I saw something today that made me ill....

[Spectre]

...made me furious too.

One of our 6th graders has been in constant trouble since coming to our middle school this year. The student disrupts class, talks back, is destructive, threatens to hurt other students, and can be outright defiant of almost any authority. The homeroom teacher has tried for months to get the parents to come in for a conference. They finally agreed, then didn't show up on two, seperate occasions. Well, today, they finally did show up and it was not pretty.

Present were the homeroom teacher, the child's parents (who are seperated), a guidance counselor and an assistant principal. I was there, along with one another, as reps from the school assistance team, a group that is supposed to help with difficult students and difficult situations.

From the get go, there was little discussion about the behaviors manifested by the student. No. Instead, the guidance counselor and the AP turned it around. on the homeroom teacher, insisting she tell us how she was going to help this student, how she was going to make him feel "better" about himself....

I was appalled.

The whole meeting was made out to look like a referendum on the homeroom teacher's abilities rather than a discussion of how this student has turned his classroom upside down and disrupted the learning environment for twenty-some other students.

At first, I was too stunned and puzzled to act, but eventually tried to interject some suggestions on how we all needed to consider the "whole picture" and how this situation was playing out for the teacher and other students.

My comments were acknowledged, briefly, then disregarded. the guidance counselor in particular was intent on painting the homeroom teacher as culprit and villain or so it seemed. the parents and the student seemed to be eating all this up.

I felt like I wanted my hands around someone's throat by the end of our hour long ordeal. The homeroom teacher went back to her classroom in tears.

Political corrrectness has been a growing problem in our school this year, but this incident topped anything and everything I have heard thus far.:confused:

[Chef Dave]

Political corrrectness has been a growing problem in our school this year, but this incident topped anything and everything I have heard thus far.:confused:

I don't know why you're still at this school. At another forum you shared your myriad concerns about this school least year. With your background and qualifications, I know it'd be easy for you to get another job ... and yet ... you're still at this school.

Why are you beating your head against the wall?

I think you should move on to a school that appreciates you.

Schools cannot be ruled by a mob mentality.

Well ... actually I suppose they can. Your school is a case in point ... but what is the cost of doing business this way?

Teachers get frustrated. Teachers quit. And people at the state department of education wonder why North Carolina has such a dismal turnover rate.

:confused:

[Spectre]

Be assured this is a temporary problem. Since the school year began, I have gotten six or seven inquiries from other schools/ school systems; science teachers are at a premium here in North Carolina.

I just don't believe in bolting in the middle of the year. Don't think I didn't at least consider it. I did.

Already talked to two principals in this immediate area. No guarantees or promises. At this stage in the year, we cannot do that. But come spring....:)

Sad thing is that morale is really drooping at our school right now and several other staff members are making plans to do what I am. I can't help but feel bad for the kids....

And I was so sure I had finally found a place to be....:(

[Chef Dave]

No-no-no ... I didn't mean to suggest that you leave at midyear. I was simply surprised that you chose to return to this school for the current year.

I know you talked about leaving last year.

[Boxcar]

Isn't helping the student "feel beter about himself" the counselors job? Teachers aren't mental health professionals, after all.

Why was the student in the room in the first place? S/he was only getting ammunition against the teacher. There should have been a series of meetings. First, just the school people should have all talked about how everyone should be helping. Then, the school people and the parents should have been together. Finally, the students should be brought in.

What a mess. I'm glad you spoke up.

Did the homeroom teacher defend herself at all? If this is the kind of thing that goes down at your school, I would have advised her to have paperwork and research to support what she is doing or has done.

[Spectre]

No-no-no ... I didn't mean to suggest that you leave at midyear. I was simply surprised that you chose to return to this school for the current year.

I know you talked about leaving last year.

I did. And I thought long and hard about that all summer. Sure had my chances too. Plenty of them. But I was reluctant to change schools (again) after only only one year; It had also been a long time since I had seen a real principal, one who knew what they were doing. So I decided to give it another go.
At the time, it seemed like the thing to do. And things have been better, student wise. I also get along well with my teammates and don't really mind having 8th grade as much as I did either.
What has soured things is the surge of PC activity this year. That and our being trained and meetinged half to death because we didn't make AYP the last two years.

[Spectre]

Isn't helping the student "feel beter about himself" the counselors job? Teachers aren't mental health professionals, after all.
Did the homeroom teacher defend herself at all?.

