Posted on: Sunday, August 18, 2002

COMMENTARY
Teacher abuse leads to failure of schools

By Walt Novak
Hawai'i public school teacher since 1981

Dear Ms. Hamamoto:

Thank goodness Dr. LeMahieu resigned. He was fully aware that many educators were being denied their basic rights by questionable administrators, and he did nothing about it.

Hawai'i has some excellent principals who offer direct consequences for student tardies, cuts, swearing in class and swearing at the teacher. This offer, from administration to classroom teacher, is usually referred to as the "primal rights" without which public school teachers cannot be (fully) effective.

But other administrations, such as mine, vehemently deny us these rights, preferring instead to give teachers long checklists of invaluable items that we can do ourselves. Like detention. Of course, many times the kid doesn't show up for detention, but then that's our fault, too. After all, "Mrs. A's kids show up for her detention! Why don't they show up for yours, Mr. Novak?"

I recently had the audacity to suggest that giving kids detention actually puts me on detention, and that I'd prefer to spend my minuscule break between classes urinating like mad in the designated pothole.

Besides, sitting around drumming on a desktop didn't seem "enough" for massive tardies, constant noise, class-cutting, and the blurbing of high-volume profanities.

So you see, Ms. Hamamoto, the situation is like this: Some schools have excellent principals who realize that teacher abuse is the crucial block in the crumbling of an entire educational environment. Other schools, right down the street, have principals who think that scruples are dollars in Russia, and morals are paintings on the wall.

If the district superintendent doesn't know about these negligent administrators, then, because of her ignorance, she's negligent. If the district superintendent does know but doesn't do a gosh-durn thing, then she's negligent. But you, Ms. Hama-moto, are no mere district person. You're superintendent of the entire state.

Do we really need Mike Wallace to show up with his "60 Minutes" crew and say, "On tonight's show: the worst public school administrations in America!" Well, do we?

Ms. Hamamoto, in case you're unaware, let me tell you a bit about my ignoble existence: I'm not only a teacher and writer, but a notorious black sheep as well. When an administrator passes me in the hall, she may forcibly smile, but we both know that she'd rather see me paralyzed.

On the occasions that I actually need administrative support, every angle of deflection is proposed. The eventual almighty adjudication is always that I could've handled the disciplinary situation much better. Basically, it was my fault.

Let me tell you about Jimmy (not his real name). That doggone rascal was actually a veritable cherub, angelic in all situations except when I suggested that instead of loitering in the hall, singing until the tardy bell, he should step into class. This would make him on time. I used my kindest Pa Walton voice, but this tonality set him off. Either that or the notion that I'd taken his land, as well as brought VD, rats and mosquitos to his Islands. So Jimmy let the tardy bell ring before stepping leisurely into English class. His grand entrance enhanced the filling of his lungs, both of them, luxuriously, like State Fair balloons. I suspected something was coming. And it was: a grand exhalation filled with valuable phraseology; words with power, many beginning with the letter F.

He had my attention. So, Jimmy proceeded to pull a chemical stink bomb from his pants and dash it on the floor, sending bitty slivers of glass scattering and stench rising. It was a very curious bouquet: not unlike skunk, but with a hint of dead eggs and a subtle, sulfuric aftertaste. Needless to say, the classroom was evacuated. I instructed the students to stay near my room and just hang out until the stench no longer stank. Jimmy, of course, had other plans. He and his buddies preferred to walk all over campus, all period, shouting into classrooms, strolling various hallways and (surely) discussing curriculum. Afterwards, I informed one of my invaluably supportive administrators. I additionally spent 30 minutes writing this all up in great detail on the appropriate referral forms.

Jimmy was not suspended.

Not even for one day.

Why? A bunch of his friends said that I was lying. The intriguing fact that they were the same buddies who accompanied him on his period-long escapade, was, I guess, not a consideration.

Jimmy's entire consequence was to write me a five-sentence, derogatory letter. It was an interesting missive. One of the sentences instructed me to get my ears checked. Another was dictated to him directly from my invaluably supportive administrator. How do I know this? Because it told me, "Next time, why don't you give me a consequence yourself instead of sending me to the vice principal?"

Hmmmm.

Ms. Hamamoto, you've probably noticed how I'm really vague about mentioning actual dates and name of districts, schools and corrupt personnel. That's 'cause I'm sharp as a doggone tack, and — because of outside income — have three lawyers. To make things even more lawsuit-proof, I often call corrupt folk "he's" when they actually were "she's," and vice versa.

I wish I could tell you that I've never needed lawyers to fend off administrators who've singled me out for willful and systematic mistreatment. But that'd be a lie. Even worse, now they're cornering my faculty friends, advising them to disassociate themselves from me for their own good.

Ms. Hamamoto, I really need you to explain to me how I can avoid cynicism in a world like this. I feel cast adrift: like I'm floundering in rubbish indestructible. Catholic priests are predators. Administrators are negligent. Corporate leaders are in handcuffs. State senators and U.S. congressmen are behind bars. And Department of Education superintendents have to resign.

As for you, well, you've probably noticed: the honeymoon's over. Please assure Hawai'i's teachers of their primal rights, statewide. Do it now. And make it your commitment to rout out corrupt administrators and bring them to justice.