Gangs In MMS ??
goodjob is posting what he/she feels. If you don't agree or like it, then simply ignore the post. Why the need to criticize or make fun?
if people thing goodjob is being "bullied," imho we've completely lost track of what the definition of bullying is.
bklyngirl said:
goodjob is posting what he/she feels. If you don't agree or like it, then simply ignore the post. Why the need to criticize or make fun?
That's a fair enough comment. However, I don't much appreciate threads that trash the entire school system and towns with unresearched allegations that are, in any case, off target.
ml1 said:
if people thing goodjob is being "bullied," imho we've completely lost track of what the definition of bullying is.
Good point. Ridicule in the public square is part of the game.
Again - my point is not to suggest we cannot disagree or call someone out for hyperbole. I just think that as grown-ups we can do it without being unkind. And it's not just THIS thread, or THIS issue. Once I posted something about someone giving me the finger at the train station because I honked when he almost pulled into me and I was attacked for being all kinds of a problem. People are not nice sometimes and it's not necessary
I do not believe anyone "has lost track of the definition of bullying" as ml1 states. It is "unkind" to continuously denigrate what a posting says on any thread ...a new poster comes on a thread and offers their opinion and is blasted by those who think their own posting is sancrosanct ...it is not ...and using the imho 's doesn't make it so.
As for the OP ..there may not be full fledged gangs but there are many, staff included,who feel strongly that the middle schools are run by the kids ...unfortunately teachers were not part of the discussion Monday. It is common knowledge that very little discipline is applied at MMS. That so many want to sweep it under the rug is frightening .
A bullying mentality does exist and a summer of designing ways to handle it would go a long way in handling the problem. Having staff involved in critical ways to solve the problems is essential to it's solution.
if you go back an read all of goodjob's posts, you will find he/she has generally been more belligerent and ridiculing of others that others have been of her/him. Bullying is when the stronger or more powerful "punch down." goodjob has more than dished out his/her share, so I don't see how the term "bullying" applies.
ml1 said:
if you go back an read all of goodjob's posts, you will find he/she has been more belligerent and ridiculing of others that anyone has been of her/him. Bullying is when the stronger or more powerful "punch down." goodjob has more than dished out his/her share, so I don't see how the term "bullying" applies.
+1
The idea that goodjob has been bullied here seems just silly to me. Goodjob shouldn't dish it out if s/he doesn't want to experience any pushback.
I can and do respect opposing views, but I agree that that one poster is bringing it on him or her self by never showing any courtesy of their own. There are two or three posters on these boards like that. Others are strong willed but not that bad.
Not showing courtesy to other posters is the least of it. Certain people refuse to contemplate another point of view and spread rumors about serious situations without any regard for the facts that others have brought to the table. And they give as good as they get when it comes to discourteous behavior. It's the irresponsible statements about the state of the schools and administration that make it more difficult to be polite to some posters.
Am I sorry I got a little snarky? A little. I will try to rein in my comments and ignore the posters who I strongly feel are contributing nothing but nonsense to the thread(s) and therefore inflaming things unnecessarily.
It's kind of an interesting problem. I suppose some posters show up on MOL tossing out firebombs and irritating a lot of people when what these people really need is a hug and some reassurance.
they need us to give them a harrumph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN99jshaQbY
This will be an interesting thread to revisit a year from now if gangs are discovered to have been present in the school.
bklyngirl said:
goodjob is posting what he/she feels. If you don't agree or like it, then simply ignore the post. Why the need to criticize or make fun?
Anonymity breeds asshattedness.
GGartrell said:
This will be an interesting thread to revisit a year from now if gangs are discovered to have been present in the school.
There is a gang presence in Maplewood and the schools. Of that, I am sure. The relevant question is how extensive is the presence and the answer would appear to be not very extensive.
The problem is that when you say gangs, people immediate conjure up images of Hollywood police shows where gangs control certain blocks and battle with other gangs over various things.
"gang presence" implies active gangs to me. I think it's more accurate to say it's very likely there are kids in the high school and middle school who belong to gangs.
tjohn said:
GGartrell said:There is a gang presence in Maplewood and the schools. Of that, I am sure. The relevant question is how extensive is the presence and the answer would appear to be not very extensive.
This will be an interesting thread to revisit a year from now if gangs are discovered to have been present in the school.
The problem is that when you say gangs, people immediate conjure up images of Hollywood police shows where gangs control certain blocks and battle with other gangs over various things.
This will be an interesting thread to revisit a year from now if gangs are discovered to have had an extensive presence in the school.
ml1 said:
"gang presence" implies active gangs to me. I think it's more accurate to say it's very likely there are kids in the high school and middle school who belong to gangs.
This is probably most accurate.
Again, it depends on what gang members are doing in the schools. We could have 100% gang membership among students, but if they aren't disrupting the school environment, then is there a problem?
