Go Back To The Old School Way - And Response (4)

  • Friday, October 18, 2019

I just read an article on the Chattanoogan.com’s website about our schools that was dated Oct. 17, 2019. It said that Superintendent Bryan Johnson’s solution to the discipline problem is to add more alternative schools and more “bridge” classrooms. This doesn’t make sense to me.

When I went to school we had rules that were expected, no demanded, to be followed. When a student misbehaved, he or she might be taken out in the hall and given three licks from the teacher’s wooden paddle. If the infraction continued or got worse, the student was sent to the principal’s office where the principal administered the proper punishment for the infraction. It usually involved some corrective advice or even a wooden paddle or maybe a razor strap. If this didn’t correct the problem, the student was expelled for several days or possibly permanently. We never had a shooting at school that I can remember. I never had to witness a teacher or principal being cursed at in front of the class or I never saw a student strike a teacher or principal. I graduated from Tyner High School in 1966.

These folks who are running our school system need to use some common sense. The teachers are said to be underpaid. I’m sure this is true, especially when we tie their hands and don’t allow any disciplinary actions to be taken. The teachers should be able to spend their time teaching instead of dealing with unruly students. The final product our school system is turning out seems far from acceptable to me. Have you noticed that a lot of the young folks you encounter in public businesses today can’t even count money or speak in a manner that you can understand? Why do a lot of students have to take remedial classes in order to enter college?

Instead of building more schools and hiring more teachers, we need to go back to the old school way of doing things and forget this Dr. Spock mentality. Discipline is not black or white. It doesn’t matter what color a student is if he or she is misbehaving and keeping the other students from learning. Maybe they should put some cameras in the classrooms and let us see for ourselves what is going on in there. How in the world can we afford to build more schools for misbehaving students? How can we justify having a special class with only 5-8 students for problem students who only come to class half of the time? When I was in school, if a student missed a certain number of days in a year they automatically failed. 

If I understand this proposal, Mr. Johnson proposes having as many as three additional schools to accommodate these problem students. Is this guy proposing building new schools to handle disciplinary problems? The cost of these additional schools would easily fund the raises needed by the teachers. If there are to be 12 “bridge” classrooms, that calls for 12 teachers,12 assistants, five behavior coaches, plus medical personnel and a team of “specialists”. (These are their figures and not mine.) Instead of “wrapping these problem kids with all these services within the educational environment,” as board member Smith says, I think we need to give these services to the kids who want to learn and make something good happen in their lives. Are the inmates running the asylum?

Ronnie Nichols

* * * 

I agree with Ronnie Nichols.

Dr. Brian Johnson thinks another alternative school will address the issues of disobedient “children”.  We already have an alternative school, put some more resources there and see if it makes a difference. The lone alternative school doesn’t get the funding or attention it deserves.

Send some of the high paid social workers and counselors from the home office out there to work on the front lines with these “troubled kids”. Little La-a (pronounced LaDASHa) and little Quintavious weren’t raised to respect their elders or their teachers, it’s not their fault. We should give them every opportunity to cuss out teachers and disrupt classes.

When I was in school, I was a trouble maker. When (not if) I misbehaved, I usually got a paddling…..at least one, sometimes more. After the paddling, the teacher or principal would call my mom and dad to let them know that I had been bad. That triggered another spanking and probably confinement to my room when I got home. That is what’s lacking in our school system today. There is no punishment for misbehaving and the parents in most cases are either absent, don’t care or don’t take sides with the teachers. The teachers are blamed by the kids and their parents. Let’s throw more money and resources at kids that don’t want to be there.

Didn’t the principal of the alternative school just retire abruptly? What happened there? Did he see the proverbial writing on the wall?

Ken Snyder

* * * 

Be honest you two. Students are no different today than when "you" two were in school. Even teachers caught preying on students back in "your" day. The only difference now is it all makes the evening news. Politicians grandstanding to drive home a point or get reelected, or run off yet another superintendent. Whereas before it was handled by internally or by central office. 

You two just think it'll be your own children or grandchildren on the receiving end. When one of your own gets slammed up against a set of lockers, dragged down a hallway by the strap of their backpack flat on their back, maced or 'touched' inappropriately by some adult weirdo parading as a professional you'll come away with a totally different prospective and want heads on a platter. Folks like you always do. 

Brenda Washington

* * * 

School discipline is a problem. Schools, though, represent the community and everyone of us have a stake how schools are run.

Ronnie Nichols's piece on "when I was in school" fails on several levels to understand societal problems that are in the schools.  Society has, generally, ignored the inner cities of any community. Oh, the police know who and what is happening, but so many of us do not and prefer not to know. That in itself is the problem.  Addressing the many, many needs of the inner city child do not start with a paddle or strap to the back side.  Something more fundamental is necessary and is an absolute need.

Yes, it would be wonderful if the high paid central office personnel would be in the classrooms helping out. Yes, it would help. More would be better but with functions more akin to running an army in battle. So many of the troops in the neighborhoods visiting families and teaching, teaching and teaching.  Some other troops in the courts working with judicial personnel for those youngsters jailed. Still further would be a promise to the entire community that schools can and will keep their promise of educating all.

Kids that are sent to the alternative programs should not continue to fail. Let me say that again. If the community spends tax money for more services and more buildings the taxpayer has a right to know that the money is well spent and the product is improving by test scores.  Removing a child from his home school should not be just punishment but alternative means that programming approaches are different, not the same.  Children can learn and that learning does not have to be reading skills testing but hands on learning approaches.

Robert Brooks

* * * 

A couple of great letters detailing the correct response to dealing with the discipline problems. 
When looking back at our own lives growing up it's easy to see that the way we became functional adults was parents and educators that measured discipline with an iron rod rhetorically speaking of course however the wood paddle was real. 

If the naive counselors and parents are left the charge of educating and instilling discipline into our children's lives this present course of failure will continue to support the foundations of raising a generation of rude self serving misfits that believe that they can rule by fear over the weaker naive body.

Make no mistake their are parents that have no business raising children and that is one of the issues that needs better research on how best to deal with it.

Personally our churches need to step up to the plate and begin door knocking to encourage parents to attend church and bring their families with them. Before my liberal friends insert words here I am not saying that schools should send home a prospect list.

Ron Ray
Lookout Valley

Opinion
Capitol Report From State Rep. Greg Vital For March 28
  • 3/28/2024

Budget becomes central focus in final weeks of 113th General Assembly Members of the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee this week were briefed by Finance and Administration Commissioner ... more

Senate Republican Caucus Weekly Wrap March 28
  • 3/28/2024

This week on Capitol Hill lawmakers were hard at work passing meaningful legislation to improve the lives of Tennesseans as the General Assembly begins to wind down. Public safety was a big focus ... more