tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post4877724818920973730..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: School bullying--even in AmherstLarry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-32133363062242963262010-03-18T22:39:12.127-04:002010-03-18T22:39:12.127-04:00Actually I have met Mr. Jackson. His daughter was...Actually I have met Mr. Jackson. His daughter was classmates with my daughter at Crocker Farm briefly four years ago before he sent her off to private school.<br /><br />And after much prodding on this blog two years ago actually came to my office for coffee to discuss, ugh, 'Vagina Monologues".<br /><br />And I would point out the High School kids have not performed it again under his "leadership."Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-27380402944560677522010-03-18T22:21:06.677-04:002010-03-18T22:21:06.677-04:00I have now watched the film of Principal Mark Jack...I have now watched the film of Principal Mark Jackson's statement four times and cannot see why his tone, actions or words are perceived as bullying, condescending, arrogant or negative in any way.<br /><br />I saw a man sitting at the far end of the table from Catherine Sanderson. I heard a man speaking in a normal tone without raising his voice. I watched a man using appropriate gestures with no shaking fists or pounding on the table. I noted no attempt to intimidate thru body language. I heard no belittling language or rude comments. Try as I might, I can't reconcile what I know of bullying, contempt and intimidation with what was on that tape.<br /><br />I also cannot reconcile Jackson's words on the tape with comments from other bloggers that Jackson somehow knew what was in the evaluations. I would imagine he had heard some scuttlebutt, knew some of the feelings and thoughts of other professionals but nothing I heard indicated that Jackson had seen the evaluations. <br /><br />As for the "that is a statement not a question" debate, if you listen to the words spoken before that, Jackson says "I would hope you would reconsider that comment."<br />Jackson was expressing a wish that Sanderson would think, reconsider, ponder her view...he was not asking her to debate her viewpoint nor to justify it, merely to reconsider it. Telling her that he had meant his words as a comment not a question seems perfectly reasonable. <br /><br />I wonder how many people blogging against Jackson have met him; I have had that pleasure on many occasions. He is passionate about the education of our children. He is an intelligent and kind man who champions the underdog and is willing to expend any amount of energy to help his students with no thought of return. His integrity, character and conduct are beyond reproach. I have never found him to be anything but respectful and willing to listen to other viewpoints. For those who attacked his salary, ask yourself if you would step in on a moment's notice and do two jobs for that price. Look at his schooling, experience and credentials. Drive by the school hours before opening bell, see his car in the lot or attend an evening event and realize how many hours he works in a day. <br /><br />In a final comment, speaking as a woman and a mother of daughters, I am appalled at Sanderson, Hollander and others suggesting that Ms Sanderson need men to rise up and protect her and sickened by the comment about the relative body sizes of Jackson and Sanderson. From what I have seen and heard, Sanderson positions herself as a professional, capable woman able "push back." Why then, would she need, nay expect, defense and protection from a simple comment made by a person, man or woman, sitting across an expanse, behind a table, from her? She and her supporters have set the women's movement back 50 years with the tears and the white knight and damsel in distress drama.LP Gordonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03599819831425235418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-25883291161553412112010-03-15T08:00:44.794-04:002010-03-15T08:00:44.794-04:00Is there a link to the Springfield article availab...Is there a link to the Springfield article available?<br />I couldn't find it. Fashir spoke at Tuesday's SC meeting about the reams of notes he had from his talks with the superintendent, but I didn't hear him put one slant or another on them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-13162255722947681712010-03-14T22:10:56.859-04:002010-03-14T22:10:56.859-04:00Stephanie-
If cuts are to be made in office staff...Stephanie- <br />If cuts are to be made in office staff- take a look within your childrens' elementary school office to see if any work ever gets done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-49958432254904097452010-03-14T18:31:33.954-04:002010-03-14T18:31:33.954-04:00The Gazette was in a hurry.The Gazette was in a hurry.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-78378469966389551752010-03-14T17:28:14.593-04:002010-03-14T17:28:14.593-04:00Leave it to the Springfield paper
to inform the co...Leave it to the Springfield paper<br />to inform the community that there were factors in Dr R's departure beyond the negative evaluations of school administrators (i.e. - the SC chair's pages of notes that led him to the same conclusion). If only our local paper had been so insightful, we might not have ever witnessed the Jackson/Sanderson dust-up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-78674281839533567022010-03-14T10:28:49.705-04:002010-03-14T10:28:49.705-04:00This is all a bunch of nothing. The story is that...This is all a bunch of nothing. The story is that a superintendent needs to be hired once again. This Jackson business is just silliness and is typical of your trying to stir something up for no good reason. Stick to the issue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-38324542162175041092010-03-13T18:19:17.228-05:002010-03-13T18:19:17.228-05:00No Larry, I'll keep tuning in here because you...No Larry, I'll keep tuning in here because you don't purport to be anything other than what you are. Intentionally provocative. There's honesty in that, which I appreciate. And, there's no self pity when people disagree with you. You can take it as well as you dish it out. Which I also appreciate. Not that you care, mind you, which, now that I mention it, I also appreci.... oh, never mind, I'm sure you get the point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-65971093622011346852010-03-13T16:47:22.692-05:002010-03-13T16:47:22.692-05:00Yeah, do me a HUGE favor and take my blog off your...Yeah, do me a HUGE favor and take my blog off your freakin bookmark list you Cowardly Anon Nitwit.