demoralized in MCPS

[Anonymous]

I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So why exactly can’t schools suspend or expel violent and dangerous students?

Ask the folks who work in the DOE. Bet more than a few post right here on DCUM. They make a lot of oh so helpful regulations that aren't necessarily in the best interests of kids who truly want to be in school to learn and achieve.

The Obama letter that advised districts that they could not have differential suspension levels by race was rescinded by the Trump admin.

https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/12/21/its-official-devos-scraps-obama-discipline-rules-meant-to-reduce-suspensions-of-students-of-color/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

What do you think has changed? Is it that the out of control students 5 years ago were in a different placement? Is it that they were suspended and that somehow worked to get them to control their behavior? Do you think there were fewer students with issues causing them to act this way in the county as a whole?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

What do you think has changed? Is it that the out of control students 5 years ago were in a different placement? Is it that they were suspended and that somehow worked to get them to control their behavior? Do you think there were fewer students with issues causing them to act this way in the county as a whole?

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at all the posts that think the kids getting away with the most are poor minorities. The things I saw teaching at a DCUM-fave W-feeder middle would make you want to vomit. Open anti-Semitism and racism toward AAs, sexual harassment of girls, mocking students with intellectual disabilities, putting substances and objects in teachers’ drinks, non-stop cheating and plagiarism, vaping and drinking alcohol in bathrooms and locker rooms, and viewing porn on cell phones.

Was this Pyle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

They learned this behavior from their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

[Anonymous]

One minute they are on homeless status living in a hotel and the next they have a 3 bedroom condo. Their cousins move into the condo with them and enroll at the school. You have lunch with a student and they tend to tell you a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

What do you think has changed? Is it that the out of control students 5 years ago were in a different placement? Is it that they were suspended and that somehow worked to get them to control their behavior? Do you think there were fewer students with issues causing them to act this way in the county as a whole?

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers are not tied to a location in less they are house/apartment/unit specific. People have been moving to Germantown as they are priced out with the voucher amount allowed in other areas but Germantown has always been a high voucher/lower income area with pockets of wealth as they had the land to build big houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One minute they are on homeless status living in a hotel and the next they have a 3 bedroom condo. Their cousins move into the condo with them and enroll at the school. You have lunch with a student and they tend to tell you a lot.

A three bedroom apartment is cheaper than the government paying for those hotel rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But these are the kids who are exhibiting the majority of the disrespect and insubordination. I think that’s the crux of the issue. They’re not facing consequences because of the color of their skin, but because of the choices they make. What are schools with predominantly black/brown populations supposed to do? I think that’s what OP is saying implicitly. If you are in a focus or title 1 school then that’s the majority of your population and if black/brown students are not allowed to face consequences then no one is facing consequences. Then there’s the byproduct of brown/black kids not facing consequences for their choices but white/Asians facing consequences for the same behavior because there’s no quota for white/Asian the way there is for black/brown. It’s a flawed system all around.

I know, and many other people do too, that when it comes to children's behavior in school, whether or not it's considered "disrespect and insubordination" is affected by the child's race/ethnicity.

A shorter way of saying it is: my blond, blue-eyed kid could get away with behavior a black or Latino kid likely couldn't.

The behaviors we are referring to are not your run of the mill too much talking, hard time staying in line, etc. If your blond, blue-eyed kid is physically attacking others, spitting at teachers, saying “I’ll effing kill you” to another student etc then your blond, blue-eyed kid would likely be suspended because these no pressure to not suspend white kids. In fact, it makes the suspension rate at a school seem more equitable to central office. Your blond, blue-eyed kid would not get away with the behavior.

But by and large it’s not the blond, blue-eyed kids who are doing these things (not always, but usually). In my school (focus) we have very few blond, blue-eyes kids but we do have a lot of brown/black kids who are the ones with these behavior issues. But the brown/black kids are not facing consequences for doing these things because they’re brown/black and they’re basically untouchable. Everyone’s “hands are tied” when it comes to these students. That’s what we’re referring to here. —teacher

This is what happens at our school but its also the principal playing favorite. Elementary schools basically do an in-house suspension and don't tell the parents. My kid copied several other kids doing something minor. All got caught (which was appropriate) but only my white kid was severely punished and they lied to me about the punishment until something made me suspicious and I went to school to find him sitting in the office all day when they called and told me he'd be sent back to class. Then he got recess and lunch removed for a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster who also works in an elementary school in Germantown. I had a few special friends in my class when I started teaching five years ago but it was basic behavior issues - calling out, talking back, work refusal, etc. All things that were easily worked out with the student. Each year the behavior has continued to escalate. The majority of my kids are wonderful but I have some that curse me out, talk back constantly, throw furniture, hit other students, etc. I've tried behavior contracts, bringing parents in for meetings (they won't come) and consulted with our counselor and administration. Nothing changes and it's my kids who suffer. They think this is normal behavior - which it isn't.

They learned this behavior from their parents.

Not really. They learn what is the norm to survive in an environment. The bench for what is tolerated has really changed and kids have met it, while continually testing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Teacher here and I'll say what nobody else wants to say. There's been an increase in housing vouchers in Germantown. There were many students at the school I worked at who had multiple families under one roof. In some cases, the parent(s) are doing the best that they can and working multiple jobs. Unfortunately, screens become the child's guardian. In other cases, parents are affiliated with gangs and/or on drugs. They're too busy partying to take an active role in their children's academics. I've had parents tell their students that they won't answer any school calls so don't worry about any infractions. I grew up in a house where I would have been terrified for my parents to be called, let alone asked to come in for a meeting. Nothing phases them and I was getting close to burning out. I'm glad I left.

Housing vouchers?

This kind: http://www.hocmc.org/extra/11-housing-choice-voucher-holders.html ?

And you know that a family has a housing voucher because...?

NP here who is also a teacher. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

OK. So, how do you know?

DP

This is not hard to learn/know/figure out. Do you work in a school? Teachers/admin/paras are all pretty aware of this kind of thing. This and residency fraud, but that's a different issue.