I have talked with a lot of educators and they all have one thing in common – they are horrified by the lack of respect accorded them by some students (whose parents actually condone this behavior). Well, teachers everywhere (and a lot of parents) will applaud the dad in this story.Donnell Bryant had had it with his 15-year-old daughter’s failing grades and bad attitude so he devised a way to make her own up to and become accountable for her actions.
Mr. Bryant told WCTI12 that Quandria was getting into a lot of trouble at New Bern (NC) High School and he was worried she was on the verge of becoming a “mean girl.”
“She acts like it’s all about her,” Mr Bryant told the station. “At the end of the day, it’s n
He said the final straw was when she got suspended for being disrespectful to her teachers.
“The teachers are to the point where they’re just fed up,” he said.
So he decided to make his ninth-grader a roadside attraction.
Dad took Quandria to Highway 17, across from her high school, and made her carry two signs that amounted to a public confession. One side read “I have a bad attitude. I disrespect people who try to help me,” and the other read, “I do what I want, when I want, how I want it.”
The humiliated Quandria used the sign to shield her face from the passersby, but that didn’t stop people gawking and taking photos.
“If more parents did this, then kids would learn respect,” Christine Baker said to WCTI12.
Mr Bryant said that Quandria’s older brother suffered a similar punishment and it snapped him out of his spiral.
“Instead of embarrassing the teacher, she’s the one embarrassed,” Mr. Bryant said.
Did it work? Well, after having gone through this ordeal, Quandria vowed to make amends.
For holding his child to a higher standard, holding her accountable for her actions, and teaching her respect for her teachers, Mr. Bryant receives our kudos!
Susan Dench
