Be honest now! Has anyone ever made you so angry that you had evil thoughts? My dad used to say, “I’m so mad I could spit nails!” I believe anyone who is or ever has been a parent or teacher has had that experience, troubling though it may be. The story that follows is definitely a tale from the dark side of ‘The Force’ and I probably don’t come off so well. But I offer it in a spirit of Socratic inquiry to test our preconceived notions and cherished assumptions. Or maybe I just feel like spittin’ nails! So work with me.
A district administrator had visited our school and toured the classrooms to keep tabs on how we ran our school. After the students left for the day, we had a faculty meeting during which the administrator gave us her evaluation which clearly demonstrated that she didn’t have a clue as to what modifications to standard procedures were necessary at an alternative (CDS) school. Through most of it we just bit our tongues and took it. Then she went too far.
