IN a recent letter to the editor, Harrison Roth made two startling statements.
He wrote on and on about what a great principal he has in Florine Hofschneider. She is kind, considerate, compassionate, dedicated, and committed to the welfare of students and teachers. And then he said that if she did twist the ear of a student—the student probably deserved it. Now wait a minute—if she is all of the above how come she twisted the ear of a student? Are there times when she loses those good qualities and becomes a bully and physically attacks students, as you say might happen? And how many times might this have happened?
You see, this issue is between students and the principal—not between the Association of Commonwealth Teachers and the principal. Many students from Tinian High School, 10 of them, wrote letters of complaint that the principal, Mrs. Hofschneider, was twisting ears, pulling hair, hitting a student on the head with a book and, another time, with a folder full of papers.
And since the 10 letters were turned in to the Public School System there have been two more reports—one student complained that the principal committed a verbal threat and another that a magic marker thrown by the principal struck a student in the face.
So, how many times is your kind, compassionate, committed, principal not so kind?
These complaints should have been acted upon immediately by the education commissioner and the Board of Education. It’s now 20 working days since the students’ letters were turned to PSS and nothing has been done like it would have been if the accusations would have been made against a teacher. A teacher would have been suspended the same day that the complaint came in and then a full investigation would have been made. PSS has a double standard—teachers are treated like villains and principals can do no wrong.
I think that teachers and principals should all be treated the same. They should all be suspended immediately, to protect the students, and then a full and complete investigation conducted—proving the innocence or the guilt of the accused—and then appropriate action taken. However, in no case should someone make a statement like Mr. Roth did in his letter to the editor—that if the principal twisted the ear of a student it’s OK because the student probably deserved it. It’s never right to use physical punishment or abuse within the school system. Never, ever should physical force be used. I think that Mr. Roth should write another letter and apologize to the students in your school.
His idea of allowing the principal to use physical force really is disturbing. It raises very serious questions about him and the principal.
FRANKLIN KEIPER
Teacher representative
Board of Education
