Family: Bullying led to 12-year-old's suicide
Oct 30, 2009 | 10828 views | 91 
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Tre'Juan 'Trey' Cordell Figures' family and friends talk about the problems Trey had. Family friend Deidra Parker, left; Trey's grandmother, Essie Figures; his mother, Veronica McGee; and his father, Johnny Figures; and his aunt, Virginia Eastman. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star
Tre'Juan 'Trey' Cordell Figures smiles in this family photo. Photo: Special to The Star
"He always wanted a hug, and every time he'd say 'hugs make everything better,'" said the 12-year-old's uncle, Ron Eastman. "I'm sure he's in heaven right now, hugging on Jesus."
Tre'Juan, who everyone called Trey, took his own life Tuesday night in his west Anniston home.
Several of Trey's family members said Thursday the sixth-grader had faced bullies at Anniston Middle School for more than a year. They say that's why he committed suicide.
Johnny Figures, Trey's father, said kids at school and in their neighborhood had been trying to force Trey to join a gang.
"They'd jump on him, take his lunch money, threaten him," he said through tears. "It got to the point he didn't want to get on the bus and he'd miss it on purpose."
Figures said his son came to him after school on Monday and told him "'Daddy, they're still messing with me.'"
It must've gotten worse on Tuesday, he said. But Trey didn't come to him that afternoon.
"I wish he had of," Johnny Figures said.
Trey's death is senseless, said his aunt, Virginia Eastman.
"We're not only sad, we're frustrated because this didn't have to happen," she said. "Our multiple efforts to talk to school leaders didn't result in anything."
Trey's family said the school must take action so other students dealing with bullies get some help.
Anniston Schools Superintendent Joan Frazier said officials are investigating what may have led to Trey's death. As for whether teachers and administrators helped Trey before his suicide, she said they followed procedures.
"At this point in time, we are heavily into the investigative mode, trying to look into every tidbit of information and trying to ascertain if there was anything that happened Monday or Tuesday," she said.
Frazier said disciplinary problems are typically handled in the classroom. She said counseling is available both in school and then out of school, if needed.
Trey had received support in the past, Frazier said.
"No one saw this coming," she said. "This is one reason why we try to really overemphasize how important it is to be kind to one another, not to taunt, tease or be cruel."
Frazier said the school system also is investigating gang activity at Anniston Middle School. She said if gangs are in the school, officials didn't know about it.
Extra counselors are at the middle school this week, Frazier said, to help Trey's classmates who are struggling with his death.
Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center, said teachers must be vigilant in making sure students aren't bullying each other.
"It starts with little stuff, like cursing, yelling, name-calling, hard looks," he said. "When it comes to bullying, yeah, you do want to sweat the small stuff."
Harry Malone, pastor of Sweet Rock Full Gospel Baptist Church, also runs a convenience store on Clydesdale Avenue. He said the west Anniston community is in an uproar about Trey's death.
"Everyone I've seen is horrified by it, and they're saying the same thing I've said — why didn't somebody do something," he said.
Malone said he wants to start a mentoring program at the middle school with other pastors so children have someone to talk to.
If Trey had been able to talk about things on Tuesday, Veronica McGee said, she might not be burying her child. "The last thing he said to me was, 'Mommy, I love you,'" she said. "I said, 'I love you, too, baby.'"
• Click here to read an Editor's Note regarding this story.
I remember I once taught middle school boys how to overhaul a lawnmower engine during a six weeks enrichment program. They learned about disassembly, cleaning, measuring, ordering replacement parts, reassembly and tightening, buying oil and gas and etc. I knew how to do it, but I needed to put it on paper in logical steps so that I could measure how I did in presenting the lesson. That was as much for me as them. Then I gave them a test to see how much information they retained. It turned out pretty well.
I'm building an experimental airplane in my retirement and would love to have a group of students out to discuss the theory of flight and how heavier than air objects can fly. Maybe even craft a few parts to be used in an aircraft.
Vonage
These are the unsung heros in our schools, and they typically do more with less resources than the other grades. They not only teach the three Rs, but also the social skills lacking in many of the kids.
