Hello parents, community members, officials ect. ect. ,
My name is Kelly. And yes, I go to the giant building (It has it's own street address- 365 Raider Way.) known as BHS. It has come to some of your attention that our newest Principal (Mr. White), has enforced some rather strict "Policies" at our school.
Well, let’s just say for the rest of my term in the BHS office I will report back to you, the community, on the truth about the inner workings. Lets start with the facts shall we.
- Mr. White is feared by his staff.
- He yells 98% of the time. 30% of that is over the intercom during class.
- He reinstates his policies by using the intercom 3 to 4 times a day.
- He has made student's cry. I know. I was one of them.
- He doesn't care about IEP or BIP procedures. (Personal experience again applies for this.)
- He doesn't know any students by name.
Now some of this may just seem to be pitter-patter stuff but.. Lets just take a look see at his policies.
- Tardy twice in one day- sent home for day- possible suspension
- No pass to lunch when you are late- No lunch
- All grades above a D (which is passing) or bound to academic homeroom for 6 weeks
- Skip one class- Suspended for one day
- Talk back to a teacher- Suspended one day
- Come to school Under the influence- Suspended, proper authorities notified
- Lunch divided into sections only seven to a table-
- If you are the lucky eight person sitting there- Banned from eating in cafeteria
- (This one is not so bad) No sagging pants- Sent home for day
- Dress code- Sent home or put on gym uniform.
Well, I hope that gives way for some of the hype you were all feeling. I hope you all can read this before joining the PTA or going to the community board meetings.
We matter too and, to be quite frank my dear, I give a damn. About my education and where I go in the future but, I have had three suspensions so far. All of them were over ridiculous stuff. Just try to think of your kids and if you don't have any kids then think of, I don't know... Me? Come on Guys. Bolingbrook is a place to grow. But under the rule of Mr. White, We are all feeling the pressure.
- Love,
KellyFromTheBrook
Instead of a staff that fears him, the staff is appreciative of the changes that Mr. White has implemented. Now, instead of spending a significant amount of time on students that are tardy, disrespectful and misbehaving, they can spend time teaching their lessons. Many students, while they may not like the increased accountability, have commented that the school is much calmer and conducive to learning. No longer do you see students casually walking in classrooms late, but they are on time and have their homework.It is a shame (and very sad) that you, and anyone else, would have a problem with there being a stronger focus on education. If a student has a grade of a "D" or lower, that is a cause for alarm, and they should be getting extra academic help. Being tardy, disrespectful, not properly dressed, under the influence, etc. are very serious. These are things that should not be tolerated in the school and, as you will learn, would not be tolerated when you start working! All of them could get you fired (and most of them could get you arrested too). The time is over for thinking that school is a place just to be social! It is a place for students to get a quality education and to learn the skills that will help them be successful in life!
I do, however, have a problem of the neglect by Staff of students with IEP or 504 plans. Because our generation was forced to have both parents working, not much time or attention was focused on the children and their education. In my opinion, this was the cause of the problem most students face today. Back in my high school days, there were no such things as IEP's or 504's. There was regular and special ed. Students of both types back then are now successful individuals today. Not all, but many. In today's school world, too much leniency was given to students, allowing many to pass to the next grade even though they couldn't spell, read or write at that grade level. This No Child Left Behind act really just allowed the working parents a pass for their children that they had no time to spend with helping their education. This is evident today in some professional publications. Words are misspelled, grammar is incorrect and frankly, this is scary. If a professionally edited newspaper (Chicago Tribune) is allowing the printing of some of the most poorly written and misspelled articles, what is next for our children? As for Mr. White's rules? Just do your homework! Be on time to class! Is it really that difficult?
This is an inaccurate, subjective, and emotional blog that you have posted that the Patch has chosen to publish. When community members disagree with your facts you need to accept them. Yes--you do have the right to free press, so it is fantastic that you have learned that in your classes. However, there have been hundreds of students who did not learn that because rules that were in place were not enforced and their education has suffered because of it. Mr. White is not feared by the Staff. This seems to be a projection of your fear of which you have applied to over 500 adults. Rules are in place for the protection of the people. Bolingbrook High School has a culture shock of having all those rules enforced. As a side note, I can go step by step through your blog, but rather I will focus on the fact that you do not see rules such as “coming to the school under the influence” as “not so bad”--that is disappointing. As a statement for anyone reading this, IEPs, BIPs, and 504 Plans are legal documents that are followed by all Staff members. If anyone has issues with how their child’s plan is being dealt with---then the Patch is not the place for those concerns. Those concerns need to be brought to the school’s attention immediately. Life is full of high expectations that others will set for you. Start adapting now. Spend less time complaining with subjective statements, and spend more time focusing on improving yourself as a person.
