Letters
Teacher's remark was unacceptable
Better approach to school violence
Why there's so little progress with special education students
Letters to the Editors
Teacher's remark was unacceptable
To the editors:
I am a parent whose 13-year-old child is a seventh-grade student at Morrison Elementary School. In mid-November, while awaiting a school bus for a school trip, she was standing in front of the main doors. The trip chaperone was nearby.
My daughter and her friends were laughing and joking when the teacher turned around, singled out my daughter, and told her, "If you think something is funny now, wait until we get to the zoo and I pull your weave out in front of the monkeys." My daughter, who is African American, was extremely upset. She reported this to two teachers, and no one paid attention.
The comment was inappropriate, rude, stereotypical, ignorant, degrading, embarrassing, and racial. This came in front of a chaperone and fellow classmates. No child should have to go to school and hear this crap from a teacher.
The School District has the "zero tolerance, no excuses," revised Code of Conduct this year. Can someone tell me where the teachers fall in here? The school will tolerate inappropriate adult responses in or around school. But teachers will not tolerate anything from the child, who faces the threat of being transferred, suspended, and possibly sent to an alternative disciplinary school.
The teacher apologized to my daughter. The apology came only after I went to the school and after the teacher was confronted by her boss. The principal made arrangements for the teacher to call me. She has yet to do so and is now apparently on leave.
I was told the incident would be noted in the teacher's file. I'm still not satisfied. If my daughter had said anything of the sort, she would have been suspended on a Level 2.
I will not stand for this, and I hope I speak for all parents.
Brenda Singleton
parent, Morrison Elementary School
Editors' Note: The School District reports that a investigation on the matter is pending and has been delayed due to the teacher's taking a planned personal leave of absence.
Better approach to school violence
To the editors:
There is no quick fix to deadly youth violence.
Typical criminal justice approaches in the schools are going to fall short. Playing the 'blame game' and pinning it on the schools or the lack of police or even inadequate parenting is of little use. Taking some ownership of the problem is essential. The School District should start thinking less defensively and focus on the social/learning climates within schools.
As a student teacher at two high schools last fall, I saw the limits of the District's muscular approach. Barrages of threats, sanctions, and special assemblies had little impact on kids who build their identity around hanging tough and getting by. Research says violence is reduced and academics improve when students have a real voice.
There are alternatives to violent or disruptive confrontations with authority or between students. But they require systematic and sustained introduction that focuses on reflecting on and taking ownership of one's behavior. High-quality programs of conflict resolution, peer mediation and character education can make a difference. Yet no one program is the answer.
School cultures need to be reinvented by those in them - teachers, students and staff - as opposed to "solutions" imposed by downtown. In addition, high schools need major downsizing if kids there are going to feel and behave as if they belong - the argument Youth United for Change and Philadelphia Student Union have been making
It's about more than keeping violence out of schools and keeping surrounding streets safe. It's about making the schools anchors of support, which contribute to better neighborhoods and provide young lives with hope. Self-respect and respect for authority are vital, but "intelligence" gathering and surveillance cameras are unlikely to get us there.
Stephen J. Strahs
Melrose Park
Why there's so little progress with special education students
To the editors:
Last year, one of my children was identified as "Learning Disabled and Other Health Impaired Due to ADHD." I can see why our special education students are not making AYP goals.
My son is a second grader, and until recently had spelling words like "pioneer" and "nearby" for homework from the regular education classroom. Then, he went to the resource room and was assigned words like "hot" and "pick." He didn't take the spelling tests with the regular ed teacher because he can't spell the words, although he had to do the homework all week using them.
I asked whether he could be responsible for three to five of the regular classroom words. I asked if he could take a recognition test with a word bank. I asked if he could take a modified test with the special ed teacher and be scored for letters correct, not words correct. The response I got was my son no longer has to do any of the spelling homework from the regular education teacher.
My son is not using any educational software this year. He did use a phonics-based literacy program last year. But when I asked what skills he was working on and what progress he was making, the principal responded, "Gee, I guess there must be some way to get that information." I never got it.
I have asked - apparently to deaf ears - that my son's IEP be revised. The school personnel with whom I have been involved absolutely do not know how to write specific, measurable goals or objectives. School staff, including the school psychologist, say our son should be retained because he is working below grade level.
No wonder the students aren't making progress.
Donna L. Nice
Philadelphia