Mr. K and Bertha
An update on "Ben's Wild Ride"
When I was talking to people at work about Ben's wild ride, I also told them about the principal that thinks that it is okay to intimidate high school kids.
One girl said that he used to be at a school she went to and he was a jerk then. Another said that her husband was beaten by him with a 2 x 4 when he was in 5th grade. Apparently Mr. K. called said 2 x 4 "Bertha". J. didn't tell his mother about it until the 5th beating. She had words with Mr. K. and he didn't do it again. I told Ben about this and he wondered why they didn't file charges against him. That was 25 years ago, when children were beaten into submission and it was okay. But I wonder...if the statute of limitations hasn't run out on all those clergy that sexually abused kids, wouldn't it still be possible to press charges? It is unbelievable that he is still in the school system.
Oh, by the way, if you really want to piss him off, call him a turkey...(Freak!)
3 comments:
I'm sure you remember the teachers in Evansville with their paddles. While they weren't 2x4s, they were a source of menace. I wonder if they still use them. It amazed me to find that students would make their teachers paddles in shop class.
I got paddled in Gym class by Mr. Collins. We'd all been naughty or something and were all "holding up the wall" (propped up against the wall as if about to be searched by the police). I think they did this to acclimate us to future appearances on Cops. While Mr. Collins and the girls' gym teacher swaggered around and told us all how awful we were being he said "I don't want to hear a peep out of any of you". You can guess what happened next... I peeped.
A principal threatened me once with, "Do you want me to get out my rubber hose?"
My co-conspirator, Doug Knight, started crying. I didn't understand because I was still mystified as to why the principal kept gardening supplies in his office.
Did you look up Zimbardo?
Aye, I did look up Zimbardo. I am wondering what to do with this arsenal of knowledge. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps just leave it in an evidence bag until something later.
I wonder if principals are in their profession because they were beat up as kids? Certainly this position, as the Zimbardo prison experiment, has gone to his head and should be stopped. I wonder of the number of marginal children that reacted poorly to this asshole. Unfortunately, it is school staff like him that leave a bitter taste regarding education that turns children off to learning any further.
I remember Mr. Churchill in E-ville at Delaware K-8. The unbreakable Charles Durbin was brought to tears with Mr. C's acrylic paddle with the holes in it.
When I told Dad of Mr. Churchill threatening to paddle children, I remember Dad saying, "[if he threatens you,] tell him he will have to paddle me first." Yeah, in a highly charged situation with a principal wielding a paddle at you, to say that would ensure a good solid beating.
Things at that school were too highly charged. Mr. Collins today would have been fired for sexual harassment of his female students. He used to play with our elbows, raise his eyebrows and wink at us. Mrs. Claybourne physically forced Mary Martin under the showers after gym. Poor Mary Martin was much more underdeveloped than the rest of the girls and was embarrassed to undress in front of people - I could understand that at 13, and Mrs. Claybourne couldn't!?! Yes, it was highly charged and physical there.
Update on the unbreakable Charles Durbin: Belinda met someone from Indiana that asked her if she knew Charles. Turns out Charles, despite his regular beatings, married a nice woman and was a great husband.
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