All over social media and the news there has been a video of
an out of control classroom and the pleas of a mother that said this was the rule
not the exception.
I was asked not to long ago about discipline in our schools
before the arrival of superintendent Vitti and to be honest it wasn’t good then
either. Often referrals went unprocessed and kids then too played the system,
the big difference then was the system was undefined, kids new they could get
away with anything short of order but it wasn’t codified like it is now.
I have been pretty critical of the districts feel good restorative
justice policies and changes to the code of conduct, I believe they both lend
to children’s ability to push the envelope and they have taken an already bad
situation and made it worse.
The fact that this happened at First Coast high school and
the parent says they asked the principal for help only to be ignored is also particularly
frustrating. Principal Al Brennan must know where the bodies are buried as
never have I seen a principal do such damage to a school and keep their job. He
is an embarrassment and represents all that is wrong in the district.
I also find it reprehensible that the district chose to play
off the incident and blame the substitute teacher firing them. So many of these
subs are put in no win positions and told to handle, i.e. endure any problems
that occur. Many teachers are already hung
out to dry so it is no wonder that students ignore and disrespect these
strangers especially since they aren’t required to listen to or respect the teachers
of record.
Finally people shouldn’t think this is an isolated incident
or just occurs when subs come in, nor should people think it is every school or
every classroom. I maintain that for the most part we are doing a great job. The
problem however is things like what happened in the video happen often enough
that we should be concerned.
Discipline is hard but when the district ignores it, it
becomes worse. I fear we are courting a real tragedy here.
To read more, click the link: http://jacksonville.com/news/schools/2015-12-18/story/parent-upset-over-student-antics-first-coast-high-school-video
To read more, click the link: http://jacksonville.com/news/schools/2015-12-18/story/parent-upset-over-student-antics-first-coast-high-school-video
It has become clear to me that everything this Superintendent said he was when he came -- he is not. He said he would clear out the good ol' boy/gal network that enabled incompetent people to stay in high positions. Then he doubled down, nay, quadrupled down on the practice. That is the only reason why certain principals are left in place while they demolish their buildings and everyone in them. Those people have connections and are protected by higher-ups. You want to know how bad it is at First Coast High School? NO CHARTER CHAIN wants to open a school within 20 miles of the campus!! They don't want the out-of-control students either.
ReplyDeleteIf you notice the Principals that Vitti give praise to, they are a bunch of NICE GUYS who are really a bunch of YES MEN. Wouldn't you like if Crocodile Dundee, with his deep Australian accent, tells Vitti " Those are a bunch of nice guys you have there!
DeleteChaos is at Raines as well...IT IS A DISTRICT ISSUE...not a substitute issue! At Raines, a substitute had her purse stolen. Students then stole her car, drove to her house, and broke into the house. REALLY?
ReplyDeleteAtlantic Coast HS too. IT IS A DISTRICT ISSUE! Lost two teachers already because of discipline. Two more ready to walk any day.
ReplyDeleteBy way of contrast, at Episcopal High school there are almost zero discipline issues. When I substitute there the students are so polite that they all teill me "thank-you when leaving the classroom. All 12 of them. Without a hint of sarcasm. Any incident like the one portrayed in the video and the student would never see the Episcopal campus again. What you have in DCPS is a absolute complete lack of leadership from the School Board to the Superintendent to the Principal to the House Admins. Enough blame to go from one end to the other. Shameful. But that's DCPS where I taught for 37 years before retiring.
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