This is the story of a public school failing to support the mental, social, and emotional development of young females. There is an argument to be made that the effect on young males is similarly damaging, but, for this guide, I will be focusing on the feminine aspect.
My first complaint is regarding a policy that was initiated by the school principal. He instituted a policy wherein students were not allowed to assemble in more than groups of 2, and were not permitted to walk and talk on the playground at recess. All children were needed to be actively engaging in a game or recognized action, and were banned from just chatting together.
This policy directly targeted the female population, as evidenced by the walking-and-talking behavior being a mostly female socialization method (with men primarily interacting through shared activities.) If this commonly recognized developmental truth isn’t enough proof of the sex-based discriminatory nature of the policy, my daughter reports that the principal made a statement to the classrooms once the ban was lifted. His announcement threatened that the ban could be reinstated if there was”any more girl drama.”
My daughter was forced to choose which one of her several great friends she wanted to partner with for the day, and was additionally prohibited from engaging in bonding conversation with such friend.
My second complaint will involve my daughter’s experiences with her fifth-grade teachers not at all with Wildlife Removal Boca Raton FL
My daughter’s first fifth grade teacher was reported by my daughter to have an extremely strict and intimidating demeanor. As a very sensitive kid – and with high expectations for herself – my daughter could frequently develop a literal tummy pain in the anxiety of being worried about pleasing him with her performance. Part of her anxiety came from listening to him single-out other children in the classroom, to be able to be humiliating public examples of them through pointing out their flaws.
In support of my daughter – both academically and emotionally – I communicated with this instructor through email on a regular basis. I received great reports about my daughter’s performance from him. Immediately following the beginning of his extended departure from the classroom due to illness, but the second quarter report card came out. The teacher had recorded a D- for my daughter’s social studies grade before he left, and had left a note that she”needs to learn how to ask for help when she needs it.” This is an insulting insinuation that this instructor knows when, where, and who my daughter ought to be asking for help, better than my daughter understands it for herself.
There was no sign in his regular emails to me that she was in need of academic assistance. In actuality, one of his most recent mails at this time was to let me know that my daughter had received one of the top scores on a math test. I also observed a very limited amount of social studies content in my kid’s homework. What I did see, I helped her to complete (specifically, a PowerPoint presentation about Martin Luther King, Jr., in which I invited her to add a mention on women’s rights)
The D- grade and relevant comment on the report card came out of left field, which is not acceptable, taking into consideration the quantity of communication transpiring between the teacher and myself up until that point. The tactic employed by the instructor in this regard was a blow to my daughter’s self-esteem, which I had to work to alleviate. She was dismayed upon viewing the grade and the comment, as she was receiving feedback that she had been doing well up until that point. This tactic was unkind.
My daughter’s current long-term substitute teacher regularly and publicly expresses to pupils his dislike for our country’s president. Disrespect for our country’s leader isn’t appropriate content for a teacher – who’s in a position to influence young minds and perspectives – to be sharing with 10-year-olds. Regardless of our personal positions, compulsory schooling should not consist of political indoctrination in opposition to the President of the United States. My daughter also reports that he raises his voice aggressively class, such as by shouting”Silence!” When the course gets noisy. She, as a 10-year-old, has commented that he exhibits a”lack of control” from the classroom. She is wise enough to observe that overt aggression is a indication of internal lack of electricity.
Public school teachers and principals are endowed with a place of power in shaping our next generation. The sort of sexist, non-patriotic, aggressive, and self-esteem destructive behavior listed here isn’t fitting of people in such a position.
This attendance policy aspect is the last straw in my distaste for the school clinics. I received a letter (several weeks following the post-date, because of my not retrieving my physical mail with regularity in this digital age) saying that my daughter has too many”excused absences” and that I am required to have a physician’s note for any future absences. I am not sending my young daughter to college when she is not feeling well enough to attend school, either physically, mentally, or emotionally. It’s not in her best interest for me to do so, and it is imposing an unreasonable burden on a parent to be required to go running to the doctor for a note, particularly when the parent understands full well that no doctor’s prescription is needed for the ailment. I’ve consulted with a similarly-minded doctor about this, and am currently gathering community support to address this inability of parents to excuse their own kids without getting harassment from the school.
Nowhere in these truancy notices is it noted that my daughter regularly goes above and beyond with volunteering for school activities, and with my direct support and involvement. She’s been a part of this morning valet team for the previous two school years. She signed up to help with running a booth for the school carnival. She’s been part of the School Safety Ambassador Club (SSA) for the past two decades, and regularly consults me on ways that she can effectively support other students in regard to reducing bullying and increasing self-esteem. Is this the type of behavior related to an at-risk child, in need of truancy intervention?
With the widely reported increase in violence and disruptive behavior on school campuses, and with the absence of teeth in the present school behavior disciplinary policies, I was strongly considering enrolling my daughter in a homeschool program at the time she reached the 7th grade. The 5th grade experience, here, has persuaded me to begin that process as of the commencement of her next school year. There’ll not be a need for the school district to monitor her college attendance as of the 2018-2019 school year, as she will not be attending the school. I’m enrolling her into a schedule that better nurtures her overall development to a confident, secure, open-minded, conscientious – and female – member of society.