Who is really teaching our kids? You might be surprised!

I have been struggling since my last post, on a subject that is very close to my heart, and one that I am very passionate about. So, here it goes… Who is really teaching our kids?

Do you have kids that go to public school? Do you like your school, or your school district? When we send our kids to school, we assume and expect that they will be safe. We assume and expect that the teachers are there for the best interest of our kids.  Some might even have sympathy for the teachers because, even though THEY chose the profession, they work hard. What you may not know, is that some of the very people that we have teaching our children, are the same people that are abusing, our kids as well as mistreating them. Edmonds School District has many of these types of teachers, however we don’t want to forget about some of the Administrators that work in the schools either. Edmonds School District has Administrators that are suppose to treat our kids fair, and follow the same level of respect that they themselves expect the students to follow.

What do you think about when you think about a music teacher? This person should be great with kids right? Wrong! College Place Elementary has a music teacher who targets the kids that she doesn’t like. This teacher has refused a child to use the restroom, when she has one in the class, and caused the student to wet her pants in front of the entire class. If parents were to deny children the right to use the bathroom, we could lose our children. Why then, is this ok for a teacher to be allowed to do this, and still be teaching? This same teacher targeted another child by failing her because she refused to sing the solo in the concert. Is this insane? This is music!

Then, at Chase Lake Elementary, there is a teacher that, during a parent-teacher conference, accused the parent’s child of stealing money from her desk, as well as stealing from the other students. This same teacher continued to discuss the fact that the child was mean, and did not have any friends. What is the purpose of a parent-teacher conference? Isn’t it to discuss academics? Well, this conference covered everything except academics. 

Three year later, since the student has left this teachers class, she continues to targets, and harass this student, and looks for anything that this student might be doing wrong. This teacher is the most unhappy, grumpy teacher, and I think this teacher needs to retire. Are these the kind of teachers that we want teaching our children? Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some great teachers in this school district, and if it were not for them, we would have even more concerns on our hands. It is amazing to me that the same mission and values they expect students to follow, these same teachers do not follow, nor do they set the proper example for the students.

So, just when you think this kind of treatment is only at the elementary schools, think AGAIN! There are local high schools that have their issues as well. What is your opinion of a vice principal? Shouldn’t this person set the example and be fair? Well, you would think so, however this is NOT the case either. There is a vice principal at Edmonds-Woodway High School, that took the word of a student that another student threatened him. Now, back in the day when kids had issues, they met behind the school, and within minutes it was over. Now that we are in the “Nanny State”, kids can’t handle issues on their own. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for keeping the school safe, however now, there is a new policy that when a threat has been made, a Threat Assessment, is done at the school level. I understand, and appreciate this as there has been a lot of school violence, however, if you are going to conduct an investigation shouldn’t you be fair and look at both sides? You would think so, but “NO”, common sense has been replaced. This vice principal expelled this student immediately, for a week while they investigated the situation. This would have been fine, if he would have looked at both sides and conducted a complete investigation, but he didn’t. Once the assessment was completed at the school level, the determination was made that this student was a threat, so it was forwarded on to the district level. Due to the tainted and incomplete information from the vice principal, the district determined this student was a medium level threat. Even criminals get a fair trial, but when you are at this high school apparently you don’t. It would have been better for this student to beat him up, and be suspended for one day. This school went even further by calling the parents, and asking to search and inspect the home, with a local police officer and the school administrator before the student could return to school. This family has never had problems with the law, drugs or violence, as well as the student has served over 150 hrs of community service. Since when, do the schools have the right to “inspect” our homes? The answer? THEY DON’T. The parents refused. This student eventually returned to school, however, the damage was done. This student was forced to sign a contract prior to returning to school; he was subjected to daily searched, even though this student has never brought any inappropriate items to school. The contract further continued to contained other items that did not have anything to do with the situation. 

This student missed finals week, his grades dropped, and his reputation destroyed, and still today suffers from the backlash of these events. 

Thank goodness the parents did not back down because they contacted the principal, who actually treats the students as well as parents with respect. This principal recognized that the way this situation was handled was inappropriate, and she reinvestigated the situation. The student was exonerated and the decision was not only over turned but the threat assessment, which was located at the district, was destroyed.

As we all know high school is stressful enough without having these types of situations. This vice-principal did not even bother speaking with the teachers of this student nor did he consider looking at outside activities. This vice principal “profiled” the student. In society today, we criticize people for profiling, and from where I am sitting, maybe we might want to look at where the kids are getting the idea or example to profile. I ask the question again, “ Are these the people that we want to be teaching our kids”? It’s sad, the only person that ran to the defense of this student was one of his previous teachers. Imagine that! One final note on this student, the student that started this, has been expelled multiple times, one recently due to bringing a knife to school, and was caught stabbing a chair. Amazing! The student that the started this issue, the one that the vice-principal defended, shows as being the real problem, and not the accused student.

We as parents have got to be the advocates for our kids. We have to stand up to the schools, and let them know that it is NOT ok to treat our kids the way they do. It is NOT ok, for them for write their own rules. When you are looking at a school district, take the time to investigate the school as well as the district. This is where your child will be spending the majority of their day. When people look for a job, they investigate the company, they interview, and they take the time to think about their choices. Why then, do we not do the same where our kids are concerned?  I personally have met with the Superintendent of the Edmonds School District, and I can tell you it was a waste of time. His job is to defend the parents and students, however he continues to defend teachers and the schools even when they are wrong. We as parents need to be more proactive. Start attending the school district meetings, join the PTA, and find out what they are doing.

Our kids are the future and the teachers who teach our kids will determine what happens. If we want our kids to go to college, then it begins NOW! The experiences and examples that they receive now, will determine if they want to continue on to college.

I know there are many great teachers out there. My daughter has one of the best teachers she has had in a very long time. This teacher is sensible, realistic, and cuts through the garbage when she sees students picking on each other. My son has had teachers that have truly cared about whether or not he get’s it or not. We need more teachers like this. We need teachers who are not going to bring their politics to school and brainwash our kids with their beliefs. Private schools are expensive, co-op schools have their issues too, and not everyone can homeschool, so what are parents to do?

We have to stop the insanity!

I would love to hear your story and or experience. Please feel free to share your comments, concerns or further ideas!

Thanks for reading my blog!