:58 am
Mirror,
Do you think that short-term suspensions will be consequences sufficient to teach these students and their observant peers that threatening teachers is neither cool nor cute? I don’t. These kids need consequences that will get their attention.
chris
January 10th, 2011
7:59 am
Yeah, we need did report for teachers. While teachers get a beat down by the students. Why be a teacher? Really, spare the rod spoil the child, it’s that simple. Liberal nuts destroyed this country.
KIM
January 10th, 2011
8:04 am
It is time that we, as a society, quit making excuses for people who are violent, rude, corrupt, unethical, etc. It does not start with our holding chldren accountable, but it includes holding them accountable….them and their parents, and anyone who behaves in negative ways. I say the school certainly acted irresponsibly…and to you school admin. who say there needs to be more tolerance and role modeling… go for positive role modeling, yes. But more tolerant: NO! In many cases, if you don’t hold kids accountable for their actions, who will? Certainly not some of the parents! If you expect less of the kids who come from rough backgrounds or from homes where the parents are too selfinvolved and career climbing, your ignoring the bad behavior is discrimination!
KIM
January 10th, 2011
8:06 am
Middle School kids know the difference between right and wrong. Hold them accountable! PLEASE!!! For the sake of their future!!!!
Philosopher
January 10th, 2011
8:23 am
Georgia Coach, I applaud you- I wish more teachers would hear you, though. It’s very disheartening that we rarely hear this from teachers. The majority of students are not thugs with bad parents. Many of us have good kids…polite, respectful, good students…and they have many friends just like them. But in this blog, a continual, disheartening litany of complaints and disrespect for ALL parents persists- kids aren’t just getting this from parents, they are getting it from teachers,too. As a society, we just plain do not respect each other! Kids are smart-they see it everywhere…the adults have to change. The old,”do as I say and not as I do” never fooled any kid!
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming.
January 10th, 2011
11:16 am
QUOTE Mirror: “So we give up? So we let the cycle continue? They leave school, go have kids of their own and make the problem worse. I guess I’d rather just keep trying to solve the problem.”
So how exactly am I making the problem worse? By being willing to point out that the system isn’t working on a BLOG? That makes me a bad teacher who is burnt out and bitter? You know NOTHING about me, other that I have been mistreated by some of my students and was not supported by my then administration.
And yes, I am “angry” that a child was able to hit me over the head with a chair, leaving extensive bruising and was back in school the next day. And that a child was able to punch me in the face, splitting my lip, and was back in school the next day. Or a child was able to stab me in the hand with a pencil, and was back in school the next day. That is wrong, and I make no apology for being outraged that such a system is allowed to persist. I am not angry at the children, I am angry at a system that has no respect for me. How are the children supposed to respect me, when the system teaches them I am someone who can be so mistreated and there are no consequences? How are we supposed to help these children with no support systems in place for them?
Maybe I should tell you about the time the “class bully” clung to me sobbing and asking for me to take him home with me, because he didn’t want to go home to his “family.” Maybe you will rethink a few of your assumptions.
Mirror: “I suggested that I love teaching needs to leave. You have not demonstrated the level of anger that she has.”
I thought you were against “giving up”? I love teaching, and I love my students, even the troubled ones. In fact, the REASON I have had so many troubled students is because I do far better with them than other teachers! They are given to me because I have managed to turn some of them around – but I am human and I have my limits. I cannot reach all of them! That does not make me a worthless teacher who should just walk away from a career I have invested my life in doing. I am a good teacher, and I do a good job! I actually did get out of the situation I am describing, but not because I was “doing damage” to my student, but rather because I was tired of them “doing damage” to me!
This is a thread about student misbehavior in schools – so that is what is being discussed. If it were a thread about reading strategies for low readers, then THAT is what people would address. To suggest someone should leave the profession, because they DARE to point out that teachers are abused by the system and nothing is done, is very forward on your part. We get enough abuse from the public. There is no need for teachers to tear each other down!
QUOTE: Dr. Craig “Have you developed positive relationships with concerned administrators, colleagues and/or parents?”
Thank you for your supportive words. Yes. At the time, it was my positive relationship with my family, and grade level team that gave me the strength to continue each day. That and the fact that I was able to nurture and support many of my struggling students, and even had a few successes with some of the most troubled ones. My administrators at that point, were little help, and often outright detrimental.
