I have had only two instances, maybe 1 1/2 instances, of anti-Semitism in my life. One, a few years ago I was called a Kike for the first and only time in my life. Considering who was uttering it, I laughed it off, which made the putz even more upset.

The other instance, and I just think it was out of pure ignorance, was back in 1981 when I was 17. I had obliterated my junior year in high school and my parents sent me to Maine to a summer school/camp. My bunk mate was from Bogota, Columbia and upon finding out I was Jewish, he asked me if I am a good businessman. I then asked him if being Colombian meant he was a cocaine dealer. We then laughed.

I shared this with The Crack Team when we learned today, from several reliable sources at PS 154, of an 11 year old student at PS 154 in the Bronx made several anti-Semitic comments in class and has had a history of making such comments.

His comments did not consist of any gassing Jews, or burning Jews, or throwing Jews down the well. No, it was just ranting about the stereotypical Jew.

The young man exclaimed several time in class, "The Jews have all the money!" to a teacher. Now some might say that this is not anti-Semitic, but we here at SBSB beg to differ. This stereotype was perpetuated  by the Nazis and today by radical Muslims and Arabs. During the time of the Inquisition, Jews that did not convert and decided to leave Spain were accosted, and sliced down the middle by people looking for their hidden "Jew Gold." Jews have fought this stereotype for centuries.

But it will continue at PS 154 for DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal of PS 154 when confronted with news of this incident and the background of other incidents concerning this with and the young man did nothing. As usual.

This general lack of action does not surprise us here at SBSB especially in light of a previous insensitivity of Jewish sensibilities in the past. All the young man received was a talking to even though the NYC DOE discipline code gives more than one option;

A23 (Page 21)Using slurs based upon actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, weight, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or disability (for grades K-3, A-F; for grades 4-5, A-I)

Think about this. An 11 year old boy is not getting this idea of Jews on his own. He is getting it from somewhere, most probable the media or a family member. Admonishing him, reprimanding him, or a student-teacher conference is just not going to cut it. Either a parent conference or the losing of something significant at school is what is needed.

What is truly needed is something out side the box, like what Andy Griffith did when Opie killed that bird. But no, Responsive Classroom won't allow something like that. The young man won't have any joy.

What an opportunity to have the young man do some independent work researching some of the Holocaust. Or meeting with a Holocaust survivor. Reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Discussing why stereotypes are hurtful and wrong. Meeting with a rabbi and learning about Judaism. Heck, this can be a whole class lesson so the young man won't feel singled out.

But alas, none of this happened. One reason is that DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal truly does not want students to feel bad or feel anything about their actions. The other is the what can appear to some as insensitivity to Jews by DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal.  Sometimes lack of action or paying lip service to what should be actionable is very telling/

One wonders though, and it is fair enough to ask, if the student dropped the N-word would there have been a different outcome. We here at SBSB can't say for sure nor do we feel we have all the information to come to a conclusion. Only others, what they feel in their hearts, can come to such a conclusion.

DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal must realize that anti-Semitic remarks have no place in a school. For over 2,000 years Jews have had to put up with vile treatment. In our parents lifetimes over 6 million Jews were murdered. Israel looks at the threat of its destruction day in and day out. Yet at PS 154 not only is nothing done when an 11 year old boy makes anti-Semitic remarks, a teaching moment is not taken advantage of. This is lands at the feet and is the responsibility of DR Alison Coviello; Ed.D and Principal

I knew I had the audio somewhere. All that was needed was patience on my part to listen to hours upon hours of audio. Well not really, I kind of had the time frame of the audio in my head, but still had to listen through many a minute of audio.

Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal really wants to put the PAL in principal. But in reality, it is all a mirage. Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal loves to have the blue light shone on her to show how just how truly caring and interested she is in the lives of staff members.

In fact, Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal paints herself as the true "progressive educator," even when those progressive ideas continuously crash and burn. In fact, the audio I was searching for truly shows the inconsistencies of Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal  (listen here) as a principal. If you are wondering what that means, Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal claims that she believes in giving a warning first. Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal says that she believes in "progressive discipline"

Hmmm, does Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal practice what she says she practices? Highly doubtful. Perhaps with those that curry favor with her, those that follow her around like a lost puppy, or those that drink the Kool-Aid. But does she show progressive discipline with the Outliers of PS 154? I doubt it. Does she show progressive discipline with the over 40 club at PS 154? Nah.

If Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal practices progressive discipline, why then was I written up for smoking outside the school in accordance with Chancellor's Regulation C-810? Why was I written up for not having my "learning environment," not my classroom, in order on September 7, while the rest of the staff had almost until the end of the month? 

Why was I written up on the basis of one teacher whining how I addressed her? Why was I written up for going hypoglycemic? Why was I written up on the basis of one teacher, (Same one above) claiming that I did not pick up her class when it was not even my place to pick the class up?

Could I have not been given the opportunity to have counseling memos put in my file? Because if Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal truly practiced progressive discipline what she did to me, and mind you, there is a lot I can't speak about yet, seemed to have been greasing my skids. 

Why was, as I still believe to this day, set up to fail from the beginning of September 2012?

But that is what PS 154 under Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal is all about. It's like The Outsiders. You have the Greasers on one sides and the Socs on the other. We all know who the Socs are, we all know their attitudes. The Socs at PS 154 team up on the Greasers, the outcasts, the outliers. The Socs think they can divide and conquer the Greasers, but they can't.

When there 154 is being destroyed by the policies of Dr Alison Coviello; EdD. and Principal, the Socs will be drinking the Kool-Aid and claiming how wonderful things are. It will be the Greasers who save the kids, who save the day.

But maybe, just maybe, some of the Socs will flip. There are some that can be saved, that can leave the dark side.

But the Greasers still left at PS 154, you guys can do it. You guys can save 154. Be sure you speak with SodaPop and Darry, They will give you the help you need.

Oh, and beware the claims of progressive discipline. It's a crock.

Lots going on at PS 154 in the Bronx that sources have shared with The Crack Team.

Dr Alison Coviello; PhD. and Principal of PS 154 has begun a groovy peace bus. What is a peace
bus?  A peace bus is a big, cute, groovy, faux bus located on the wall by the office. Every day that PS 154 is violence free, a day is marked. When 5 days are marked, the students of the school win a prize!! YAY!!!

Where does such a groovy idea come from? Those wonderful people at Responsive Classroom, that's who. Go look at Responsive Classroom's website and find them on YouTube. See how much inner city videos they have. How many students get free lunch. Remember, not everything works in Peoria.

As actual reality based, non liberal, educator shared with me recently about Responsive Classroom;

"...find it frustrating that we don't hold kids accountable anymore - my admins believe the kids who act out need 'a hug and a cookie'. How about a suspension and a boot in the butt (figuratively, of course). My classroom was student centered, but there were rules and there were consequences. We deal with many on free lunch, very dysfunctional homes, but that's all the more reason why they need some discipline in school - some lack any structure at home"

I guess when one is liberal and one doesn't understand the workings of children of the inner city and when one believes that since one is white, has a Ivy League pedigree, and was raised in opulence and without want, one can be condescending enough to the families and children of color. 

Back to the peace bus. The peace bus was christened on October 7. How well did it work? It worked so well that the first day without violence was October 15!! YAY!!! A week of violence, followed by a lull? Keep reading. 

There was a lull, but it the violence returned to the school, October 16-22, yet resumed October 25. Oooh, a two day lull. Gee, that peace bus really is working wonders.

But of course this is to be expected. But as Anthony Cody wrote in "Punished by Rewards,"

"....rewards can be seen as punishment in the sense that rewards both manipulate behavior and are a form of doing things to students rather than with students"

 Yeah, it is really nice to have meeting with students and explain to them how in the professional world fighting will not cut it. But when you are sharing this with 3rd graders, or dare I say, 5th graders, you are giving them a concept that is far too in the future for them to genuinely comprehend. Not saying that none of them will absorb it, but at that age in which students live in the moment, does it hit home?

Even more so, especially as the students get older, there is a certain pride in not being one of those that needs to be rewarded, that they do not care about momentary rewards. It is a source of pride for them to be the "bad kid," the kid that will get in trouble or ruin the rewards for everybody else. 

