Massachusetts passed a 4% millionaire's tax last year. Now public school students are getting lunch

I think those school board officials should have been prosecuted for those threats. And I'm very concerned with their rationale for first refusing the payment. They don't appear to be the sort of people who should run a school system - or anything that deals with children. In fact, I'd like to see them barred from working with children in any capacity, and required to maintain a certain distance from school property, as is done with other abusers. Might be worthwhile as a preventative strategy.

 

When I was a school-kid in post-war England, it was the teachers. Bastards, most of them. I have some VERY bad personal memories, that go back over 70 years. My parents intervened once or twice and they got results. There were pretty well NO administrators - the only school office I ever remember was the Headmistress' (principal's).

Once I got to Canada (1952) I never saw any evidence of bullying by teachers or administrators - some had real tempers and yelled a lot, but... And when my kids were in school - no problems re: bullying from teachers or admin staff. The usual, occasional minor complaints, some justified, some probably not, about disciplinary unfairness etc. but that's all.

Same basically with my four grandchildren. No bullying but at least one case of gross unfairness. First to my grandson, then to his parents. They removed their son from one school system and he went to another school. Problem solved.

I'm sorry to hear that bullying by administrators is endemic in US schools. We're far from problem-free here in schools, but I don't see that as one of them. We have pretty strong rules about it, and there are processes for disciplining and /or firing people who transgress. I could be wrong of course -and anyone who thinks so -- please speak up.

 

Right - Pink Floyd, "The Happiest Days of our Lives." No surprise it's from a British Group. As I said, Brit. teachers were like that. Here's the whole thing for people who may not know it:

Intro: You! Yes, you! Stand still, laddie!

When we grew up and went to school
There were certain teachers who would
Hurt the children any way they could
By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids

But in the town it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psycopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives.

(Roger Waters)

Well chosen, Steve -- sorry I can't really bring myself to say "thanks for the memory," but you did good. Brrrr. I started school in London in 1948. Looks like things hadn't improved at all in 1979, when the song was written.

 

I don't recall any bad teachers, and I went to some really bad schools.

I remember ineffective ones and burned out ones, but none who were truly abusive--vocally or physically.

No, truth be told, I was the kind of kid they simply didn't deserve to put up with. Bless them all.

 

I assure you, Rich, that back in the day, it was WAY different in UK. Pathologically different. Young kids lived in fear. My memories of teachers in Canada are much like your own. Maybe somewhat better, because I can't say I went to any "really bad" schools. My memories from here are several orders of magnitude better than those from England. They were truly terrible - and they've lasted a lifetime.

 

I'm sure it was.