The Story
Snowplow parenting is officially prohibited.
Snow…what?
Have you been living under a rock this summer? It’s the new thing. Parents “snowplow” their children’s obstacles out of their way. But really, it’s called love. Look it up.
What does this have to do with me?
Bedford…parents…they kind of go hand in hand. While presenting the handbook changes to the school board, Mr. Jozokos (our new principal!) introduced a new section to the BHS handbook forbidding snowplow parenting. #BOLDMOVE
Why did he do it?
You mean why did he just kick a hornets’ nest in his second month as principal? Mr. Jozokos told us that this issue had been on his mind for a while. A lot of educational resources had been covering the issue. And you know who pushed him over the edge? Students. Apparently, students last year informed him how much it was happening, and we confirmed. 61% of students polled on Instagram said snowplow parenting is a problem at BHS. Students told Mr. Jozokos it wasn’t fair, and it isn’t. It’s a very clever way of cheating. Well, not that clever because everyone knows about it, but it’s hard to prove.
So new entry went over well?
Sure. We’ve seen some positive responses from parents. We’ve also seen some negative ones. No one seems to be disputing the unfair nature of the practice, but some disagree with the handbook change as the solution.
Yeah, why the handbook?
Every year, the BHS administration presents handbook changes to the school board. So the meeting wasn’t out of the ordinary. People just thought it was a little odd to put a rule in the handbook for parents. That’s why it’s labelled the student AND parent handbook! Mr. Jozokos says there are already procedures for the parents in there — the dismissals, and now snowplow parenting.
Are there consequences?
Nooooooo. You can’t punish parents. However, there are other new handbook entries that help discourage the snowplowing. Starting this year, students with planned dismissals (e.g. appointments) must bring a note to their assistant principal’s office in the morning. It eliminates parents calling spontaneously, like when there’s a quiz, and saying their kids have a doctor’s appointment. So really, it requires more creative excuses. But you may want to plan ahead. The dying grandma excuse may only work once, possibly twice. Don’t worry though, you have grandpas too. And after that, great aunts and uncles.
Any others?
Yes, and this is the only one with any sort of teeth. Students must turn in long term projects the day they’re due — no exceptions, unless you’ve arranged an extension ahead of time. So no extra time for anyone who’s absent. There’s no getting out of this one — we mean, it would require some masterful snowplowing.
How does Jozokos feel about all of this?
He doesn’t regret a thing. That’s the way to live — YOLO. He didn’t mean for it to get THIS big, but he says there have been benefits. Parents are sharing books on the subject, like “The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed.” That’s just beautiful. We think a certain “Frozen” song may be of use as well. Mr. Jozokos even said people from all over the state have reached out to support him.
So what’s the negativity?
Well, the Union Leader had a field day with this. The article was accurate. We’re really upset about their editorial. Only we get to say things like that!
The Runaway
It was definitely an interesting first move as principal, followed by an equally interesting second move. We have high hopes for this school year.
What to do…
When you’re dead inside because school is starting today…
Think about April. That seems to be the school board’s trick — right past budget season. We have three new extended intersessions this year: a 13-day trip to Italy and Greece, a 12-day WWII/Holocaust trip to Germany and Poland, a nine-day trip to Ecuador, and a three-day trip to Niagara Falls. Sound nice, right? But this intersession meeting didn’t run as smoothly as it probably has in past years. There was concern that these extravagant trips were unfair to people that can’t afford them. So why not peel them back? Apparently this happened when BHS was in its baby years. When the board started to take away the Bedfordian options, parents no likey-likeyed. There was also a teensy discussion on the actual education values of intersession. We’re going to quickly apologize to the masses for that one. Our feet are in our mouths. We swear. And we’ve got to say, we don’t think anyone will be taking the Germany/Poland trip just for fun. But, despite the discussion, and the two negative public comments, all four were approved. Even though we have to say we agree with Dr. Kassler. What the heck is the educational value of Niagara Falls?
When the summer is slow and you’re really bored…
Make fun of third graders. Duh! What else are you going to do? That’s how the Union Leader felt. The district finished in the top five in the state for all testing areas, but the district only reached 80% of its own academic goals. This translated to four unmet goals. To be honest, we don’t particularly care. The high school met its goals, so it’s not of much interest to us. More of a silent, “woohoo.” However, a 20% “failure” in Bedford is pure gold to the UL. Here’s where the testing results get interesting — the four academic goals were not reached by third graders. THIRD GRADERS. It’s such a shame. We’d like to thank the UL for bringing this to our attention. We may start our own game: Are you smarter than a third grader? Next issue, we’re going to do a deep investigation of afternoon kindergarteners’ finger-painting abilities.
When you’re feeling competitive and ready to shine…
Chant: “Third or Nothing!” Because second is not the best. We were named the third best public high school in the state by Niche. It’s the same as last year. But US News is saying BHS seventh, which is much better than our 14th place last year. Though we’ve got to say, we can’t figure out what really improved about our school, unless the seven schools ahead of us just completely lost funding or something. So now we think it’s completely random. We’re starting a pool next summer and betting BHS places fourth. We know, it’s ballsy.
When sitting through six and a half hours of school today gives you a headache…
Take your single dose of Advil. Because guess what? The school board has given you the green light to carry and pop a single dose of non-prescripted pain medicine at school without the nurse. Eh? We mean, we know everyone was doing it anyway, but this is quite the step up. Nobody choke and ruin it. Freshmen, we’re talking to you.**
Things to Know
It’s a new szn!
Meet the Coaches night for fall sports is on Wednesday at 6:30 in the theater.
Another round of teachers for ya!
Open house is on Thursday at 6:30.
The end’s in sight
Graduation is on June 6 regardless of snow days!
**Runaway Bulldog does not support any sort of “popping of pills” for non-medical reasons.