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-47781217986175168272010-03-13T16:23:37.818-05:002010-03-13T16:23:37.818-05:00"To 3/11 9:50 and 3/12 11:02 AM- I tried to p..."To 3/11 9:50 and 3/12 11:02 AM- I tried to post a comment about this on Sandersons' blog in response to that post and guess what- she chose not to publish it. SURPRISE- not!"<br /><br />Yeah, she was too busy publishing comments like the one calling MJ a jackass and challenging him to a schoolyard fight. But it's all in the name of improving our schools. So remember, don't dare criticize her, you big bully!<br /><br />I've removed her blog from my bookmarks and stopped venturing there. I recommend others do the same. It's been a remarkably cleansing experience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-77552068680985127822010-03-13T13:34:01.764-05:002010-03-13T13:34:01.764-05:00Cowardly Anon Nitwit 11:01 AM
Go start your own b...Cowardly Anon Nitwit 11:01 AM<br /><br />Go start your own blog--it's free. And you can do it Anonymously.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-56921123004744788362010-03-13T11:43:26.196-05:002010-03-13T11:43:26.196-05:00I doubt there is some sort of gag order that does ...<i>I doubt there is some sort of gag order that does not allow him to discuss the process with fellow administrators, and thereby get a general idea of how they thought of the Superintendent.</i><br /><br />What part of "confidential" doesn't apply here?<br /><br />They are instructed to prepare a CONFIDENTIAL review of the Supt. So as long as you talk about what you wrote, but don't give out copies, that is OK?<br /><br />What planet are we living on?<br /><br />Let me see, it is perfectly acceptable for psychologists to discuss their clients (by name) at the local bar as long as they don't hand out copies of the files????<br /><br />What concept of professional behavior doesn't exist in this town????Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-69063300456434171892010-03-13T11:01:08.735-05:002010-03-13T11:01:08.735-05:00The messages sent to Catherine Sanderson about her...The messages sent to Catherine Sanderson about her blog from her critics:<br /><br />1) You should not be running a blog that facilitates anonymous comments.<br />2) Hey, Catherine, could you exercise a little discretion over the content and taste of the comments?<br />3) I'm posting to Catherine's blog and she's not publishing my comments. <br />4) There's a good reason why we are posting anonymously.<br /><br />What's a person who believes in open and honest dialogue to do?<br /><br />It's all about change and the deep-rooted fear of it. <br /><br />Amherst: Where Taking Offense Is An Art FormAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-39746627375523692382010-03-13T10:48:34.379-05:002010-03-13T10:48:34.379-05:00To 3/11 9:50 and 3/12 11:02 AM- I tried to post a ...To 3/11 9:50 and 3/12 11:02 AM- I tried to post a comment about this on Sandersons' blog in response to that post and guess what- she chose not to publish it. SURPRISE- not!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-80327227742186250252010-03-13T06:55:36.695-05:002010-03-13T06:55:36.695-05:00Good observations, Anon 1:31 AM
I saw what you sa...Good observations, Anon 1:31 AM<br /><br />I saw what you saw, too. I think part of that was fatigue. But I do think that there's a failure to listen going on, too. What ever happened to the deliberative process in which you don't just bloviate for the cameras but try to PERSUADE your colleague? I saw members who started talking and seemed to have no idea where they were going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-31080420864239457902010-03-13T05:58:13.767-05:002010-03-13T05:58:13.767-05:00I came to Amherst in 1959 when it was fashionable ...I came to Amherst in 1959 when it was fashionable to laugh at the happenings within the Hadley town bodies and to look down our noses at the community of Belchertown. My how have times changed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-33549131084308698342010-03-13T01:31:36.966-05:002010-03-13T01:31:36.966-05:00? As an Amherst Native, grew up/ went to school, e...? As an Amherst Native, grew up/ went to school, etc...After watching the school committee meeting live on ACTV, even I was wondering...."what is going to happen?", "how is this town going to survive?" I have kids in both elementary and middle schools, YES I want what is best for them, but the meeting itself, well, it looked and seemed as though the members of the board were SO divided,and NOT listening to each other, Time after time, they were asking for "clarification, re-reading, etc.... Then there were the mishaps of "motions", then "questioning", with additional clarification and some "modifications" to such motions....they seemed like they don't know what to do, how to do it, when to do it...etc.... They looked/seemed ridiculous, and WE wonder why Amherst schools are suffering?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-28359036911360039562010-03-12T21:36:52.573-05:002010-03-12T21:36:52.573-05:00Dear Anonymous Loon:
