Remember the editorial the students at Richwoods High School wrote pleading with Administration to make their school safe so they can get an education? Well, the article below reminds me of that situation...
Students kicked out of school for demanding better education
About 50 students were suspended Thursday from the all-boys Frederick
Douglass Academy in Detroit, Mich. for walking out of classes in protest, demanding "an education."
Among their complaints: a lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the school principal, educators who abuse sick time and a shortage of textbooks.
"We've been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated," senior Tevin Hill told the Detroit Free Press. "They didn't listen to us when we complained to the administration. They didn't listen to the parents when they complained to the administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved."
The 17-year-old Hill told The Detroit News that so many teachers have been simultaneously absent from school that dozens of students had been forced to gather in the gym or other common school areas. Students also went for long periods without homework, and Hill said he struggled on a recent placement exam at Bowling Green State University, where he's been accepted to attend next year.
"I literally couldn't answer a question on there," Hill said. "Right now, I'm not going to be as successful as I should be because I haven't been properly taught."
7 comments:
So sad. But then, this almost seems like the 'corporate way'. I predict that 6 months from now there will be a private, for profit entity that will sail into town with a solution. I predict that "problem" students will all get IEPs and qualify for Medicaid (because they have IEPs and are eligible because they're 'disabled'). By qualifying for Medicaid, there will be PRIVATE, FOR PROFIT agencies that will siphon off these 'troubled' kids.
Hey, it's already happening in Naperville! 85% of the students expelled from Naperville have IEPs! And, gosh, where do those kids go? It's a program run by Abraxas...
Peoria needs to follow the European model of high school structure. 3 tiers. Top tier is elite, college prep, 5 years including a year as exchange student. Middle tier is junior college, apprenticeship, military, 4 years and then to the next level. Lower tier is vocational, 3 years with job placement. Middle school would suddenly become meaningful, because performance would determine placement.
Very sad, but not surprising. No doubt the "adults" of the community are busy taking care of their own retirement/employment/nepotistic needs. If the kids get educated in the meantime, that's a bonus.
These students not only qualify for welfare, but SSI as well. You wouldn't believe how many students in the schools are now also getting a SSI check because either they are on medication or have an IEP. All the teacher has to do is sign the form and believe me many do.
This is why there is a Freedom of Information Act. An Anonymous person has no credibility, but if that Anonymous person would FOIA the number of District 150 students on SSI--that would give us some information that we could evaluate.
Maybe teachers do sign those forms, but the teachers are know rarely did--I never did.
I agree that it would be interesting to see some areas do a trial with the European--or at least one of the European models-model of schools. I also believe in many European countries students do not attend the neighborhood middle school (or even elementary, for that matter) but have to apply and be accepted. I also believe that once accepted, students must maintain behavior and grades to stay. I also spoke to some Europeans college students (back in the day) who told me that they did very little socializing during the last year or two of high school while preparing for the college entrance exam. Many do not pass the first time, however, the schools and teachers are not blamed for this. Students are held accountable. Kids are kids so I am sure that there must be behavior issues but I doubt that they are on the scale of some U.S. schools. So, it might be wise for districts to have a pilot school or so to see if the model is worth pursuing. PS Where I lived in Europe, students used public transportation and most of the time used the travel time to study. We hear of all sorts of horror stories about school bus rides. Those rides are not an issue in most of Europe, I believe.
I don't see where SSI comes into this article. I have signed less than a handful of forms in my years as a SPED teacher, here and elsewhere.
But, the article is about the kids who are complaining of some of the things going on in Peoria, especially the reassignment of the school principal, lack of consistent teacher and a shortage of textbooks. That is what happens when a superintendent has no clue how to run a school district. Nobody wants to teach in that district.
Maybe a clue for the future of Peoria? You do the principal shuffle, and demote good, capable principals and even the children take notice!
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