Paint Branch High Fights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

They would be supported and surrounded with mental health counselors, psychologists and social workers. How is that not fair or safe?

That's literally what we do for adults with mental health and substance abuse problems. They are separated from their normal routine and they go into treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

You didn't answer the PP's question: How is putting broken and dysfunctional kids who are disruptive and acting out in learning environments that are supposed to be safe, fair for the students who are stable and want to learn? Answer. Don't deflect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

DP.. if they are so sick as to be violent, then they do not belong in public school. Are you saying ALL of those violent kids are sick and abused? If they are, shouldn't they be taken away from their parents?

Do you understand that kids who behave AND want to learn cannot learn because of these kids?

People like you are the exact ones I was referring to when I said that progressive liberals don't give a sh1t about the well behaved kids, and that to achieve equity, we must treat some people inequitably. Basically, some kids are suffering so we must all suffer. That's your attitude.

Well, how are you suffering? How is Elrich and Jawando, the progressive liberals suffering? Why don't you and the other progressive liberals take these troubled kids into your homes and teach them to behave? Why don't you go break up the fights?

Sorry, but I don't think my kids should suffer because some other kids' parents are crappy parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

DP.. if they are so sick as to be violent, then they do not belong in public school. Are you saying ALL of those violent kids are sick and abused? If they are, shouldn't they be taken away from their parents?

Do you understand that kids who behave AND want to learn cannot learn because of these kids?

People like you are the exact ones I was referring to when I said that progressive liberals don't give a sh1t about the well behaved kids, and that to achieve equity, we must treat some people inequitably. Basically, some kids are suffering so we must all suffer. That's your attitude.

Well, how are you suffering? How is Elrich and Jawando, the progressive liberals suffering? Why don't you and the other progressive liberals take these troubled kids into your homes and teach them to behave? Why don't you go break up the fights?

Sorry, but I don't think my kids should suffer because some other kids' parents are crappy parents.

Yes!! Can we please put the troubled kids in Jawando's private school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

DP.. if they are so sick as to be violent, then they do not belong in public school. Are you saying ALL of those violent kids are sick and abused? If they are, shouldn't they be taken away from their parents?

Do you understand that kids who behave AND want to learn cannot learn because of these kids?

People like you are the exact ones I was referring to when I said that progressive liberals don't give a sh1t about the well behaved kids, and that to achieve equity, we must treat some people inequitably. Basically, some kids are suffering so we must all suffer. That's your attitude.

Well, how are you suffering? How is Elrich and Jawando, the progressive liberals suffering? Why don't you and the other progressive liberals take these troubled kids into your homes and teach them to behave? Why don't you go break up the fights?

Sorry, but I don't think my kids should suffer because some other kids' parents are crappy parents.

Yes!! Can we please put the troubled kids in Jawando's private school?

Agree. I'd be willing to have my taxes raised a bit to pay for those kids to go to Jawando's kids private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

This will never happen here. Then all you'll have is a school that is filled with kids who misbehave and do crime. MCPS is not interested in making schools like prison.
What they need to do is start clarifying what types of behavior are accepted and won't be accepted, holding kids accountable without regard to who did it and why, and bringing up SROs to support the already overwhelmed staff who are stuck dealing with these fights.

Not much education is occurring for average students in schools where fighting is the norm. Very sad to see such poorly run schools. The kids who want to learn a paying a huge price.

mark Twain wasn’t a jail. It was a school that had teachers trained to manage kids that had outbursts and couldn’t control themselves. It provided vocational training and offered mental health support and coaching. The perception was that it was a school for bad kids and that is why it went away. In my opinion, mcps chose to protect the egos of the Twain kids vs protecting the ability to learn in a safe environment for the others. What we have now is absolutely not working but we’re just too woke to admit it and do something about it because of fragile egos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

This will never happen here. Then all you'll have is a school that is filled with kids who misbehave and do crime. MCPS is not interested in making schools like prison.
What they need to do is start clarifying what types of behavior are accepted and won't be accepted, holding kids accountable without regard to who did it and why, and bringing up SROs to support the already overwhelmed staff who are stuck dealing with these fights.

Not much education is occurring for average students in schools where fighting is the norm. Very sad to see such poorly run schools. The kids who want to learn a paying a huge price.

mark Twain wasn’t a jail. It was a school that had teachers trained to manage kids that had outbursts and couldn’t control themselves. It provided vocational training and offered mental health support and coaching. The perception was that it was a school for bad kids and that is why it went away. In my opinion, mcps chose to protect the egos of the Twain kids vs protecting the ability to learn in a safe environment for the others. What we have now is absolutely not working but we’re just too woke to admit it and do something about it because of fragile egos.

agree, but the "we" is not collective "we". It's just the progressive liberals who keep electing other progressive liberals. They don't care about individual kids. They care about the perception of "look at us, aren't we special by reducing suspension for black and brown kids. #equity". When in reality, their policies are hurting black and brown kids the most.

According to the "JHC" poster, these kids are sick and abused. So why not call MT school "a special school for special kids cared for by progressive liberals paid for by all MoCo resident tax dollars".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

Wow, that's quite a slap in the face to kids who were abused but didn't fight in school.

[Anonymous]

I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bring back Mark Twain. those kids dont belong in a regular high school.

I think Paint Branch was the Mark Twain school, no?

The problem is what people are teaching these kids. Parents, educators, administration, government. It's not exclusive to a few east Moco schools. It's American society in general. Many kids today are just rotten because they don't care about elders, they don't care about religion, they don't care about going to college, or they don't care about harming others to advance their own interests. If it's not physical punching, it's verbal or other non-physical punching with bullying, exclusion, put downs or whatever.

