3 posts tagged “poverty”

75% of my 5th period class is either on probation or has been at some point in their short life.  From assault to car theft and just about everything in between, someone in that class has done it.  How can a writing assignment or any other consequence for breaking a classroom rule carry any weight when they can scoff and laugh at the punishments affixed by the legal system for breaking the law?  It's no small wonder why some of these kids are not fazed by the consequences put in place not only by me, but by the school administrators.  

Normally, we don't have any problems, I feel like my classroom management is strong and keeps the class in line.  However, when we do have a problem, I can understand why they laugh when they have to write a paragraph or else get a "0" for the day, or why they say, "I don't care" when they are assigned to ISS or even sent home for 3 days. 

Is there a solution?

This week, we travel north up to the South Side of Chicago for our "Crappy Parent of the Week," where we find 24-year-old Lakeshia Murph behind bars for the death of her 2-year-old son, Brandon.  According to the Chicago Tribune, Murph was fed up with the incessant crying of her toddler and so she beat him with a belt and with her fists until "her hands were sore." 

Brandon was taken to the hospital late on Friday, December 14th, 2007 when his father arrived home from work and found the toddler "breathing unusually" and was pronounced dead around 5 p.m. on Saturday.  An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a result of repeated blunt-force trauma as a result of child abuse and Chicago police reportedly were given a videotaped confession from Murph.

Brandon was Murph's 8th child after having her first child at age 13.  All other children have been placed in foster care.

We here at the "Land of Cotton Blog" congratulate you, Lakeshia Murph for helping make the world a better place for our children.

With so many stories of terrible parents, its not hard to figure out why so many of our youngsters are turning out the way they are.  With that in mind, I will be highlighting great examples of terrible parenting starting this week.

Our first winner of the "Crappy Parent of the Week" Award goes out to Chytoria Graham of Eerie, Pa.  Graham was convicted of using her 4-week-old son as a weapon during an altercation between her and her boyfriend.  According to the Associated Press, Graham came home after drinking and grabbed her son, Jarron, by the legs and swung him into her boyfriend, fracturing Jarron's skull.

Graham faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence for aggravated assault, child endangerment, reckless endangerment, and simple assault. 

Congratulations, Chytoria Graham!