My name is Kelly and I go to the giant building on 365 Raider Way, known as BHS. It has come to some attention that our newest Principal, Mr. White(alias?), has enforced some rather strict "policies" at our school. For the rest of my term in the BHS office, I will report back to you on the truth(opinion?) about the inner workings(of BHS from a student viewpoint?). Lets start with the facts(opinions?) shall we. Mr. White is feared by his staff.(some may fear or some may not, opinion) He yells 98% of the time. 30% of that is over the intercom during class.(Yelling or talking loudly?) opinion?) 30% yelling over the intercom would mean that the other 68% would be yelling outside of classroom. (2% is normal tone?) He reinstates(reinforces?) his policies by using the intercom 3 to 4 times a day.(How else to talk to a "giant" building?)
He doesn't care about IEP or BIP procedures. (Personal experience again applies for this.)How and what was situation?Opinion. He doesn't know any students by name. (See at top "giant building") Tardy twice in day-sent home for day-possible suspension-Real World(RW)-fired No pass to lunch when you are late- No lunch(RW-Don't normally get lunch) All grades above a D (which is passing)(after how many retakes you're allowed?) or bound to academic homeroom(study hall for less than average work?) for 6 weeks Skip one class-Suspended for one day(RW-skip work-fired) Talk back to a teacher- Suspended one day(RW-talk back to manager/boss-fired) Come to school Under the influence- Suspended, proper authorities notified(fired) Lunch divided into sections only seven to a table- (You should be able to leave for lunch, if senior, but too many would not come back!) If you are the lucky eight person sitting there- Banned from eating in cafeteria (8th person= they were late!) No sagging pants- Sent home for day(RW-Good luck in the job interview) Dress code-Sent home or gym uniform.(RW- See Human Resources policies) Well, I hope that gives way(clarity?) for some of the hype(questions?) you were all feeling(asking?).
We matter too and, to be quite frank my dear, I give a damn. About my education and where I go in the future but, I have had three suspensions so far. (Poor grammar?). All of them were over ridiculous stuff(Tardies, under influence, etc). Just try to think of your kids and if you don't have any kids then think of, I don't know... Me? Come on Guys. Bolingbrook is a place to grow. But under the rule of Mr. White, We are all feeling the pressure(RW?). Your welcome Kelly, N.Henry
Do you feel big and bad because you post an anonymous blog on a website? Very few people here seem too impressed.
Check yourself, Kelly. "Free Press" is not a right. Perhaps you are thinking of "freedom of the press" as an extension of "free speech"? You DO have that freedom and you are exercising that here. But EVERYONE has the right to free speech, so we can disagree with what you say. So your "American rights" are in no way jeopardized. (If they were, you would be jailed, beaten, or expelled for your spoken and written words.) Perhaps paying more attention to your social studies teachers would help you understand this. Social studies teachers may also help you inderstand what a "liberal" is. When you write, "So as a liberal I will decline to discuss with you further the inner workings of my school" (note lack of proper punctuation), it makes no sense. Being liberal has absolutely nothing to do with refusing to discuss, argue or debate a topic. I suggest paying more attention in English as well. "And as for your claim of grammatical errors and incorrect word usage" is not a sentence. I'll just stop with this one example. Look, feel free to express your opinions, but don't make yourself look silly by posting something school related that is full of spelling, mechanical, and factual errors. And don'f further damage your credibility with nonsensical arguments.
Instead... MY COMMUNITY... is going to ridicule her spelling... grammar... and political knowledge! I was not aware that you had to be an English major with a minor in Journalism, to post on this site! Anyway... Kelly, I understand your frustration with the strict enforcement of the rules! But, you said it yourself, you turned around pretty quickly in order to avoid the consequences! You have to understand that your principal is trying to "turn around" and make better, an entire school of young people, and with that, some kids get caught in the crossfire for things that may seem "stupid." But, the system that has been put into place cannot have exceptions to the rule...or the system won't work the way it is designed to! Keep your head up... Don't let anything that has been said on this site discourage you from posting how you feel... Keep up the good work... You ARE a well spoken, well educated student from BOLINGBROOK HIGH SCHOOL!!!