[Anonymous]

I used to work in an alternative school in a neighboring country similar to Mark Twain. I was very hard to get kids placed there. Like at least a year of constant disruption, at least 25 referrals, proof of local school efforts to put the kid on a plan, etc.

Comments here seem to think of a school like this as a quick fix, punishment, or at least a way to give local schools a break. That is not how it worked then and it is not how it would work in the future. The kids I dealt with would always comment that the kids back at the home schools were far worse/dangerous. They were just smarter at staying under the radar and avoided disrupting classrooms directly unless provoked.

I do agree that boys of color are not getting help because of the color of the their skin now. MCPS needs to find a better balance between optics and actually putting more supports on kids.

Understand that a lot men of color are probably the most abused and sensitive kids in the building. They have oftentimes only had to endure the worst in U.S. society. There is no food in the fridge. No pencils in the house. Parents always on the edge of getting evicted/abused. They really do need more sympathy from teachers, other students, admin, etc. I know it is very hard to get through the thick skin and defensiveness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

DP.. if they are so sick as to be violent, then they do not belong in public school. Are you saying ALL of those violent kids are sick and abused? If they are, shouldn't they be taken away from their parents?

Do you understand that kids who behave AND want to learn cannot learn because of these kids?

People like you are the exact ones I was referring to when I said that progressive liberals don't give a sh1t about the well behaved kids, and that to achieve equity, we must treat some people inequitably. Basically, some kids are suffering so we must all suffer. That's your attitude.

Well, how are you suffering? How is Elrich and Jawando, the progressive liberals suffering? Why don't you and the other progressive liberals take these troubled kids into your homes and teach them to behave? Why don't you go break up the fights?

Sorry, but I don't think my kids should suffer because some other kids' parents are crappy parents.

Yes!! Can we please put the troubled kids in Jawando's private school?

Agree. I'd be willing to have my taxes raised a bit to pay for those kids to go to Jawando's kids private school.

Just FYI, he only has 1 kid in private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

PBHS was a good school pre covid. Our neighbors kids all went and were happy. Our sitter went there and liked if. They have some great programs. Lots of support for the football team and jrotc program. All MCPS schools are struggling right now, even school with a wealthier student body. Don’t let one or two bad weeks tarnish your entire opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

Schools need to be smaller. 500 for MS. 1000 for HS. Classroom sizes need to be much smaller. 15 for MS. 20 for HS. Stagger the school day and make school year round so there is an AM shift and a PM shift. Cramming adolescents together in packed hallways and classroom increases their stress and helps leads to stupid disputes. But smaller populations cost money so MCPS just adds additional security.

The stupid disputes 9/10 have nothing to do with school. They tend to be about:

1) Perceived slights of disrespect (sometimes influenced by older gang affiliated teens who egg the fights on for their entertainment and/or to initiate them into the gang). These slights are sometimes amplified by social media and group chats that spread the humiliation.
2) Fights over girlfriends/boyfriends
3) Trash talking that goes too far either in games or sports. This trash talking can be amplified by group chats and social media as well.

I'm not saying there's not some merit to smaller schools, but that isn't why these kids are fighting.

What do you expect when the county has built multiple low income housing communities in that area? Of course sending all the poor section 8 kids to the 2 high schools in that area would cause problems. what do you expect from communities that lack strong parents and are raised to get upset and take offense at every little comment. I live in that area and it's scary as shit.

Before I respond in further detail, I want to preface that low-income housing communities are definitely correlated with crime, violence, instability, etc. But we have to be fair and clear that there are also plenty of hard-working, honest, low-income families too. We can't paint everyone with a broad brush, but yes, the instances of those negative things are definitely much higher in those communities.

Honestly, I don't know what MCPS or MoCo can do. They're providing those families with housing and food and education, but it's not the government's job to teach values, ethics and morals. That's society's, the community's and the family's.

This is where I feel for MCPS because they can't fix dysfunctional families. The best they can do is isolate, contain and refer them for treatment and services, but no government entity can make anyone become a better person. So the situation seems like one with no solution.

I do agree with a PP that we need Mark Twain back. You can't have broken and dysfunctional kids bleeding all over everyone else emotionally and spreading their trauma and chaos with no safety net. It's not fair and it's not safe.

I agree with everything you said. Well put.

One could argue that shoving all of the broken and dysfunctional kids into a building where there is no normal is not fair or safe.

So putting them in buildings that are supposed to be safe learning environments are fair to the students who do want to learn?

JHC!!! How is it that you actually believe sick kids, or kids that have been abused terribly, don't want to learn???????? What in the actual heck is wrong with you????

DP.. if they are so sick as to be violent, then they do not belong in public school. Are you saying ALL of those violent kids are sick and abused? If they are, shouldn't they be taken away from their parents?

Do you understand that kids who behave AND want to learn cannot learn because of these kids?

People like you are the exact ones I was referring to when I said that progressive liberals don't give a sh1t about the well behaved kids, and that to achieve equity, we must treat some people inequitably. Basically, some kids are suffering so we must all suffer. That's your attitude.

Well, how are you suffering? How is Elrich and Jawando, the progressive liberals suffering? Why don't you and the other progressive liberals take these troubled kids into your homes and teach them to behave? Why don't you go break up the fights?

Sorry, but I don't think my kids should suffer because some other kids' parents are crappy parents.

Yes!! Can we please put the troubled kids in Jawando's private school?

Agree. I'd be willing to have my taxes raised a bit to pay for those kids to go to Jawando's kids private school.

Just FYI, he only has 1 kid in private school.

But apparently it's idyllic.

[Anonymous]

Liberals destroyed public schools and now their kids are stuck in them. I couldn’t be more pleased that they are being punished and made miserable. They need the discipline of Mother Nature for abandoning common sense.