Well, I HAVE a child who was suspended from MPS. Strictly dealing with the suspension issue and not with the make-up of the student body, I must say I was quite irritated that the behavior being addressed was dealt with by issuing a suspension.
My stepdaughter is 13 (now) and attendeds Chiron Middle School. The suspension happened during the 2000-2001 school year. She was suspended for misbehavior on the bus. Not violence, not drugs, not "kicking the teacher", not even kicking the bus driver. She was suspended for an incident that occurred on the bus in which no one was hurt, nor was anyone put in harm's way. The bus driver complained that she was being disrespectful to him and had ignored warnings about the bus rules. There are always two sides to the story and my daughter's side was slanted in her direction, of course. I try to be objective and I am in touch with my daughter's behavior both good and bad (mostly depending on mood). Suspended from bus privledges would have been appropriate if there was a real or imagined issue with the driver. Of course, my daughter had plenty to say about THIS driver's behavior as well. But I digress... My main issue was that it seemed to characterize a 'suspension-happy' school that would issue this severe a discipline for a basically good kid who has some issues with the bus driver. Needless to say, when I first saw this topic on The List, it was a confirmation of my thoughts that suspension is used too often for mild offenses. Also, why aren't the incidents that Audrey Johnson cited in the news somewhere. Just because identity needs to be protected when a child is a juvenille, I would think that actions such as those she recounted are quite newsworthy. Bob Velez Shingle Creek Ward 4-1 > I hope you won't get too bogged down in the swamp of victimhood here: > many behaviors that result in suspension seriously interfere with the > learning environment for whole classrooms full of their fellow > students. Think of the learning time lost for ALL students when one > student is seriously disruptive. > > Again I ask: where are the parents? > > Ann Berget > Parent of Four, Former School Board Member > Kingfield-in-the-Eighth _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
