By now anyone reading this has probably watched the video where Joanne Maura, a female school teacher in her 60's was challenged to single combat by chair throwing 18 year old Kemar Omar Roselus.
There was nothing about the attack or the gross disrespect displayed by Roselus and his cackling peanut gallery that shocked or surprised me. Now that every American over the age of two has a video camera and an internet link this sort of behavior and a whole lot worse is just a click away. Violent sociopaths proudly displaying their criminal behavior on the internet with no fear of punishment has become quite normal. In fact, something like this happened in Franklin High School a couple of years ago and it was considered so routine the media didn't even follow up on it.
What surprised me about this crime was the fact that New Bedford School Superintendent Pia Durkin claimed in an April 3rd radio interview that the gladiatorial games occurred on Monday, March 24th yet she didn't know about it until one week later on Monday, March 31st. I find it very unlikely that a teacher can be the victim of a violent crime and report the crime to the police without all knowing, all seeing Darth Durkin finding out about it.
Unless...
No...
It couldn't be true!!
The victim chose not to call the police for some reason. Perhaps she and her colleagues have been threatened with dismissal for committing the unpardonable sin of reporting violent crimes to the police. Did the administration choose to place the lives and safety of teachers below their desire to avoid airing the school's dirty laundry?!! Could that be true?!! Did she report it to "the office" only to learn that nothing was done? Did she return to her classroom the next day to find the man who attacked her sitting there as though nothing ever happened?!!
Here comes that alcoholic family analogy again...
"Finish your vegetables children. In the morning we'll all pretend this never happened."
There was something else about Darth Durkin's radio interview that caught my highly sensitive ears. Durkin claimed to have spoken to students who were "embarrassed" by the incident because "this is not the behavior that is New Bedford High School."
Fair enough if violent behavior is a rarity...but...
Durkin immediately followed up with the statement, "We are on our way to a new day at New Bedford High School."
A "new day?" That sounds like something you tell people when conditions are bad but expected to improve. This apparent contradiction is easy to explain.
Remember the title of this post? Every institution you've ever heard of is affected in some way by statistics. The people who decide how many cans, cases, and two liter bottles of Coke to manufacture and deliver to which stores use statistics based on the past behavior of consumers. Used correctly, statistics are an important and highly valuable tool of mathematics. Used incorrectly...lying about the true frequency of violent crimes committed in a high school or college for example, statistics become dangerous. Colleges covered up their stratospheric incidence of date rape for decades in order to avoid airing their dirty laundry and scaring off parents wealthy enough to send their sons and daughters to college by writing a check. Is the administration of New Bedford High School doing the same thing in order to avoid being classified as a demilitarized zone by the Commonwealth?
Are they telling lies, damned lies, or are they simply committing the sin of omission with their compilation of statistics?
It gets worse...
This morning I learned that the victim, Joanne "The Crusher" Maura is being called into a disciplinary hearing. I wonder how they'll rationalize that the whole thing was her fault.
Stay tuned folks. There is no doubt more lunacy on its way...
If you live in New Bedford, speak up! Call your ward councillors, school committee members and the mayor. Go to the school committee meetings and support your fellow teachers. Tell them how you feel about what is going on in New Bedford.
ReplyDeleteHow can you ask for a reduction in disciplinary actions and then move to dismiss a teacher for not turning in the very paperwork you don't want? Pia wanted a 50% reduction in conduct cards. Housemasters began denying conduct cards for minor recording errors, etc. The adult student that through the chair did receive a minor penalty for his actions prior to the video release---so a person in an administrative position MUST have been aware of the chair throwing incident. Who else could give a penalty for an infraction? Where are the THREE SRO's? Did it take all THREE of them to cuff the other violent student? I want to see the paperwork the THREE SRO's filled out...when did they fill it out?
ReplyDeleteThere are so many Facebook posts of high school students snapping pics and selfies in their classrooms. Joanne is being unfairly targeted. Pia's first year is a bust!
ReplyDeleteWe cannot turn to the school committee because they are in on the scam. They do not care about us!
ReplyDeleteVote no confidence!
DeleteSupposedly, the 3 SRO's were busy arresting another female student at the time for punching a guidance counselor in the face during an IEP meeting. Wonder if the supt heard about that one?
ReplyDeleteSue the city, and sue Durkin & Kulak personally. How could a 60 year old victim of an attack now be the target of this evil administration? You can't even make this craziness up. We need to vote no confidence asap, this madness must end!
ReplyDeleteSchool Committee Meeting April 14th 6:30pm at Keith Jr High. Come and sign up to be heard on your concerns. We NEED answers for all the cover-up and lies stated by the Superintendent and Headmaster not knowing anything about this incident until video went viral a week later.
ReplyDeleteThank you for shedding light in dark places.
ReplyDeleteWhat's it going to take for Pia to act with integrity? Does a teacher or student have to die? This woman cares nothing about the lives she is ruining. The only thing she cares about is her political agenda. Professor Umbridge... oh I'm so sorry... I mean Dr. Durkin, my family members are inside the walls of New Bedford High School. You sit safely in your little office several minutes away from any and all danger. I wonder if your tune would change if a chair went flying through the air in your direction with such force that if it hit you it would kill you? I call for the immediate resignation of Pia Durkin, Mayor Mitchell, and every single school committee member who allows this idiocy to continue in our city's school. I am a taxpayer, homeowner, parent, and teacher. YOU work for ME! What are you going to do to ensure that myself, my family, my friends, and my students are safe when why walk into school?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 100% in all you say.
DeleteI attempt to explain the situation in today's post about blaming victims. And in response to your question...yes, problems are usually ignored until enough people die to warrant giving the problem at hand the attention it needs. Recall that the antibullying movement was stuck in neutral before Columbine.
DeleteIt's despicable that the teacher/victim is being blamed. Clearly if another teacher called the office for help then the house master knew about the incident. The scrutiny needs to be placed on her incompetence. She should be answering to both the teacher who she should have shown concern for and didn't, and the head master, her boss, who she failed to report the altercation to.
DeleteAs one of the mysterious, well dressed men in the television series, "The X-Files" once said, "Few interests are not self interests."
DeletePia Durkin will push a policy of denial to the last drop of your blood.