Once again we are slapped in the face with the reality of intolerance and bullying. A high school student in California is shot in the head and killed because he was gay. This student was being bullied. These news stories are too often seen and too often brushed under the carpet. We watch with shock, talk about it a bit, and move on. But when do we realize that we must change something to stop these useless acts of violence?
From Columbine to today we have seen this too often in the news. We need to do something. Our schools are on the front line of this issue and we need to deal. Those of us in the school system know that this is a difficult bureaucracy to change. It is easy to become frustrated when you see something that needs to change.
What needs to be done? We need to wake up! How many children must be victims of intolerance? How many red flags ignored? How many tears shed because a child is bullied and they must endure this day in and day out? Why are we silent when we are told to focus on so much more than testing? Who will have the courage to stand up and say ENOUGH. Our children need help and we are reminded too often that we are failing them. Let's get our heads out of the sand and create the kind of supportive schools where children can be nurtured and protected, with no judgement of them.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Parent-Teacher Organization
This evening I returned to school to attend the monthly PTO meeting. I was greeted by about 15 moms sitting in the library and chit chatting. As they began the meeting I was struck by the number of moms present. Our school has about 800 students from 6th to 8th grade. So sitting there were the core active members of this organization. I"m not great at percentages, but we can all agree that this is not a high percentage of the parent community. Our principal was there and he came in and sat next to me. The meeting began.
I waited patiently until minutes were passed, financial reports were given, and urgent business conducted. Then it was my turn. All faces looked at me as I began to explain the reason I had returned to school on this wintry night to speak with them.....SAP... not the sap of a tree...or a person who is a sap...the Student Assistance Program...a state-mandated program to assist students at risk...students who may have drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues, or any other obstacle to learning. We are a team of teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, social worker, and consultants from our local drug and alcohol and mental health agencies. It is a wonderful program and can be a wonderful resource for families to get help for their child. So I gave my little speech about getting PTO on board with us in our efforts to help students. They were attentive and ask many questions. It as a dialogue long overdue.
Then I presented a program our SAP team is going to be starting. The issue I feel so passionate about.... ANTI-BULLYING. Anyone who thinks this is just a small problem hasn't read the newspaper lately or been in touch with the real world for kids today. From Columbine to every other school incident we have seen our schools become more and more hostile and our kids struggle within them. To make a long story short...these parents took me seriously and it was a wonderful opening dialogue... I got my point across and my soapbox was well used. I look forward to working with these parents and moving our school towards a more tolerant, caring community. I know there are many of you out there who can relate to this...parents who have a child who has been a victim, parents who know their child is a bully, teachers who see this everyday in our schools, administrators and counselors and all school personnel who struggle with this reality. Together we must work to do better for our kids. Comments, please. Let's get the dialogue going.
I waited patiently until minutes were passed, financial reports were given, and urgent business conducted. Then it was my turn. All faces looked at me as I began to explain the reason I had returned to school on this wintry night to speak with them.....SAP... not the sap of a tree...or a person who is a sap...the Student Assistance Program...a state-mandated program to assist students at risk...students who may have drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues, or any other obstacle to learning. We are a team of teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, social worker, and consultants from our local drug and alcohol and mental health agencies. It is a wonderful program and can be a wonderful resource for families to get help for their child. So I gave my little speech about getting PTO on board with us in our efforts to help students. They were attentive and ask many questions. It as a dialogue long overdue.
Then I presented a program our SAP team is going to be starting. The issue I feel so passionate about.... ANTI-BULLYING. Anyone who thinks this is just a small problem hasn't read the newspaper lately or been in touch with the real world for kids today. From Columbine to every other school incident we have seen our schools become more and more hostile and our kids struggle within them. To make a long story short...these parents took me seriously and it was a wonderful opening dialogue... I got my point across and my soapbox was well used. I look forward to working with these parents and moving our school towards a more tolerant, caring community. I know there are many of you out there who can relate to this...parents who have a child who has been a victim, parents who know their child is a bully, teachers who see this everyday in our schools, administrators and counselors and all school personnel who struggle with this reality. Together we must work to do better for our kids. Comments, please. Let's get the dialogue going.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Welcome to my World
I have wanted to start this blog for a long time...so here it goes. For 17 years I have taught in a middle school and I have observed many things during this time. My hope is to create a forum for teachers, parents, and all of those people involved in educating our children, to discuss today's issues in education. In this day and age there are so many challenges in the field of education. We are on the front line trying to prepare these students for a productive and healthy place in our society. It is quite disturbing to see so many headlines in the news about schools and students in trouble. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore these concerns. We need to open up the dialogue and work toward an effective plan to reach all of our children. Together we can do this. I welcome you to join me in the discussion.
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