I have made the trip to High Point for tonight's school board meeting and drove up to find no parking spaces anywhere around the English Street offices that used to headquarter the old High Point independent school system. Upon entering, it was standing room only.
The main reason I made the drive was to hear the discussions surrounding the futures of Aycock and Lincoln Middle Schools. I expect there to be a final decision this evening since most everyone had the opportunity to be heard during forums at each of the schools last Thursday. (Update 7:15a - N&R meeting coverage here.)
During speakers from the floor, some parents came forward made various comments about behavior problems in several of Greensboro and High Point's middle schools. Although I came in a little late to hear everyone who spoke, all of the complaintants were white parents who never mentioned the race of whom they were complaining about. They were all, however, very passionate in their view that their children were being subjected to disruptive behaviors at best and threatening environments at worst. One parent said, "I want to be able to ask what my son learned in school today, not what happened in school today."
However, during brief discussions by the Board on issues raised by speakers-from-the-floor, Board Member Deena Hayes seemed to take the speakers' comments as an indictment of African-American students and made the point that all schools' behavior problems are not caused exclusively by black students . She related that she recently attended a high school basketball game and witnessed, "about 30-40 big white males" causing a rukus during the game. She said they were acting in such a beligerent way that she "was intimidated" by their behavior and it continued for some time, almost to the point to where they were detroying school property. Ms. Hayes went on to suggest that if a group of black males exhibited or 'acted out' with similar behavior, the episode would almost be considered criminal in nature.
Although I understood her point, I can't even imagine the public outcry that would ensue if a white member of our School Board had made the same statement Ms. Hayes made tonight. Just imagine if Chairman Alan Duncan had pointed out how disturbed he was to have seen "30 big black males" acting inappropriately during a basketball game. Crucifixion would be the order of the day.
If I were a Board member that had witnessed 30-40 black or white students, males or females, acting in a such a manner such she described, I would have come to tonight's board meeting, called a closed session, and then made a motion to have the administration in attendance during that high school game dismissed - post haste.
The discipline problems in our schools are on the rise because of lax parenting in the basic tenents of common decency, decorum and respect and the problem is pervasive. The problem is further compounded when our administrators allow crap like what Ms. Hayes witnessed to go unchallenged.
Fix the problem, but please, let's don't start saying "see, everybody's doing it."
8:54:10 PM 
|
