ALAN writes:
I came across a news article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently about a school in St. Louis County. It was headlined, “Normandy High: The most dangerous school in the area.”
The article describes intimidation, fights, guns, pepper spray, and students with names like “Daija’h,” “Ta’Darrian,” “Damontae,” “Marquez,” and “Tamia.” The article states:
In 2012, the school reported 285 discipline incidents — such as assaults, drugs and weapons — that resulted in out-of-school suspension, a rate of more than one for every four students, the highest among high schools in the region.
A Kansas City school, the Central Academy of Academic Excellence, was the only school in the state to report a higher level of sheer bedlam and lawlessness. The article describes the standard excuse-making and excuse-validating by those who run Normandy High. It is the latter that make the former possible.
Why did all this command my attention? Because a good friend graduated from that same high school many years ago. Yet she never told me of having to dodge bullets or pepper spray during her school years. (more…)