Alex is a sneak, a cheat, a liar, and worse, a rat. He dug his own grave. True, he still has not had his day in court, but I support his right to have that day and will respect the outcome. What I found fascinating is that when the Yanks played the Red Sox a few weeks ago and Alex got plunked by Ryan Dempster (I don't know why the world came down on Dempster. Back in the day if you just breathed funny Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale would nail you. It was old time baseball!)
But after Alex go hit, what happened? His entire team, and his manager supported him. It did not matter what a jerk he was, that he was a rat, a liar, and a cheat. No, the Yankees as a team said to themselves (With apologies to Animal House), "Hey Alex is our teammate, Dempster can't do that to our teammate!"
What do the staff at PS 154 do and react when two teachers are humiliated by bogus 3020a charges and forced to sit in a room by themselves by DR Alison Coviello, Principal and PhD.? Those teachers become persona non grata. They are ignored. They are not thought of. They are non persons.
Eight teachers, most over 40, and of color were given their first U ratings this year. Nothing. No support. No outrage. Nada. Bupkus.
With comments like, "Well, I am not a target so I don't care about others," to "Some teachers, and they know who they are, better start teaching." That one is my favorite. How the hell does a 5th grade teacher know what a 1st grade teacher is doing in their classroom?
There is no empathy, no selflessness, no nothing at PS 154. There are three groups at 154.
Group 1 are The Outliers, in which those fight back or keep to themselves or are shunned.
Group 2 are the fearful, those that no what is being done is wrong. Such as forcing teachers to come in on their Summer vacation to learn some wasteful discipline method, Responsive Classroom. Or they are intimidated into being ratting out colleagues, or given just enough responsibility by the triple headed hydra running 154 to allow them to think they are important.
Then there is Group 3, the ass kissers, the boot lickers, the ones that live inside the rectum and the colon. Those that have no shame, no values, and a lack of independent thought.
Yeah, I know every school has this issue, but it is sad that this happened to 154. This school used to be such a tight knit, close, and supportive school. Then came Cynthia Ballard as principal and she destroyed that closeness. Some say that she was bi-polar. But anyway, Ballard hired what we have in place now. The apple does not seem to fall far from the tree.
The sad part is that those is Group 2 and Group 3 will be sucked into the vortex of evil just as soon as they are not useful to the hydra and will be chewed up and spit out.
Some from Group 2 can be saved, especially those who are in fear. We all have fear, but we can't let fear control who we are or what we do. You need your moral compass to fight against the bully, to stand up and show the bully you are strong. Remember a bully preys on fear, smells fear, and will always manipulate your fear.
Remember, a bully is only as strong as the power you give them.
