To all of you helicopter parents who have nothing better to do than blow every single thing that goes on at your children's schools completely out of proportion,
WE ARE ALL FINE.
There is nothing happening at any Melrose schools that is not happening at every school across the country. Our school is not special in any way. Stop trying to fix what's not broken and work on preventing your child from being a sheltered, disrespectful, and needy brat.
MFD, you are a jackwagon.
That was a great point by the MHS student. You and the cast of Melrose haters out here should shut your mouth and listen for once. The kids are fine. The histrionics of Melrosemessages do not exist in the real worl.
This is exactly who you should hear from. The people that should not lecture the Melrose community are the parents that send their kids to private high schools and then write letters to the free press.
I bet you are not an MHS student. Your post was too well-written. The kids at MHS who would be able to write coherently know how bad things are. I bet you are one of the sanctimonious parents who stick their heads in the sand or someone from the administration trying to downplay everything.
Yeah I guess your right... I must not be a student at a Public High School because I am able to write properly.
GOD FORBID I be able to write as well as someone who pays money to go to a school where we get the same education.
This poster (not student) sounds like "clown patrol" to me.
Don't forget what today is! [:)]
If the post above is really from an MHS student and not some 'older child' it demonstrates how bad the schools really are.
"MHS Student" is proud that the "school is not special in any way." "MHS Student" must be a very good student who learned what was taught. She learned the lesson taught by the Melrose Schools administration and school committee that hanging at the state average is a lofty enough goal; no reason to reach any higher; rest on those laurels.
"MHS Student" also learned that if something doesn't appear broken to an uncritical eye, it isn't. Young children don't start off that way. They ask, "Why?" They want to run faster and longer, build higher, kick the ball farther and more accurately. After years beaten down in the Melrose schools, though, a child learns that it's best not to attempt to be better. They learn all is fine just as it is. There is no use in trying to do better. Nothing is broken.
"MHS Student" wrote about keeping a child from becoming a sheltered, disrespectful and needy brat. By the very post above, "MHS Student" proves she is exactly sheltered, disrespectful, and a characteristically needing to feel comfortable with the status quo.
Everyone must recognize that this site bears very little resemblance to reality. College acceptances are coming in and MHS kids are again getting into great schools (multiple Ivy acceptances). We have great examples of Metco students moving on to bigger and better things after graduation. We have grads from a few years ago getting great jobs after graduating college as well as some moving into medical schools and other great graduate programs.
Long time readers of this site know that the main contributors to this site are parents that have chosen to send their kids to one of the crappy local private schools and they regret their choice. There are all kinds of positive things happening. Those of us that live in the real world know that.
I live in the real world. I send my kids to school in Melrose, go to every event, support the teachers in any way I can, hold my nose and go to all the events with the awful MEF moms when I have to, bite my tongue for the sake of my kids, and hope that all the work we do outside of school will counteract what goes on there, so that my kids will someday be kind, successful adults. I genuinely want the schools to be great in every way.
I also watch every school committee meeting, and feel nothing short of embarrasment at the behavior, public speaking ability, and ideas of our superintendent. I also read about the OCR findings, the Kick a Ginger Day fiasco, the fine arts debacle, and the constant budget/raise/PR monies with great frustration. I also listen to my dear friends who have issues with their kids that I am lucky enough not to have to deal with. I hear how they have been treated by the administration and the SPED department, and it is quite disheartening.
I started reading this board, thinking it would be a bunch of nonsense, but I have found that it is the only place where people can talk freely about what is really happening in this city, without fear of being an outcast. There are many people in town who are like me- we are trying to stay in the public schools- no desire to go the private route- but we are worried. Can any of you blind supporters of the schools understand that? There are things to be worried about. Those school committee meetings are shocking sometimes. Our superintendent sounds absurd at times. The way that community members are spoken to is horrifying at times. The lack of any real dialogue about the problems that exist is sickening. I do not trust any of those people on the school committee. I may not have always agreed with CKK, but at least she was injecting some accountability to a process that just feels phony (How can it be that she was able to provide numerous examples of failures on the part of CT, and every single other person on the committee evaluated CT to be exemplary?) It seems to someone on the outside that it is all just a shady group of people who couldn't care less about kids.
Now, go ahead and tear into me- tell me to get out of town if I think it is so bad. That is why I have to bite my tongue in the real world. And again, this is the only outlet people have to be honest.
Strange. Colleen Murphy sounded so much like C.K. or G.M. Same writing class I guess,
So this supposed student thinks its okay for teachers to slap students? Use racially hostile language toward students? And then file false police reports and false harassment prevention orders against kids and parents after they file complaints? Really? This is just not about you, Bud.