Recent suicides at Langley HS?

[Anonymous]

The principal only applauds the achievers. The parents only blames the teachers. The teachers only cater to the achievers. What's in it for the "AVERAGE" student????? Not much. When matriculating at JMU or CNU is viewed as a career turn toward flipping burgers, the heated pot can boil over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a Langley senior who knew those boys (one boy was a friend). I'd be outraged, but surely expected pure DCUM speculation on the reasons for their deaths. All I can say is when I talked with the 10 crying girls at my house last night: none of the kids or their social media is suggesting that bullying is what led to the deaths of those boys.

+1
I also have a Langley senior who said there is no indication of bullying in either case. People should really stop putting these things out there on DCUM, especially if they have no idea of the details.

Frankly I don't think speculation on DCUM forum is damaging to anyone anywhere. It's a public Internet board not a court of law or a medical facility.

Right, not damaging to the families of these two boys. Not at all. You sound like a real jackass with zero empathy.

Why in the world would a family who just lost a child head for DCUM? Maybe it's your social/news source, but not for others. Sheesh. Calm down.

Are you so boneheaded that multiple posters have to explain this to you over and over? Whether or not the families are on DCUM or their loved ones and friends, the fact is that posting innuendo and speculation is very hurtful to those who might have known these boys. How can you possibly not see this? I really hope you're not ever in such a tragic situation, where your relatives and friends are reading lies about your loved one online, and forming untrue opinions based on some dumb poster who was "speculating". You clearly lack the empathy gene.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew the boys, especially one of them. He was a fabulous friendly kid. School bulllying was NOT his main problem. He was not a good fit at Langley. As the information gets revealed, I ask that we stay very respectful with comments and not speculate please. I cannot imagine the pain the families are in. My heart goes out to the entire community. My son was good friends with the boys.

My daughter and Langley did not get along either. Very hard, that mismatch. God Bless

What does that mean? I am very interested in eventually moving to a Langley pyramid neighborhood.

Administration is lacking in strength. They blame all their failings on the parents. While there ARE difficult parents, Cooper, the middle school, handles those same parents very well. A lot of the teachers are apathetic; some are just darn cruel. They do not work together, i.e. if a kid has a field trip in class A and misses class B, they can be punished for it. Should not be, but are. Some of the projects are outlandish and require parents to shuttle their kids someplace or have access to resources they don't. Kids can't control whether their parents will take them to point A or buy them thing B, and it causes a lot of unnecessary stress. Lots of homework - actually busy-work. Quotas to state colleges coming out of Langley are tight and kids have to work to much higher levels in order to get into the same college that another kid does from another high school.

My daughter was a straight-A student there, had friends, etc. but found the environment punishing enough that she wanted out. I moved her to private and she's much happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The principal only applauds the achievers. The parents only blames the teachers. The teachers only cater to the achievers. What's in it for the "AVERAGE" student????? Not much. When matriculating at JMU or CNU is viewed as a career turn toward flipping burgers, the heated pot can boil over.

I have a student at Langley and this quote is absolutely true. My child just told me she feels ashamed every day that she is not one of those students taking 5 AP's. She recently told a friend about a school she was looking at that is very good in the particular program she is interested in and her friend said "Oh you can do better than that." If you are not one of the few students that fit the very small mold, you spend four very unhappy years feeling terrible about yourself. Most of the teachers think they are teaching at college. They are teenagers! Enough of this pressure. When will we learn? Should it surprise us that they are self-medicating and that it only takes a bit of extra trouble whether at home, depression or otherwise to turn into tragedy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew the boys, especially one of them. He was a fabulous friendly kid. School bulllying was NOT his main problem. He was not a good fit at Langley. As the information gets revealed, I ask that we stay very respectful with comments and not speculate please. I cannot imagine the pain the families are in. My heart goes out to the entire community. My son was good friends with the boys.

My daughter and Langley did not get along either. Very hard, that mismatch. God Bless

What does that mean? I am very interested in eventually moving to a Langley pyramid neighborhood.

Administration is lacking in strength. They blame all their failings on the parents. While there ARE difficult parents, Cooper, the middle school, handles those same parents very well. A lot of the teachers are apathetic; some are just darn cruel. They do not work together, i.e. if a kid has a field trip in class A and misses class B, they can be punished for it. Should not be, but are. Some of the projects are outlandish and require parents to shuttle their kids someplace or have access to resources they don't. Kids can't control whether their parents will take them to point A or buy them thing B, and it causes a lot of unnecessary stress. Lots of homework - actually busy-work. Quotas to state colleges coming out of Langley are tight and kids have to work to much higher levels in order to get into the same college that another kid does from another high school.
My daughter was a straight-A student there, had friends, etc. but found the environment punishing enough that she wanted out. I moved her to private and she's much happier.

Our experience has not been the same as yours, so I can't say I agree with your remarks, but the one in bold is absolutely true. Langely students have a much harder time getting into the same colleges that students from other high schools get into (UVA, W&M, etc.). They are held to a far higher, and thus unfair, standard.