Anyway, I asked the question in another thread and somebody posted a report from the MPD, I believe, from 2011 saying that they believed there were about 50 gang members in town.
cleg said:
goodjob said:I am the parent who raised the groping issue and the schoolstaff lack of response. I also made the joke about the Grateful Dead. My family is personally dealing with these issues at MMS. I do not think I am clueless.
.
Middle school students are inherently knuckleheads. They say and do stupid things. They identify one day as one thing and the next another. They are kids.
There is not a gang problem in MMS, period. Getting hysterical about non issues takes away from the real issues...like groping.
i love how your priorities matter and mine dont. i also am confounded how you brush this off as a bunch of "knuckleheads"... this is a problem with this world we live in. kids who sexually assaults another kid is a "knucklehead"... gang graffiti in a bathroom is "probably just a joke or kids fooling around".. im sure these sre the same people who believe the new Sea World commercials as well. im sure the denial you are all feeling has some deep rooted issues with you personally.. im quite thrilled to be in touch with my feelings, and im not afraid to feel fear and anger and disgust.
listen everybody, its OK to admit flaws in our system. its OK to admit perhaps our community has a dark side noone likes to admit exists...
"There is not a gang problem in MMS, period" is the most ridiculous thing i have ever read. how do you know this? there is gang graffiti in Borden and De Hart parks as well- where your kids probably play soccer and teeball. (there is also drug vials and empty ziplock dimebags as well but god forbid i mention that our "children" are doing coke or heroin. its just a phase right?)... heroin has made a resurgence in high schools around NJ. trust me, its in CHS.
i sound alarmist because i feel theres people on this board making fun of my concern. but i expect nothing less than a bunch of stay at home trolls and self professed "parents of the year"
tjohn said:
Again, it depends on what gang members are doing in the schools. We could have 100% gang membership among students, but if they aren't disrupting the school environment, then is there a problem?
Anyway, I asked the question in another thread and somebody posted a report from the MPD, I believe, from 2011 saying that they believed there were about 50 gang members in town.
And what qualifies as a "gang" exactly? Do member of motorcycle gangs count for example?
Goodjob,
You need to do your homework before you make comments about Cleg. If you had done your homework, you would know that he is the spearhead of efforts to make the MMS Administration take groping seriously.
Now how you can believe that parents think there are no problems in our towns is quite beyond me. I suppose I could find some parents who don't know that some percentage of students in town are using drugs, but it certainly can't be a large number.
Most of us are well-aware of the flaws in our two towns. We just chose to not wallow in it as you do. And that is why you are being ridiculed.
tjohn said:
Goodjob,
You need to do your homework before you make comments about Cleg. If you had done your homework, you would know that he is the spearhead of efforts to make the MMS Administration take groping seriously.
Now how you can believe that parents think there are no problems in our towns is quite beyond me. I suppose I could find some parents who don't know that some percentage of students in town are using drugs, but it certainly can't be a large number.
Most of us are well-aware of the flaws in our two towns. We just chose to not wallow in it as you do. And that is why you are being ridiculed.
Part of the reason anyway.
tjohn said:
Goodjob,
You need to do your homework before you make comments about Cleg. If you had done your homework, you would know that he is the spearhead of efforts to make the MMS Administration take groping seriously.
Now how you can believe that parents think there are no problems in our towns is quite beyond me. I suppose I could find some parents who don't know that some percentage of students in town are using drugs, but it certainly can't be a large number.
Most of us are well-aware of the flaws in our two towns. We just chose to not wallow in it as you do. And that is why you are being ridiculed.
i know who cleg is. he is the one who made fun of my post about gang graffiti comparing it to the grateful dead , right? what if i made fun of his kids abuse? i would never do that though. im not a 'knucklehead'.
if we dont make our concerns known , nothing will happen to fix them. thats ho change is made in society.
there is heroin in our schools, and our town in general. its in our high school, and in our families. take a look at the man or woman on the train home from the city- they may be using as well. its a huge problem in NJ:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/heroin_use_among_young_in_nj_i.html What exactly do you want our schools to do about heroin given that there is practically nothing they can do.
In fact, what do you want me to do about heroin, other than pay my taxes. I don't use. My kids don't. I don't deny that it is out there, but what somebody five blocks over or whatever is doing is totally beyond my control.
What our school system needs are new teachers. I propose bringing in Edward James Olmos, Michelle Pfeiffer, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sydney Poitier and Hilary Swank. They've proven themselves to be able to clean up crime-ridden, failing schools before, I've seen the documentaries.
ridski said:
What our school system needs are new teachers. I propose bringing in Edward James Olmos, Michelle Pfeiffer, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sydney Poitier and Hilary Swank. They've proven themselves to be able to clean up crime-ridden, failing schools before, I've seen the documentaries.
And Joe Clark. We need Joe Clark.
+1