My mother used to tell me two things;

"Never argue with meshugah people and always wear clean underwear in case the New York Post drives a bus over you and all the lackeys that read that paper talk about what a poor mother I am for sending you out of the house in dirty underwear."

Unfortunately, I did not heed her advice for I got into a Twitter thingy with someone that just might be meshugah. The Twitter thingy was concerning Mayor De Blasio "claiming" that pre-K would curb students suicide as written by the Post. The meshugah person was Michael Benjamin a self appointed "corruption crusher"and inane mouthpiece of Eva Moskowitz and charters, and a sometimes columnist of the New York Post.

Mikey says about himself;

"corruption crusher & thought-leader giving voice to unplugged opinions and perspectives."

We here at SBSB are quite sure he looks the other way at the reams of students being creamed out of charters, the big bucks Eva is making, and the lack of any accountability that charters of fought for.

I should have foreseen the impending doom and my mother's prophecy when I received  this Tweet from Mikey confirming what he had tweeted me the night before;
 

As I posted, "Suicide prevention starts in preschool . . . or so says Dr. de Blasio." @NYCParentsUnion @SoBronxSchool http://t.co/S3p7g5yYzR
— Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem) March 24, 2014

OK, I felt I could not comment until I read the article thoroughly, even though the title from the Post was shrill and claimed that De Blasio said those very words. 

After reading the article in question I saw nothing of De Blasio ever saying those words.What he did say was;

“I really believe early childhood education is crucial to the whole equation because it is part of putting kids on a productive, positive path early and not letting them feel like they can’t make it,” 

Even though in the very same article the Post claimed;

" ...he believes his proposed pre-K program could help curb the trend (suicide).

Now, where did De Blasio claim pre-K was the elixir of teen suicide? Nowhere. But both the Post and Mikey claim this is what De Blasio said.

I shared with Mikey that De Blasio never uttered what he or the Post are claiming. Mikey would have none of that;

It reads that way to me. Effects of PreK would mitigate against future pupil suicides. @SoBronxSchool @NYCParentsUnion @deBlasioNYC
— Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem) March 24, 2014

 It reads that way to him? So Mikey is creating his own truth? I guess if one believes they are Queen Elizabeth they then must be the queen. Mikey decides has the ability to get into someone's head and know what they're thinking? What powers Mikey has.

The way De Blasio's comments reads to The Crack Team is that 1) He was talking about any early childhood education which can go up to grades 2, but remember as of now Kindergarten is still not mandatory in New York State, and 2) Whatever we can do for these students because, and I hope Mikey is reading this, is that IF ONE TEEN SUICIDE CAN BE PREVENTED, or TEEN SUICIDE CAN BE REDUCED then whatever we can do to help keep that student from feeling so helpless that suicide seem that only way out, we must do it.

Of course, just pre-K will not prevent teen suicides. Because if a brain damaged monkey read the Post he would see that De Blasio said that early childhood education is;

 "is part of putting kids on a productive, positive path early and not letting them feel like they can’t make it,” 

See the word part? That means just one iota of the entire equation Mikey. Why not give a kid a leg up or does Mikey reserve all his love and lust for Eva?

Why is it that the Right Wing Wingnuts can't have empathy or even see nuance. What must everything be either this or that, black or white? Aren't their any shades of gray in the minds of the Right Wing Wingnuts?

There is no excuses, no explanations to not doing or trying everything humanly possible for a teen, or even a child, to commit suicide. Yes, pre-K in and of itself will not prevent suicide. But pre-K as part of a foundation in which a child can then build on and have self-esteem and feel good about themselves is worth it. Everything should be done to keep a child from contemplating or following through on suicide. Everything should be done to keep a parent from burying a child.

But not in Mikey's world. In Mikey's world how does he see students that are not part of charters?

@SoBronxSchool @NYCParentsUnion @deBlasioNYC That would include the mayor as well. I've worked w/ your ill-prepared graduates as well.
— Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem) March 24, 2014

 Nice generalization Mikey.

So what does Mikey think we should do with the ill prepared who bring down the economy, the justice system and society?

@SoBronxSchool @NYCParentsUnion Give them their own guild schools as in Europe.
— Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem) March 24, 2014

 

In Mikey's world if there are no studies of an issue than there is no basis to claim an issue. To him anecdotal evidence means jack, unless of course when one brings up that the book his still open on how Success Academy students will do in college and in life.