Tom and Jerry is blasting through the otherwise calm house, as a teenage boy slings his backpack over his shoulder and angrily heads for the car. His mother switches off the television and follows closely behind him. It's a Saturday morning, but these two are headed to school.
This scenario could end up being a reality for many New Hampshire students if a petition for Saturday School is approved by the Portsmouth School Board. The idea was proposed last night by School Board member, Tim Steele, who believes that it will result in a reduction of in-house suspensions and make students think twice about misbehaving.
The proposal outraged a large number of parents who feel that the new policy will be ineffective as well as inconvenient. "I work six days a week--including Saturday Morning--and it's bad enough to get my son off to school Monday through Friday, " said Peggy Bacon, a parent. "I just don't think it's going to make any difference, and the parents are going to pay for it."
Parents were not the only group upset by the proposal. Students who attended the meeting seemed to have similar feelings of skepticism. "I don't like this idea," said high school senior, Lisa Gallagher. "I think it's just being done to make life easier for the faculty, so they don't have to deal with detentions during the week."
Despite the uproar regarding the proposal, there were a select few attendees who appeared to support Steele. "Parents can whine all they want about this," said Bob Farley, a town resident. "But maybe it's time parents in America were made to take a little responsibility for their kids."
Steele addressed some of the concerns raised by parents, explaining that students who skipped their Saturday sessions would not be allowed to return to school until they served their detention.
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