[Anonymous]

I was fortunate to get to coach one of these two young men in youth league football. He easily was the nicest boy on the team. He gave great effort and was very supportive of his teammates. Regretably, I lost touch with him after the season ended. My heart aches for both families.

All parents reading this, please go home and hug your kids tonight. Whether it is Langley or another school, the world is tough for these kids. Knowing your parent has your back may make a world of difference.

Why don't we let the assault on Langley HS take a back seat for a few days? I am sure that the magnifying glass will come out soon enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an LHS father. LHS Students, I support and believe you 110percent. I have observed institutionally supported behavior that definitely is a form of harassment or bullying. Each student should be pat on the back and honored for their courage surviving LHS. Unless you are the chosen few, the institution and many parents do all they can to ostracize and crush you. Remember THIS TOO SHALL PASS. And no one can take your spirit !! God bless the LHS Students!!!

I am the Mom that pulled her daughter after Freshman year. Love what you have to say here, and love with the other PP had to say. It's all very true, especially the part about those who are caring and loving being shocked by this type of environment. We are a tech family, not really into the keeping up with the Joneses mentality. I don't care if my kids are not at Ivy League colleges. I don't care if we are not well-known, etc. My son went private due to his dysgraphic dysfunction - he needed to use a laptop, publics said no dice, so off he went to private. My daughter was very happy with Forestville and Cooper. I didn't expect Langley to be an issue for her.

Mean, uncaring, harsh. I fought like hell against it for damn near the whole year for her, for the other students. Apparently, my telling off of an algebra teacher was legendary. This teacher literally said to all us parents "I don't care if 80% of the class is failing. I won't slow down". My head exploded. I told her if 80% of her class was failing, that was on HER and she damn well better get it together. And that was the nice bit

When I went to dis-enroll my child, I was told that I was doing her a disservice, that only Langley could give her the education she needed. When I went to get her hours spent in driver's ed for the new driving teacher (so he could see what she had covered and re-test her per the DMV), I was told no by the school. The school board then told me that they would make it their business to ensure she did not get her license because they were not teaching her. I told them to take it up with DMV, since her new instructor was accredited through them. Needless to say, nothing ever came of it.

They truly think they are better than other schools.

Just out of contrast, I went to see South Lakes. The staff there were wonderful, warm, encouraging people. The difference was startling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was fortunate to get to coach one of these two young men in youth league football. He easily was the nicest boy on the team. He gave great effort and was very supportive of his teammates. Regretably, I lost touch with him after the season ended. My heart aches for both families.

All parents reading this, please go home and hug your kids tonight. Whether it is Langley or another school, the world is tough for these kids. Knowing your parent has your back may make a world of difference.

Why don't we let the assault on Langley HS take a back seat for a few days? I am sure that the magnifying glass will come out soon enough.

I hear you on this. I have to say though it makes me angry at the school because I know what my daughter went through, and how they didn't listen, nor seem to care. There is no doubt this kid was the nicest on the team - those types of kids get eaten alive. I so wish I had met him when I was there arguing for my kid - he needed to hear that it was NOT him from a neutral party. Breaks my heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The principal only applauds the achievers. The parents only blames the teachers. The teachers only cater to the achievers. What's in it for the "AVERAGE" student????? Not much. When matriculating at JMU or CNU is viewed as a career turn toward flipping burgers, the heated pot can boil over.

My daughter WAS an achiever. Even they don't get applauded. Her English teacher was hard, but a lovely, lovely woman. Her Spanish teach was too. The ones that got blame from me deserved it.

[Anonymous]

Very sad. Such young lives cut short. And for what?

[Anonymous]

Drove by Langley HS on my way home from work, and there were news trucks setting up outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal only applauds the achievers. The parents only blames the teachers. The teachers only cater to the achievers. What's in it for the "AVERAGE" student????? Not much. When matriculating at JMU or CNU is viewed as a career turn toward flipping burgers, the heated pot can boil over.

I have a student at Langley and this quote is absolutely true. My child just told me she feels ashamed every day that she is not one of those students taking 5 AP's. She recently told a friend about a school she was looking at that is very good in the particular program she is interested in and her friend said "Oh you can do better than that." If you are not one of the few students that fit the very small mold, you spend four very unhappy years feeling terrible about yourself. Most of the teachers think they are teaching at college. They are teenagers! Enough of this pressure. When will we learn? Should it surprise us that they are self-medicating and that it only takes a bit of extra trouble whether at home, depression or otherwise to turn into tragedy?

My daughter said similar, that the other kids would make snide comments like this. Tell your daughter that this is NOT what the real world is like, that picking a college is not about what's best but what is best for HER. I really feel for her. Give her a hug for me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes these reports are correct. Two highschool seniors from Langley high committee suicided due to bullying

no basis in fact

[Anonymous]

I am at McLean Bible Church for the evening of reflection. Lots of teens arriving. 7:00 - 9:00 pm located at intersection of Rt. 7 & Lewinsville Rd. Parents of one of the boys sing in the choir.