Tuesday Open Thread
I'm celebrating a child's birthday this week (I have grown men now.) One thing I always tell parents of boys; record that little boy voice because when puberty hits, it goes away. I can still hear my older son's voice in my head but not my younger but hey, it's all on tape. Whether with video or not, get some audio of your son's voice - you'll be glad you did.
Interesting article from a blog about San Francisco public schools and "cussing." I remember my older son being very startled at the amount of swearing in middle school.
Videos for the kids:
- wolves restoring Yellowstone
- bobcat catches a salmon in Hoh river
A beautiful video about kids given a choice of who gets a present - them or their parents.
What's on your mind?
Interesting article from a blog about San Francisco public schools and "cussing." I remember my older son being very startled at the amount of swearing in middle school.
This made sense because using “adult language” is a guaranteed way for tweens to signify they aren’t “little” any more. For middle schoolers, cussing becomes a way to individuate from adults, to push boundaries and test limits.
Even when cussing hasn’t been directed at them, these experiences have contributed to my girls feeling unsafe on the yard and in the hallways. While teachers are going a long way to create positive climate in their classes, it seems most of the negative language my girls are experiencing is happening outside of the classroom.The article does a good job to talk about swear words versus derogatory language AND whether school staff addresses it when it is clear the staff member heard the language.
Videos for the kids:
- wolves restoring Yellowstone
- bobcat catches a salmon in Hoh river
A beautiful video about kids given a choice of who gets a present - them or their parents.
What's on your mind?
Comments
Noel
This is crushing to me because HCC parents are a part of this teacher's community. Let me explain how:
Kids in Seattle never start out in HCC. There is no HCC for preschool or kindergarten at SPS and kids who join the HC cohort typically do so at some point between first and eighth grade. Some of the school children this teacher taught in the past are in HCC now. Some of the kids she is teaching right now will move into the HCC program at some point in the future.
Every single child in an HCC program attended a neighborhood school first (unless they transferred into the district or switched over from a private school). Many of these HCC kids attend their neighborhood school for years before switching into HCC. HC kids and their families are and have been a part of pretty much every school community in this city. They may still do aftercare at their neighborhood school. They may still attend school events. They may still belong to the PTA. They may still play on the school playground on the weekends. They’re neighborhood families. They’re kids you know, parents you know. They are a part of this teacher’s community.
There are currently also hundreds of HC-qualified kids whose families haven't chosen to move them to an HCC site, who continue to attend their neighborhood schools right now. These kids (and their parents) are very much a part of their neighborhood school communities. Does this teacher not want to be their teacher? Does this teacher not want them in her community?
In addition to that there are hundreds of kids, who attend school at an HCC site, who have siblings attending their local, neighborhood school. So, the parents are both HCC parents and parents at this SPS teacher’s school, at most SPS teachers’ schools. Wherever her daughter goes to kindergarten in the fall, there will be some people in the community of parents there who also have a kid in HCC.
It’s so deflating to hear that she dislikes these parents so much that she wants nothing to do with them, that she wouldn’t want her child associating with people like this, and that she doesn’t want to be part of the same community with these families.
Like so many hundreds of SPS families I have a child in the HCC program and another child at the neighborhood school. I get that she doesn’t like me or my husband or, I guess, my HCC kid (although the poor guy is just a little kid, a real sweetheart, a kid who’s had a really hard time fitting in at school, a kid who’s been shunned for being different, and punished a lot just for being who he is).
Her comment breaks my heart and leaves me wondering. Does she dislike my other kid, the one in the neighborhood school? Does she only dislike me when I’m parenting my one kid but not my other kid? Does she dislike her former students who have switched into HCC and their parents? Did she already dislike them when they were her students? Does she dislike parents of kids at the school where she works if they have a second kid who’s in the HCC program? Does she dislike her current students who may someday leave her school for an advanced learning program?
A while back another HCC parent organized a book drive to support this teacher’s school library and I totally donated books. And I’m pretty confident that, even knowing that this SPS teacher doesn’t want any part of being a community with us, we HCC parents would all donate books again. Because we actually are a part of your community. And all kids deserve books to read.
Now fill in the blank with a race, faith, or level of affluence. Fill in the blank with a sexual identity. Fill in the blank with a level of ability or disability.
One of the real benefits of public education is how it demonstrates that all of the children in the community are our children. They are all our children.
--SeattleParent
Judging by the comments there are many students who are worried about the student actually carrying out some sort of attack.
Why isn't the district taking action?
Concerned
This is a violation of E-310 of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook and calls for an immediate one-year expulsion.
We know that school staff including the teacher knows of the incident, yet there seems to be no ramifications.
Concerned
FWIW, my daughter goes to IHS and has heard exactly zero about any of this. It's puzzling. I am NOT saying this is exaggerated, but it's strange: nobody keeps a lid on things at schools these days, and this seems like something that would have been all over the social media airwaves in the last couple of days, after school got out.
I'm glad you're going to do a piece on AL. Thanks for all your work on this blog and for our school system.
I decided to post my comment above because it struck me that all the HCC families I know are part of multiple school communities. In addition to our HCC kid(s), lots of us have kid(s) at non-HCC schools as well. And almost 100% of us did at some point. Plus we still live in our neighborhoods and are still part of our local communities even if the kids have aged out of the local school.
Many anti-HCC comments I hear make it seem like HCC families are some elitist, separate, distinct group of people that you could choose to shun or avoid if you wanted to. As if you would never encounter one of "us" in the wild. But in actuality there are probably HCC families in almost every school community in the city. I'm donating to two PTAs this year and volunteering at two schools. One is not an HCC school and one is. And that's very, very common. As a result I don't personally think the us vs. them way of looking at this issue is very useful.
I post some concerning information and labeling is exactly what YOU people resort to.
I guess that's why many students do not feel safe reporting the incident.Your actions definitely reinforced their concerns. Someone here might want to check snap chat. I'm not going to post students name or the teachers name, find them yourselves.
What would any of you be willing to bet that the previously mentioned events happened?
Concerned
NE2