The Common Council approved a request to add an additional part-time staff assistant to oversee security at the Wauwatosa Public Library. An increasing number of middle-schoolers have come to the library, especially on Wednesdays when school lets out early.
Do you think rowdiness has become a big problem at the Library? Or is adding the additional staff person an overreaction? Let us know what you think!
(10) Read All ResponsesMy question is "where are the parents?". Just because two parents may be working is not an excuse for absentee parenting. Parents are still responsible for their under age children. The Library is not a babysitter!
The library should not have to babysit anyone's kids. That said, by the time a child reaches middle school, he or she should be perfectly aware of how to behave appropriately in the library. My eldest children spent hours voluntarily at the library after school during middle school, which allowed them to complete their homework before dinner time. This made for enjoyable family evenings. My youngest, a current middle school student, now finds that the library is inhospitable and feels that children are discouraged from using the public space there to do their homework. It disgusts me that so many young people do not know how to behave in public any more and that it should be necessary to have a security guard in the library, just the same as it is awful that there needs to be a curfew at the mall. It is a parent's responsibility to teach their children to behave in public places. Those children incapable of doing so should be banned from using those locations. Perhaps well-behaved children should be given special cards that allow them to use the library which can be revoked if they act in a disrespectful or inappropriate manner. Stop punishing all the kids for the ill-bred behavior of some. I hate seeing my child suffer because other people have not raised their children to reasonable standards of behavior.
Since the school district has their early release Wednesdays why isn't the school offering more alternatives for these kids. What are students doing at Whitman on Wednesdays? They don't have the convenience of the library across the street. Are Whitman students going home or are there other programs in place? As a working parent of elementary students we are taking advantage of the Rec dept "I can't wait for Wednesdays program" and our school a has homework club. I too am glad that there are students using the library but I have been in the childrens library after school and there are many student that are mostly hanging out just to keep warm or until their parents can pick them up.
Yes, they are too rowdy and I used to teach middle school! They need clear expectations and follow through. I can not bring my Kindergartner to the library during the week any more because during after school hours it is crazy due to the influx of Middle School kids. I think it is sad that our library does not have an on going any story time for toddlers/pre-k kids but has the money to spend keeping these kids in line. I think there is a better solution - ultimately the tax payer is paying because parents are not watching their kids. It is crazy!
My son was assaulted at the library about five years ago. He wasn't an after school regular, but I was running a little late that day so having him meet me at the library seemed like a good idea. A group of boys at the library threatened him and he told them where to go, essentially. One of the boys retaliated by punching him in the face just before jumping into his mother's van. She then circled around the parking lot, came back to where my son was standing, leaned out the van window and threatened him herself. She told him that if he made trouble for her son, she was going to help her son beat him up and then tell the school that he started it so he'd be expelled. We called the police and witnesses confirmed my son's version of events, including the mother's threats. His black eye also reinforced his story. We didn't have any more trouble with the kid or his family, but that was the last time my son went there after school. I've been either to the library or to city hall after school a few times. The kids seem harmless but annoying, for the most part. But I do know from our experience that there's bullying that goes on amidst the horseplay and banter.
Aren't Wauwatosa tax payers getting tired of paying baby sitting fees for inconsiderate parents? It's bad enough the biggest fee on tax bills is for local schools, which from all reports, appear more like day care for alot of kids. Now another $5,765 to baby sit kids at library who are there mostly because their parents don't want them home. Give me a break! No, give US a break!
Every time I go the City Hall, I encounter 6 to 10 teens sitting and standing just outside the elevator on the second floor. They have no business here, only to loiter. But, what really gets me is the litter they leave. They are obviously students from Longfellow. Don't we have loitering laws in the city?
I experienced the students' conduct at the library recently and, while it should have come as no surprise, it actually did. Although the school district should have considered this when the early release on Wed. was implemented, the bottom line is that it is still the parents' responsibility. The rowdiness at both the library as well as city hall takes place not only on Wed. but other days as well due to parents' work schedules. What is the answer - besides spending more taxpayer dollars?
Perhaps it should not be a library staff person who is dealing with these kids. Perhaps it should be the Wauwatosa Police. If kids are acting in an inappropriate way, then they need to be told to leave the building. Knowing how kids that age can act, would you want to be the one to tell them that? I think that they need to see that the library staff has the support of the local police and that inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated. If this isn't handled now, the library will soon have to implement a policy that children must be accompanied by an adult.
I find it hard to believe that an increase in middle school students at the library on Wednesday afternoons comes as a surprise to anyone. I have not experienced this rowdiness first-hand, but should we really complain that our middle-school students chose to spend their time at the library when let out of school early to allow the teachers more prep-time? With an increase in student traffic, an increase in noise should be expected. There are worse places our kids could be spending their free time.