tigeralumni said...
Respectfully, I think you are not giving enough credit to the new principal at GHS. From reading your blog entries, I take it you have never had him personally as an educator. He is fair to both students and teachers alike, and believe me, if you need a reprimand, you will receive one. I would bet he has investigated, and taken the appropriate action internally, even though he may not have told the details to you. He would not have been hired if it was believed he could not handle the job. Sometimes, you have to trust people and trust that things are being handled, even though they might handle it differently than you. My advice would be to let this go in your heart. Life is way too short, use your energy and enjoy your family instead.
September 26, 2008 3:27 PM
No the current principal was never an educator of mine but this is my third child to go thru Gordonsville and I have never had any issues at this level. GHS has a lot of good teachers, administrators, and staff which have made positive influences in all three of my children’s lives and for that I am thankful. While I believe most teaching comes from home, I also believe that we as parents must trust and support our educators to teach our children to prepare them for their future. We also must trust that our children will be treated fairly with the same respect they are required to show when they are in school.
My question to you is why do you assume that my child needed to be reprimanded, that she did something wrong and the punishment handed out was deserved? Why is it that we automatically believe the bad about a child instead of the good? Why just because we have had these educators as coaches, principals, teachers, friends, neighbors or church members do we automatically believe they are in right without any questions? Maybe just maybe the school system is wrong on this and other issues and we as taxpayers or parents have the right and responsibility to question the system.
If the school administration did handle this internally then at the very least they should have included the parents. I have asked a lot of questions to the GHS Administrators and Mr. Lewis which to date have not been addressed.
Below are the issues we have brought before Gordonsville Administrators and Mr. Lewis’s office. I know this is a repeat from a past post but I wanted to make sure you saw the seriousness of our complaints.
Physical Abuse/Assault
Verbal Abuse
Emotional Intimidation
Discrimination
Slander
Public Humiliation
Bullying
Harassment
Retaliation
These complaints aren’t small, school board policies, school rules and the law have been broken. Even if one of the things listed above was done to your child would you let it go in your heart because life is to short or would stand up for your child?
I have taught my children to stand up for what they believe in even it means standing alone. Now is my time to stand and I will not let this go but I thank you for the advice.
I must admit to being stunned that anyone would tell a parent they should just "let it go" when their child has been treated in this manner. This child has done nothing wrong. The new principal is punishing - and there is no other word his actions - this student because the parents had the nerve to stand up and say they are not going to allow their child to be treated in this manner. Once again, this child has done nothing wrong! This is not about a student not getting enough playing time or getting the grades that the parents feel they deserve, this is about breaking school board policy and the law. How is this ever acceptable? Where is the line drawn? Would you be ok with this teacher treating your child in this manner?
ReplyDeleteI am not a GHS alumni, however, my child did go all the way through Gordonsville School. As I have witnessed first hand, there are definitely different sets of rules for different students at this school. I know and have dealt personally with the new principal, and I know he is a good person who cares about the students. That does not mean he is not wrong in this matter. Is it easier to punish the child and keep them out of an activity they love rather than deal with obvious issues with a teacher? Is the school system hoping this will all just go away? Why has it been so difficult for the parents to get any help in dealing with this matter from the director of schools? What steps are the GHS administration, director of schools and the school board members going to take to resolve this matter? What kind of message are they going to send to the parents and students of this county about fair treatment and being able to come forward and speak out when they feel an injustice has been committed? Do we want a school system that allows a teacher to subject a student to this type of treatment and not face any consequences?
I was at the game and was shocked to see how this teacher and her assistant acted. I had no idea as to why your daughter had not returned this year but I was positive it wasn‘t for the reason being told by both coaches. I know your daughter and know she is a good kid. I am appalled to learn that the school has chosen to do nothing about the actions of this teacher other then punish your daughter. Maybe the administrators at Gordonsville will see the light and your daughter will be able to return to the field soon. We all agree the principal is a good man and cares about the students at our school, I just wonder if he will prove he is going to change things as all of us had hoped.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have more then enough witnesses against this teacher, from what I hear she likes to push the kids around. I have also heard from several parents you are not the only parent that has gone to the school with complaints regarding this teacher, so dig deeper there is a lot going on. Tell your daughter to hold her head high and that us tigers miss her on the field. CONTINUE THE STAND!
