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by TexasTruBlu from Southern Denton Co

Last Post 13 hours Ago


Too Little, Too Late: Spruce HS
Jun 27, 2008 | 3:25 PM
Category: News
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So once again the news is full of irate parents and "community leaders" trying to tag teachers and administrators with blame for their kids failing TAKS tests for the fourth year in a row. Now that the tests are over and the harm is done, all these kids and parents and such show up and pitch hissy fits because the school will basically be restructured as prescribed under state law. It's not like they didn't know. This isn't the first time a school in this area has gone under. Did they listen to the stories when Wilmer Hutchins bit the dust? This isn't simply a random punitive action, this is something that officials at the local, district and state level have been warning of for years.
  • Did these parents make sure their kids went to class EVERY DAY?
  • Did these parents make sure their kids did their homework?
  • Did these parents make sure of their students' grades and push them to attend tutoring if their were in danger of failing?
  • Did parents monitor their children's work on a daily basis?
  • Were the parents involved with the school programs to cut down on drug use, gang behavior and teen pregnancy?
  • Were parents available for teacher conferences or did they blow them off?
  • Did parents attend ARDs?
  • Did parents reinforce behavioral goals when their students were sent to alternative school or in-school suspension by removing them from outside activities until their behavior came in line?
If these parents can't answer YES to every single question, then they were clueless and their kids probably treated the opportunity to attend high school as a big joke. Well, I guess the joke is on them. Good luck next year.
14 Comments |  Add a Comment

Member Comments Total Comments: 14
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illusionsssss read my blog
Jun 27, 2008 | 5:13 PM

Problem is, it's not only the students and parents that get hit, it's the staff that get blamed unnecessarily and then fired.
Spazmosis read my blog view my photos
Jun 27, 2008 | 5:44 PM

Well said TTB. No further comment needed.
momcat54 read my blog view my photos
Jun 27, 2008 | 5:49 PM

Preaching to the choir Blue, every word is true
Dak413 read my blog
Jun 27, 2008 | 7:13 PM

ya know, I went thru 12 years of school with no parental support , there have been many changes in society since I went to school, and very little of it has been for the enhancement of education, they call it progress, but I think it has been very reegressive, I think computers are a great advancement in the information area, but as a teaching aid it is a great hindrance !
moankie82 read my blog
Jun 28, 2008 | 6:07 AM

So sorry. "NOT" If the parents would raise them right the teachers might have been able to handle them. Add apathetic parents with some DISD teachers you can't get anything but a big zero. Oh and don't forget the Dallas school board. They let this go on for years. I would work 3 jobs to keep my kids out of DISD schools.
2tickets2paradise read my blog view my photos
Jun 28, 2008 | 8:14 AM

I agree Texas. I grew up in "da Grove" back when it was still Pleasant and would have been attending Samuell but my parents moved once they saw the direction the old Grove was headed. Spruce was already getting bad back in the late 70's, I remember when they had to put in metal detectors, there was an outrage back then about that. I am not a huge fan of DISD by any means, but Spruce's fate is not the fault of the school district- it is the community as a whole, who keep pumping out felons in waiting- the same parents and community leaders who are on TV demanding that Spruce remain open are the ones who do nothing as a parent, community or leader to lift their area up and empower the children to be something better in life. Everyone might as well face it... Spruce, for many years, has been a holding cell for future criminals. The girl who got up with the big crocodile tears about not giving them a chance..... Spruce has had 25 years of chances and the only way it has gone is down, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that it eventually hit rock bottom. Until the citizens in these areas decide to clean up their own acts, be responsible citizens and good parents... any school their children attend will be considered "low scoring".
Dak413 read my blog
Jun 28, 2008 | 9:09 AM

yes, maonkie, that is the society problem that I was referring to, society doesn't want us to raise our children , they want us to just let them grow up on their own, and this is the result, the kids that were raised with that attitude are now raising, if ya call it raising , and look what's happening, kids are being raised to liberally , this was just beginning when My children were in school, and i could see this happening in the early '70, this came on the heels of Dr Spocks book on raising children, which He soon disavowed, becuz it didn't work, but the model is still bneing used, even the he acknowledged it was a failure
onions1
Jun 28, 2008 | 10:12 AM

THe problem started in first grade. IF kids knew how to READ, they could pass the test. IT is written on the 7th grade level. Teachers in the area complsin about being harrassed by kids, kids refusing to do homework, being threated by kids. At Comstock Jr. High ( a feeder school) kids come by and curse out teachers as a joke while the other kids laugh.The main admin there (in 2005) refuse to help teachers. Kids with mental/emotional problems constantly disrupt class. It was a zoo a few years ago and now the reults of the earlier education is being seen.
Dak413 read my blog
Jun 28, 2008 | 10:45 AM

another societal problem , children not being taught respect, that is the job of parents !
moankie82 read my blog
Jun 28, 2008 | 3:43 PM

Spruce isn't much different than any other Dallas school these days. There is no discipline and no guide lines. Sunset even let a boy attend school dressed as a girl. I would like to have seen that in the sixties. The fruit fly wouldn't have done it but once.
TexasTruBlu read my blog view my photos
Jun 28, 2008 | 4:46 PM

This may be the first time that these students, AND THEIR PARENTS, are being forced to confront personal accountability. If you look at it there are safety nets for the drug addled, the single parent, the financially irresponsible where nobody has to suffer consequences for bad decisions. Now, for once, they are. If they didn't think it would happen, what did they think when Wilmer Hutchins was completely dissolved? BTW, I am a teacher and I truly do feel that these teachers need a break. In many cases they have been fighting uphill battles for years. What I hope will happen is that new administration will be in place and beginning with the new freshmen class, some serious academic and campus changes will take place. Frankly, more of these kids are upset about breaking up their cliques and gangs than they are about not passing TAKS.
ChatterBug read my blog view my photos
Jun 28, 2008 | 8:02 PM

so very true blue!
onions1
Jun 29, 2008 | 10:51 AM

They can bring in new admin and teachers, but the student population still includes kids who are reading at the 3rd to 6th grade level. There would need to be a joint effort and lots of remedial help. Kids would need to turn off the computer and TV and work on reading,vocabulary and other areas. Many kids feel they can just drop out and take the GED at a later date.
moankie82 read my blog
Jun 30, 2008 | 4:23 PM

"ACCOUNTABILLITY" WOW!! Thats a word you don't see often anymore. But you sure hear the phrase "Political Correctness a lot." Does anyone know what ever happened to the "BOY" at Sunset
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TexasTruBlu

I am a teacher, a mother and wife and I like to think I am a pretty good citizen. I read ALOT. I also write a good deal on various blogs. I appreciate a chance to respond to what we see in the news. I think that by posting our opinions we can probably find that everyone is more alike than we are willing to admit. Face it, people just like to argue. I would also like to say how much I appreciate having a forum for my views.

Member Since: 7/25/2006


 

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