Watched a kid get very lucky today

General Discussion
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The school district had adopted a dress code several years earlier that included the following no-nos:

Any article of clothing that is excessively soiled or that gives off an offensive odor
Any article of clothing that exposes an excessive amount of skin
Any article of clothing that displays obscene words or images of nudi

There are several PUBLIC school districts in this country that are adopting a school uniform.

As with all school decisions…many parents LOVE it…and many parents HATE it.

All my kids went to private high-schools. All had strict school uniforms.

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Adopting uniforms has several advantages, including a lack of competition or “one upsmanship” regarding designer clothing labels. For most parents, it actually costs less in the long run for school uniforms, as compared to the “I’ve GOT to have this new style”…shirt…or pants…or…whatever.

However, the only places where I have seen any real movement toward uniforms for public school students is in ghetto areas. The parents in those impoverished areas seem to appreciate the advantages more than parents in other areas, it seems.

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Here in Mexico, all schools I know of have mandatory school uniforms. The public school uniforms ate universally specified, but not sure if at state or Federal level.

And, I will say, the students tend to look very nice. Some levels the boys have ties, and so do some girl’s uniforms.

Girls have long socks above the knees. They look very respectable and decent.

The clothes are made to a standard, and do not easily wear out.

It does make a difference.

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I know a woman who teaches in secondary in Texas, which has a law holding teachers responsible for kids’ success. If the kids flunk the teacher can be sued.

Several years ago, she had a kid who did nothing. No homework; nothing. At the end of the semester she happily turned in a solid “F”.

She got a notice that she was expected to meet the parent at a conference. The other teachers said, “Are you in for it now!” Turns out the mother shows up with an attorney, and the teachers are intimidated into changing his grade.

Well, she was the Third Little Pig and was ready.

Each day a kid cannot exit the room without one of two things. 1. Homework. Or, 2. a signed form which explains why he doesn’t have the homework for the day. And each class has its own “tub”.

So, to prepare for the meeting she had the TA dig through that tub and sort out all the papers for that kid.

When they met, sure enough there was an attorney with the mother. The teacher picked up the first paper in the large pile, which said, “i did not do my homework: because I didn’t feel like it.”

After the mother and the attorney looked it over, she handed the second paper in the large pile,dated the day following the first paper; “i did not do my homework: because I didn’t feel like it.”

After the first five pages, all identical, and it was obvious the whole pile was going to be the same, the mother turned to the boy, and said. “Son, you have to do your part!”

They soon left, the attorney never said a single word, and the kid was FLUNKED!

So, how long had that little monster been riding on his nasty mother’s apron strings?

Okay, I am nasty, but I think that mother should be sent to jail for child abuse, and then sued by the teachers she intimidated!

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Even though I never had to sit through a parent-teacher conference featuring an attorney, I can tell you that I faced many an irate parent who was convinced that their son could do no wrong, and that he was being “persecuted” by his teacher(s). What turned the situation around in almost every case was…documentation.

A well-prepared teacher will be able to present…
attendance records
copies of test papers
copies of quiz papers
a well-organized grade book
the book in which trips to the lavatory, water fountain, nurse, etc. are recorded

Yes, there are some parents who are so irrational in support of their children that nothing will deter them from blaming everyone but their child for his shortcomings, but the vast majority of parents left these conferences with some new reality about their child’s work habits.

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I’ll go a little off topic

In Santa Monica, a teacher recently told a student to stop selling drugs. He did not comply, so the teacher took the drugs away. A physical altercation ensued, and the drug dealing kid had the short straw, because the teacher was a wrestling coach

The teacher physically pinned him to the ground

Apparently, many people are cheering the teacher, saying he did the right thing and calling him a hero.

Yet the teacher was put on leave, pending an investigation

These ungrateful, don’t give a d . . n students are allowed to get away with almost anything

And if a teacher actually does the right thing, he doesn’t even get the benefit of the doubt

What kind of society is this?

Can you imagine if the teacher would have taken a more laid back approach?

What if the teacher hadn’t taken the drugs away and pinned the student?

The student would have kept on selling drugs . . . and possibly using them himself . . . and he would have denied any and all allegations of drug use and drug peddling. And everybody would have believed him.

And the student’s parents would have told the media “Junior is a good boy. He’s never missed a day of school, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly.” And then they would have sued the teacher, the school, the city, and the school district. And they would have won. And message to the public would have been “Students always get the benefit of the doubt. Teachers do not, and have no authority.”

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http://www.ryot.org/high-school-teacher-fired-taking-student-er-footing-bill/625389

Jennifer Mitts, a Tennessee high school teacher, was forced to resign after taking a student to the emergency room and paying for the cost.

