Just playing - end of year fun

["Madeline L. Buchanan" <mlbuchan@hiwaay.net>]

I think that the behavior of students at the end of the school year has
origins from kindergarten when the students are learning to get along with
each other.  I have stopped what looked like to me was a fight and the
students have responded with "we're just playing."  When students get in
trouble and the teacher or principal calls the parent, the parent invariably
upholds the behavior of the student, not the attempts of school personnel to
correct the negative behavior.

As the students go through school, the problem escalates, culminating in the
so-called fun of the class leaving the particular school.  Although attempts
are made during the school year to teach responsibility and respect of the
property of others, this is not reinforced in the home in many cases.  In
fact, parents themselves promote such negative behavior by their own
behavior in many instances.

Fortunately, we have not heard of many of this type of problem in the
Birmingham area except for the school where administrators let students know
that certain behavior standards were expected during graduation and several
of the seniors vandalized the school.  These students were "not" allowed to
take part in graduation activities.  At my school, the negative behavior of
the 8th grade students throughout the school year resulted in their not
being able to take part in activities that their predecessors had done,
including a trip to Washington, D. C. during spring break and a farewell
banquet and dance.

I feel that until parents take more responsibilities in teaching their
children positive behavior instead of rewarding and promoting negative
behavior, this trend of end-of-year fun will continue.  After all, if
parents don't respect the educational process, how can we expect their
children to do the same?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Madeline L. Buchanan, Library Media Specialist
W. J. Christian School, Birmingham, Alabama  35206
Phone (205) 838-7666 or 231-5277
Fax (205) 838-7673
mlbuchan@hiwaay.net
http://home.hiwaay.net/~mlbuchan/
http://home.hiwaay.net/~wjcs/

"If at first you do succeed --
Try to hide your astonishment."
--Harry F. Banks
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