Talk about how fast rumors spread - imagine how many times the young lady in the Mall told her story. I was minding my own business when she came up and shared it with me. I bet she had a good time retelling it to every single teenage girl that walked into the most popular, teenage girly store in the Mall."The rumors are really swelling. A little over a week ago, there was an actual fight with punch throwing between some boys. I think it was the day that Shaun Grant got there. Anyway, these other fights are just between girls. They're not physical, only verbal. Our Asst Principal likened it to the movie "mean girls".
When the girls were pressed for the premise of the fights, none of them even knew! Mr. Poehls had the girls all together in a room with our campus police chief, among other authorities there in the school, as well as parents. It was handled very well.
Another problem we've had is that kids within the school are spreading rumors of these fights with a severely embellished twist. Technology today can really cause a lot of grief! Rumors have the ability to spread twice as fast!"
22 comments:
Emerge, administrators would never be quoted as to how many fights actually took place. That would be a quick end to their principalships--it's always been that way. I know from all my years of experience that principals were expected to keep that information as quiet as possible. No District officials will go willingly to report fights to the press--or to bloggers. That news is always mitigated.
Also, in my experience serial fights seem to come and go in waves.
Sharon:
Nothing is good enough for you is it? You would just rather believe the worst.
What if the information I am getting is not coming from administrators? What if it is coming from volunteers or parents or people who are actually in the school and who would be concerned about the safety of not only their child, but every single child in the building? How would you discredit that? What would your experience tell you?
I work with many parents who are concerned about their schools and who are working hard to make them better. In the future, when I hear stories about negativity going on at the schools - I intend to make an effort to contact those concerned parents to make sure they get a chance to set the record straight about their schools.
One thing that struck me about the student talking to you is that this sounded like a teenage girl that wanted to be heard and was looking for some connection. I worked at the mall as a teenager, and I don't remember discussing these types of things with a stranger/customer. However, I was also fortunate enough to have a support system at home and in my community.
I think this situation speak to the necessity of meeting adolescent's emotional needs (at home and at school). I'm not saying I have an answer to this, but being a teenager was often painful and confusing. Wherever the truth lies in the number of altercations, there are a lot of teenagers (everywhere) that just want to feel validated and heard.
I am confused, Emerge. You are told about the fights going on at RHS by a student who was involved, yet you don't believe her, you believe the administrators who are held accountable for everything that happens at their schools including fights? Do you really think D150 administration would allow a principal to speak openly to the public regarding all the agressive behavior going on in the schools? never. Yes, there are MANY fights every day in D150 schools and guess what....those kids are right back in class the next day with NO consequence. Remember, these students will soon be out looking for jobs and "heaven forbid" an employer critique their performance negatively for FEAR of being assaulted, either verbally or physically. D150 is paving the path....mark my words.
Brooke:
You make a very interesting observation. I was talking with my daughter when she came over and opened up.
Even the comments she made about feeling like she didn't know about her own people and what she was not learning in school, were very telling.
It sounds like these young ladies could use more interaction with positive role models.
Emerge, for months you have made comments to the effect that you couldn't believe that everything was rosy at Richwoods--when I was reporting about fights at MHS. It really all comes down to whom you trust and whom I trust--it has nothing to do with "nothing being good enough for me." I am really not asking you to believe me--I am simply saying that I do trust my sources and you can form your own judgments. I, too, have spoken to parents at RHS--one of whom was my former students who called because she read my comments on your blog (and I hadn't heard from her since she graduated in the 1980s). She has a very high profile daughter at RHS and does keep tabs on what is going on--her information about the fights on the day Grant took over agreed with the reports I had heard. I haven't talked to her about the later fights.
The person to whom you spoke, I believe, is the person who would like to be Richwoods' next principal. You are extremely naive if you think he is going to give you a bad report about Richwoods--thus reflecting on District 150--and expect to be given the job. Things just don't work like that in District 150.
I found it interesting to hear the psychoanalysis of the girl at the mall. Yes, teenagers exaggerate about many things. No one is saying that the Rolling Acres children exaggerated what they heard about what the principal said. How do we make decisions about which young people exaggerate and which don't?
I have to admit that I don't understand your comment about your daughter not knowing enough about "her own people." I know that the 8-year-old in my life who goes to Whittier has learned much about black people--since he is a mixed child, I am not sure who "his own people" are--he might even be a bit confused about that; however, there are plenty of adults in his life who will help him sort that out. However, I do readily admit that Richwoods, more than other 150 schools, is a bit short on black role modelsm and I don't know if Quest has any black role models. That said, I have a particular distaste for the terms "my people" and "your people." There are plenty of peole that I might be expected to consider to be "my people" with whom I have considerable disagreement--I wouldn't even begin to assess who are "my people."
Sharon is right about fighting coming and going in schools. I was at Central in the late 60's and early 70's. Fighting was commonplace in the school, outside the school, after sporting events and at dances. When my brothers and sisters attended Central in the mid to late 70's, they never heard about any fighting.
I have no doubt there are fights at RHS and PHS. And it is true, an admin dare not speak of it, or they'll be looking for another job.
Any fighting is bad, but I also have a hard time believe it is all that bad. Have the police been called? Are parents in an uproar? Are students being kept home from school? Has the enrollment at ND suddenly gone up?
Will we ever know what the truth is?
Anonymous:
We know RHS parents wouldn't sit still if the stories about the fights were true. If it was so bad, we know the Richwoods PTO President would have been on the news by now.