Mitts reportedly took an ill, 20-year-old student who didn’t have health insurance to the ER, and paid the bill. After Red Bank High School officials heard of her act of kindness, they asked her to step down.

At least that’s what Mitts says. She claims they “dictated to [me] what [I] should write in the resignation letter, including forcing [me] to waive [my] right to a hearing.”

However, the school claims that Mitts was only threatened with temporary suspension, and she voluntarily resigned.

Officials say the incident was an act of insubordination, as the teacher had received a previous warning for taking another student to the hospital.

That is wrong on so many levels,

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@Barkydog‌

I just read that story you posted

Incredible . . .

The teacher probably saved 2 student’s lives, and she’s let go BECAUSE of that . . . ?

Did the school want her to call 911 instead of making a judgement call?

Perhaps that is how the school explained the insubordination?

So, if a teacher sees a troubling situation, do NOT do anything?

Call 911 and let the cards fall where they may?

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@irlandes - While I agree the teacher should fail the kid…I also think the teacher is partly at fault here. Why was the parent NOW being informed (at the end of the grading period) that their kid wasn’t doing any of the required work? All three of my kids did very well in school. Usually near the top of the class. One day I get a phone call from my middle-son’s 8th grade teacher telling me my son missed ONE assignment and he wouldn’t be getting an A. I get a phone-call about my son missing ONE assignment…and this teacher does NOTHING to communicate with the parents that their kid isn’t doing ANY assignments!!! - Somethings WRONG here.

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@MikeInNH–Neither of us knows the full facts of the case, but I would be extremely surprised if the teacher did not send multiple notices to the parents regarding their son’s slothfulness. In every school district with which I am familiar, notices are generated at the mid-point of every grading period, and experienced teachers don’t even wait for the mid-point of the grading period to send out notices to parents.

I can tell you from 35 years of experience in secondary education that, even with these mailed notices, even with multiple phone calls from both the counselor and teachers, a huge percentage of parents were “shocked” to find that their son was failing a course, despite being notified several times that their child was essentially doing no work.

The most truly bizarre case had to do with a very rich kid who failed at least one course every year, and who never went to summer school. Thus, he needed to pass every course in his senior year.

As soon as the predictable signs of failure arose–beginning around the 3 week of 12th grade, I began scheduling meetings with both the parent and the student, as well as with all of his teachers. In total, I estimate that I met with the student at least 12 times that year, the parent was in my office on…probably…5 occasions, and I phoned her with un-encouraging updates every few weeks. When he failed to graduate, she professed to be shocked.

However, the most truly bizarre reaction was when she phoned back and asked, “So, can he still go to college in September?”. My reaction was, “Well since he has not bothered to apply to any colleges, never took either the SAT or ACT, and since every college with which I am familiar requires–at the minimum–a HS diploma, I would say…no. However, if you can find a college that will accept him with his record, please let me know and I will be glad to send his transcripts”.

Yes, some people really do live in denial to this extent.

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Neither of us knows the full facts of the case, but I would be extremely surprised if the teacher did not send multiple notices to the parents regarding their son's slothfulness. I

The way it was presented looked like the mother was in shock and that the teacher didn’t send out ANY notice to the parent. Why would she bring a lawyer knowing that the kid didn’t do any homework.

I have a LOT of teachers in my family and my wifes family. There’s one theme that resonates through all the kids that are failing. If they have a good supportive family…they usually do well in school. The ones that don’t do well are the ones with a troubled family life. Doesn’t matter the race, or income, or ghetto, or rural suburbs…they theme is the same.

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She brought a lawyer because , even the mom is iflicted with ‘‘afluenza’’ !
Sending a note home to the parents consists of merely giving it to the kit to take home.
How many notes to home have I not seen over the years…I’ve lost count.

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Sending a note home to the parents consists of merely giving it to the kit to take home

As I said…My kid missed ONE assignment and I got a phone call. This kid missed ALL his assignments. There should have been a lot more then a phone call. If not the school system is falling down.

My sister-in-law who teaches inner city kids…has done visits to the families to correct behavior problems or kid not doing the required work. Her husband or one of her kids would go with her…those neighborhoods were NOT very friendly at night.

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So are we beginning to agree that its “predominantly” a cultural and home environment problem and not an income, learning environment, teacher, intellegence, or money problem? If so then we have been attempting to solve the wrong problem over the last 50 years. No wonder the results have been miniscule. For a teacher that has 30-40 kids in a class and 5 classes a day though, that personal touch may not be the easiest to accomplish. Especially if the parents aren’t around much.

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So are we beginning to agree that its "predominantly" a cultural and home environment problem and not an income, learning environment, teacher, intellegence, or money problem?

