Bravo SVUSD!!!

My concern is that we are hurting the self-esteem of the middle school students. These years are extremely important in a child’s life and set the tone for subsequent years. Actually holding back a student, when their peers move on, would likely destroy their self-esteem and do irreparable harm. An experience like this could forever crush a kid’s initiative and stop them from trying new things, for fear of failure.

The grades earned in middle school don’t count for anything. Why stress the kids out at this age?

Tim,
I'm glad to see you are blogging on this topic. The call for change really started with the middle school teachers who are on the front lines. They brought the issue to the Union, the Union then brought it to the District and jointly brought it to the Board. The Board has been extremely supportive and I think it is great! This is not about punishing kids or lowering their self esteem. This is about making sure these kids are ready for High School and ready to succeed in life. I look at it like trying to teach someone the high jump. If the bar is on the ground they do not have to put out any effort so they do not improve, if you raise the bar they start to achieve and feel good about themselves and their progress. The goal here is not to hold kids back, the goal is the push them forward to success!

Jerre ~ Do you think its better for a failing middle school student to eventually drop out of high school or be held back in middle school, pass the necessary requirements for entry into high school, and eventually graduate?

Speaking from experience, I was a middle school student at Valley View and nearly fell through the cracks. Fortunately, my parents and teachers recognized that I was underachieving and I turned it around before moving on to high school. Extra curricular activities (cross-country and basketball - a teacher by the name of Mr. Kidd was my basketball coach) helped tremendously, but that's not the case now.

I'm in favor of a program that promotes success and does not reward failure. If you can take a failing middle school student and turn them into a high school graduate, then you have succeeded. Allowing a failing middle school student to advance and then likely fail, its a recipe for disaster.

Alan,
Great points. Personally, I would also like to see a limited sports program return to the middle schools. I think the middle schools lack things that bring out a "school spirit" and really give the kids a chance to come together as a school. My son is about to leave Hillside after being there for only two years. He is doing well with his grades but I don't think he really feels much of a bond to the school, not like he did in elementary or the kind of bond I think he will have with Royal.

Alan,

It not a choice of one or the other – dropping out of high school or being held back in middle school. It’s simply a recognition of the putting too much pressure on kids at too early an age. As the kids mature, they take on more responsibility for their own success. Trying to force responsibility on them at the middle school age may only cause them to reject school entirely.

I like Arleigh’s idea of a sports program in middle school, but rather than have a limited program, let’s go all out. There should be teams for soccer, lacrosse, baseball, football, basketball, etc. If there are kids interested in a sport, there should be a team for it. For those kids who plan sports careers, the sooner they get involved the better they are. This would save money for the parents who may have no other choice but to be involved in a private league.

Jerre,

I agree with Arleigh as well. However, since you suggested a sports program on a larger scale, how do you propose to pay for it? At one time, sports at the high school level were paid for entirely by the schools/districts. Now, for many sports, parents are asked to subsidize much of the cost (for uniforms, equipment, travel, etc).

I'm wondering how you propose to pay for an "all out" sports program at the middle schools, especially if it is free to the kids (as you suggest in your comment).

I planned for a "career" in sports but, like 99.99% of high school athletes, my career ended in high school. Now, the closest I get to a career in sports is part-time work for the Park District as a sports official (e.g. referee).

Granted, Simi Valley has produced some great athletes, and even a few professionals (Don MacLean, the Weavers). But if you were to survey high school athletes today, I'm sure the vast majority would agree that they likely won't become "professionals" in their respective sports. That's just a fact in life.

If you're suggesting that a middle school sports program will produce more careers for Simi Valley athletes, you're living a pipe dream.

Alan,
I would like to see a limited sports program, or something else, that would give the middle school kids a reason to identify with their school and to see it as more than a place they will spend two years before going to high school. I'm extremely happy to see that the District is addressing the academic issue, but I also think the "School Spirit" issue needs to be addressed.

I not sure that it is possible to build our way out of this problem. Building is one solution, but without an equal number of jobs all that happens is people buy one place and commute to their job in another place. Our local politicians continue to do an excellent job of pushing good paying existing job to other areas. Many of the high-skill, high-paying manufacturing jobs are gone. Automotive production ceased to exist years ago and now airplane production has come to an end.

IGNORE MY PREVIOUS POST. It was meant for another topic.
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Alan – the kids have a right to play whatever sport interests them. If a sports program is a high priority, the money will be found to fund it. I am appalled if parents have to subsidize any part of a sports program. And that goes for arts and music and anything else. Why are parents putting up with this arrangement?

And, perhaps if we had better funded sports programs in middle school, Simi Valley would be producing many more professional athletes!

Jerre,

Parents are "putting up with this arrangement" because if they didn't, sports would not exist in our schools. Period.

We should not be concerned with our public schools producing top quality athletes and should be concerned that they are producing bright, well-prepared young adults.

Students that want to use our public schools as a vehicle for athletic success should attend schools like Oaks Christian where such performance is rewarded.

One thing that everyone can relate to is school sports. The Board takes as much enjoyment as the parents over sports and team rankings. The Board has an obligation to fully fund sports activities for all the kids that want to participate. If that is not happening, then the Board is taking advantage of the parents, in an area that the Board knows the parents will ante up. My suggestion is for the parents to come together and announce to the Board that they will not put up with this any longer. This will force the Board to allocate the money. In the unlikely event the Board does not come up with the money, they will have to answer to the kids and the community. A school board member won’t be able to go to the market without taking some heat. My guess is that at the next election there will be a number of candidates who will commit to fully funding the sports teams. If you continue to submit to this extortion, what next? Will the parents have to pay for books for their kids, pay fees for every little thing?

I have even a better idea. You really want to get the Boards’ attention and get sports the kind of funding that is deserved? Hold the kids out of school for one day, the day after a big game that the teams wins. There’s nothing that will get the Boards’ attention more than funding!