Jewish World Review June 13, 2003 / 13 Sivan, 5763

Drs. Michael A. Glueck & Robert J. Cihak

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Consumer Reports


Diagnosis: School Insanity: A suit for sanity and school discipline


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | At last, a lawsuit for sanity and discipline in the public schools that we could learn to love! Although this occurred in Orange County, Florida, the reality is that this could have happened in Orange County, California, or any of the other 46 states in between.

Although there may be a very strong whiff here of school politics and he said/she said, there comes a time to openly discuss and debate very grave problems that affect our nation's future.

Recently the Orlando Sentinel reported that Cheri Dean, a veteran teacher filed suit against the public school system in Orange County, Florida, over the humiliation, emotional and physical distress, and "loss of enjoyment of life" she says she suffered because the district refused to remove a disruptive child from her class.

According to the Sentinel, "At lunch, the boy supposedly stabbed a classmate with a fork, started another fight and then told a teachers aide to 'kiss my butt.'"

"Another day, he hit two students, one in the back of the head and the other in the face. Then he swung his fists at another student. After that, he punched one who was reading and then called that student 'you ugly faggot.'"

The Orlando paper quotes teacher Dean as saying "What I want out of this is justice. What's so amazing is that these kinds of things are going on in other schools, and teachers won't say anything because they are intimidated."

"Dean said she has been so traumatized by the events that she has been on medical leave since last fall, using all the sick days she had collected through the years" reports the Sentinel.

We don't think we're stretching this incident of the "kindergartner from hell" very far to suggest that it's another example of the sickness of political correctness. Since when do we let the children run the schools to the detriment of other children's education, not to mention demoralizing and dispiriting the staff?

Teachers in Orange County, California, report experiences echoing what's going on in Orange County, Florida.

One third grade teacher who asked for confidentiality told us, "Keeping control of the classroom is a major issue. It's a wonder anything gets learned with teachers spending so much time trying to maintain order and silence. One disruptive student can destroy an entire classroom. Some classes have a half dozen or more!"

Politically correct "dictates" from the state, imposed on local school boards, apparently preclude supporting teachers and students who want to learn. Heaven forbid (whoops, there's that religion bugaboo again) some little criminal-in-training might get his or her feelings hurt! Yet that's exactly what the child needs before he tries to pull these antisocial stunts as an adult and gets arrested by the police or banged into the grave by gang members.

Is it any wonder so many parents are now considering homeschooling or alternatives such as private or charter schools? Should it surprise us that teachers are leaving the profession en masse or retiring early?

The incredible sequence of events in our public schools has in its roots the unchallenged and unchecked fallacious elitist attitudes reflected by media giants in their biased reporting and agenda.

Are these cases in the Counties-Orange simply life imitating fiction? By "fiction," we mean the now-exposed yet well-crafted fiction-purporting-to-be-truth of the New York Times, the Scheer (as in "Robert Scheer") lunacy of the Los Angeles Times, and the traitorous CNN cover-up of Baathist atrocities in Saddam's Iraq. Has political correctness sickened our souls and brain-washed our wisdom?

Lets call it "moral inversion." The New York Times Syndrome, The Blair Be-Witched Sickness, Southpaw Seduction and CNN Sycophancy are all well-documented examples. Anything done in the name of the elite ideology of the moment (whether it be political correctness, affirmative action, diversity,multiculturalism or a selfish political action group) is acceptable. This includes any dys-behavior, deceit, deception, deviation and distortion of facts.

In the jaundiced and blinded eyes of these phonies -- truth, justice and good are outdated and meaningless symbols -- rather than hard-learned lessons essential for civil human life. Look for the words embarrassment and shame to disappear from the Oxford English Dictionary sometime soon!

We agree with a principal in South Orange County who noted, "If this case in Florida is for real, the right case, and the teacher truly harmed, then I say go for it. The amount of time we spend on behavior issues is enormous and takes time from our goals."

So for once, we would support a lawsuit and the teacher behind it. We hope the school system gets taken to . . . the blackboard. Maybe even a good paddling would knock some sense into our disruptive students and the politically correct crowd who support them!

It's time to restore sanity and normalcy to our schools and let willing students learn.




Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., is a multiple award winning writer who comments on medical- legal issues. Robert J. Cihak, M.D., is past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Both JWR contributors are Harvard trained diagnostic radiologists. Comment by clicking here.

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