From the Psycho-Educational Teacher blog; 

External rewards may temporarily inhibit disruptive behaviors but they do not teach appropriate behavior and will not help children outgrow the disruptive behavior. Teachers need to be aware that rewards appeal exclusively to students’ extrinsic motivation (“I do _____ so that I can get _____”) having little or no effect in strengthening children’s intrinsic motivation (i.e. self-pride, self-confidence, self-efficacy, and a sense of accomplishment among others). Consequently, even when the teacher uses rewards consistently, a discipline system that only takes into consideration giving rewards while ignoring children’s perceptions, attitudes, and feelings may have a strong short-term effect in winning compliance, but no long-term effect in helping habitually disruptive students learn new and more productive ways of behaving. 

In my opinion, rewards do serve their purpose, but only once the teacher has established themselves as no nonsense and has the respect of the students that are the most troublesome. The rest of the students in the class, believe it or not, look to those students on how to behave. The most troublesome students must be won over first. 

But talking to these students in a patronizing, condescending voice won't work. They see through the bull. They know when they are being conned. Stickers and rewards won't cut it with them, unless it is right there in the moment. And even that is daunting for I believe that their behavior will adjust just for that reward, for that momentary grasp of getting something. But long term, rewards won't work alone.

I know these kids are hurting inside. I feel for them. But what they need more than anything else are boundaries. Not stickers, no pizza or ice cream parties, but boundaries.

But this is how Dr Alison Coviello; PhD. and Principal of PS 154in the Bronx wants it. Kind of like socialism, All students must be treated the same, and all teachers must respond in the same manner.

So with that, the violence will prevail at PS 154 and students will not learn nor will they be safe.

Pennywise is alive and still at work in the South Bronx. Only this time, Pennywise is not only destroying the lives of children, but of teachers as well.

Pennywise in and of itself has a benign appearance to children and adults, but the true form of
Pennywise, the IT entity, resides in PS 154 in the Bronx. With Open Market season soon upon us, this is an open warning to all teachers interested in a transfer to PS 154. Stay away.

PS 154 should be seen by anyone seeking to use the Open Market to transfer (That is if transfers are not hidden again like they were last year) to 154 as the Starfleet's General Order 7 used to for Talos in the year 2264.

As the Talosians destroyed and toyed with the lives of the crew of the USS Enterprise, so does the IT entity destroy and toy with the lives of the staff of PS 154.

IT demands only perfection from staff, those that are imperfect are dealt with in much the same way that Nomad dealt with imperfection.

IT can only criticize and condemn those that are not perfect nor drink the Kool-Aid it offers to those that wish to be one with IT. If you're looking for praise, a pat on the back, a "way to go," then 154 is the wrong place for that.

IT believes that the lack of discipline at PS 154 is due to the non-liberal, non-coddling, non-happy views of the staff. Only if the staff rewarded bad behavior would there be a sense of discipline at PS 154.

IT believes that every act, every thought, everything a staff member does, should be controlled and mapped out. The staff handbook is not a handbook, but rather a manifesto. From the proper method of washing your hands, to how many steps you must take from your classroom to the bathroom, it is all there for you to read and pull your hair out.

IT believes in only praising those that drink the Kool-Aid with IT. All others, no matter what praise worthy activities they do, well tough you know what, you ain't getting praised.

IT wants you not to have a life for IT has no life and IT only can see ITself and you through that prism.

IT only believes in GroupThink. No independent thought allowed. Only drones are wanted at 154.

IT has driven away many good staff members and will continue to do so.

IT is living in denial, seeing that with the transformation of District 7 to no more zoned schools and a charter moving in, IT believes that 154 will still attract the top of the line students.

IT teases you with professional development.

IT is a cultist of Lucy Calkins and Teacher's College Readers and Writer's Workshops. Though this is a failed method and the NYC DOE is no longer supporting it, 154 is going full throttle into next year with continuing failure. By the way, isn't a sign of insanity doing the same failing thing time after time, thinking there will be a different outcome? Just saying.

IT is unable to use introspection.

There is zero discipline at PS 154 thanks to IT.

IT tries to be your pal, tries to show IT cares, but it is all a facade, a scam, moral is at an all time low.

IT can't and won't admit any failings. IT is perfect.

IT lies, omits facts, twists truths.

IT won't listen.

IT is a bully.

If you see PS 154 on the Open Market, run far away, do not apply. You will be so much better off elsewhere, like a prison in Mexico. Your well being is much more important. 

Oh, there is fun to be had every day at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School, but only if you seek it.

The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School has turned into nothing more than a playroom. A place where students, those students that disrupt their classes, throw chairs, run through the halls, punch and kick teachers are punished by being able to finger paint play with dolls, and have ice cream parties.

