A bit OT, but I mean come on I went to some great public schools, and some not so great ones. I find it almost laughable that someone could judge all public schools based on their own experience alone.

Quote from: Hikari on March 19, 2014, 06:22:03 PM
A bit OT, but I mean come on I went to some great public schools, and some not so great ones. I find it almost laughable that someone could judge all public schools based on their own experience alone.

I only judged what I dealt with. No need to say it was something else.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on March 19, 2014, 06:26:10 PM
I only judged what I dealt with. No need to say it was something else.

Actually, no. What you said was:

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on March 19, 2014, 12:48:59 PM
If I had a child, there is no way in hell I would subject them to the public school system.

You didn't say "one of the public schools I dealt with.". You basically insulted the entire system and all of us who work hard to do a very difficult job.

I'm sick of my profession being used as a punching bag. This is a support site. Can't you take your comments to MakePeopleFeelBadAboutTheirJobs.org?

I really don't understand why Laura's personal bad experience with public schooling is making you feel bad, Suzi. A lot of people have had absolutely horrific experiences with it and I can tell you, it leaves scars. Oftentimes, very deep and painful ones. I'm not saying all public schools are bad, or that they are inherently bad, either, but I don't think it's any kind of stretch to say that for a lot of people, describing their time there as "hell" is a very apt description. It is for me. I know a lot of people for whom it is as well. Bullying, violence, uncaring teachers who simply want the day to hurry up and end and couldn't care less about educating young minds... Admittedly, my time in public school was better than my time in private school, where I witnessed violence at the hands of the staff themselves and had to deal with religious persecution, but well... that's really not saying a whole lot for it.

There's no need to feel bad. I'm assuming you're one of the good guys (girls), in this case. I'm assuming you're one of the teachers (or whatever your particular position is) that genuinely care about your students. And that's very important. Those kind of staff members save lives. They provide at least some temporary reprieve for kids like me, who had miserable home lives. Take pride in that. I may think the school system in this country is broken, but that doesn't mean it's not fixable, and that happens one good teacher at a time. You're making a difference.

I am a product of the public school system, as are my kids and wife and everyone else in my family. My mother-in-law was an educator as was my sister-in-law.

Most of the trouble I had in school was because I was an odd, femme little boy - I made a great target and the other kids picked on me. Most of the teachers did their jobs pretty well, and I remember a few outstanding teachers as well as a few complete duds.

A lot of my friends went to a private "prep" school that was nearby. I heard some horror stories about that place.

It seems that no school is perfect.

My kids didn't have a 100% positive experience in school but they learned valuable life lessons about how to deal with and overcome the adversity that they experienced there, the same type of lessons that I had to learn when I was a kid. IMO is better that they learned that in school rather than have to learn it later in life. Both of my kids are in college now and are well adjusted young adult women.

We get certain educational opportunities placed in front of us in life and it really depends on us as to what we do with them. People are people and they will act as they will; I would probably have gotten the same crap if I had gone to another school, and in fact the opportunity to go to the "prep" school was offered to me and I declined. Was my treatment in the public school justifiable? Nope. Did I like the way I got treated in school? Nope. Did I survive and take away some valuable life lessons? Yep. The experience went a long way toward teaching me about the nature of people.

By all means send your kids wherever you think is best for them, but please don't denigrate the public school system and the people that work in it. The majority of public school educators are there because they like educating, and they put their heart and soul into educating kids.

To respond to the topic - I agree that the school's action consists of victim blaming and they took the cowardly way out. The kid should be able to bring any item to school that is not explicitly banned by the school for everyone. The kids that abused him should be punished; letting them get away with it just teaches that it is OK to bully people you don't like.

Quote from: Pikachu on March 20, 2014, 07:33:59 AM
I really don't understand why Laura's personal bad experience with public schooling is making you feel bad, Suzi.

I'm happy to explain. She didn't just discuss her bad experiences. (Which I am sympathetic toward. My public (and private) schooling was not an unmixed positive).

What she did is say that there was "no way in hell" she would subject a child to "the public school system". I.e. no public school anywhere was suitable for educating children.

Does that make it clearer what is bothering me?

Quote from: suzifrommd on March 20, 2014, 09:03:51 AM
I'm happy to explain. She didn't just discuss her bad experiences. (Which I am sympathetic toward. My public (and private) schooling was not an unmixed positive).

What she did is say that there was "no way in hell" she would subject a child to "the public school system". I.e. no public school anywhere was suitable for educating children.

Does that make it clearer what is bothering me?

I suppose so... I guess I just feel a certain... I don't know... I guess I can just really relate to where she's coming from with that statement. Like I said, I'm not of the opinion that all public schools are awful, but my perception of them will forever be colored by my own experiences and the experiences of my friends. I imagine that if I had a child, those experiences would weigh heavily on my mind when selecting their method of schooling and choosing a school to send them to. Whether I would end up deciding to send them to public school or not, I can't say, but I can say I would have serious concerns about it.

Anyway, I really do appreciate what you're doing, Suzi. I just wish there had been more caring staff at the schools I attended. I'm especially glad to know there's a school somewhere with a trans* person on its staff. Where I come from, I imagine the whole town would be up in arms if someone hired a trans* teacher, sadly.

While this particular school board was in the wrong and afraid to take on the real issue, that does not mean that all Public School Boards are bad and certainly not all Public Teachers are bad either.

I had many excellent teachers when I was in school and only one or two that were not the cream of the crop.

Lets please keep thing civil here and avoid profanity and over generalizations.

Quote from: suzifrommd on March 20, 2014, 09:03:51 AM
I'm happy to explain. She didn't just discuss her bad experiences. (Which I am sympathetic toward. My public (and private) schooling was not an unmixed positive).

What she did is say that there was "no way in hell" she would subject a child to "the public school system". I.e. no public school anywhere was suitable for educating children.

Does that make it clearer what is bothering me?

Well, if you want to get so angry over one person's point of view, that's your issue to deal with. I would be a liar if I said anything other than what is the absolute truth regarding my experiences in those days. If you felt that I was using you as a "punching bag" then you obviously have some issues. I don't believe in sugar coating my opinion if I think/thought that something sucked. If my time in the public school system had been better, I would have obviously had a more positive spin to put on it. But after going through what I went through.....No. I have no other way to say it and no, I won't go to some specialized site just because you have a problem with one person's experience.

Laura, nobody is doubting that what you are saying is complete truth about your own experience. I think you are being perfectly understood on that!

Drawing conclusions about so many other people's experiences and potential passions (in a negative light) is what I think suzi is upset about... because it is obviously something she loves.

I can relate to her, too, because both of my parents are retired public school teachers. They occasionally dealt with people talking negatively about the public school system, and it upset them greatly.

The education system as a whole is definitely something that needs all the help it can get, so I guess all I'm saying is let's try to not step on each others' toes - especially the toes of people trying to make the world a better place