Are We Being Spanked Another Way ?

The statistics came in on violence in the Memphis city schools the other day. Since the removal of corporal punishment. The results don't look good at all. Everything is up from last year. Even with the skewering of the numbers. We still can't find the silver lining. Now the school board members (Sarah Lewis) are coming out saying the reports are not credible. I think this is nothing more than a ploy to be re-elected, on her part. This should have been expected. We were having trouble with our children already. Any board member worth his or her dirt, are aware of the discipline situation. Any member that didn't openly protest this policy. Should be voted out of office, in the next election.

I like Wanda Halbert, but's she's not a leader. She needs to be backing someone up. I think she is too impressionable, and that's okay to a degree. That balances the scales out. Her mentor (Sarah Lewis) needs to be replaced. Ms. Halbert is enough of that type of persuasion, on the school board. In that area, I think we're top heavy. Unfortunately Ms. Gatewood is overkill. We have enough single mothers represented. What is missing is the Authoritarian figure. For the sake of progress, Hubon Sandridge needed to go. Only if we had someone too take his place though. Our community needs to be careful of that, it's counterproductive. Removing something we aren't prepared to replace. The passing of Dr. Lee Brown created a void. There was chaos, in the absence of the voice of reason. Too bad Mr. Brooks didn't have that persona, it was sorely needed. Though I think he was a pretty good man. He didn't have the impact we needed.

Superintindent Johnson has already made her position clear. If you don't like the job she's doing. Let her know, she'll pack her bags and go. Really her mission here is complete. In my opinion we're in worse shape, than we were in the beginning. Not only do we have academic problems. Which we hadn't solved. We now have new discipline problems, that we must address. Instead of moving forward, we're going backward. There may not be any paddling in the schools. As a concerned citizen of Memphis, I feel a lick.