To answer your questions - from what I am told - parents are not in an uproar and no they are not keeping their students home from school.
Perhaps Sharon could answer if it is so bad that her pretend grandchildren and their friends are in danger. Will their parents be keeping them home? Will their parents be going to the BOE with specifics and demanding answers?
Actually Emerge, One family is moving across the river and another family is moving to Dunlap. That is a total of 4 high school students leaving Richwoods...trust me, parents are tired of complaining and nothing changing....they are just leaving.
Here's how a lot of Parents look at it: So long as my child is in enriched classes and not basic classes with the heathens, then we're ok. That's how it was when I went to Manual. The counselor went to great lengths to get me into enriched classes I didn't belong in - and into early bird PE. You know, so I could be with the "Good kids." after I failed out of my first enriched class and got put in basic, I was much relieved to find that not only was I not bludgeoned to death every day - I felt MUCH more at home. I think back on how awful it was to be guided that way. But what you have is a microcosmic mindset of the mindset if people who send their kids to schools way out yonder while totally ignoring the ailing schools.
Plus, the fights inquired about seem only to have been the most recent - not an accounting re: what has gone on all year.
It's dangerous when administrators make light if fighting, etc., and try to cover it up in an effort to protect the image if the school. I'm glad my admin keeps it real. If it was bad, they say it was bad and do what they can to prevent further outbreaks. Again, though, with our weak admin, the fighting is going to continue to get worse despite building administrators' best efforts.
Our District 150 students are outstanding and they deserve to learn in calm, peaceful learning environments - pugnacious students included.
A-D
FYI: A security guard came up to me and asked me if I thought that the teachers' union would back a request that campus security be provided with one taser per building to help break up fights. Yikes! I was told another security guard recently had his hand broken breaking up a fight between two girls IN A CLASSROOM. (Not at Richwoods). I had that confirmed by another security guard. Students know the penalty for fighting is absurd - and some of them are taking advantage of it. It's horribly unfortunate.
A-D
And, selfishly, of course I thank God that A-D was the kind of young man who realized why he had been placed in enriched classes at MHS (and I have no doubt that he had the ability to stay in those classes) and that he chose to be in basic classes (as did many others of his West Peoria friends). Had that not happened, I would not have known Jeff and I wouldn't not have those five pretend grandchildren that enrich my life.
Students, like A-D's daughter, do know how to stay out of the line of fire for the most part. I believe you will find that fights rarely occur in classrooms of enriched students. Wise children know to go the opposite direction when fights break out--others follow the fights in mobs and open themselves up to inadvertent harm.
Remember as Emerge reminds us all the time, RHS PTO is probably made up of parents whose children are school leaders, etc.--their children are probably fairly shielded from these fights. Just because there are 4 or 5 fights at the school in a day doesn't necessarily mean the whole school is a war zone. My greatest fear always was that the fights would be in my classroom--those are scary events--trying to keep other kids safe and to get help, etc. Most fights occur in common areas--and kids who want to avoid them are given some warning. I just want to be sure that the district is not trying to cover up a problem--because cover up means they are not attempting to solve the problem.
There are also students that walk by a line/group of other students and push students just to see who will react and who won't so there can be a fight. This also needs to be stopped at RHS. This happens frequently. But again, you aren't going to find students complaining to authority because eventually the students doing this will make it worse next time. So it doesn't have to be out and out fighting. Teachers see this and don't do anything about it either. Eventually this will escalate and admin will wonder why "fights" are happening.
Sharon said:
I have to admit that I don't understand your comment about your daughter not knowing enough about "her own people."
You took "her own people" out of context and applied it to my daughter. If you read my statement again, you will see that I was referring to the young lady in the mall who didn't know that people of color are in Panama.
Thank you.
Emerge, you're right; I took it out of context. The same thing holds true of white people that I know who study the Bible, believing that the people in Biblican times looked like the traditional accepted picture of Jesus that hangs in most white churches. I guess I would have understand it better if you had said your daughter doesn't know about people of color in other parts of the world.
Just went out for my knee therapy and ran into yet another Richwoods parent--one whose son is in IB classes, where fights don't happen. And this young man is not one who is prone to spinning tales. He came home to tell his parents that he saw the tail end of a fight--girls' hair strewn all over the floor (a common sight after girl fights) and broken chairs. This particular parent expressed her desire to be told the truth about what goes on at her child's school--doesn't want sugar-coaged information.
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x617854860/Two-arrests-made-at-Peoria-High
Looks like it isn't rumor any more!
I have received the FOIAd information about suspensions meted out for fighting. Because this post concerned primarily Richwoods, I can quickly state that on March 4 six students were suspended for fighting, on March 7 1 student was suspended, on March 10 four were suspended, on March 11 1 was suspended, on March 15 two were suspended and on March 21 one was suspended.
I am inclined to believe that all who fight aren't necessarily suspended--especially in light of the fact that on some days only one student was suspended--with whom was he/she fighting?
When I have time to organize the data, I will be able to give information about all schools.
I think I just pressed all the right buttons--I had given the number of students (and dates for each) that were suspended in March at Richwoods for fighting.
It has taken me a while--but for the record, this is the FOIAd account of suspensions given for fights in March at Richwoods during the time period in question:
March 4 - 6 students were given 5 days of suspension.
March 7 - 1 student given 5 days
March 10 - 4 students given suspensions of 7, 5, 5, 5
March 15 - 2 students given 10 days
I am duly embarrassed--my time of surgery and recovery have tampered with my memory. I did already provide that information and realizedd it too late to save face. :)
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