WJHS Demerit System
Well I've had this battle in the past and have not seen it through to the end but now I may have to take this all the way.
The demerit system this year has been renamed to TIPS but it is essentially the same as last year. The administration is extremely proud of the fact that they have re-designed the form which is about the only change besides the name.
TIPS is an acronym for Teachers Informing Parents and Students, the new form is a three part form, one for the school, one for the student and one for the parent...the one for the parent is a weak point since the school never actually sends them to the parents.
There are no definitions of what an offense is and when questioned, the administration says they do not want to limit what the teachers do in the classrooms. Never mind the fact that every teacher interprets the rules differently and makes up the rules for their own classroom. An example would be, one teacher considers you tardy if you are not in the room when the bell rings while the teacher in the next room defines tardy as not being in your seat when the bell rings. Another example, one teacher considers the "No Homework" TIP to mean NO homework, while another teacher considers it to mean imcomplete homework....you didn't answer one question out of 50, too bad you're getting a TIP because I don't like you or I'm having a bad day or you've annoyed me in the past.
Another is gum and candy, it clearly states that gum and candy is not allowed at the school except in the case of certain activities (these are also not defined), demerits are given to students for having gum or candy. This is not a bad thing..............until you find out that some teachers give these products away for rewards and further some teachers sell these things in their rooms. Somehow the teachers and administrators do not find this to be a problem. Once again, the Principal says the reason for this is to allow the teacher to have control in their own classroom.
My stance is that clear definitions and rules that apply to all classrooms make it much easier for the students, teachers and administrators. The administration disagree's, I guess they believe that having different rules for each classroom, teacher and administrator is much easier for the students to remember than have one set of rules that apply to all....go figure. I was told that there are 25 teachers, so this means a possibility of 25 sets of rules. A student has 8 periods a day, so he or she has at least eight sets of rules to contend with. Just to throw a twist into the works, when teachers are watching the hallway between classes they use their own rules, so the minute a student clears the doorway of a classroom they change to a new set of rules...
Here's what happens...the classroom teacher, Teacher "A", says "Congratulations, good job,here's a piece of gum", the student pops it into his mouth...the bell rings...the student gathers his belongings and heads for his locker...Teacher "B" who has hall duty sees the student chewing gum and gives him a TIP because he does not allow gum...(Never mind the fact that it was Teacher "A" that gave the student the gum.
They also do not define how many TIPS can be given for an offense, teachers and administrators say the maximum is five (actually they say the most they have seen given is five), but there is no written limit and the person giving the TIP is free to determine how many they will give.
Where is all this coming from you might ask...I have a student who attends this school...he has lots of problems with demerits...I don't have a problem with "a" demerit system...what I have a problem with is this demerit system...it is poorly managed and not even the teachers and administrators know what the rules are...
Couple all of this with the fact that 40 demerits equal an expulsion...yes is can be 40 no pencils or 40 disrespect to a teacher...no way to get demerits removed other than seven days with no demerits and multiple punishments for these offenses....this is a system to keep track of.
More to come....
PLEASE feel free to respond to this the rules are...identify yourself, no profanity or abusive language, be kind and be cordial, stick to the facts. If you don't play by the rules I will remove your post. I don't care if you agree or disagree with me, I'll leave your post up is you follow the above rules ...(do not phone numbers or address- real names are fine)
The demerit system this year has been renamed to TIPS but it is essentially the same as last year. The administration is extremely proud of the fact that they have re-designed the form which is about the only change besides the name.
TIPS is an acronym for Teachers Informing Parents and Students, the new form is a three part form, one for the school, one for the student and one for the parent...the one for the parent is a weak point since the school never actually sends them to the parents.
There are no definitions of what an offense is and when questioned, the administration says they do not want to limit what the teachers do in the classrooms. Never mind the fact that every teacher interprets the rules differently and makes up the rules for their own classroom. An example would be, one teacher considers you tardy if you are not in the room when the bell rings while the teacher in the next room defines tardy as not being in your seat when the bell rings. Another example, one teacher considers the "No Homework" TIP to mean NO homework, while another teacher considers it to mean imcomplete homework....you didn't answer one question out of 50, too bad you're getting a TIP because I don't like you or I'm having a bad day or you've annoyed me in the past.
Another is gum and candy, it clearly states that gum and candy is not allowed at the school except in the case of certain activities (these are also not defined), demerits are given to students for having gum or candy. This is not a bad thing..............until you find out that some teachers give these products away for rewards and further some teachers sell these things in their rooms. Somehow the teachers and administrators do not find this to be a problem. Once again, the Principal says the reason for this is to allow the teacher to have control in their own classroom.
My stance is that clear definitions and rules that apply to all classrooms make it much easier for the students, teachers and administrators. The administration disagree's, I guess they believe that having different rules for each classroom, teacher and administrator is much easier for the students to remember than have one set of rules that apply to all....go figure. I was told that there are 25 teachers, so this means a possibility of 25 sets of rules. A student has 8 periods a day, so he or she has at least eight sets of rules to contend with. Just to throw a twist into the works, when teachers are watching the hallway between classes they use their own rules, so the minute a student clears the doorway of a classroom they change to a new set of rules...
Here's what happens...the classroom teacher, Teacher "A", says "Congratulations, good job,here's a piece of gum", the student pops it into his mouth...the bell rings...the student gathers his belongings and heads for his locker...Teacher "B" who has hall duty sees the student chewing gum and gives him a TIP because he does not allow gum...(Never mind the fact that it was Teacher "A" that gave the student the gum.
They also do not define how many TIPS can be given for an offense, teachers and administrators say the maximum is five (actually they say the most they have seen given is five), but there is no written limit and the person giving the TIP is free to determine how many they will give.
Where is all this coming from you might ask...I have a student who attends this school...he has lots of problems with demerits...I don't have a problem with "a" demerit system...what I have a problem with is this demerit system...it is poorly managed and not even the teachers and administrators know what the rules are...
Couple all of this with the fact that 40 demerits equal an expulsion...yes is can be 40 no pencils or 40 disrespect to a teacher...no way to get demerits removed other than seven days with no demerits and multiple punishments for these offenses....this is a system to keep track of.
More to come....
PLEASE feel free to respond to this the rules are...identify yourself, no profanity or abusive language, be kind and be cordial, stick to the facts. If you don't play by the rules I will remove your post. I don't care if you agree or disagree with me, I'll leave your post up is you follow the above rules ...(do not phone numbers or address- real names are fine)
posted by K.R.Baxter at 14:08
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