Hordon has been telling his ...Dear Anonymous Loon:<br /><br />Hordon has been telling his tale for at least 3 years. It is nothing new and nothing more than fodder for fools. <br /><br />On to the relevant topic: Isn't it sad what Amherst has become?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-64160607757024241252010-03-12T20:52:36.314-05:002010-03-12T20:52:36.314-05:00Boston Air Traffic Controller Says 9/11 An Inside ...Boston Air Traffic Controller Says 9/11 An Inside Job<br /><br />Paul Joseph Watson<br /><br />A former Boston Center air traffic controller has gone public on his assertion that 9/11 was an inside job and that Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon tracked three of the four flights from the point of their hijacking to hitting their targets. In an astounding telephone interview, Robin Hordon claims air traffic controllers have been ignored or silenced to protect the true perpetrators of 9/11.<br /><br />"On September 11th I'm one of the few people who really within quite a few hours of the whole event taking place just simply knew that it was an inside job, and it wasn't because of the visuals, the collapses, whatever....I knew that it was an inside job I think within about four or five o'clock that afternoon and the reason that I knew is because when those aircraft did collide and then we got the news and information on where the aircraft were and where they went....if they knew where the aircraft were and were talking to them at a certain time then normal protocol is to get fighter jet aircraft up assist," said Hordon.<br /><br />Hordon said that from personal experience he knew the system was always ready to immediately scramble intercepting fighters and that any reversal of that procedure would have been unprecedented and abnormal. He had also personally handled both real hijacking situations in his airspace and other emergency procedures.<br /><br />Hordon said that the only way the airliners could have avoided being intercepted was if a massive electrical and communications failure had occurred which it didn't on that day, adding that there was "no way" the hijacked airliners could have reached their targets otherwise.<br /><br />He went on to explain how as soon as the hijacking of Flight 11 was confirmed at around 8:24am, the entire system, from every FAA center coast to coast, to the Pentagon, to the President were informed and knew of the hijacking.<br /><br /><br />Hordon underscored the fact that after the confirmed hijacking of Flight 11, the entire FAA system would have been on full alert and obsessively watching the skies for any unusual activity, and that such activity as the hijacking of Flight 77 would have been immediately reported to supervisors instantaneously, as well as being continually tracked.<br /><br />This highlights the absurdity of Dulles controllers mistaking Flight 77 for a fighter jet as it approached Washington as was reported, and the plane's over 40 minute uninterrupted journey to the Pentagon after a hijack was confirmed.<br /><br />Hordon debunked the recent Vanity Fair piece that whitewashed NORAD's response as a consequence of confusion and the supposition that NORAD needs exact flight coordinates to enact any kind of response, and that the planes were supposedly invisible to radar and couldn't be tracked properly.<br /><br />"Further information indicates later the NORAD radars had it tracked....the bottom line of the story is that all of those aircraft were always tracked all the time by the FAA air traffic control centers," said Hordon, pointing out that information showing air traffic controllers tried insistently to alert military command structures is being locked down because it points to finger of responsibility to Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon, who were also tracking all the aircraft from the point of hijacking to the impact on their targets.<br /><br />This is the reason why, as Hordon stated, that we don't have complete access to flight data recorders and FAA tapes, which in the case of a conversation between six New York Air Route Traffic Control Center controllers was ordered to be shredded, because if studies of that evidence were undertaken it would become very clear as to who was really behind the attack.<br /><br />Hordon ended by saying that only with the testimony from the dozens of flight controllers who have been silenced or ignored would the true story about who carried out 9/11 begin to emerge.boston air traffic controllernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-35901467950135913452010-03-12T20:44:04.630-05:002010-03-12T20:44:04.630-05:00...as Lincoln once said "The ballot is strong...<i>...as Lincoln once said "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."<br /><br />How'd that work out for him?</i><br /><br />fuckin sweet comebackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-76492104521648986262010-03-12T20:39:51.748-05:002010-03-12T20:39:51.748-05:00Yeah, and 9/11 was an inside job.Yeah, and 9/11 was an inside job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-31082651740593619792010-03-12T20:00:54.033-05:002010-03-12T20:00:54.033-05:00Half of the 39 staff members in central offices, a...Half of the 39 staff members in central offices, are or were, Vice principals or other top positions who couldn"t keep it together in their position, so instead of firing them, they move them to central office and give them a new title and pay them the 100 thousand plus dollars. How much is paid out in Legal Fees and buy outs/silencing, to employees that were let go or forced to resign, is any of that public information?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-1872249558574250572010-03-12T19:30:39.626-05:002010-03-12T19:30:39.626-05:00I think a no trespass order should be issued to MJ...I think a no trespass order should be issued to MJ, Catherine"s husband is an attorney. I think he should not be allowed on any school grounds, and not allowed to attend any public meetings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-76525195518748729632010-03-12T19:07:17.233-05:002010-03-12T19:07:17.233-05:00...as Lincoln once said "The ballot is strong......as Lincoln once said "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."<br /><br />How'd that work out for him?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-62711224423108372092010-03-12T16:41:54.767-05:002010-03-12T16:41:54.767-05:00It's called the ballot box and as Lincoln once...It's called the ballot box and as Lincoln once said "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."<br /><br />The town does not currently have a recall provision. <br /><br />About 15 years ago a Committee--or maybe it was a Task Force--was set up because THEY wanted to get rid of Select Board member Harry Brooks but the proviso they came up with did not pass Town Meeting.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com