Please know there has been a misunderstanding concerning my comment about the reprimand. I would never say another’s child deserves to be punished; I only meant everyone in the GHS camp is treated equally (regardless if teacher or child). I was simply trying to offer you an alternative train of thought that maybe things have already been resolved. This blog was started to see how other individuals in the community felt, so respectfully, you had to realize that folks might offer up different views to ponder. I only ask that you patiently listen to everyone who responds, even if their approach to resolution is not the same as yours.
ReplyDeleteI was talking about this situation with an alumni last night I found out that if you quit for any reason or are kicked off the team of this activity you are no longer allowed to participate for the rest of your high school years. If that is true then this child will not be allowed to participate her senior year either correct? Does that apply to all sports and activities or just a select few? Can someone make this rule clearer for me?
ReplyDeleteI just want to know so we can all be sure our children are following the rules. Now all eyes will be on our new principal to see if he was the right choice and going to make a change or if it will just be more of the same. So far it looks like more of the same to me.
tigeralumni, I agree with you that everyone does have the right to express their own views regarding this matter. If, however, as you suggest "maybe things have already been settled", then it seems that this student IS being unfairly punished and singled out. Once again, this student didn't do anything wrong so why is she being forced to sit out this year when the teacher is the one who broke the rules? If this is how the new principal chooses to deal with this type of situation, then it is obvious nothing has changed at the school. More of the same.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comment that everyone in the GHS camp is treated equally, I must strongly disagree. What is happening to this student is the perfect example of how there are different sets of rules for different students. It would take pages to give specific details of the preferential treatment I have personally seen being given to certain students over the years. Some of these things were severe enough to have made me embarrassed to admit my child ever went to this school. However, this blog is not about the preferential treatment of other students, it is regarding the circumstances of this particular student; her treatment by this teacher, and the difficulties her parents had and are still having trying to get a resolution to some very serious problems. Another fact to think on, this is not a matter of a student's word against a teacher's. From what lglbird posted, there are witnesses to at least some of these allegations. I would be interested to know if any of them have ever been questioned by anyone (from the administration at GHS, the director of schools, or any of the school board members) about what they witnessed. If not, does that mean the decision regarding this matter was based solely on what the teacher involved said happened? That hardly seems fair.
lglbird, from what I have learned regarding this matter from former parents and students who were involved in this activity; this student will have to sit out the rest of her high school years. There are no exceptions to this rule. In answer to your question, this does not apply to other sports or activities at the school. Just another example of the fairness going on at GHS.
The rules state that if you choose to stop after football season, you will not be allowed to try out again for the remainder of your high school years.
ReplyDeleteWe aren't sure how they will handle our daughter on this rule because we pulled her before football season started. There wasn't a section on "What if your parents pull you".
I am going to try to scan the rules so you can read all 9 pages.
9 pages? what sport or activity needs 9 pages of rules? you got to be kidding me.
ReplyDeleteLol thats more pages then any school board policy. Does this activity really need 9 pages of rules? It doesn't really seem to matter 9 pages or 1 the school isn't following them and they are changing them as needed.
ReplyDeleteHave the other parents of this sport said anything or been talked to about this teacher or her helper? What about the parents of the other child that was grabbed what are they saying?
ReplyDeleteI think it is hillarious how everyone is taking this complaint at face value. NO one is asking for the other side of the story and of course the other side will not comment because this is a private school matter and cannot be spoken about with just anyone. I would hate to think how any of you would react is someone would say things about you like this and you couldn't defend yourself. And does anyone know this ghsparent. Are they believable or is this some big tale meant to get someone in trouble because they didn't get what they wanted. I feel like the parent is in highschool acting like a spoiled kid who has been reprimanded and not gotten their way.
ReplyDeleteanonymous, I have asked and this is a parent who has been very active in the school for years. having heard what this teacher said about this student made me sick to my stomach. this child had to turn around and go to school knowing what this teacher had said about her and she could not confront her about it. she would have gotten into trouble and probably expelled. the parents had to step in. this parent is a much better person than I am, because if she had said that about my child, i would have confronted her in front of everyone. there is no way to defend it and the school knows it. i don't understand why they will not even investigate. then again, i guess i do. Gordonsville takes care of their own. always have, always will. maybe the parents haven't sued the school because they want something more important than money, they want change. unfortunately, they will probably only get it through a lawsuit and pressing charges. then will you believe them?
ReplyDeleteThings are not done fairly at GHS. I went there and now so do my kids.If you are related to a coach you will get more playing time even if you don't deserve it. Any one that watched the JR high football team this year knows what I am saying.
ReplyDelete