Nothing is taken seriously. It is all about making the students feel good. So what if Ezra in 5th grade tells a female teacher to "suck his dick," so what if Schlomo in 5th grade tells a teacher he will "put a cap in you after school," who cares if Menachem never shows up to class. These students know that in The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School there will be zero consequences, for the good time that is awaiting them is worth getting to all the trouble they can and avoiding all the education they want.

Now, yes, we all want our students, to feel good. We all know that most of our students come from severely fractured homes. We as teachers wish we can save each and everyone of these students, to make them better people, to make them better students, to see them grow and succeed. But they cannot be coddled. They don't want to, nor do they respect being coddled.

 Most of the students who are involved in inappropriate actions at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School are boys. These boys, not all of them, but a goodly amount come from matriarchal homes, homes that have been matriarchal for generations. These boys have never had a positive male role model on their lives. They are crying out for that male role model, not only for what they are missing from having a second parent at home, but more importantly, a person who will be in their lives that offers guidance, boundaries, and knowledge of what they are going through as young men.

The students of The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School can smell bullshit from a mile away, are smart enough to know when they are being patronized and condescended to, and don't have a modicum of respect for those that treat them in such a manner. These are kids of the Projects, of the Streets, they have seen too much, been fooled too much, to allow someone to pander to them.

The students of The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School know how to manipulate the emotions of those that pander to them. Those panderers might think they are getting through, but rather they are being played like a cheap accordion bought in a long lost tag sale.

The students respect toughness along with boundaries and the ability to say what you mean and do what you say. There have been too many students over the years that have said, some as young as 2nd grade, that they respect someone because they "don't allow me to get away with anything."

So as long as The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School attitude is still in place, we will lose these students whose behavior is so atrocious but just as bad we will lose the students whose behavior and positive attitude for education is above reproach for they are in an atmosphere where learning and safety are lost because the wrong approach to discipline has been implemented.

The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School is a happy place, an innovative place, a place in which the students themselves suffer no consequences and all is joyful.

Students, usually the same ones every single day, who don't wish to go to class are coddled and given walks around the school all day long in which to contemplate how to keep from going to class the next day.

So what if the wandering student doesn't learn, or even comes from a dysfunctional home. What matters is that the student feels safe and responsive at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School and knows that all he or she needs to do to avoid sitting in the classroom is to throw a tantrum, whine, or act out in order to wander the halls, escorted, day after day after day.

The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School opens its arms to all. A big demented symbolic smile is etched across the school as it opens its symbolic arms to the community. It's a The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School that loves all and wants to be loved in returned.

Conformity is the norm. All must be the same, all must not be different. Not only for the students, but those that are involved in the students education.

Group thought reigns. Whether it be the smiles that must be plastered on the faces, or the "gee whilickers, every morning is just fucking great" attitude all must be possessed or the wrath will be turned upon those that don't.

Those who are involved in the education of students are expected to walk the same amount of goose steps to and fro throughout the The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School. No deviation is allowed from the burning bush. All is known, all is correct, and those that speak up, will soon be put down.

Worse for those that educate at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School is those that wish to shine on their own. Those that are creative, those that think outside of the box, are soon hammered down like a nail. A nail that can't be acknowledged.

All this is just an ersatz education. Smoke and mirrors. There is not there there, no substance at The Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School. How can it be when the curriculum is just the pigeon poop of education? Gee, the scores are low, the students aren't able to read, so let's double down on the same old crap that is being pushed on the students like a dealer selling more and more smack to a junkie?

Wait a waste, what a scam, what a con being done to the children and families of NYC.

This might seem off topic, but it just came to my mind.

Would any of the bullshit that is perpetrated day in and day out in the NYC DOE be tolerated for more than a minute in the suburbs?

What you are about to read is true. The only thing added is the special kind of snarkiness and sarcasm that is so inherent to this blog. But file this under, "you won't believe the shit that I have seen." How ironic that I recycled the name of a previous blog post, yet added "Redux," Like Apocalypse Now, Redux. How very appropriate.

A Disclaimer...

Oh, one more thing. At no time, or in no way, is this an indictment against any teacher. Past, present, or future.


Back on July 15, I wrote about the Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School. Today, we go one step further and explore how this will look in practice, and idiocy.

In the Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School a student that throws chairs and puts other students in danger will be subject to a first Responder. Yes, that R should be capitalized, for these Responders will be a regular person, a regular Joe or Josephine that will be ensconced within the school culture, only known amongst and to themselves.

Each Responder will be on duty, not doing their job, but waiting, waiting for the call to go out. A red square, a red siren, the Bat Signal will beckon them that there is a job to do, a child who is having bad emotional response. When the call comes, they will scurry with all their might, their last breath to the scene of the student throwing a chair, throwing pencils, throwing a tantrum, or punching a teacher and will be soothed, and restrained and sent to that most wonderful place on earth, Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place.

Once there, the student will be plied with happy talk and possibly milk and cookies. Maybe a blankey, or a binky, and a woobie. But don't think for a moment that there won't be consequences to the adverse and negative behavior.

There will be an art center where the student will be able to finger paint his or her feelings away. A big comfy pillow chair will probably not be out of the question to soothe those feelings of destruction as the child in the class that was hit with the chair  and is bleeding profusely from the head. In fact, the hell with the bleeding kid, the kid who threw the chair is the one who must be comforted.

But a look down the road at The Crack Team's prognostications reveal that soon this Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place will be bursting at the seems due to the fact that by the end of October, students will get the fact that bad behavior not only reaps rewards, but reaps not having to be in class. That will be the genius in it, the its ultimate failing.

Screw Lee Canter, screw what he knows, what he has taught. There is always a liberal  someone who thinks they know better, that it falls upon that person to reinvent the wheel.

Bear with me while I get to my opinion about today's revelation in the Daily News that the discipline code as been watered down. You'll see what I am getting at.

When I was a junior in high school, in the middle of math class I asked Mr Costa if he had any naked photos of his wife. After he "harumphed" several times, I then blurted out if he wished to buy some. That got me a week's detention. It kind of made a point with me, but with Mr Costa being such a dick, I continued to be the class wise ass.

That same year in science class, Ms Amy the teacher was busting my chops about something. I muttered under my breath, "Jesus Christ." She looked at me and told me that for cursing in class I just earned a week's detention. Being Jewish and failing to understand how I had cursed I muttered those two magic words again. Snap, two weeks detention. I never uttered those words again.

In my sophomore year I had a real tool for geometry, Mr Frigo. Frigo was of German descent and that previous summer I learned a German word from a camp counselor, "scheistkopf" (shithead). I raised my hand one day in class while he was teaching us about right angles and asked if he knew what a scheistkopf is, He said yes, and I gave him a glaring look letting him know that I thought he was one. That was the final straw and I was thrown out of the class permanently and transferred to someone else.

My senior year I decided to cut classes. A lot. The protocol at my school was to announce the names of the students who had cut the previous day during the morning announcements and to have those students report to Mr Deitch, the AP. It would take me about a week or so (and in the meantime still blow off classes) to report to the AP's office where I would hear the speech that it is my senior year, that I mustn't cut, yada, yada, yada. I would say OK, and walk out of his office and blow off my next class. My parents were never notified, nothing ever happened, so why should I stop doing what I was doing?

My freshman year in high school during a morning free period a friend and I went out to the football field and under the bleachers smoked a joint. My next class was Algebra and came in completely baked. I couldn't shut my yap and I was acting weird. Nothing happened to me. I was to get baked again.

So today when I read that the DOE is now going to go soft on students that show;

"disorderly behavior,” such as smoking, gambling, swearing, lying to teachers and leaving school without permission, will get a slap on the wrist instead of their walking papers. Educators will now respond to such behavior with reprimands, parent conferences and lunchtime detentions."

I know of a school in NYC, can't say where, but the elementary school is going ultra liberal in its response to discipline issue that is ruining it. The school will be officially known as the Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School. What does this mean? The Crack Team here at SBSB was able to obtain a copy of the FAQ that put answered questions staff members might ask of the new system of discipline. This FAQ was sent out to staff members and we here at SBSB are more than happy to publish the FAQ.
 
A student in my class repeatedly disrupts the learning process. Should I call that student's parents?

NO! Under no circumstances is a teacher on their own ever to call a student's parents. Doing this might upset the child. We want our students to be able to reflect upon their own, come to their own conclusion on why disrupting the class might be disturbing to others.

A student just kicked me in my nuts. How should I respond?

First, please be professional and do not use the word nuts. Please use testicle(s). If this were to happen to a male teacher do not raise your voice or let the student know you are seeing stars and feeling pain. In a calm soothing voice look the student in the eye and say, "Ouch, my testicle(s) hurt(s). I know you did not mean to kick me there, but I understand that you are in crisis. I shall put a soothing balm and/or icepack on my testicle(s)."

A student just ran down the hall way punching and biting students. This student also tore down student's work from the bulletin boards, how should this student be disciplined?


This is very simple. Show that you really mean business by allowing the student to play games on the computer all day. This will also show that you are using the technology properly.

According the the NYC DOE Discipline Code there are many level 4 and 5 infractions. Surely, this must put the school in a positive light, what can be done to reduce such infractions?

Very simple. Stop reporting level 4 and 5 infractions. This is not a cover up. Just hiding one's head in the sand and hoping no one will notice.

A student has just thrown chair in the classroom endagering other students safety. What is the best way to deal with this?

Allow him to do an art project. Or better yet, get him a Bobo Doll. This child feels the need to express themselves and what better way to avoid a problem than to just add to the problem.

Where have these fascinating ideas been formulated?

At a teacher's college. 


How does one remove a disruptive student?

Only student's that are not disruptive to the pedagogues will be removed. Though, once removed, there will be no paper trail, no student removal forms filled out and no reporting. 

A student has thrown 3 major fits in the day thus far. Each fit has put students and staff in danger. What can be done?


Basically, nothing negative. But positive, we can give the child candy, let him have extra gym, or just let the student have the run of the school.

Why are we not to call parents? 

Phone calls might upset parents. Also, there needs to be control of teachers. 

Have any of these liberal discipline methods ever been effective?

No, but it is just theory. And since it is theory and someone thought of these liberal discipline methods, it must be right.

If these liberal discipline methods do not work, who is to blame?

The teachers of course. Not the ones who came up with these methods. Never, never, never.

How will we know if these methods are not working? Will there be some sort of sign, signal?


Simple. Once you lose control of your classroom and the school is out of control, both by October 16 at 1:45 PM, all hell has broken lose and you can kiss any semblance of learning good bye.

So there you have it. The FAQ from the new Happy Good Time Emotion Response Place and School. Critical Mass come February.

My son turned 11 years old today. Time sure does fly. Part of me wishes that he would have stayed 5 years old forever, the other half of me can't wait to see what kind of man he grows up to be.

I remember when my wife was pregnant we were discussing how we would be as parents. Basically it came down to that our household will not be a democracy, but rather a benign authoritative junta. What we say goes. Wait, before you think I am a crazy person, hear me out. Firstly, we pick and choose our battles. Not everything has to have a fly swatter used. We have done everything we could to teach him to question, think, and have the right amount of skepticism. We both have no problem in him questioning and/or asking us for an explanation. If he wants to try to change our minds about something, well he better come up with a damn good argument. But, some things are non-negotiable.

He is a great kid. Polite, respectful of not only his peers, but of adults as well. If there is a problem at school it is nipped in the bud through punishment, restrictions, etc.. We always, always, tell him we love him, and never condemn HIM, rather the action. We also expect an effort in school as well as life. But the boundaries are there and only my wife and I decide when to move them out.

Why am I bringing this up? Because the lack of discipline in our schools is part of the problem of why education is slowly being sucked into some vortex in which all matter disappears.

We keep on getting these liberal, namsy pansy administrators, who instead of wishing to take a bullhorn and a baseball bat through the halls like Joe Clark, would rather coddle and enable our students for their behavior and the lack of discipline they get at home.

These administrator's come into our schools with some type of degree from exclusive education colleges and university's thinking that if "we just allow the students to express themselves, that it we just allow the student to have their safe emotional response, and give them hugs and kisses all will be good."

Bullshit.

I have had on more than one occasion, in fact many in which 3rd graders, 4th graders, 5th graders, have rebelled at their (and this is in their own words) soft teachers and said to me that they respect me because I draw the line, I am straight up. with them, I have cred. These are kids not of the street, but rather street smarts. They know when the are being bullshitted and conned. You can't go up to a 4th grade boy and say, "Oh wow, that is a nice drawing, you must feel really great about yourself to make such a beautiful drawing." I have seen crap like this first hand and you can see the kids face telling that liberal to "fuck off."

