Middle school tour group from heck

[Animala]

I have homeschooled my kiddo for the first three years and my sis has been doing it for the past two.  We have figured out when the school groups or day campers come and avoid them like the plague.  Seriously!  Occasionally there are good ones, but I don't bother trying to find out anymore.  In my opinion the day campers are worse by far.  I think it might be because there is usually only one adult and the other child minders are teenagers, who aren't always the best at getting kids to obey.

BTW- the secret is to go right when they open (best choice) or after lunch (second best choice).

[sunshine96]

It deserves editorial space in the Lansing newspaper.

These students weren't from Lansing, Michigan. There are several states with a city called Lansing. What made you think they were from Michigan? Also, you say you're writing a letter to the school board... what school board? If you got the state wrong, then chances are you aren't sending the letter to the proper school board. I'd really like to know what you saw (a city, a school name) to make you think they were from Michigan.

We Lansing folk would appreciate it if (1) you would apologize for publicly and incorrectly criticizing our students and (2) stop.

Thanks. :-)

[nolechica]

The other states with a city of Lansing: Kansas, Iowa, Illnois, New York.  None of the are in Lansing County in that state, so finding out the county will give you the state.

[AngelicGamer]

It deserves editorial space in the Lansing newspaper.

Lucky for you, you got your wish. http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/COLUMNISTS09/802200366

These students weren't from Lansing, Michigan. There are several states with a city called Lansing. What made you think they were from Michigan? Also, you say you're writing a letter to the school board... what school board? If you got the state wrong, then chances are you aren't sending the letter to the proper school board. I'd really like to know what you saw (a city, a school name) to make you think they were from Michigan.

We Lansing folk would appreciate it if (1) you would apologize for publicly and incorrectly criticizing our students and (2) stop.

Thanks. :-)

Well, in defending the OP, when you say Lansing, I think Michigan.  I do think that it is the most popular or best known of the Lansing cities. 

Welcome to the board.

Edited for my major etiquette blunder.  A thousand apologies to our guests and I really do welcome them with open arms to the boards.  More the merrier, as always!

[DCGirl]

It deserves editorial space in the Lansing newspaper.

Lucky for you, you got your wish. http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/COLUMNISTS09/802200366

These students weren't from Lansing, Michigan. There are several states with a city called Lansing. What made you think they were from Michigan? Also, you say you're writing a letter to the school board... what school board? If you got the state wrong, then chances are you aren't sending the letter to the proper school board. I'd really like to know what you saw (a city, a school name) to make you think they were from Michigan.

We Lansing folk would appreciate it if (1) you would apologize for publicly and incorrectly criticizing our students and (2) stop.

Thanks. :-)

The reason I said that they were from Lansing, MI, is that when I walked up to one of the chaperones and asked him if the could get the kids to calm down, his response was, "Gimme a break!  They've been cooped up on the bus all night from Lansing, MI, and they need to blow off some steam."  The next day, when we went to the third site on our itinerary, we asked the guide if he'd had a large tour group the day before.  He said, "Oh, yes.  There was a big group from Lansing, MI." 

I have found out that the jackets the lacrosse players were wearing were from a parks and recreation program for middle school aged children from multiple schools, not from one specific school, so I was in error that they represented a specific school.  They did say "________ Middle School Lacrosse," so it was a reasonable assumption that that was the name of the school.  The program is located in Michigan.  That is all I will say at this point, as I am horrified that readers of a respected newspaper are being invited to troll this board and to villify me.  Like other board members, I welcome anyone who wants to join our community and participate in the discussions in a respectful manner, but I've e-mailed the ehelldame to let her know that, if she needs to lock or delete this thread to avert trolling, I will support her decision to do so.

So, I have to respectfully disagree with your request to 1) apologize and 2) stop.  I was only relaying information that was provided to me by 1) the chaperones who were on the buses and 2) the tour guides who dealt with the students.  Both sets of individuals seemed to me to be well informed on where the tour group was from. 

[hot_shaker]

I have found out that the jackets the lacrosse players were wearing were from a parks and recreation program for middle school aged children from multiple schools, not from one specific school, so I was in error that they represented a specific school.  They did say "________ Middle School Lacrosse," so it was a reasonable assumption that that was the name of the school.  The program is located in Michigan. That is all I will say at this point, as I am horrified that readers of a respected newspaper are being invited to troll this board and to villify me. Like other board members, I welcome anyone who wants to join our community and participate in the discussions in a respectful manner, but I've e-mailed the ehelldame to let her know that, if she needs to lock or delete this thread to avert trolling, I will support her decision to do so.

I'm horrified too!    Who invites citizens of an entire city to harass someone online?  That's more than a little scary. 

I was going to suggest that you alert EHellDame, but you already did - smart move.

[Alida]

Inviting readers to be trolls...  not quite a class act.  Not even close.

OP, you were told they were from Lansing, MI.  I'd assume the name of the middle school is from that area?  You never gave a specific school, so you certainly aren't defaming anything, just giving the facts as were stated.

[Secret]

We all make mistakes and I understand how the OP made the connection to Lansing.  I would have too.

