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| School Officials | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 24 2009, 04:57 PM (258 Views) | |
| Masquerading Doll | Feb 24 2009, 04:57 PM Post #1 |
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Okay. So, today at school we had a ceremony we fondly call the "Gold Card" ceremony. It's a ceremony to reward students who keep all A's and B's. Now, you get a gold card if you have all A's. And, a silver card if you have all A's and B's. During this ceremony our principle always gives a speech. This speech is usually inspiring, motivating. It's used to encourage those students not getting a card to do better, work harder. Now, usually the principal gives stats taken the previous year. These stats are used to also motivate students, and show us how much better we're doing, or how we need to improve. Notice, we have a new principal this year, but he's been principal before, so it's not lack of experience that caused this. His speech started out as usual, and as he progressed, it got a bit odd. He was no longer encouraging, and praising the students. He was ranting at us. He crossed many boundaries. He basically called us stupid. He said that those of us not getting a card, had no drive, didn't care about our education, or anything of the sort. Then, he turned and told us that he wanted us all to do well, that he would do it for us if possible. Now, if you ask me, he's straddling a fence. That may only be my opinion, but many teachers and students at my school agree with me. He ranted and ranted, used many statistics that are very, very negative. Implying that those of us not getting a card, wouldn't go to college, would be in drugs, and would never succeed at life. Now, the drug part may be true, but the rest isn't. I didn't get a gold card, and I'm deeply driven. Many of my friends are the same as me, they have a bit of a problem with one subject that keeps them from getting a card. Either that, or they were a few points off. Now, he didn't make a difference in those of us not getting a card, he simply lumped us all into one category of not trying, being worthless. Personally, I'm outraged, and have never been so disgraced by a school official. Many of my peers agree with me, and a few of the students have gone so far as to address him about this. When told that his speech was rude, all he had to say was, "Thank you." I find this a horrible presentation of what school should be. I'm planning to write a letter to him, naturally it will be respectful, but clear on my thoughts of what he had to say. My question for you is: Do you think he had a right to do this? That he went too far? And, what's your advice on how to handle this situation? |
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| YesterdaysDreams | Feb 24 2009, 06:20 PM Post #2 |
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Official Greeter
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Wow, thats a toughy. I have always been very strict on my daughter concerning her grades and she has to maintain a 90 overall average. That may seem tough but she can do it and does every semester. The 90 average still allows for her to not get top grades in certain classes but in the ones she exceedes in help pull it all together. I would absolutely NEVER tell her she was dumb or even insinuate it if she didnt make the grade. Some kids just cant do it for one reason or another and it has nothing to do with drugs or making it to college. For heavens sake I was a drop out and still went to college and aquired a 2 year degree in law. What a pretentious bastard. My advice to you ... gather up as many students as you can have them all come to a meeting and have each and every one of you write a letter. Then petition the school for an extra activity to help the kids that need the extra help.. not have some over blown idiot ranting and raving at you like your all a bunch of helpless teens. Rebellion just for the sake of rebellion is foolhardy but .. to rebel for the sake of others.. you may get somewhere. |
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| m&m.Michael. | Feb 24 2009, 09:53 PM Post #3 |
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The cold hard fact is, that some people act that way everyday. Mostly it is because they are "having a bad day." It is correct, that there is no exsuse for a school offical to act like that. So, why do we give our friends that exsuse, or how about our family? It is clear, that everyone has negative rants. Somehow, we shrug it off and still respect the person. My advise, still respect your administrator. In fact, let his harsh words drive you more. For whatever reason, he must have let a bad day take place account of his bad attitude during his speech. In my opinion, a bad day...does not turn me away from my friends and family. So, I turn not to let it turn me away from any other person. Let's face it, we all have mothers that at point or another have said..."If you don't clean up your act, you will not make it in this world! You're going to be living at home until your 40!" ^ That is an example of a mother having a bad day and being fed up. Does it hurt? Yes. Is it the best way for her to encourage you? No. Does it somehow work?...Yes. That is just my insight on things. |
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| Masquerading Doll | Feb 25 2009, 12:55 AM Post #4 |
