If the title of this post isn't disturbing enough...read on.
For those of you who don't recognize the metaphor, "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a short story by Hans Christian Andersen.
Two weavers promise a new suit of clothes to an Emperor. They further claim that the clothing is made from material that is invisible to those who are stupid, incompetent, or unfit for their positions. As the Emperor parades down a public street stark naked, everyone pretends to see his new clothes. Obviously none of them believe he's actually wearing invisible clothing but they're all terrified of losing their jobs or being treated as though they were stupid or incompetent. The ice is broken when a child, too young to truly appreciate the importance and value of mass denial yells, "But he's not wearing any clothes at all."
And that's where I come in. The massive fraud of public trust that's being perpetrated in New Bedford is badly in need of a shameless child.
For the past several weeks I've been posting comments on the New Bedford Educators Association weblog under the name of "The Elephant." I began as an anonymous poster but after using the metaphor, "The Elephant In The Room" in one of my comments I've since been using the name, "The Elephant."
Here's the situation...
The New Bedford school system is classified as underperforming by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A turnaround plan was developed and Dr. Pia Durkin was hired to implement it. When all of the water and legalese is boiled out of it, the plan basically consists of firing half of the teaching staff and replacing them with no doubt much lower paid neophytes. Since I have a passion for metaphors, here's another one.
Dr. Pia Durkin is tossing people over the side of the Titanic and inviting recent college graduates onto a sinking ship in the hope that young, violent criminals will miraculously see the error of their ways and students who's parents wouldn't be caught dead reading a book will suddenly develop an insatiable appetite for academic performance.
This behavior is as ludicrous as wearing invisible clothing. The trouble is...everyone but the teachers (Those are the people who are actually trained to do the job.) appear to be blindly going along with it.
Stay tuned. Visit often. Leave comments.
And keep your clothes on.
Loved your article. Thanks for supporting the teachers of NBPS. We need all the support we can get.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your article and would like to wish you much success with your new blog.
ReplyDeleteYour assessment is on target. I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteYou have taken on quite a job. There are so few like you. It is so easy to attack what/who is left of the NBPS. Thank you for providing an additional space for the first person accounts to be shared in a safe zone---this is a SAFE ZONE-right?
ReplyDeleteIt's not a job if it's fun. And it's safe as long as you continue posting anonymously.
DeleteEmperor Durkin's clothing allowance is $185,000 per year.
ReplyDeleteCould I find that in the public record somewhere? That's almost half of the President's annual salary.
DeleteI can't wait to read future posts on your blog.
ReplyDeleteSave a whale and harpoon a pia durkin.
ReplyDeleteThe wizard behind the curtain is hiding much more than people realize. Check police reports. What happened recently in this city. Check the police logs. Look for it. Check to see where those police cars were last week. Check, check, check.
ReplyDeletePia Durkin and her thugs are on a mission to destroy what is left of the NBPS. Thanks for carrying on the work started by the now defunct Whaling City Watch.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see the Elephant, much like our beloved pachyderm at Buttonwood Zoo, has gone rogue. Thank you for recognizing the role of parents as the "first" teachers of our students. It seems people have children but many do not seriously take on the responsibility of raising them respectably. No public school in America can do its job effectively without assistance from parents - this is why Catholic Schools, which often run on a very tight budget ,manage to produce great students. They expect parents to participate in the education process and when they don't ... they simply say this school is not a proper fit for your child. Wouldn't it be novel if public schools had that same power. What if education were viewed as a privilege rather than a right. What if public schools could say to parents ... "we expect you to do X, Y and Z and if you don't the consequence is you lose a percentage of your monthly welfare check or food allowance". My guess is that things would change rapidly and dramatically. Tough times call for tough decisions .... food for thought
ReplyDeleteI would take parental accountability much further than most Americans would feel comfortable with. When parents role model or excessively enable criminal behavior I'd charge them as accessories to whatever crimes their wunderkinds commit. A good example is Jared Remy. His parents repeatedly bailed him out of jail, paid trial lawyers to play the system, pretended that their son had a medical problem instead of a criminal character, and ultimately caused the murder of a woman. It's even rumored that Phoebe Remy contacted Jared's latest victim and demanded that she drop the restraining order against her poor, innocent baby because it would ruin his life. In my opinion both of Jared Remy's parents belong in prison as accessories to murder.
DeleteBacteria reproduce.
Cockroaches reproduce.
Rats reproduce.
Human animals reproduce too.
Raising a violent sociopath is not something to be proud of. You haven't accomplished a damned thing unless you transformed that infant member of a violent, predatory species into a civilized, young adult.
The NB Public Schools should be turned over to the Standard-Times. Wouldn't you just love to see how Bob Unger, Steve Urbon, and Jack Spillane would react to a punk thug hurling a chair at them? I bet they'd set a new world record for the 100 meter dash back to the safety of their newsroom.
ReplyDeleteThis district is a magnet for preditors who inflict trauma, break one's spirit, and destroy lives. Guess what the mayor and school committee do?NOTHING!!!
ReplyDeleteUseless headmaster
ReplyDeleteSafety in numbers?
ReplyDeleteThe Devil wears data!
ReplyDeleteYears ago a very wise housemaster said "If all parents had to pay a yearly fee to send their children to school with the understanding that attendance and academic success (to the best of a student's ability) was the only way to get the fee back year to year, we would see a big change in both areas." Parents have to become involved. Teachers cannot do it all!!
ReplyDeleteThere exists a very strong social taboo against mentioning the idea that parents should be held accountable for anything.
ReplyDeleteChange that.