Thursday, November 13, 2003

A Few Reasons I Won't Send My Kids To Public School
Zero Tolerance, which posits that intent, or even the facts of a case have nothing to do with wether or not a student should be arrested, expelled, and then sent to 'alternative school.'

Stratford High School, in Goose Creek, where the cops entered the school with guns drawn, K-9s, handcuffed and searched 107 students, but found no drugs and made no drug-related arrests.

Mepham High School, where the football team are such animals, they introduced new teammates to the group at football camp by sodomizing them ala Abner Louima, while the other teammates cheered the beasts on.

My own experiences in high school, which taught me that the only way to get assistance when I was being sexually assaulted was to make as big a disruption in class as possible. I will never forgive Frau Bloomberg for refusing my pleas for assistance when Coleman Price was trying to molest me. On a near-daily basis, I would find myself having to defend my virtue from that beast while he tried to jam his greasy paw between my legs. I told him to stop, multiple times. He didn't. I went to Frau Bloomberg, explained the situation, and how uncomfortable it was making me, and asked that she move me out of arms reach. She refused. Finally, I took my mother's advice, and the next time he tried it, I stood up in the middle of the classroom, and in my shrillest voice, screamed "Coleman Price, you take your filthy hands off me right NOW!" I was lectured for 'causing a disruption', but Frau Bloomberg moved him... for a whole two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, Coleman was right back in front of me, but at least this time, he knew I wasn't such an easy target. It's a crying shame that that's the biggest thing I learned in German... but then again, if Frau Bloomberg had made even the smallest attempt to protect me while I was in her classroom, I might have learned more.

Between the news, and my own experiences, is it any wonder I don't trust public school bureaucrats?
Customer Service Tip #1
When a customer walks into your store, and asks if you have a particular item in stock, the correct answer is not "I don't know," followed by a blank stare. The correct answer is, "Let me check for you."

Sheesh. I understand that some folks figure if they just play dumb enough, people with give up, go away, or order something else. On the other hand, playing dumb 1) makes you look dumb, and 2) makes some people (like me) get snotty and tell you to go look for it. This is something to bear in mind, especially if you work in a job that accepts tips.