Students At Detroit All Boys High School Protest For Better Education; Suspended From School

“We’ve been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated,” senior Tevin Hill told the Detroit Free Press. “They didn’t listen to us when we complained to the administration. They didn’t listen to the parents when they complained to the administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved.”

It is very rare these days to find a group of teenagers who are so fed up with the lack of education that they are receiving from their school that they get up and walk out of class and school…literally.

A group of seniors at the all boys high school Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit were so frustrated with the excessive absences of multiple teachers, the forever changing administration staff, the lack of response to their unanswered complaints, and attending classes with no teachers that the seniors decided that enough was enough.  They wanted change…and they wanted it now. These students, along with their parents, organized a protest  about their frustration and as a result over 50 students were suspended from the school.

One angry mother stated that her sons math teacher had been absent for more than 68 days.  While another parent complained that her son received an A in Geometry without taking a final.  “It was by default” she says, “He got it for just showing up”.

Senior Tevin Hill, who was recently accepted to attend Bowling Green State next year, states that although he is generally good at math he was completely embarrassed by his score on the college math placement test. Hill states,”I’m generally good in math, but I was embarrassed. I didn’t know any of it.”

Frederick Douglass High is not the only school in the district that has been suffering education wise.  As of 2009, Detroit was labeled as “ground zero” for education reform by the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.  Although little change has been made to fix the problem within the school, Detroit Public Schools spokesperson, Steve Wasko, advised that those teachers who seem to be abusing sick time and leave time will be dealt with accordingly, however, there is still no word on what plans are being taken to fix complaints surrounding the lack of education and proper teaching.

(Source)