I can see where it would be a team effort, but that wasn't the approach being used. One of our guidance counselors and one of our APs have been driving this surge of political correctness. Both of them are of the same ethniticity as the troubled student and it was plain, from the start, that the aim was to lay blame on the teacher, who is caucasian. She was given very little opportunity to defend or speak up for herself the few times she did, she was cut off and redirected. It really made me angry and, as I told you, she left the meeting in tears. What made me even more angry was that the troubled student seemed very satisfied with themself and the outcome of the "meeting." So did the enabling parents, who, it seemed, could do very little with the child either, as the meeting was filled with angry outbursts from the child, punctuated with some very inflammatory accusations and comments. The parents made little or no effort to calm the rhetoric down. Truth is, they seemed intimidated by the child's actions.
Small wonder the child is a problem.

[Chef Dave]

Did the teacher in question not speak up for herself?

Did she make no effort to refocus group attention on the student instead of on herself?

Is anyone going to bring this entire fiasco to the attention of the building administrator?

What exactly was the rhetoric that was used? Could you give us a for instance?

Surely the parents, the counselor, and the AP were not suggesting that only African Americans are qualified to teach African Americans? Dr. Martin Luther King would surely spin in his grave if black parents were to advocate what increasingly sounds like segregation.

[mopar]

Encourage the child's teachers and get her to document everything. Obviously now, this is going to be a case where she needs all the documentation possible.
Did the AP or guidance counselor speak up when the child began with angry outburst? Did anyone try to calm the child down?
Definitely bring this situation up to your building principal. It is not right for the blame to be placed on the teacher. Her classroom is only going to deteriorate now that this student feels justified in his behavior.

[Spectre]

Good observations and good questions, all.

The teacher did attempt to speak up for herself, but was stifled repeatedly by the guidance counselor and the AP, who continued to try to place the focus on "encouraging" the child and placing the "blame" on the teacher. No exaggeration. It was plain as could be. :eek:

That was why I finally spoke up. My remark was, as I said, acknowledged, and then the discussion was turned to something else. :mad: It was plainly deliberate. What I had to say was not a part of their scheme. :confused: It didn't fit in with their aims. What aims? To play the race card; no other way to say it. This guidance counselor is known, well known, for doing that kind of thing. The AP is, as well. Our 8th grade black girls, in particular know it too. I think I might have mentioned this on this site already. These girls will skip class, demand to be allowed to go see the guidance counselor or this particular AP at every whim. My classroom phone rings off the ring almost daily, lately, with many of them being summoned down to guidance to deal with some drama they have conjured up. It's a ploy, a ploy to get out of class to get favored treatment. And this counselor and AP aid and abett it constantly. This is nothing new, but it was never this intense until this year.

Chef Dave, issues like this have been brought to the attention of the head man already, more than once, but this is an issue upon which he appears to have clay feet. I have told him, myself, verbally, to his face, that this happens. Nothing has changed. Indeed, it appears to be getting worse. :(

You're right. I don't think Martin Luther King jr would approve. Most reasonable people would not.

There were some lukewarm attempts to calm down the student and redirect them, but as I said before, I think everyone was intimidated by this student, including the parents, the AP and the counselor. I think the student sensed it too. The hardest thing for me to do, for the LONG hour that we sat there, was to refrain from spilling my innards and telling the whole assembly just what I thought. That and throttling the little ^%%$#@#$$%&*. As long as I have been in this business, it was painfully clear (PAINFULLY CLEAR) : what the motive of the whole gathering was.

[Spectre]

Did the teacher in question not speak up for herself?



What exactly was the rhetoric that was used? Could you give us a for instance?



Rhetoric? I guess you could call it that. I don't remember specifics (too painful, I guess) but much of the talk centered around the usual: the student felt "picked on," felt the teacher did not give them enough attention, blamed everything that happened on the teacher or other kids. the counselor pointed out something about differences in culture (I am sick to

death of hearing that one!!), that the teacher needed to be more "understanding," try to "focus" on the student's "positive" (I hate that word too!) qualities and "help" the student adjust to middle school. The AP tossed in some statistics that were intended to support the counselors case, but I can only recall thinking they were totally irrelevant.

the issue is not the child's color or culture, no matter how hard the counselor and AP tried to say it was. I so wanted to say that. The issue is that this student is disrupting the learning for other students, is preventing their own learning by their actions, and making this teacher's job very difficult. That would be true if the child was norweigen. I won't ask why the assembly could not see that because the answer is that they did not want to. They came to that meeting with a set agenda and were going to stick to that agenda no matter what the truth is.

