So…apparently American Studies is the class to watch out for in eighth grade. The teacher doesn’t coddle. He actually expects you to LEARN something in his class. (What a novel idea…that one might actually LEARN something at school…)

Mr. C. held a study session for the first big test after school today. Junior High Kid went. When I picked him up, he said, “Do you remember J.?” Junior High Kid and J. don’t run in the same crowd, but I was a pretty active volunteer when they were in elementary school. I remember J! Apparently J. showed up for the study session. (And from what I remember about J., this was probably a good decision on his part.)

Well, Junior High Kid tells me that partway into the study session, a man came in and politely asked Mr. C. if J. was there. He was. Then he politely asked if this was a “mandatory” study session. It wasn’t…since it was taking place AFTER SCHOOL. It turned out “the man” was J.’s football coach, and he was a little miffed that J. had chosen to attend a study session rather than football today. So he took J. out into the hall and proceeded to YELL at him right outside the American Studies classroom. He yelled, “ARE YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF? Because you’re doing it!” Junior High Kid says he heard “slapping.” Mr. Football Jerk BETTER have been slapping the wall and not the kid, but either way, this is WAY out of line, IMHO!

Junior High Kid says Mr. Football Jerk was yelling SO loud out there that the kids in the classroom couldn’t even hear Mr. C. over him. (Mr. C. was TRYING to continue the study session.) J. tried to explain why he was in the study session, but Mr. Football Jerk wouldn’t hear it. He just kept yelling about how J. was “letting down the team.” In the end, J. left the study session and went to football. Junior High Kid says Mr. Football Jerk didn’t give him any choice.

So, FYI…football is more important than academics at Northwest Junior High. Got it. (Except…isn’t there a policy that says if you don’t maintain a C average, you can’t do extracurricular activities??? Perhaps football is exempt from that policy.)

I wondered about Mr. C.’s reaction to all this. (BTW, Mr. C. is also a football coach!) Junior High Kid says he could tell Mr. C. was mad, but he couldn’t really say anything to Mr. Football Jerk. I suppose not…I suppose there’s some sort of code the teachers have among themselves where they don’t challenge each other in front of the students.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard this. If that had been my kid…(well, I won’t say what I’d have done if that had been my kid!). But I will tell you this. If Junior High Kid was in football, I’d have yanked him out immediately. I don’t want my child exposed to crap like this! What is WRONG with some people????


Some people have no business coaching kids!

9 thoughts on “Some people have no business coaching kids!

  • October 5, 2007 at 12:08 am
    Permalink

    Yike! Sounds to me like J was maybe taking refuge in the study session, if the coach is this belligerent. The Maud is doing volleyball at Northwest, and her coach is great.

    Reply
    • October 5, 2007 at 12:20 am
      Permalink

      That’s kind of what I was thinking, too…I was a little surprised to hear J had shown up for a study session.

      Reply
  • October 5, 2007 at 12:39 pm
    Permalink

    Jeez. If he does this in school, can you imagine how he acts at a GAME?

    Reply
      • October 9, 2007 at 4:19 am
        Permalink

        I think it’s hideous that the kids in the class had to hear what went on in the hall. I’m furious just thinking about it.

        Reply
        • October 9, 2007 at 7:23 pm
          Permalink

          BTW, I did alert the principal to it. He assured me he would “look into it.” I won’t ever hear anything more, of course, because of privacy issues. But I sure hope he really did look into it…and I hope he did more than that. I hope he “knocked a little sense” into that coach!

          Reply
  • October 5, 2007 at 1:37 pm
    Permalink

    my goodness, that is insane! If I was that other teacher I would have stepped outside and tried to take some sense into the that coach. Aren’t all of the coaches teachers as well? Shouldn’t they know the importance of education. I mean it is only Junior High for christ sakes!

    Reply
    • October 8, 2007 at 8:20 pm
      Permalink

      Junior High Kid didn’t know this particular coach, so I don’t know if he was a teacher or not (he could’ve been a teacher at another school). He had another teacher last year who was also a coach…I have a feeling that particular teacher thought of himself as a coach first and a teacher second. He taught personal development…and from what I observed he did not teach it well.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to dhbutler@kidswriter.com Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *