13 held back one class

[bell city]

What are we going to do about this? The teacher and school system failed those kid's what now?

[Guest1]

What should be done is all parents of the 13 students get an attorney together, and sue the school for not doing their job!! The school is only interested in making a name for itself in sports, and they cheat the kids out of an education. I know that these kids are Jr. High, but apparently no one was watching the teachers, or the progress being made by this class, because they were to busy fighting off bad press in the papers, and trying to make a name for themselves in high school basketball to worry about this critical situation. Just look at past athletes of the school who failed out of college because they did not know anything educational. I know that I will take a lot of heat for that statement, but it is TRUE!! One student(Bogan) who was a star basketball player, and I believe graduated from school an honors student, could not pass the college level, and was dropped from 3 colleges. I know he was dropped from one for sure because of academic failure, I read it in the news paper. Bell City school is a joke, it is a family run business now, and only those students related to the staff, or kids that are close friends with the kids of the staff really make it. The rest are just tossed along the way side. Why not get in touch with KFVS, the news paper, and the State board about this?? Until the parents of these 13 bond together, there will be nothing done. The school is a Rogue school, and has been for several years. Can you imagine all of you bonding together, and speaking to someone from the state board? I think it would make a huge impact on future academic success, because they would be held accountable, both financially, and academically to someone other than those family, and friends running the school now. Also, I cannot believe that the school had 7 teachers leave because other schools pay more; I think they left because being at Bell City, could damage your career. Who wants to be associated with a school with such bad press all of the time? New teachers need a jumping off place, Bell City cannot keep teachers, so they go there; get some experience, and then leave quickly. This is my take on the situation.

[Luckylady]

bell city wrote:

What are we going to do about this? The teacher and school system failed those kid's what now?

As a person who has fought with her grandchild all year, I have to say that it wasn't the school that failed the children..it's the childs' attitude most of the time. I did everything that was humanly possible to make my grandchild complete or turn in her work and she still had an attitude problem and dismissed it. Until the end of the year. She passed but by the skin of her teeth. If the school disciplines these kids, they get yelled at by the parents and even the parents trying to correct the problem doesn't always work but if the parents and school could work together to make them inderstand how important respecting each other, the teachers and themselves then maybe we can make a difference

[CUBS]

HONEY I THINK THAT IF A CHILD HAS NOT UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE IS LEARNING,FOR AN EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME ,THERE WILL BE CONFUSION ,AND TALKING BACK AND NOT WANTING TO TURN IN WORK..WHEN A CHILD IS NOT REALLY PERMITTED TO ASK QUESTIONS OR MADE TO BE EMBARRASSED WHEN DOING SO IN CLASS ,YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF ACTING OUT!ESPECIALLY IN A JR HIGH STUDENT!WHEN ALL THINGS ARE SO IMPORTANT AND SOCIALLY DEFINING TO THE CHILD! IT IS A SHAME BUT NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE SHOULD GIVE UP ON A CHILD AT THIS CRITICAL AGE!ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE FACTORS WHICH MAY DETERMINE HOW WELL OR NOT THEY DO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS...THEY NEED A REAL COUNCILOR TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT HOW THESE SCHOOL HRS SHOULD BE SPENT AND SOME ONE TO GET THEM PREPARED FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS THAT WILL DETERMINE THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.....THAT IS MY OPINION

[Luckylady]

CUBS wrote:

HONEY I THINK THAT IF A CHILD HAS NOT UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE IS LEARNING,FOR AN EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME ,THERE WILL BE CONFUSION ,AND TALKING BACK AND NOT WANTING TO TURN IN WORK..WHEN A CHILD IS NOT REALLY PERMITTED TO ASK QUESTIONS OR MADE TO BE EMBARRASSED WHEN DOING SO IN CLASS ,YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF ACTING OUT!ESPECIALLY IN A JR HIGH STUDENT!WHEN ALL THINGS ARE SO IMPORTANT AND SOCIALLY DEFINING TO THE CHILD! IT IS A SHAME BUT NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE SHOULD GIVE UP ON A CHILD AT THIS CRITICAL AGE!ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE FACTORS WHICH MAY DETERMINE HOW WELL OR NOT THEY DO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS...THEY NEED A REAL COUNCILOR TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT HOW THESE SCHOOL HRS SHOULD BE SPENT AND SOME ONE TO GET THEM PREPARED FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS THAT WILL DETERMINE THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.....THAT IS MY OPINION

