Candor will help OKCPS after John Marshall Middle School fights
As the Oklahoma City Public School District deals with the high-profile student fights at John Marshall Middle School, the district should welcome an opportunity to be more candid with the public. Meanwhile, the district’s families should thank social media for bringing public attention to the situation.
While teaching at the old John Marshall High School and Centennial High School during the 1990s and early 2000s, I saw dozens of brawls spin out of control and become “riots.” Before social media, however, the district could easily hide the situations from the public. Because the district was so focused on keeping bad news out of the press, the violence often continued for weeks or even months at a time.
Worse, OKCPS would explicitly or implicitly blame teachers. Although few administrators really believed the normative mantra, they would pretend that better instruction and better leadership would be enough to improve high-challenge schools. It was not a helpful position to take.
On Aug. 28, Rep. Jacob Rosecrants (D-Norman) basically acknowledged the illogical CONTINUE READING: Candor will help OKCPS after John Marshall Middle School fights
