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Fighting the School Administration


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Offline General Throatstomper

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Fighting the School Administration
« on: March 29, 2006, 12:06:41 am »
If you do not know, I go to a high school.

And now you do.

This High School had a change in administration this year. The new principal has adopted several new policies that adversely affect both students and teachers. For example, teachers are not allowed to stay in school for more than 30 minutes after school is dismissed (it supposedly helps the janitors). Students are forbidden from entering the library before 7:20 (10 minutes before first period begins, also assuming that the librarians aren't incompetent). I could go on about mid-term exemptions, the cutting of all languages other than French and Italien, etc, but I'll save space. Nobody likes the actions that the administration is taking. However, one of these policies prevents protest. The policy, copied word for word from a school handbook, reads as follows:

Quote
Insubordination: Any student disobeying a direct order from any member of the school staff will be suspended indefinately.

This applies to any order given, even if two orders are conflicting. As of the half-year, 40 of 3000 students have been suspended on this policy simply for raising mild dissent among the school, ie, questioning the principal. The teachers cannot raise objection, either; one long-standing teacher (I believe that they were teaching for 20 years) was fired for just that reason.

The administration has also handled school events poorly. We had one "code blue lockdown", where students were instructed to lock all doors, close all windows, and move into the center of the rooms. Nobody knew that a code blue was a drug search as they have not explained the emergency key. Many thought that some cataclysmic event had befallen the school, another egregious oversight that said incompetent rulers did not think of or address.

We have had 3 bomb scares. Had they been real threats, a large population of the school would be dead. On one day, a bomb threat was phoned in within the school's first period, but we were not evacuated from the building for 2 hours. In another incident, there were claims that the cafeteria had been rigged to a remote detonator, and again the reaction was slow. In a final incident, someone wrote "bomb" on a piece of paper and left it on the principal's desk. The school was flushed out in 10 minutes.

I have contacted the superintendant, who sees nothing wrong with the problem. I see no way to revoke the policies without getting expelled. It's martial law. I can either accept it or leave, but I wish to do neither because I have friends in the school. The one option that I see open is to write an editorial for submission to the local papers, but the school is somehow recognised as high-achieving. Probably because the administration cuts corners to make things easier, in a bad way, for students (example, if you have greater than a C for a semester, you don't have to take a midterm or final).

What should I do to remove the unjust decisions made by the incompetent school officials without being suspended?


I HOPE YOU DO

Offline douglas

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Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2006, 04:24:30 am »
If a large proportion of the school is against it, hold a day-long walk-out. Your numbers will have to be sufficiently high that 1) notice is taken and 2) you're not singled out for blame.  It'd be a PR disaster for them if they had to suspend say half the school, and it's not possible to fire more than a couple of teachers without that getting noticed too.

Sound people out you think would be willing to help (in a casual way, mind).  I'm including teachers, parents and local dignataries in this; then it can't be dismissed as kids looking for a skive.  Also, if you do get it rolling, contact every press agency anywhere near you, and picket the school line (not entirely sure that bit's legal, but meh).

It is possible to so stuff like this (I did when I was at school) but it'll take a large base of support as well as work and drive on your part.  Good luck with it though.
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Offline yse

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Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2006, 05:15:10 am »
I think the first step before considering anything douglas has to say, is to ensure there's enough people annoyed by this to get a big enough "strike", for want of a better term, off the ground. You don't want to lay your cards on the table too early though - just, say, spread a series of flyers covertly around the school and get students' views on the matter. (This isn't to say you should limit yourself to the student body, but again you don't want to play your cards too early.)

Once you're satisfied there's enough support from students, you can look to get adults involved in your operation too - you'll have to be more careful around them though. Ideally, start with your parents and get them to spread the word - without being disrespectful, adults are more likely to be more receptive to other adults than you. Get them to give you an idea of how large this group is getting.

Then you can start to put your plan into action. Start by telling only those who you can be certain will not betray your trust, and then if you have, say, ten or twenty of you that spread the word to the masses, then one person can't be picked out even if the school chooses the long and arduous task of finding the original perpetrators.

And if it works, something that big is bound to attract public interest. Good luck!

(I wonder how much of that was basically reiterating what Douglas said...)

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Offline douglas

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Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2006, 06:05:49 am »
Heh, it was more or less what I meant, although I made the assumption that the ground-level of support exists, given how blueblaze's original post was worded (I might have dismissed it as teenage-angsty otherwise tbh).

It might also be an idea to propose some sort of staff-student liason group to the administration; somewhere student representatives can put across their views and those of their peers (and vice-versa for the teachers).  That at least shows you've tried to resolve this peacefully; however given your description of the administration I think it's unlikely they'll put in the effort to make such a thing float.
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Offline magnum12

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Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2006, 04:04:59 pm »
-When making a student/adult joint protest like douglas says, just be careful that no one rats you out to the administration, knowing what's going on.
-Sounds like a case of gross incompetence and corruption to me. I suggest sending your story to Bill O'Reily (I know some of you might not like him, but the explanation for this is later.). He's one of the most powerful people in the American media, and stuff such as this (corruption, incompetence, and the other things wrong with this school's administration) are just the sort of thing he has no tolerance for. I don't know if this school is in the U.S. or not, but if it is and if this story makes Bill mad enough, he'll feature it (and leave the names of those who report it annomynous if requested) and perhaps the pressure from bad publicity will correct the problem. In the meantime, I'll have something that might cheer you up in the Wikkity forum some time next week when its ready. Good luck and hope things turn out for the best.
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Re: Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2006, 05:50:34 pm »
Well i don't really know. But the prostest thing and crap, well gess what, THEY DON'T FRIGG'N TINK THE FIRST ENEMMENT EXIST! And, that is right of free speach, and potions and crap. Your whore pirincable a bitch as it seems, and questioning the frigg'n princables gets you suspended? What the fuck? i mean i have done that before to teachers, and they don't give a crap. But even firing a staff member for doing that? Your pincable is on herion or just down right a bitch for doing that. Well, you havn't topped our bomb threats yet. We've had 4 this school year, and this is a middle school too, and 6th graders (witch is my grade) have done this. Though noone takes them serously because all of them have been crap. If they where bombs, i would be dead now, and also even if we have a bomb treat we sit there and do work. Major what the fuck? Because it could be real and we all die from it. And your superintendint dosn't see anything wrong then he's on crack. Your school is as fucked up as mine, and hopefully it gets better for you along the way. But if the princable is an ass amke a potion or say waht you want, then say FIRST ENMEMENT! (If this is in the U.S of course). I fell your pain, and hopefully it all gets better, and besides summer i salmost here!
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Offline Spinballwizard

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Re: Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2006, 09:59:57 pm »
*amendment

Also necromancy for the lose. :(
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Offline PsyBorg

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Re: Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2006, 10:01:15 pm »
lol sixth grade


And I thought I was the youngest member here (not counting sonic93, who is also older and a grade up from this man)


But anyway, listen to your English class, dude. I don't want to be mean, but don't sit around doing NOTHING (unless there's a bomb threat and it's real). Practice grammar or something. Consult dictionaries. Because the words you're looking for are actually "amendment", "speech", and "principal", which teachers should have clearly explained to you by the fifth grade anyway. Seriously. You need some improvement.


Also, yeah, thread necromancy sucks crap.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2006, 10:03:45 pm by PsyBorg »
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Offline douglas

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Re: Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2006, 05:20:32 am »
I want you to be a lawyer one day, arguing about the First Enemment and that the defendants were on crack would be hilarious.
This topic has now been officially won by me.  Never mind, you might do better next time!
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Offline Bilan

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Re: Fighting the School Administration
« Reply #9 on: May 23, 2006, 06:19:13 pm »
I concur.

Or a Surgeon.

I can see it now

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