That is true about not giving up on any child. I just know that my grandchild understood the work but was more interested in being popular or whatever it is that causes a child to not try her best. She won first place in scholastics because it was what she wanted to do. I know there will be rules for her this next year that she had at the end of the year because that seems to have helped some. I talked to her teachers at length and to her. It was agreed all the way around that she understood, she was just not turning it in. She could tell me everything that everybody else was doing but not anything about her work assignments. I'm laughing because it is typical Jr High stuff but it's not funny when you look at the long term effect.

[huh]

what grade?

[Clinton]

what grade is it??????? the 7th grade got like 5 kids held back this year!!!!!

[CUBS]

Luckylady wrote:

<quoted text>That is true about not giving up on any child. I just know that my grandchild understood the work but was more interested in being popular or whatever it is that causes a child to not try her best. She won first place in scholastics because it was what she wanted to do. I know there will be rules for her this next year that she had at the end of the year because that seems to have helped some. I talked to her teachers at length and to her. It was agreed all the way around that she understood, she was just not turning it in. She could tell me everything that everybody else was doing but not anything about her work assignments. I'm laughing because it is typical Jr High stuff but it's not funny when you look at the long term effect.

well it sounds like you have her situation summed up and you are doing a good job with her considering all the circumstances that she has had to deal with this year ....but there are children ,one that i know of that does not deal well with all the jr high drama and distractions when a teacher is not willing to teach her when she just needed a lil structure in her learning environment...and teacher to parent communication ,that should have been taken into serious consideration by the teacher...but i think the state board of elementary and secondary education is working with the child's parents to clear up any confusion the administration may have about what plans is being set in place to get the child back on track by the parents and ,I think it is great maybe other parents will follow

[Guest1]

"Clinton", it is 13 students in the 7th grade that got held back, not 5. This is why so many are outraged over the situation. These 13 students apparently did not understand what was being taught, and were not allowed to ask questions without getting attitude from the teachers. If you are humiliated for asking questions, then you learn to simply keep your mouth shut, and you get more and more frustrated, which could explain why Luckylady had so many problems with her grandchild? I hope that these parents get together, and find a solution that works for all involved. My nephew will be in 7th grade next year, and I hope his parents do not have the same problems.

[mom of a 7th grader]

Well I am very thankful that my daughter passed the 7th grade. And I stood behind her when she told me about the way the teachers had attitudes. But what I don't get is why the school system didnt do anything about it when it was first brought to their attention! I have stayed on my daughters case all year long and sat at the kitchen table for hours helping her with homework especially when she was out sick with the flu. and What I got in return was a call from the office telling me that none of her make up work was done! I have lost my job over the stupidity of the school system here. and I be damned if my kids go back here next year.

[Very Concerned Citizen]

I dont believe it's the kids attitudes. If it were just one kid, sure, but for thirteen to fail, no way, it's not the kids. I'm happy some of the kids did pass, but not all children learn the same. For some, learning is easier. The teachers are there to teach the material and make sure the children understand it and don't fall so far behind it's impossible for them to catch up. I think that it's definately the school and teachers that failed here, not those kids. And as for the teachers responsible for it, they should have some kind of note put on their teaching record so this doesn't happen again, or maybe even their teaching licenses taken away.

[Try being a parent]

You should know how your kids are doing in shcool before the end of the year. Make sure the work is being done and done right! And if they don't get it talk to the teacher(school). It is not only the responibility of the school to educate your child. Take some interest in your kids and I'm sure they will pass.

