Declaration of Indep.: Public School

Declaration of Independence:
From Public Schools


When, in the course of human events, we find ourselves disagreeing with the rules of the public school system of Blountville Elementary School, we choose to declare our independence from these rules and the tyrannical applications of the principal thereof. Although we have temporarily solved our problem with the public school system by leaving their control and being home schooled, we still desire to change the rules of the public schools in order to create an improved learning environment for our friends.
The current rules assume that the students will make bad choices and punished the students without cause. These unfair assumptions leave no opportunity for adults to guide students in making good decisions.
At the root of these unfair rules is the principal. Many of the rules are created by her and she enforces the rest. A major complaint of many students is that recess is too short. To adults, this complaint is typical of kids; however, we have good reasons to extend our playtime. First, by extending recess, the students spend energy which helps them to better control their behavior in the classroom. Second, the students have greater opportunity to practice good socialization sills by interacting with their peers. Last, by spending more time on the playground, students learn to make decisions as to how they want to spend their time and how to compromise so that everyone on the playground enjoys their recess.
Also, the principal strictly enforces no running in the halls. We understand that this rule was created for our safety. This rule alone is not the problem. Time limits put on students while in the halls sometimes leaves a particular student with a dilemma. The student can both be late and take the punishment for that or he can run to his destination and hope he is able to avoid being caught. Either way, punishment looms in the corners.
We would like to point out that the principal is not only controlling with the students but also with the teachers and other staff. One only needs to spend some time in the halls before and after school to learn of the disgust some teachers hold for their ruthless leader.
Teachers, as good as they are, create some of the problems in the public school system. Many teachers at Blountville Elementary School are wonderful. The principal, however, supports teachers comments, actions, and decisions whether they are good ones or against the laws of nature or the judicial system. Biased teachers who are afraid of students with special needs torment these students until the parents finally move them to another form of learning. IN the less extreme, the student must change teachers or go to special classes but sometimes they must move to another public school, a private school, a Christian school or be home schooled. Parents of the special children must spend hundred of dollars to ensure that their child is given the same opportunity that the state requires. Teachers who refuse to do their job and principals who allow their laziness are at the crust of the downfall of the American public school system.
In the classroom, teachers are unwilling to find solutions to learning difficulties. When a student has a question about their assignment, the teacher would rather tell that student the answer to the question rather than to teach him how to find the answer for himself.
Teachers often use group punishment. For example, if one person is injured on the playground, everyone must go inside
There are some unfortunate rules to which we do not know the creator. The principal and some teachers enforce these rules. The first is tha you must have permission to go to the restroom. We understand that the teachers are responsible for us and need to know where we are, but there are better ways to do that. The teacher could assign the student a buddy. When one has to leave the room, he would be responsible to make sure his buddy knew where he was. If that won’t work for the teacher, she could hang restroom passes at the door. When a student needed to go, he would take an available pass and leave the room quietly.
In conclusion, we, my brother and I, are declaring our independence from the principal and Sullivan County School system’s control of Blountville elementary School.