To watch Kindergarten teachers turn 17 five year old babies into focused students in one year is amazing.
I miss that part....
Vonage
What would Saban do if the pres required him to do lesson plans for instance and to make them available for his review and suggestions? Similarly, a good principal, if he can hire good teachers, does not need to be an educator. He needs to be a good CEO. And in turn that principal needs to be left alone as long as he is doing his job.
Vonage
This is why that when you call a company to get a problem solved you often have to go two or three steps up in order to get to someone with any sense or authority. I am seeing some of the same thing in education. But not simply to save money but more that trained monkeys, for the most part is all that will take the job. And I say again, this does not apply to all teachers, just a number of them.
Probably the best teacher I ever had was not at teacher. He was principal who just filled in for a teacher. He had no lesson plan. He just knew the material and he knew how to teach it. He did not need a crutch or a written plan. At teacher does need objectives and he may need some notes for that day's class. But they can be a few words jotted down on note card. I have seen people who really like to make plans and put it on paper so it looks good. They are good at that but they are not good at doing the job, whether teaching or whatever.
But the one of the problems is that we don't have many teachers that are true professionals. The truth is that not many really good potential teachers go into teaching. Why? Because of things as I just mentioned. True professional don't like to be told how to do their job. True professionals only need support from management that facilitates what they do and the lack of outside interference such as discipline problems.
Another thing. Even if some of this were corrected, many good teachers are not qualified in our system unless things have changed lately. In college I had a veterinarian teaching human anatomy. He was a good teacher. I am sure he did not take the useless education courses so I don't know how he managed to teach without those. and yes I know they are stupid because I took them. They were so vague and lacking in substance that I even took one course twice without noticing that I had already took it until the semester was almost over. That is how concrete the subject matter was. Anyhow, do you know the good vet/teacher could not teach in high school because he did not take the ed courses?
I also had a retired army Col. that taught physics. He too would not be qualified. I would bet that there are numerous retired lawyers, engineers, army officers, etc. that would teach but they are not "qualified". But yet you have idiots who teach because they took the crip education courses. I know that will make some teachers mad but the good teachers know it is the truth. I knew college students who couldn't cut it in science or math so they decided to be teachers because it was easier. We do have good teachers and this does not apply to all of them but they are out there.
But no one wants to tell the truth and correct these problems so we pass more laws and guidelines such as more lesson plans. more testing, more counselors (which we wouldn't need much of if we had qualified people who do their job), more sensitivity, training, more green awareness, more talk and more guidelines that do not attack the real problem.
That being said, it's a whole lot easier on parents if their kids' friends' parents are also setting a high bar.
If you have a strong instructional leader in the school (Principal) then your chances are better. Good instructional leaders (principals) insist teachers are 4F teachers (firm, fair, friendly, and functional). Now, most teachers will respond to strong instructional leadership from the principal. If the principal is just someone who opens up the building and makes sure the heat is working, then you have a problem.
Good instructional leaders insist teachers have lesson plans that meet the objectives of the subject matter. If a teacher fails to plan, then the teacher plans to fail.
With the software that Anniston has, teachers can keep their lesson plans online, they can collaborate with each other. The principal can see the lesson plans (and he should). When a teacher is absent, someone in the office can print out the lesson plans for the substitute. Of course a Trig teacher might have to have a generic lesson plan for a substitute to use when she is out sick, but it is all available online for the administration.
So often, teachers have to deal with problems that come from homes. It can be emotional, nutritional, parental and so on.
In my opinion, teachers need to be paid based upon the test scores of their children. But teachers in a school should not be dumped on by the principal and given the slowest students. I've seen that happen, a principal has a weak teacher and what does he do? He doesn't put the brightest kids in her class. Their parents usually won't stand for it. Instead, he puts kids that are low achievers, whose parents are not involved in the schools, etc. When in fact, students should be assigned to teachers based upon the needs of the student. The slowest kid might need the brightest teacher in order to realize their potential.
I could write about this for days. Low expectations on the part of teachers and principals produce low results on the part of students. I know that it is sort of polyannaish (if that's a word) to think all kids are going to achieve, but high expectations should rule the day in schools.
