Dad Forces Son To Wear Sign Broadcasting Bad Grades

March 12, 2012 8:51 AM

File photo of a student holding up a sign to passing cars. (Photo by FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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bad grades, Education, report card, schools

MIAMI (CBS Tampa) – When a local seventh grade student came home with a bad report card, his parents took action — by forcing him to wear a sign that told the world of his awful grades.

Teenager Michael Bell, Jr. received failing marks in his language arts, math and civics classes, according to Local 10 News. So his parents decided to take action.

“He has been screwing up in school, behavior and academics and right now I am trying to send a message to him,” Michael Bell, Sr. told the station.

The sign has two sides. One asks, “Hey, I want to be a class clown, is it wrong?”

The other tells drivers that he is a middle school student who is failing his present semester.

“Is anything wrong with that?,” it reads. “Blow your horn if you … think so.”

The teen takes responsibility for his role in the punishment, which will last throughout his spring break.

“I don’t like it, but I know that it’s my fault,” Michael Bell, Jr. told the station.

“Right now, this is the only thing I have left to try and reach him,” Bell Sr. told the station, who has been standing with his son the entire time to ensure that he is safe and fed.

Dad Forces Son To Wear Sign Broadcasting Bad Grades

Morgan Thompson

This isn’t the first time this has happened and I can’t say this is something I did when it happened to my daughter. Sometimes it’s a case of immaturity and wanting to be independent without parental rules and guidance. Is there something else going on that warrants conversation followed by family counseling? Humiliation may or may not work in this case because there isn’t enough personal information to offer a solution. In my case, my daughter wasn’t getting along with her stepfather. In the end we worked through it and went on to get her master’s degree. Oh, I divorced him!
http://www.thecrimsoncrow.com/2012/03/father-makes-7th-grader-stand-on-corner-with-sign-for-bad-grades/ Father Makes 7th Grader Stand On Corner With Sign For Bad Grades | The Crimson Crow

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