This letter was submitted by a @JCPSKY student.
DEAR JCPS,
We believe that our school needs to have more intense punishments for behavior. Kids misbehave all the time and get away with it. If you disrupt class you are tabbed out and return later. Lunch detention is a joke, the only difference with it and normal lunch is you just don’t talk while sitting at an isolated table. The school is way too strict on small things like if you are a minute late, and then the children with bad behavior just sit around with no worries.
In art class all I hear is swearing, and we never can hear the teacher. Whenever we have a sub in art class, no one listens and it is chaos incarnate. Kids talk about gangs, and using guns outside of school. They talk about violence and running from police. No one has any respect for elders. An elderly man who was subbing for Mrs. —— was not listened to and people talked about him behind his back. One student said “how old are you, grandpa? You have a horrible slouch.” Another student said “hey, sit your fat old *** down.” It makes the people who actually behave very uncomfortable when we hear things of that nature. People break the crayons and throw them at other people, and when they miss the target, they hit random people. After the crayons run out, they use pencils and that is extremely dangerous. Then they try to start fights and then maybe will they get punished. If not punished then, Mr. —— will come in to hush everyone up. After he leaves, it starts all over again. Some of us are scared we will get hurt by some of the kids. They are out of control and act like animals. I have seen only lunch detentions or tabbing out, and no real punishments. I do not like it when our instructional time is interrupted by the kids who misbehave.
This isn’t going to be solved just by JCPS. It is a team effort, and if we can get people of all ages to cooperate with rules and be positive role models for future generations this will be better. Just because you will not solve the problem by yourself doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to help. Reasonable punishments include afterschool detention, and mandatory Saturday school. The community can help revitalize areas of their cities that need help. I’m not saying we should spank children or use paddles, but teachers should have the right to use force if needed. It is very different now, of course it is. It may be the 21st century but discipline still exists. If you get a beautiful songbird and don’t have food for it, putting it in the attic doesn’t solve its hunger. It dies, and eventually the guilt will haunt the owner who knows (s) he could have done better. This isn’t random. The songbird is discipline, and not “feeding” it will lead to frustration of children with positive behavior. This guilt will make no one feel good. Please don’t let this continue until it is too late. The kids who misbehave know nothing will happen to them. They want to get tabbed out so they can get out of class. We are not criticizing you in a negative way, but rather building your knowledge of these problems so you all can help us before the problem grows.
Honest Bill, 6th grader in JCPS*
*Note: The identity of this student is being withheld from this posting for their protection. However, their identity is not anonymous to Dear JCPS, and should a JCPS Board member wish to follow up with the contributor in order to address these issues, Dear JCPS would be happy to facilitate an introduction.
