>>>>> "Michael" == Michael Atherton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Michael> To me the most horrific part of this story is Eleanor
Michael> Coleman's interview. Bureaucratic indifference can
Michael> be a pretty scary thing at times and it amounts to it's
Michael> own kind of bullying with pretty much the same type of
Michael> intrapersonal dynamics.
I have to second Michael on this one. I'm a little concerned that
quotes might have been ripped out of context (and I haven't been able
to see the original bullying video), but I was absolutely appalled at
Superintendent Coleman's responses.
To quote from the web site:
Our reporter asked, "That child was thrown to the ground 20 times.
That's okay?"
Coleman replied, "By your count. 20 times."
"20 times," our reporter said.
Coleman replied, "By your count. 20 times."
"We could go sit and I'll point them all out to you, " our reporter
said.
"Well, I don't know that the count is necessary," Coleman said.
So if the kid gets knocked down only 18 times, it's OK?
It's easy to rip quotes out of context, so I'm not rushing to
judgment. But if this is an accurate reflection of Coleman's attitude
towards bullying and staff indifference --- deny and minimize --- I'd
say she should be fired immediately.
I'd also like to say that I have been very impressed with what I've
seen at Jefferson, my community school, where the zero tolerance for
violence policy is taken very seriously. Principal Aponte has been
all over this issue, and all the teachers and staff seem on-board.
It's something I really liked to see, there having been a lot of
bullying and teasing at the school where I grew up (which was actually
in an upper-middle-class suburb, with one of the nation's best school
systems, not a city; people didn't take this issue at all seriously
then).
--
Robert P. Goldman
ECCO
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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