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I can clearly see your point, Michael. Yet, he is our principle, he is supposed to conduct himself accordingly. Notice, I do respect this man, I highly respect him. He daily puts up with a school riddled with drugs, alcohol, and all out rebellion. And not constructive rebellion. It's absolutely horrid how many of our students really don't care. Now, with some of us, we will strive to do better simply to prove him wrong. The others, will be worse than they are now. Simply to disgrace him. And to you, Kim. I would love to gather my fellow peers and start after school programs, get this school to a higher academic level. However, that is not possible. The odds of getting enough students to participate, and the funding, it's not feasible. Also, getting students to write letters..is hopeless. As I said, they just don't care enough. They'll moan and groan about it until the next big drama happens. There are few of us who care enough to be driven, or to write the letters. I've thought about this deeply, and find that in some ways, he was correct. I suppose he didn't see the harm that he was doing, and if he had, I think he would have toned it down a bit. Not only that, but he may have meant for it to inspire us to do better. He just didn't see that he was speaking to highschool students, who were raised not to care. My town is nothing like it should be. The drug rate is unbelievable. Not only that, but the teen pregnancies are high, and I mean high. Here, we aren't taught to want college, we're taught that drugs will give us money, and a life. There isn't enough of an education on what doing drugs during pregnancies can do to the unborn child, or what it does to the person doing them. Even if we were educated thoroughly on it, the students wouldn't care. Therefore, I would love to do what you suggested, I tried it last year with pollution prevention. Nothing. I may, or may not write the letter. I think I let it get to me on a personal level, and shouldn't have. Because, I do do my best. I strive to get the highest grades possible, because I'm going to need them when I go to college. I see how the economy is, and what our education is becoming. Most of the students at my school don't. Sheltered life and all. Small town, few jobs, drugs, it all factors into it. We would need someone stubborn enough, with enough tenacity to stick with it. I have those qualities, but I'm only a student, and not a very well known, or liked one. I would get no cooperation. Today even, we were speaking of getting a petition together, and someone said, "I would, but it isn't worth it. Why waste my time when I'll be homebound soon anyways?" Now notice, this girl is never going to college, is happy to be marrying while still in highschool, and having kids while living with her boyfriend's parents. I, find this sickening. I could never be that dependent, or slacking in my own life. But, that is a prime example of how most of the students in our school are. It's a hopeless cause. |
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| BlenderCat | Feb 25 2009, 07:48 AM Post #5 |
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Many interesting points there. Does he have the right? Uh, yea probably. At least you respect him though. I've had to treat people with respect when I had absolutely none for them. That wasn't fun. He probably just thought he was gonna try to "inspire" people by harping and bitching at them about all the shit they've done wrong. That kind of negative reinforcement has only ever served to make me feel worse about myself. Maybe he just didn't know any better. Maybe he just wanted to fucking rant for a minute. I don't know. To call students who make bad grades on tests "stupid" is in itself a very ignorant statement, since tests aren't the most faithful representation of intelligence. For that matter, the correlation between drug use and test scores is EXTREMELY tenuous at best. Maybe he just got lazy. Maybe he just let shit get to him. Maybe he didn't think anybody would notice, or that anything he said would really affect anyone anyway. Obviously though, it did.
Edited by BlenderCat, Feb 25 2009, 07:50 AM.
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| Masquerading Doll | Feb 25 2009, 04:03 PM Post #6 |
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Well, we no longer need to really worry about it. Today, he called all the students who didn't get a card to the office and formally apologized to us. He told us to ask him any questions we wanted to, now, me being me, I had something to say. It wasn't anything mean or the such. But, before I could voice my opinion another girl started a discussion that did none of us any good and I didn't get to speak. Ugh, I hate when people do that. Anyways, he apologized, and I think things will cool down now. |
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| BlenderCat | Feb 25 2009, 04:31 PM Post #7 |
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Well, that's good. |
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| Gibson | Feb 26 2009, 01:08 AM Post #8 |
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Head Greeter/Mod
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Blah I got kicked out of my first high school for throwing a chair at a teacher while I was having an anxiety attack... I hate the fact that they think they have some power to insult kids for not being perfect. It's sickening honestly. |
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| Sensei Ridgway | Feb 27 2009, 08:12 AM Post #9 |
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I'm just glad I'm out of school and all that crap, sure Kim would agree. |
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| YesterdaysDreams | Mar 4 2009, 02:01 PM Post #10 |
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Official Greeter
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I dont know I never took highschool seriously, it was a long social hour for me. I had this view that everyone over 25 were "the man" I spent most of it a tree hugging hippy and quite frankly wasnt sober for the majority of the experience. I had a total of two teachers that stood out to me as actual caring insightful benefits to the students (I am sure they were hippy's too) seemingly I excelled in both classes (art and language arts). Not very much really made it through that angsty I dont care teenage veneer. |
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9:53 AM Jul 11