Public schools have failed

When I started policing here there was a guy already on the force that could not spell much more than his name. That was probably a huge vocabulary accomplishment for him... spelling his name I mean. I couldn't believe it. Most areas of the country require some college before you can even apply to be a police officer, but let's face it, this is Arkansas.

This guy could not spell "front", "neighbor"... Hell he honestly couldn't spell the name of the school he graduated from!!! I am telling you my 11 year old daughter would whip his ass in a spelling bee when she was 3 years old. I am not kidding. I saw this man throw a temper tantrum when the department went to computers that had spell check and kept correcting his misspelled words. To make matters worse, he thought he was right. He threw a dictionary across the squad room and wanted to argue that both the computer and dictionary were wrong to correct him. What a freaking idiot.

You can only chalk so much of that up to genetics and lack of parental supervision. That comes down to school. If a kid graduates from High School he/she should be able to spell basic words and should definitely be able to spell the name of the school he/she graduated from.

Now I have Sam working for me. He can spell the name of his school, the name of his home town, and even his own name. Beyond that...questionable. At least he doesn't argue with the spell check or dictionary. He knows he can't spell, can't articulate. I told him today, "I would sue the shit out of your high school for a proper education".

Hey, I wasn't valedictorian, I don't have a master's degree (duh), but damn. I have seen A LOT of people out of high school that don't know a damn thing, people in college that are being passed for athletic contribution, and have experienced "favorites" in school where teachers look a blind eye to an idiot and come down hard on a kid with potential that isn't living up to expectations. I just wonder if the teachers give up on those they have to take in and can't do the basics because some other teacher dropped the ball and passed them, or if it's a collective effort among staff in the teacher's lounge. I mean, you get a kid, he is a bad ass, got some bad ass parents, and you have a choice... fail this bad ass kid that isn't ever going to amount to anything or pass him and just get him out of school.

Hell, I don't know. I just think that if a kid can't spell, can't add and subtract, doesn't learn a little about history and science... fail that dumb ass!! Make them do it over and over, despite their loud and belligerent parents, until they get it right.