[Guest1]

I know for a fact that several parents went to the school to conference with the teachers, and the principal, and to no avail! The school does not care about education, they only care about basketball. It is a shame, but it is true.

[Bob Lob Law]

Wow... some of these responses surprise me. Were not talking about bitching at the manager of a quick lube because they forgot to refill your wiper fluid. This is about the education of your children and grandchildren.

The fault is not on the shoulders of the children. I place the fault directly on the shoulders of the parents, grandparents, teachers, and administrators. There is no gift more precious than the gift of an education. In life a person may be stripped of their dignity, their freedom and their pride. The one thing a person can never take away from an individual is an education. Knowledge always lives free in the hearts and minds of those who have achieved it.

Why the parents did not crawl up the asses of the teachers, administration, school board, and missouri department of education long before now is beyond me. But this is not only the concern of the parents of the so-called "thirteen" but the concern for anybody who has their child in the Bell City school system. Now is the time for people to be calling members of the school administration, and the missouri dept. of education to get this situation rectified.

So your kid does ok you claim? What if you kid falls in the same boat next year? Even if your kid doesn't fall in the same boat, do you not have the drive and determination to make your childrens school system better than what it was when they first started? To not see every parent of a student of Bell City high school outside the school building in protest is a shame. Get off you asses people. When my kids get old enough to be in school here you better damn well believe that I will be a royal pain in the ass if things aren't up to my standards. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If BC can't meet the standard academic requirements of the state, then they should drop any and all sports and fund their teacher better.

I'm gonna get off my soap box now but I will leave this quote that I am very fond of. It's about speaking up for yourself and others before it's to late and written by Martin Niemöller .

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then... they came for me... And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

... In Bell City, we didn't speak up for our children's education...

[Guest1]

"Bob Lob Law", I agree with everything that you have said; but will say that when your kids get old enough to be in school I hope you have better luck than some of these parents that I know; because they complained, and tried to get it rectified, to no avail. The school wants to hear nothing about academics, but will talk all day long about Basketball, and their star players they get from other schools. This school is a joke, and the parents cannot afford to move to another city, so they are stuck. I hope something good comes out of this. By the way, Bell City School administrators will never give up basketball, or any other athletics, that is what they feel is most important.

[land of the living]

UMMMM "BOB LUB LAW"if you have not noticed this website has come to our attention recently!!!!i have been up Bell City schools you know what ever since christmas!!!for petes sake i gave them a chance and in case you didnt read the messages above "the state board of education has been notified!lol...if you just wanna blow on here just to put everyone down the go somewhere else this thread is for parents/AND CONCERNED FAMILY wanting to know info on how we can now better the outta control situation TO ACHIEVE THE BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE!....we have been standing up for our children and now will continue to do so in the future so that when your children are school age maybe this same kinda thing wont happen to them OK!!

[Guest1]

"Land of the living", you are right on the money! I have family members with children about to go into the 7th grade, and it scares me that they are possibly going to have a horrible experience, and perhaps not pass! I hope that these parents can band together and get something done. These administrators need to be held accountable. The parents can only do so much, along with the children; when you have rogue teachers, and other faculty, ie..school, you have a major problem. This is why we find ourselves in this situation.

[guest123]

It does not good to go to the school and talk to the administration about what is going on in the class room. you might as well go talk to a tree or a wall or something.they dont care. and what needs to happen is the board needs to fire everyone in the school system including the principles and the superintendant and start all over. because that's the only way things are ever going to get better at this school!

[Guest1]

"Guest 123", HOW TRUE YOU ARE!

[parent]

You all are a perfect example of why you should not believe everything you read on the internet. I have kids in elementary and jr high and I can say very little that is written in this thread is true. There is alot more false than anything. I am not related to anyone at Bell City and I can say nothing but good about the people I deal with there.