I stumbled upon this interesting article this AM (by the way.. I always use that term stumble upon – and I always think of the sharing website. LOL).

Apparently a mother is using public embarrassment as a last resort to teach her teenage son a lesson about the value of an education. I guess this mother has tried everything to get her son motivate in the classroom, and felt she needed to take some extreme measures.

Video embed didn’t work – follow the link:

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=7885

Corner punishment is working, Mom says: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

Corner punishment is working, Mom says

Updated: Friday, 18 Feb 2011, 10:44 PM EST
Published : Friday, 18 Feb 2011, 10:44 PM EST

 

TAMPA – A Tampa teenager has sparked an important discussion about tough love and where to draw the line.

“Until he straightens up his grades and gets his education on track, he’s going to work this corner,” said James Mond’s mother Ronda Holder.

Holder made him hold a sign that says he answered four questions on the FCAT and has a 1.222 GPA. The sign also read “honk if I need an education.”

James’ mother say all else failed, so embarrassment was the only way to convince her son that grades do matter. Many criticize, but others are less quick to judge.

“If a parent has to go that far, that means she’s crying out for help. She needs assistance,” said Glenton Gilzean, Regional Director of A Quantum Leap, a tutoring and education program for at risk students and their parents.

After hearing James’ story, Gilzean reached out to the family. Monday, he’ll start a free intensive tutoring and mentorship program with James, five days a week.

“To be honest with you, I saw myself in him,” said Gilzean.

Gilzean says at James’ age, he was a difficult student. Now, Gilzean holds a Master’s degree. He says the education system is an uphill battle for parents who have not been part of it themselves. He says his goal is to make the process less overwhelming.

“How can we help families navigate this whole education maize from birth through adulthood,” he said.

Gilzean plans to turn things around for James.

Meanwhile, his mother still has her critics.

“I got five kids. You don’t help your kid by tearing them down, you build them up,” said Bay Area man Gordie Nygard.

Psychologists do say the punishment could make the situation worse. The Department of Children and Families visited James’ home. But, Holder is standing her ground.

“He’ll be okay. In the long run, he’ll thank me for it,” she said.

Holder says her punishment is working.

Corner punishment is working, Mom says

What do you think? Put yourself in her situation. She’s desperate to get her son in a better place. To improve his future. I know, it’s extreme. But, don’t extreme situations call for extreme measures?

I’m on the fence with this one.

At least this mother cared enough about her son and his education to do something about it.