I've worked in a few of the Anniston City schools and know several of the former administrators and teachers. Anniston doesn't have any problems that can't be solved IF the community gets involved.
There are several groups, foundations, etc. that have worked for years to improve the schools in Anniston, including the owner of this newspaper.
I don't know him personally, but I've read about his involvement in the local educational foundation.
This has been sort of a rambling dialogue, but I hope it has been of some use to you.
Parents, insist that the principal in your school is a committed instructional leader, as well as someone who loves kids.
Vonage
What's wrong with that? I already said what is wrong with that. Parents are not educators as a rule. Many of them are totally uneducated themselves and you don't want a bunch of hot heads coming to the school questioning everything a teacher does. If that is necessary then you need better teachers and administration. If a teacher is doing her job then the principal needs to back her up. If not, he needs to fire her. And he needs to encourage parents to stay home unless asked to come to the school. It may be that the teacher wants certain parents to come and that is fine.
I have been on both sides of this as a teacher and as a parent so I know what I am talking about. Unfortunately, as a parent I did have to go to the school, contradicting what I said above. And in fact I proved my case against the teacher and she was chastised for her incompetent behavior and absolute erroneous teaching and grading on the basis of her errant teaching.
Now, as in this case, and where the teacher requests it, there are instances where parents need to go to the school. But that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about the wholesale encouraging of parents to go to the school. Teachers are supposed to be professionals and you don't go telling professionals what to do or how to do it, which is often the case with parents. And if the teachers can't be trusted as professionals then you need to get rid of those teachers, which of course won't happen because of their union and in some cases federal laws.
Do you go into surgery to watch the doctor operate on your wife? Do you go with your lawyer to watch him do a title check? Do you stand over your brick layer giving helpful suggestions? No, because you trust them to do a professional job. That you think teachers need your help says something about the teachers and the system.
If you have a bad brick layer do you think your help is really going to do any good?
When I was a kid my parents told me not to get in trouble for fighting in school. They said if somebody tried to start a fight with me I should tell the teacher or an adult. Then I found out everybody else's parents told their kids, "Hit back first. Don't let them think you're a wuss." Things could get bad quickly with that mindset. Something to think about...
I really love leebd's idea of getting more parents into the school to see what's going on and help provide a mature, stabilizing force. There are companies who give workers one day off a month to volunteer, and that should happen here. Let's see some community support.
Next, to prevent this from occuring again, we need to stop pointing the fingers. Yes our school administrators are paid to do a job. They failed Tre' miserably. But guess what? We did too. This goes to everyone above 30 years of age...this is definitely not the same culture we grew up when parental responsibility was the norm. When you put the blame on the administrators, bus drivers, etc. etc.....when was the last time YOU volunteered to go into the school? Needless to say , I'm sure there are a sprinkle of parents who will be able to raise their hands.And I understand that people have to work.These are our children though and what it is going to take , instead of having meetings and more talk...we, women and men (especially men), need to go into the schools, volunteer on the buses, and anything else it takes. When the responsible parents start holding the irresponsible ones accountable for their child being in a gang, for bullying a child to the point he feels he needs to take his life,and anything else that goes, things will change.We have taken things out of the schools hands to the point that the teachers/administrators are afraid to say anything/discipline the ones who especially need it. I have heard parents say before, "this is my child and no one is going to tell me how to raise him/her". If you're being a responsible parent then great...keep doing it. But when you're not...it is EVERYONE'S business because it is not only you that suffers the consequences of your child's actions. Point is , there are many more responsible parents , but it is going to take common sense , getting knee deep in it actions to change things in ALL schools. It is the teachers' jobs to school(not police) them and our tax dollars DO go to them which makes them OUR schools. Which is more reason to get involved and give our children a safe place to learn like they can and should.When the irresponsible ones realize its time to stop or more like start....things will get back to how they are suppose to be.Like the previous poster said...when you stand up to a bully...they will straighten up.
God bless you Tre' and many prayers for your family and friends. I am so sorry it took this, but let this be a call to change things now and not let this precious baby's death be in vain.