I don’t know why you say cultural!! It’s a home environment problem. Cultural background has NOTHING to do with it. All the kids come from different cultures and ethnicity.

For a teacher that has 30-40 kids in a class and 5 classes a day though, that personal touch may not be the easiest to accomplish.

She teaches grammar school. So there aren’t 5 classes. Just the one. And her class size is about 25. But she puts in about 70 hours a week during the school year. I’m not saying all teachers should be like that…but for a kid who’s failing…there should be more then an occasional note being sent home.

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Well five classes of 25 different kids is 125 total kids to deal with. Most public schools now are in the 30-40 range, depending on how many desks can be sqeezed in the room.

Cultural is not necessarily ethnicity or national origin but certainly can contribute to certain traits. Cultural traits that lend themselves to success include hard work ethic, valuing education, reduced family size, defered gratification, and so on. In Minnesota we benefitted from the folks that came from Norway and Germany in the 1800’s that immediately founded public schools, colleges, and churches because these things were important to them.

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Most of the ricer type cars around here have a nice coating of black soot on the back end. A lot of them seem to be burning a lot of oil. I am thinking it is probably their obsession with body kits and not oil changes and/or the fact they are always flooring it so the fart can sounds out at every stoplight and stop sign.

Many of the rice burner cars were good cars at one time. Civics and Corollas are well made cars that will last if taken care of but they get riced out and turn into beaters with a $2000 stereo system and rims.

I even saw a somewhat riced out Geo Metro not too long ago. I have one and it is a beater but the engine runs great and doesn’t burn a drop of oil between changes. I also run synthetics. This other car was burning oil and sounded like it was missing severely on one cylinder. It left a nice smoke cloud and made lots of noise on acceleration. These engines seem to begin burning through exhaust valves really quickly once they start burning oil but will run forever otherwise.

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A lot of them seem to be burning a lot of oil

Sometimes it’s because they’re running rich. They install parts that they heard will make their car faster like an upgraded fuel pump and oversized injectors, but then don’t take it to a speed shop to get it tuned. And so the car blasts more fuel into the cylinders than the stock fuel map knows what to do with, and so it sends a bunch of it, unburned, out the tailpipe.

I was behind one guy like that. The gas smell coming off of his car when he’d accelerate was almost as bad as when you change a fuel filter. I had to pass him to get away from the noxious fumes.

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@shadowfax: that, and/or cat delete.

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The San Francisco school district is actually paying attention to serious research. Imagine that. It turns out truancy patterns are set in the lowest grades. The kid says he feels bad and mommy lets him stay home. Over and over. Mommy likes it when she has her baby with her, and they don’t really learn nothing important in first grade, right? Nothing they can’t learn later. Anyhow, when they send truancy officers to these homes that’s what they hear from whomever is watching the kid. Or mommy has a haircut appointment and can’t take Jr. to school. until after that.

Anyway, the change is that truancy officers used to target older kids who were getting into bigger trouble. But studies showed that pattern was set early and had a lot to do with parental attitudes. This was especially a problem in Latino households where thevpatemys spoke limited English. The patents likely had no better than an 8th grade education and were often pulled out of class for chores and seasonal farmwork. The patents had no understanding of the importance of regular attendance. So the truant officers went and talked to every parent/guardian of a little kid who was showing a lot of absences, with or without notes. Without notes required figuring out what the kid was doing (hanging out on the street with older kids) and convincing parents to keep on top of their kids until their attendance improves. The school sends an automated phone call every day the student is missing or late.
They’re finding this all to work better than expected. Truancy rates in the lower grades are down dramatically and the kids who are now in the middle grades are still doing well. One carrot that works well is free or low cost breakfast. Schools lose money when kids aren’t there. The increased money can pay for a lot of simple breakfasts. Another thing they are trying to do is shrink class sizes through about Grade 2 or 3. Studies show those are the grades where kids start to fall behind and if so, they rarely catch up later. they’re the grades where the most fundamental concepts of reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught and a smaller class allows more individual attention. There is also the suggestion that other subjects be given little time during the lower grades. Lessons in other subjects should be built around appropriate reading and writing exercisrs and even simple arithmetic. There would be a reduced emphasis in learning material that means little to a third grader, like state names, capitals, and flags, or the Presidents and Vice-Presidents. Those can wait a few years to when they’ll mean more.

With the standardized curriculum I hope they can keep some of these ideas. I like most of what I’ve heard of it as there is solid research behind it. we do break up concepts excessively, leaving them before most students have truly mastered them. Breaking up topics across multiple school years is just asking students to forget. Spend a whole year on fractions and decimals, then move on when almost everyone understands. And continue to keep on top of the truants.