Recent Drastic Increase in School Violence is the Responsibility of Maryland Lawmakers
Were they in one of the large urban systems in the Baltimore/Washington areas? No. They were in a small, rural school system of around 4500 students. A system that has two high schools, two middle schools, and five elementary schools.
The latest incident shared with me on video was one in which a student bragged about nothing being “to(o) scary” right before she attacked another female student from behind in a school hallway. I won’t share the video because it is disgusting. The child who was attacked was thrown into the wall and onto the ground. The mother of the victim posted the attack online since the alleged perpetrator had proudly posted the video online. Apparently, this is the SECOND time this victim has been targeted. Comments under the post indicated that the attacker had done the same to other students in another middle school in the county. Yet she is still in school. She is still attacking other students.
Comments on the video included people suggesting the attacker be arrested, condemnation of the school system for not doing anything to suspend or expel this child, suggestions to contact the Board of Education and filing a bullying and harassment report, sending the video to news organizations, etc. One commenter said, ” So they suspend her, then what? She retaliates and takes it out on your daughter.”
All of the comments are valid. There were others that talked about how bad it is getting in the schools, not just here, but everywhere. This school in the video was once considered the “safe” school in the county since it is small (around 200 students). Apparently, it isn’t anymore.
If we look closely at what is going on here, certainly the school system bears some responsibility. But before we go all in blaming school officials, we need to know some facts.
First, schools do NOT have the discipline policies that many of us remember from our time in school. I have watched discipline policies drastically change during my long teaching career.
When I began teaching, discipline was fairly cut and dried. If you did something that violated school rules, you were held accountable. It was the same for all students. I’m not saying there weren’t abuses, there were. Social status, race, gender, etc. were sometimes the determining factor as to whether you were referred for disciplinary action or not. But if a student attacked another student, the standard procedure was immediate suspension and often expulsion. Due process was in place, but the student could not return to school after such an act.
Dear readers,
The prevailing belief in Wicomico is to sweep everything under the rug. This has been true for a very long time, and the mantra “Go along to get along” is still in place today. All that does is foster more problems as parents and offending children push back and make noise. It was well understood that if a parent went to the Board, the Principal’s decision would be overturned immediately.
Then came the demeaning show of words when administrators were told by a certain (now retired) Assistant Super. to “Take back your schools”. When Principals did just that, they were repeatedly overturned. This is not new news, and the whole pattern continues to this day as it is part of the learned culture of the school system. Further, there was a state reporting piece from years ago that was intentionally changed to report very incorrect and false information regarding the school system’s disciplinary practices. That was somewhat rectified when the federal task force stepped in a few years ago and stomped on the powers that be, but just as soon as they were gone (and the edit lifted), it was back to business as usual. The teachers and administrators can essentially do nothing at this point except put on a show, and the inmates are running the asylum.
I hate to say this, but I am very glad I am retired.
Regards,
Paladin