Eastern or Sligo middle school? Are they equally good/safe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this just kids being kids, or are we really talking about gang activity? I assume kids get in fights at all middle schools at some point, but if it's gang-driven, that kind of freaks me out. Is there a way to distinguish? And back to the original question of the post, is the dynamic at Eastern any different than Sligo Middle School when it comes to fights or gang activity or whatever it is that causes these incidents?

According to my son, an eighth grader at Eastern who knows these kids, it's not gangs. It's a bunch of bored boys who have nothing to do after school and think it's cool to fight.

I believe he would know, as he's pretty plugged in to allt he different groups at school due to sports, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's kids from far away who are sticking around after school to fight, how do they get home afterwards?

I would just be very surprised if this is coming from kids in the neighborhood. It's a pretty quiet place and the parents are pretty tight with one another. There are public buses, friends / family with cars, a 30 minute walk home.... Who knows.

If they go to Eastern (which they do) and aren't in the magnet (which they aren't), they are in your neighborhood, at least in some sense. They live within walking distance, which makes it a neighborhood thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's kids from far away who are sticking around after school to fight, how do they get home afterwards?

I would just be very surprised if this is coming from kids in the neighborhood. It's a pretty quiet place and the parents are pretty tight with one another. There are public buses, friends / family with cars, a 30 minute walk home.... Who knows.

If they go to Eastern (which they do) and aren't in the magnet (which they aren't), they are in your neighborhood, at least in some sense. They live within walking distance, which makes it a neighborhood thing.

Anyone who lives in the gerrymandered areas of Silver Spring knows that the lines are drawn in ways that are INTENDED to pull kids from DIFFERENT neighborhoods. That's the whole point. And just because you can walk 3 miles doesn't make two geographically separated areas the same neighborhood. It doesn't really matter. But let's be clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's kids from far away who are sticking around after school to fight, how do they get home afterwards?

I would just be very surprised if this is coming from kids in the neighborhood. It's a pretty quiet place and the parents are pretty tight with one another. There are public buses, friends / family with cars, a 30 minute walk home.... Who knows.

If they go to Eastern (which they do) and aren't in the magnet (which they aren't), they are in your neighborhood, at least in some sense. They live within walking distance, which makes it a neighborhood thing.

Anyone who lives in the gerrymandered areas of Silver Spring knows that the lines are drawn in ways that are INTENDED to pull kids from DIFFERENT neighborhoods. That's the whole point. And just because you can walk 3 miles doesn't make two geographically separated areas the same neighborhood. It doesn't really matter. But let's be clear.

They may not be coming from your neighborhood. But they are coming from the neighborhood -- specifically the neighborhood around Eastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(yes, slap-ass week was a thing for several semesters and unwanted touching still continues, although not in as highly organized a fashion). Kids are not necessarily "scared" of these behaviors because it is considered "normal" and something that will never change. Sad.

These behaviors were common at my middle-class middle school decades ago, alas -- but in the category of "boys will be boys", not "behavior problem". I'm really glad that society has advanced since I was in middle school.

Same here- I was in sixth grade and didn't recognize it as harassment at the time, but looking back I'm angry that teachers just looked the other way when a couple boys gave me a really hard time for a whole. I remember one of my teachers just saying, "oh he just likes you!" Flicking a girl on the head with a pencil while yelling "boozum!" sure is a funny of showing that you like her.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on Eastern magnet v. Sligo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(yes, slap-ass week was a thing for several semesters and unwanted touching still continues, although not in as highly organized a fashion). Kids are not necessarily "scared" of these behaviors because it is considered "normal" and something that will never change. Sad.

These behaviors were common at my middle-class middle school decades ago, alas -- but in the category of "boys will be boys", not "behavior problem". I'm really glad that society has advanced since I was in middle school.

Same here- I was in sixth grade and didn't recognize it as harassment at the time, but looking back I'm angry that teachers just looked the other way when a couple boys gave me a really hard time for a whole. I remember one of my teachers just saying, "oh he just likes you!" Flicking a girl on the head with a pencil while yelling "boozum!" sure is a funny of showing that you like her.

I remember bawling my eyes out and having a teacher tell me, "Oh, you're a pretty girl. He just likes you." That was an awful time. The boys were never held accountable for their behavior.