Millburn Middle Schoolers: Creating a List?
The Millburn Middle School just emailed parents, notifying them that officials have heard "a list" exists on some kids' Facebook sites.
Is this a new "slut list"? Or some other kind of list? Unknown. But the school is urging parents to do their job and investigate what their kids are doing online.
An excerpt here:
Not so.
The Millburn Middle School is concerned about stopping any copy cat activity, as any school would be. (I remember a couple years ago, Columbia High School in Maplewood had a spate of bomb threats--as publicity led to one, then another, and another.)
But if reporters want to write an accurate story, they should be focusing on the fact that the Millburn Middle School is being vigilant and jumping on the smallest sign of poor behavior, so that it doesn't escalate into something further. The administration is communicating with the parents and making them partners in their effort to create a community free of harassment---something that I would argue the high school should have done years ago.
As a parent of an eighth grader, I always have had respect for the principal, Michael Cahill, and his leadership. His handling of this issue increased it exponentially.
One caveat: The administration reiterates its long held belief that middle schoolers shouldn't have Facebook accounts. I've heard them suggest this before, and it's about as realistic as suggesting that teens shouldn't have cell phones. The answer is to do what their email suggests: Monitor what your kids are doing.
And that goes for parents in towns everywhere.
Stumble It!
Is this a new "slut list"? Or some other kind of list? Unknown. But the school is urging parents to do their job and investigate what their kids are doing online.
An excerpt here:
I'm sure some local reporters may jump on this email to further a sensational--and inaccurate-- story line that the Millburn middle school kids are now being hazed, just as the high school students were.We have learned from parents that a Middle School “list” exists on a Facebook account. The details I have are sparse, but I share this information with the Middle School community to enable you to do your job as parents.
Schools can not police internet activity, but parents can. The amount of publicity surrounding the topic of hazing at the high school may have provided our middle level students with the “temptation for imitation.”
Parents have often heard Middle School personnel talk about how preadolescents are still children who look, and sometimes act, like adults. The do not fully understand the ramifications of their actions, so they require structure, guidance, and oversight.
Not so.
The Millburn Middle School is concerned about stopping any copy cat activity, as any school would be. (I remember a couple years ago, Columbia High School in Maplewood had a spate of bomb threats--as publicity led to one, then another, and another.)
But if reporters want to write an accurate story, they should be focusing on the fact that the Millburn Middle School is being vigilant and jumping on the smallest sign of poor behavior, so that it doesn't escalate into something further. The administration is communicating with the parents and making them partners in their effort to create a community free of harassment---something that I would argue the high school should have done years ago.
As a parent of an eighth grader, I always have had respect for the principal, Michael Cahill, and his leadership. His handling of this issue increased it exponentially.
One caveat: The administration reiterates its long held belief that middle schoolers shouldn't have Facebook accounts. I've heard them suggest this before, and it's about as realistic as suggesting that teens shouldn't have cell phones. The answer is to do what their email suggests: Monitor what your kids are doing.
And that goes for parents in towns everywhere.
Stumble It!
posted by pam at 2:42 PM
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