I despise political correctness.:mad:

Not only is this situation not resolve, it has been made yet worse. this kid now knows they have everyone (almost everyone) fooled; this teacher now knows she cannot call upon guidance or administration or the home to help. And it is only December. :confused:

[Chef Dave]

Is the teacher in question experienced enough to weather the storm? I have regretfully seen many a novice teacher crumble under similar stress.

I know the AP and the counselor are of the same ethnicity? What of the building administrator?

As an ethnic minority myself, I do not see how "culture" can legitmately be used as a mitigating explanation for a child's atrocious behavior ... with the possible exception of a newly arrived immigrant from someplace like the Middle East. Since you spent time in the Middle East just as I did, I won't go into a listing of Arab cultural nuances that could conflict with mainstream American cultural norms.

I presume this child and his family were born in the U.S. Knowing where you live and work I also presume this family is low income.

Despite any arguments to the contrary, what they really seem to be saying in non-PC terms is that stupidity - derived from the culture of poverty, trumps a teacher's expectations.

It is a pity that the counselor and AP bought into this. I don't know what their childhood socio-economic backgrounds are but one would hope that they would see education as being a means to break the cycle of poverty.

I know you have argued against use of a zero tolerance policy in another thread - but in this instance I think use of such a policy would be just the ticket to get all these problems squared away.

Everyone behaves. Everyone participates. Everyone tries their best. Failure to comply will result in immediate consequences ...

[mopar]

I just pray for the poor teacher who now has a student who knows he can control the classroom. I worry about her sanity and getting through the rest of the year. It is hard to deal with a misbehaving student but even harder when the school administration almost support his behavior.

[Spectre]

The teacher is experienced, but as Mopar points out, she is now, figuratively, painted into a corner with this student. The student, in effect, holds all the "cards." Parents are intimidated and our guidance and admin are enablers who insist on viewing the student as victim, not perpetrator. How can anything get better in such a situation?

Chef Dave, our principal is of the same ethnicicity as are the AP and the guidance counselor. I have never seen him as being a wiling conspirator in this, but I guess that silence can be viewed as consent. This situation, or ones like it, have been brought to his attention, but nothing seems to change. I am not sure why.

Just this week, he sent out a survey to the staff concerning our school environment. Seems he finally understands that staff morale is low. I plan to take some time over the break to fill it out, in detail, but have to admit that I doubt much will come of it. I do hope I am wrong.

Meanwhile, I am pressing ahead with plans to extricate myself from this situation at year's end. As Chef Dave has pointed out, those with my particular licensure are much in demand in North Carolina and I don't have to "hold still" for this.

That doesn't keep me from feeling bad for my teammates, the faculty, and students, at this school. I do. What's happening is unfortunate and won't help the school community in the long run.

[Chef Dave]

[QUOTE=Spectre;12662]
Meanwhile, I am pressing ahead with plans to extricate myself from this situation at year's end. As Chef Dave has pointed out, those with my particular licensure are much in demand in North Carolina and I don't have to "hold still" for this.

[QUOTE]

Hmmmmmm ... I'll believe this when it happens.

If memory serves, you said the same thing at another forum just last year. :)

[Boxcar]

Has the situation improved at all with this student? Or has the problem escalated since the meeting?

[3rdgradeteach]

Chef Dave....you amaze me....you seem to remember everything everyone says.....How do you do it?

[Spectre]

Hmmmmmm ... I'll believe this when it happens.

If memory serves, you said the same thing at another forum just last year. :)

I did say it. I meant it then. I mean it now. Circumstances and attitudes change. I doubt mine will this time. We'll see.
:)

[Spectre]

Has the situation improved at all with this student? Or has the problem escalated since the meeting?

The meeting occured early this week. We're on holiday break now (thankfully); I can only imagine things have gotten yet worse. This child now knows they control everyone and everything in the situation. How can things get any better with that scenario? :(

[Chef Dave]

Chef Dave....you amaze me....you seem to remember everything everyone says.....How do you do it?

I have a classic Type A personality ... and besides, I've known Spectre for years. We've actually met in person and many's the time he's come over to my home for dinner. :)

... but mainly it's because I have a Type A personality ...

(sigh)

[3rdgradeteach]

Haha....That's a good personality to have....no more sighing! :)

[Spectre]

I have a classic Type A personality ... and besides, I've known Spectre for years. We've actually met in person and many's the time he's come over to my home for dinner. :)


(sigh)

And he's a world class cook, too. I will personally vouch for that. :)

Besides, he is right. I swore up and down (and sideways too) that I was going to get myself out of my current school LAST year. I didn't. It's too complicated to eeplain right now. (not sure I understand it myself) but it is a situation that WILL be rectified this June...believe it or not....:)