When we first moved to Georga in 1999, I quickly became horrified at some things I found out about the Bibb County school system. They still practice corporal punishment here and send home a form at the beginning of each new school year asking for parents' permission to paddle the children for infractions--even in high school. Needless to say, I didn't give my permission. It wasn't long before I also discovered that the dropout rate hovers right around a whopping 50%. I could hardly believe that, but I took note of the size of both my daughters' high school classes when they entered 9th grade as opposed to when they graduated as seniors, and sure enough their classes had shrunk by about half in a mere four years.
I had to fight many battles on behalf of both my daughters and even some of their friends during their high school days. I won't go into all of them here. The most ridiculous one was when my daughter Julie was cited for breaking the rule about wearing "outerwear" in the classroom and was sent home for wearing a cardigan sweater! When I complained, the principal, Ms. Perkins, told me her teacher had "gone overboard with the rule." I'd say so! The most heart-breaking battle was when my daughter Michelle's friend was prohibited from walking with the rest of her class at graduation, because she had failed the comprehensive science test given at the end of their senior year. The last science class she had taken was in 9th grade and she really disliked the subject, but she was committed to studying and was slated to take the next comprehensive test the following month, which she then passed. In refusing to let her graduate with the rest of her class, the administration took away every ounce of pride she had instead of treating her with the respect she deserved as one of the 50% who had actually stayed in school! I ended up writing a letter to the editor of the local paper about the situation. My letter was published, but still the administration didn't budge. A year later, the policy was changed. I doubt I was the only person who spoke out!
The time that I got the most involved with the "rules" of the high school was regarding their late policy. When the kids were late to school in the morning, they had to report to the gym, miss their entire first period class and get zeros for that class. First off, that's no punishment for kids who don't want to be in school anyway and will soon be part of the 50% dropout rate. Secondly, it's an over-the-top punishment for the devoted students who actually want to be in school and may have a legitimate excuse for being late. One morning it was pouring down rain as I took Julie to school and we waited outside in a big traffic jam. On the way, we passed by another poor girl who was sitting on the shoulder of the road with a flat tire.
As the minutes ticked away, we both knew Julie would be late and would not only miss the test she had in her first period history class, but receive a 0 for it. I let Julie off at the front of the school and then parked my car, ready to go in and do battle. Entering the office, I asked to speak to a vice principal, and told him I wanted my daughter out of the gym and in her first period class getting her education, where she belonged. He agreed to do so "this one time" but stated that if I had a problem with the policy, I needed to talk to the principal. I assured him I would be doing just that. I watched as Julie was escorted out of the gym and into her class. In the meantime, the girl with the flat tire arrived in the office, dripping wet. She explained what had happened but was told she had to report to the gym unless she "had a witness." I vouched for her, so they permitted her to go to class. She turned to me and mouthed "thank you" as she left the office. I truly wondered what kind of a school it was to assume that the students are lying to the administrators 100% of the time!
I had been talking to my friend in California who also had high school age kids, and she was really happy with the school they attended. In their school, those students with unexcused tardies had to miss their lunchroom time with their friends and instead sat in a supervised classroom and ate their lunch in silence. My friend told me it was a very effective deterrent and had cut way down on tardiness at the school, because high school age kids hate to miss their lunch "social hour" with their friends. I explained this policy to Ms. Perkins and she agreed to speak on the phone with the California principal. They had a lengthy conversation and Ms. Perkins later sent me an email and thanked me for "taking an interest" but added that "their policy wouldn't work in our school system." No further explanation. End of subject.
I guess you can't win all your battles, no matter how hard you try!
No comments:
Post a Comment