John Dick, board member from the Monroe County School District, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the district.
Looking back over 2022, the district is grateful it looks like the pandemic may be behind us.
Dick said, “There are some students that have had a couple of years of education that was abnormal. We want to get them into the swing of things with a normal, this is how education works. You come to school, you come to class, you do your homework. You learn, you study and you pass your classes and you go on and graduate.”
To help with students who have fallen behind, there are programs in place.
Dick said, “There’s a lot of after school tutoring going on, extra help. The teachers are working not only just to do the normal curriculum, but they go back a bit and try to give a little review. There’s extra help in every school in every way we can provide it.”
Teachers are providing additional help in their free time as well.
Dick said, “The staff in the schools are on board with trying to get these students up to snuff.”
School safety is an absolute priority in Monroe County. In fact, a recent threat over social media about a Key Largo School resulted in an 11-year-old boy in New Jersey facing charges.
Dick said, “And I agree with that. I’m glad to see the sheriff and the state’s attorney’s office both trying to go as hard as they can on this. I think we’ve hit a crossroads in the culture of the United States. When I grew up, if you did something wrong there were consequences. It just seems now we’ve kind of turned the other cheek a thousand times for everything. We have participation trophies. Everybody gets an award. I think the lack of consequences has emboldened people. I remember when I was a kid the fear of my father being told I did this at school helped stop me from doing things. I do think it’s time that we now go back to that type of an education system where there are consequences. I would like to see them start ratcheting up to be as severe as possible. The teachers and the people in the school deserve the respect of the students and too often they don’t get that respect and that also something that needs to change.”
In fact, a recent story from Virginia showed a 6 year old coming to school with a gun and a teacher was shot.
Dick said, “Students and people will fear consequences and that’s what needs to be done. Consequences have to be for every wrong action. There has to be consequences. In the end, it’ll make for stronger people.”
Some people have noted that a number of teachers today don’t have the ability to discipline children in the classroom.
Dick said, “I went to school in Brooklyn, NY, and I can tell you this. It would be the worst kid in the school that would ever talk back to the teacher or rarely say a curse word. I’m telling you, that’s a regular happening in schools all around the United States now. It’s a regular happening and the consequences are not severe. You lose respect, the teachers are not respected.”
That also drives the shortage of teachers that is being seen around the country.
Dick said, “When they see the lack of respect they get from student, that’s another reason. Why do they have to put up with that? I know. My wife and daughter are teachers here. My wife has taught here for over 30 years and my daughter, she’s now a principal of a school, but she had taught here for 15, 16 years, so I know what happens and it happens at all levels, high school, grammar school, middle school. I think if we had consequences, it could help.”
Perhaps the times could be changing.
Dick predicted, “I think the attitude in the United States is going to start changing. I think a lot of things are going to start changing. I think if the only thing that came out of COVID is it opened up the eyes of a lot of people to see what was going on in some of the school districts around the country and it changed a lot of things. I am happy to say even when we had some virtual education, we have not had any of the issues that you see happening in some of these other districts around the country. I’m very proud of this district. This district is a very strong supporter of the military, of the first responders. The solider ride the other day, our schools were out for them. I can’t say enough of how proud I am that this district doesn’t have any of this crazy stuff we see going on in some of the other places.”