Parents For Positive Change not looking out for what’s best for students
Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Parth Shah
Parth Shah
Recall election? Sexual harassment scandal? Mysterious note passing? Is this a school board or a new season of “Desperate Housewives”?
For months, I have been attending these school board meetings like a giddy mom racing to the couch to watch “Oprah.” To me, the meetings were Emmy-worthy TV shows that came on about every other Tuesday at 6 p.m.
It wasn’t until about my fourth or fifth school board meeting when the comedy of these school board meetings turned into frustration for me. I was completely distraught when I saw parents making these school board meetings about themselves and not about their children. During the public discussion for integrating 6th graders into the middle schools, I kept hearing the argument that parents are “afraid” of having 8th graders and 6th graders in the same school.
I’m going to blow your mind with some math right now. The difference between 12th grade and 9th grade in high school is more than the difference between 8th grade and 6th grade in middle school. Whoa! Isn’t that shocking?
Also, 75 percent of school districts in the United States have integrated 6th graders into the middle schools. You can’t argue with numbers. And, from a student point of view, I used to live in San Jose and I went to a public 6th-through-8th middle school.
Entering 6th grade standing at about 4-feet, 9-inches and weighing a mighty 85 pounds, I saw the 8th graders as post-puberty giants.
However, they weren’t bullies. They were mentors. When I couldn’t find a class on the first day of school, they would help me. When I was put in a math class with people two or three years older than me, I wasn’t stranded because of my age. Rather, I was part of a nurturing environment where students would work collaboratively.
Honestly, I was astounded that the vote for integrating 6th grade into the middle schools was 4-3. I thought it would be and should have been a clean sweep of 7-0. Moreover, the 8th graders in middle schools are not the bullies. The parents at these school board meetings are the bullies.
Every meeting, I see the constant belittling of Morgan Hill Unified School District Board President Bob Benevento. This bullying reached a new height when a comment was posted after Amy Porter Jensen’s resignation which stated something along the lines of “one down, one more to go.” If these parents were truly for “positive change,” then they would stop this nonsense and they would stop this recall campaign for Bob Benevento.
Not surprisingly, “Parents For Positive Change” is starting to make this recall campaign about themselves and not the children. I am more than positive that these parents care about their children, so they should understand that this election would cost the school district hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is money that could be going toward the children. It is no secret that public schools in Morgan Hill do not have the funding they desire. It also is no secret that my education as well as my peers’ educations are much more important than this recall election. Therefore, I am saddened that people are campaigning to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars at the expense of education.
Also, if this recall election were to take place, it would occur around May. The regular election occurs in November. Why not just wait six months to voice an opinion? Are those six months worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? I think not.
The points I make are not outrageous opinions. They are logical conclusions derived from simple math. So to whoever is reading this, if someone knocks on your door asking for a signature for the recall campaign, please tell them to go away and wait until November. Remember, we are here for the students.
Parth Shah, 16, is a senior at Sobrato High School. He wrote this guest column for Morgan Hill Life.