With respect to behaviour on field trips, I would love to have many more teachers reading this post and realizing that the students don't only spoil it for their school, but other students who may want to go.

I have a story.  Each year our highschool had a graduation party at a huge theme park, all schools within an x radius were invited.  These were graduating students ages 17-19 (we went to grade 13).  Of course, there was high security- most looking for illicit booze.  Well some students start drinking on the buses somehow.  There are no washrooms on the buses....  The guys peed in bottles on the bus, some bottles ended up rolling down the aisles and spilling.  This was on bus #3.  I was on bus #1 and the guys were hanging their bottles out the windows and showing us as we passed.  OF course Bus #1 was the  lead bus driver and  when the teachers got hold of this, buses 1 and 3 pulled over and had to wait until a teacher got a hold of the parents-  They never did and the kids got to go on to our trip no problems.  To my knowledge there may have been a detention after the fact.  If these kids were over 18( they were)  I wished the school had done the take the credit card imprint and sent them home on cab.  My poor friend who signed up late and was put on bus 2 got there an hour ahead of us and couldn't find us until hours later.

[ettacat]

What a bunch of whiners. To write a piece in a newspaper and invite people to troll a website message board. Okay, so the OP made a mistake. It was not something to get so worked up over. Especially to the level of trolling. Sheesh!

They must not have a life or are very immature. Probably both.

[Kimmie]

Just an FYI, please do the research before putting the blame on an innocent city.  I was appalled by the students behavior as well and being from Lansing, MI  it was appalling as well to think that our kids would have such bad behavior on a field trip.  I did some research and quite frankly there are a lot of Lansing Schools out there that are not just in Michigan so before you put the blame on and send your letters, I would suggest you find the right school!  The following was in our newspaper yesterday.

February 20, 2008
[ From lsj.com ]
Lansing students falsely accused of bad behavior on Web site
Midday update
John Schneider
Lansing State Journal


Allow me to suggest a project for a Lansing middle school class - or, better yet, several of them.
Log onto the Web site Etiquette Hell Forum (http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=26264.0) and pummel it with polite, but pointed, posts explaining why it's in exceedingly poor taste to spread information that is both false and defamatory.
Also, demand an apology.
On Wednesday I got an e-mail from Kristine Vandecar of Lansing, in which she sent me the link. Vandecar wrote:
"I found a posting about some horribly behaved Lansing students. I am embarrassed as a resident of Lansing. I would hope that the children in our area could comport themselves in a far better manner than common hooligans."
Vandcar's link took me to a note posted Monday by a person who had spent the weekend touring historic sites in and around Charlottesville, Va.
The poster wrote: "We were sitting on a bench at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home) ... when THEY arrived - four bus loads of middle-schoolers from Lansing, MI. I have never seen a more poorly behaved group of students ... They were loud, obnoxious, rude and disruptive."
The poster goes on for six long paragraphs, describing a barrage of boorish acts.
The thing is, the students were NOT from Lansing Schools. Not Lansing, Michigan, anyway. According to spokesman Stephen Serkaian, there hasn't been a single middle-school field trip out of the state this year.

[nliedel]

On behalf of my state, I would like to apologize for these kids. I am so sorry. No one should coop kids up on a bus overnight. On top of that, the "chaperones" and I use that term loosly, were out of line.

ETA: perhaps it was not Lansing, MI, but the point behind the OP's issue remains the same.

[hot_shaker]

Secret, EttaCat: Just to clarify, DCGirl said that the chaperone and a tour guide both said the students were from Lansing, Michigan.  She didn't make a mistake.

The reason I said that they were from Lansing, MI, is that when I walked up to one of the chaperones and asked him if the could get the kids to calm down, his response was, "Gimme a break!  They've been cooped up on the bus all night from Lansing, MI, and they need to blow off some steam."  The next day, when we went to the third site on our itinerary, we asked the guide if he'd had a large tour group the day before.  He said, "Oh, yes.  There was a big group from Lansing, MI." 

[Kimmie]

I do agree with what someone posted though, regardless of where these kids are from, their behavior was appalling and the chaperones were not any help either.  I would be totally embarrassed if my son or daughter behaved like that.

[AdakAK]

Just an FYI, please do the research before putting the blame on an innocent city. 

What research should she have done?  If the chaperones don't know where they are from, and they say Lansing, MI, what cause does she have to doubt them??

[hermanne]

Secret, EttaCat: Just to clarify, DCGirl said that the chaperone and a tour guide both said the students were from Lansing, Michigan.  She didn't make a mistake.

The reason I said that they were from Lansing, MI, is that when I walked up to one of the chaperones and asked him if the could get the kids to calm down, his response was, "Gimme a break!  They've been cooped up on the bus all night from Lansing, MI, and they need to blow off some steam."  The next day, when we went to the third site on our itinerary, we asked the guide if he'd had a large tour group the day before.  He said, "Oh, yes.  There was a big group from Lansing, MI." 

Perhaps someone should write that to the newspaper that the OP was just quoting the chaperones and tour guides.

Maybe the chaperones didn't want their school implicated?