Cheerleaders' lifestyle is nothing to cheer about
The pouting teenagers were guilty of intimidation, threats, "telling teachers to shut up, using a cell phone in class even after being told not to, cheating on tests, skipping school," added Mr Jones, who interviewed 75 pupils, teachers, parents and school administrators.
Pranks included commandeering Ms Ward's mobile telephone and sending racy text messages to her husband and another coach, and posting sexually provocative pictures of themselves on MySpace, the social networking website. Previous coaches had also complained. One left her post after the head teacher's daughter made an obscene gesture from the sidelines during a football match; another walked out after some of the girls were caught drinking but escaped punishment.
"These girls were at the top of the food chain, they were 'uber-cool', they had the looks – some of them had the money," said Mr Jones. "I talked to a real good-looking football coach and he was obviously scared of them. He had taught inner-city school kids in San Francisco and he said gang members were nothing compared with these girls."
There were two reasons that these "girls" able to get away with so much bad behavior.
A $40,000 (£21,000) inquiry into the McKinney affair detailed how the five girls enjoyed immunity thanks to the fact that one of their number was the daughter of the head teacher.
By the way, “head teacher” is another name for the principal. This article is from a news paper in the UK about an incident that happened in Texas.
It also revealed how, when punishments were finally proposed, indignant mothers rallied to their precious offsprings' defence.
From Texas Cheerleaders Terrorize School:
In December, the principal resigned as part of a settlement in which she received $75,000 and a letter of recommendation for her next job. The former principal's attorney says she denies shielding her daughter from punishment.
That's one of the things wrong with public education. Regardless of how badly a teacher or administrator performs, they can expect to walk away with a settlement and a letter of recommendation. Would you want this woman to be the principal at your child's school?
So, ultimately who's to blame? Nepotism among the school administration definitely played a part, but ultimately the parents are responsible for encouraging bad conduct.
This is also a "good" example of why I don't send my children to public school. I'm reminded of that woman on Dr. Phil who complained that homeschooling ruined her life because she didn't get to be a cheerleader. She doesn't know how lucky she was.
The second article had some discussion about the problem of giving children too much power. That can be a problem for homeschoolers as well.
Rosalind Wiseman, an educator on teens and parenting, and author of the book "Queen Bees and Wannabee's," sees the Texas cheerleading debacle as part of a wider problem with kids and power.
"This is about kids having more power than adults, and them getting away with things no matter how old they are," she said.
Wiseman said that if parents wanted to prevent their kids from running amok, they couldn't be afraid to punish them.
"Some parents today feel that their No. 1 job is to protect their child, and it's not," she said. "Their job is to raise an ethical child, which means holding them accountable for bad behavior."
I agree with Rosalind Wiseman until her last statement.
When it comes to conflicts in school, Wiseman said parents should steer clear of direct involvement, if possible.
Advising parents to "steer clear of direct involvement" can put students at risk. I understand her arguments for letting kids "work things out on their own." However, the parents need to stay actively in the loop. You can't assume a teacher or administrator is going to act ethically. Recent sex scandals involving teachers and students are just one example of that kind of problem.
For more on the story see School Administrators Gone Bad.
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Related Tags: public education, cheerleaders, homeschool, principal, McKinney, Texas, fab five, high school
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