Tucker resigns AD position at EJCHS

I have read almost every comment about the situation concerning East Jackson High School, primarily because I will soon have a child attending the East Jackson Schools. I have lived in this county my entire life and have attended many an athletic event as a child, a teenager, and an adult at all of the county's schools: Jackson County, Commerce, Jefferson, and East Jackson. I have witnessed bad sportsmanship from time to time from all schools at a variety of events.

Students are first and foremost a product of their families. Take a look around Jackson County; pay particular attention to the students who attend schools. At most of the high schools, one can't find a parking space on a Friday night; hundreds of parents attend football games. However, visit that same parking lot on the night of a parent open house or any other academic activity; one can typically park in the front of the school because the parking lot is typically empty. The same people who will attend athletic events will not bother to come and invest in their child's most critical part of high school, earning a diploma. As a parent, what importance are you placing on education, and what morals and values are you teaching in your home?

Student athletes are a product of their coaches. I was a student-athlete. I NEVER had a coach cuss at me. Perhaps it is because I am a female. I would like to think it is because I had coaches who treated me exactly as they would treat their own children. Thus, I was a good product of my coaches. It irritates me that people have come to accept some of the coaching tactics that are being used, especially from adults who are required to follow a code of ethics. Many coaches in this community receive a very nice paycheck. They do put in countless hours with the athletes and many of them dedicate time away from their families to spend with their players. However, there are many teachers who do the same, and those teachers make a lot less than those coaches. Where does this place our priorities as a society?

What is to be gained from this entire situation? Hopefully, all people in this community will voice their concerns about how this future generation will develop character. It is my belief that parents must be the first to step up to the challenge. Teach your children by example. Delete the " Do as I say, not as I do" from your vocabulary. Parents need to involved in more than Friday night football games and Thursday afternoon softball. Ask your child about school. Do you know what they learned from that social studies or math teacher today? Or is your primary concern whether or not they will reserve a spot in the starting line-up? Secondly, schools should be held accountable. After all, they spend far more time with children than parents typically do. Demand the best for your child! However, save yourself some time and go directly to the source with questions or concerns. It is easy to simply read what we see in print and believe it. As an intelligent society, we should conduct our own research and verify that any editor is not making up a story just to increase the profit. Lastly, if what this paper reports as truth is indeed true, I am appalled with the actions of Coach Caputo. However, I must ask how many parents knew of such treatment of their children and allowed those tactics to be used? Where were you to protect your child? Please do not respond with, "We never knew." I ask you, why not?

In closing, I would remind people that there are typically three sides to a story, "Person A's side, Person B's side, and the truth." Unfortunately, so many times we fail to hear the truth. Perhaps we will teach our children to discover the truth before choosing a side.