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It’s not often that a news story makes me realize how “out of the loop” I am regarding certain cultural “trends.” But an item
in Sunday’s New York Post did exactly that. The funny part was that what galled me the most was not an integral part of the story.
The story was about a 16-year-old “troubled student” being returned to a Brooklyn high school where he had threatened to kill all the deans. He had been removed on Feb. 5 for fighting “both inside and outside the building.” The day after the fighting the student and his mother were called for a meeting. When it was suggested by administrators he be placed in a more restrictive environment, he went berserk, throwing a filing cabinet, and knocking over a bookshelf. The police and the EMS were called and the student was removed as an “emotionally disturbed person.” Now he’s coming back and everyone is scared.
Having lived in New York for over thirty years, none of this is surprising. There is no shortage of violence or troubled teens in that city. So what got me? A single quote which revealed so much more than intended. To wit: “….kids are always flipping me off, or saying they’re going to get me,” said James Patsaricas–the DEAN of Edward R. Murrows HS in Midwood Brooklyn.
When did obscene gestures and veiled threats–absent any repercussions whatsoever apparently–become so routine they’re “always” happening? When did this unconditional surrender to punks and thugs by those ostensibly in control occur?
This is not public school education. This is de facto anarchy, courtesy of a union-controlled system which couldn’t care less about promoting a safe and stable environment. Don’t believe it? When was the last time you heard of any public school union demanding any such conditions as part their contract in labor negotiations?
Never would be an accurate answer.
The reality is public schools in many areas of the country have long resembled “triage” environments: good kids, kids that can be saved, and kids who are beyond hope. It’s time to take the “trash” out–and not just rotten kids, but clueless school officials as well. Bring back expulsion, and put to rest one of the most inaccurate assessments ever made regarding our young: there’s no such thing as a bad kid. Like hell there isn’t, and a minority of bad kids shouldn’t be allowed to make life hell for the overwhelming majority of decent ones.
No doubt there would be lawsuits, but so what? Better to draw a line in the sand than sit back allow conditions to deteriorate even further. Public schools should to be citadels–of safety, learning, respect and elevating standards–not laboratories for “defining deviancy down.”
A good kid’s future is a terrible thing to waste.
atahlert@comcast,net
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