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After an adult lifetime spent teaching school, I believe the method of mass-schooling is its only real content. Don't be fooled into thinking that good curriculum or good equipment or good teachers are the critical determinants of your son's or daughter's education. All the pathologies we've considered come about in large measure because the lessons of school prevent children from keeping important appointments with themselves and with their families to learn lessons in self-motivation, perseverance, self-reliance, courage, dignity, and love -- and lessons in service to others, too, which are among the key lessons of home and community life.
Thirty years ago [in the early 60s] these things could still be learned in the time left after school. But television has eaten up most of that time, and a combination of television and the stresses peculiar to two-income or single-parent families have swallowed up most of what used to be family time as well. Our kids have no time left to grow up fully human and only thin-soil wastelands to do it in.
A future is rushing down upon our culture which will insist all of us learn the wisdom of non-material experience; a future which will demand as the price of survival that we follow a path of natural life economical in material cost. These lessons cannot be learned in schools as they are. School is a twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach school and win awards doing it. I should know."
Mr. ******,
My name is ***** *****. I am an I.A. at Stoller Middle School, a former student at Aloha High School, and am the uncle of a current student, ***** *****.
It is ***** who will be the subject of this e-mail.
***** has struggled for the last couple of years. She has made some bad choices, and gotten herself into some trouble. She was removed from Aloha High last year, began the school year at the Health and Sciences school this year, and then worked her way back to Aloha this semester.
We have been working extremely hard to get her life back on track. She has gone to therapy, has taken responsibility for her actions, and has done what is necessary to correct her path in life. Which is why I find the current situation so troubling.
As soon as ***** came back to Aloha, she began to be harassed by certain students. I advised her to walk away and ignore them. She was then offered heroin. I told her to tell an administrator. A knife was then presented in front of her, at school. Again, I told her tell an adult.
Then, yesterday(1/12), she left school crying because she was harassed by an assistant principal, **** *****, after approaching Ms. ***** about the situation.
Now it's time for me to get involved.
I find it extremely troubling that the administrators seem totally unconcerned with the safety of the students of that school.
Furthermore, it is unbelievable to me that an assistant principal, whose soul purpose is the well being of the children under their care, would call a child who was coming to them for help a liar, a bad kid, and tell her that she has an anger problem and needs counseling.
I truly hope this matter can be rectified, but in the preperation that it is not, I have already begun the following actions:
-A complaint will be filed with the Oregon School Board Association
-I have contacted both the Lars Larsen Show, and Fox News 12, to inquire whether they would be interested in doing a story on heroin, methadone, ecstasy use within the school, all of which she has been offered in her brief time back there, and the school apparently lacking concern about weapons within it's walls. Both have assured me that they will have a representative contact me to inquire further.
-I have contacted an attorney, who confirmed that it is not legal for a school administrator to harass a student in this way, especially speaking about that student's private and confidential counseling. The attorney happens to be my future father in law, so I can promise I have close contact with him.
I do not wish to take this matter any further. All that I want is for my niece to be treated like any other student, and not the 'bad kid' that the Assistant Principal has labeled her as. Furthermore, I wish for the safety of all these children to be given more attention, as it is the most important aspect of what we do.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for you Mr. *** ********. You were a great teacher when I went to Aloha, are an extremely caring man, and, from what I understand, a great principal.
I cannot impress upon you enough, however, how seriously I take this matter. I have another niece who will be going to Aloha, and I will not watch her go through these same things. I will not allow my nieces to become statistics, left behind by a school that chose to look the other way.
I demand that an apology be issued, by Ms. *****, to *****, in regards to her actions. This is the first step in rectifying the situation.
I do not see how we can ask children to be responsible for their actions, if the adults around refuse to do so.
I await your response,
***** *******
Originally posted by On the Edge
reply to post by captaintyinknots
That's a pretty strong letter! Well done!
I hope it brings the results you're after.
If not,any thought to the niece being able to be homeschooled? There'd be no more of those kinds of distractions-and leave plenty of time for healthier pursuits,as well.
Good luck to your nieces!
Originally posted by On the Edge
...But first people have to realize they don't know so much in the first place!...