I no longer work in the situation I was describing. One day, while lowering myself into my bathtub, and seeing the bruises up and down my legs from being repeatedly kicked, and the one the size of an orange on my hip from being knocked down yet again, I decided enough was enough. It was either get out of teaching altogether or find a new district before I ended up hospitalized – a school district that respected me as a human being. However, I still felt I had much to offer so I packed up my life and moved. My situation is much better now, and my current administration treats me with professional respect. However, I still miss working in that environment, as teaching those children was the most personally rewarding (aside from the physical and verbal abuse.)
Just wondering...
January 10th, 2011
12:10 pm
Tot – you said, “But I would argue that percentage-wise they are in the small minority.” I would argue that for all the negative stuff – parent-wise, teacher-wise, student-wise…I will say that some stuff clusters, but overall averages are low for heinous crimes in all those categories.
“If home school parents did commit crimes, it would be widely publicized.” I’m actually very pro home school, if that’s your choice, and if you are doing it concientiously (and not just to avoid the compulsory attendance laws). I’ve met a few weird homeschoolers, but I think most of them would be weird even in school – truly gifted/Asperger’s etc – not to mention the fact I’ve met lots of weird kids in school (I teach middle school – they’re ALL weird, lol). I’ve also seen the negative effects of slack homeschooling – kids come back to school seriously behind. I do have a problem with that.
“But one must also consider the fact that compulsory attendance laws have been in effect since 1919 in Georgia.” I’m somewhat against compulsory attendance…but that’s just me, and I also know that removing them would open up another can of worms. I have no better suggestion for that one, so…
“The public schools have educated a majority of the population since that time. That means that a majority of those “horrible parents” were educated in the public schools. How do you explain their behavior?” The majority of those “horrible parents” probably learned their parenting skills from their parents, not schools (especially since parenting skills aren’t generally even taught). Parents have their kids for 5 years before the schools get them – and then only 6-7 hours a day 180 days a year for maybe the next 12 – 13. I think the parents have a significantly greater influence.
“Would you consider public education to be a failure?” For me personally, no, I would not. I was educated in a public school – as were virtually all of my family and friends. My family and friends include lawyers, accountants, business owners, IT professionals, cops, physical therapists, nurses – and yes, of course, teachers. Most of my friends and family have their children in public schools, and we are all generally happy with their performance. The difference is we are educated ourselves; we’ve prepared our kids; we set expectaions for performance and behavior; and we don’t leave to the school to do it all – especially adding enrichment or teaching morality. I will say that for the poor uneducated segments of our society, school may not do a very good job. But I also think that it because school is a middle class institution, with middle class rules, as well as the fact that we expect schools in those locations to fix all of society’s problems – an impossible task.
I read the linked article, and I have to say that I agree with a lot of what she says. But I also think that in the first 7 years of life, you set your children’s morals – if you do it right, you don’t have much to worry about from the “real world” – which I don’t think is real at all, but that’s JMHO. Just because your kids are in public school,doesn’t mean you still can’t set rules, monitor tv, etc, etc. I think too many folks abdicate that repsonsibility and then want to blame schools and teachers for their own weakness.
Math Maestro
January 10th, 2011
2:54 pm
With all the talk about poor parenting, let’s look at examples of proper parenting. Here is an article in the Wall Street Journal of “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”. Please take notes everyone.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwMDExNDAyWj.html
Dealing with the curriculum nightmare/confusion that the Bass ackward Dekalb County Clueless Academic Department staff has reduced us to.
January 10th, 2011
5:11 pm
Mirror is surely speaking from pure ignorance. Myself and others surely do not believe,s/he believes what s/he is saying.
To really think, with schools organized the way they are, that the teachers who vent here are simply making up stories…..is unbelievable.
S/He must be an administrator being cynical.
KIM
January 10th, 2011
6:56 pm
@just wondering…most parents learn parenting from their parents. Cycles…
Stop the cycles…
Just wondering...
January 10th, 2011
8:05 pm
I agree KIM; that’s what I was trying to say to Toto…
Toto: exposing the myths
January 10th, 2011
9:44 pm
@Math Meistro:
That was not my quote. I was quoting HS Public Teacher and referred to her post above mine. I am sorry you were confused.
I support good old-fashioned Christian morals. The government schools no longer teach them because some Israeli, Hindu, Muslim, etc. might be “offended’. Now, without them, public schools are reaping the whirlwind. If you are so enamored with China, read THE BLACK BOOK OF COMMUNISM and you will learn that under Communism, Mao was responsible for the torture/execution of 65 MILLION Chinese. And of course, he was backed by the Soviet Communists (25 MILLION Russians tortured/murdered) who were originally financed by certain Wall Street financiers. Do a little research before you sing their praises.