Bad grades land teen on street corner

TAMPA - A Tampa mom is so frustrated with her son's grades, she is making him wear a sign on a street corner to tell everyone about them.

Ronda Holder's 15-year-old son James is standing on the corner at 22nd Street and Hillsborough Avenue, wearing a sign that says: "I did four questions on my FCAT and said I wasn't going to do it…GPA 1.22…honk if I need education."

Holder said she has tried other approaches, like taking his cell phone away from him, but nothing has worked.

So now, she says James will be on a different street corner every day this week, wearing the sign, with her nearby.

"Until he straightens up his grades and gets his education on track, he's gonna work that corner," Holder said. "This is the job he wants, so he might as well start early."

Holder said she wants other parents and kids to take notice.

"[If] some other parents and kids see this right there, they won't have to worry about their kids doing the same thing," she said.

So far, she says people are definitely noticing.

"One man honked all the way around the corner," she said.

Holder says James may embarrassed now -- but that's just temporary.

"In the long run, he'll thank me for it," she said.