I have seen first year teachers lose control of their class in September and never to regain it because they come in thinking we will all be friends and the class is one big New England Town Meeting in which everyone has a say and everyone shares and listens. Guess what? It ain't gonna, nor has it ever, worked.

We need to bring back true discipline in the schools. Student, as well as parents, need to be held accountable. There should be two chances for any violent or severely disruptive misbehavior. Whether it be in the classroom, the yard, or the cafeteria. The NYC DOE Discipline Code is a joke. It should be done away with. It is there to prevent the DOE from litigious parents and to only enable more bad behavior in the schools. And this liberal crud we get from some of these exclusive education colleges in which everything is just a theory, and never put into practice, must be done away with.

I feel so much for these kids and the homes and situations they come from. Yes, there are so many issues to reckon with. But the first and best way to show them our love, that we care, is to draw those boundaries and be consistent with those boundaries we set up.

Kids want discipline. Kids want rules, expectations. The Bleeding Hearts only set them up for a lifetime of failure.

With all this talk about ending seniority rights, no one is examining the power that principals have. When Educators4Excellence published their manifesto a few weeks ago, with such calls for laying off teachers who recieved a U rating within five years, found guilty in a 3020-a hearing, charges were found to be substantiated by OSI and CSI, or even in the ATR system, it shows how abuses will be rampant. In fact more so than they already are.

What is to keep a principal from bringing a teacher up on professional misconduct charges? It is very easy for a principal to give a teacher a U rating, in fact, a U rating can't be grieved. And Chaz the blogger has shown us how a CSI or OSI investigation really works.

So now the New York State Senate has passed its version of repealing the seniority law and it will have quite a draconian effect. But I wondered to myself one evening while rubbing my chin, what if this law had been in affect since 2006. How would this have affected me?

Venegful, retaliatory administrators? What a shock! Well, it seems that I have come across some in my career. I would like to share, $#*! I have been written up for, or almost written up for.

In June 2007 I witnessed two intruders at the back door of my building. I gave chase because one of the inturders resembled a student. I notified school safety and my principal. Instead of thanking me for doing the right thing, my principal was furious I left the school (during my prep) and called in the LIS (local instructional superintendent) and wanted to see if she could jam me.

At this point I requested to speak to the LIS alone and spilled my guts about my principal. The next day I received a letter in my file for something I said 6 months earlier. Also, the next to last day of school I dismissed my extended day class a minute earlier. My principal had a meeting with me and my CL on the last day of school. Sometime during the first week of July I got a registered letter in the mail with a disciplinary letter for me to sign. The letter promptly was moved to the cat litter.

I received a letter in my file for dropping the $#*! word on the Friday before Labor Day in August 2007. No kids were in the school. It was a bunch of teachers just sitting around talking. This letter was put in my file in October of that year.

The following happened when I was reporting once a week to OSI the corporal punishment inflicted by Numb Nuts.

In the fall of 2008, I got written up for reporting to OSI corporal punishment by Numb Nuts. The new principal, John Deacon interpreted Chancellor's Regulation A-420 as that corporal punishment must be reported to her first.

Also in the fall of 2008 I got written up for reporting to ACS a 5 year old K student that was masturbating in class while shouting, "bite it, bite it!"

I got written up for yelling at a student in the cafeteria, even in which the students said I didn't yell, but was talking loud because of the noise level.

I got written up for corporal punishment for asking a 5th grade student for a french fry. Yes, a french fry. It was deemed corporal punishment. I was joking with the student, I had known him since he was in K, and am very tight with the family. Numb Nuts told the student they were out to get me and coached him how to write his statement. This was revealed after Numb Nuts left the school. In fact, the mother found out and was outraged that she was never informed of this, that her son was being used as a pawn.

I was brought up on professional misconduct charges of having a coffee cup in my hand. Numb Nuts inquired to if I remembered carrying a hot cup of coffee in my hand two weeks earlier. I told him no. My CL asked how did he know what was in the coffee cup. Did not got written up for that one.

And again, in March of 2010 I got a letter in my file for continuing to report corporal punishment inflicted by Numb Nuts under the same pretenses as I mentioned above.

Yeah, I see this new law never being abused. The $#*! will be hitting the fan like never before.