Dear Editor:
Will Columbine rule our schools forever? Are we, unwittingly, creating the social misfits of tomorrow?
Today, the North Bergen School system–belonging to a so-called progressive community– incarcerates the citizens of tomorrow whenever the red flag of Columbine goes up. Last month, a student brought a stolen BB gun into the high school, which could not harm anyone because it had neither BB’s nor CO2 propellant. In my day, the alma mater would have given out detention, or the parents would have been notified, but today they jail the student. Now the web of paranoia and intolerance didn’t stop there. My own son was incarcerated because he happened to be the owner of the BB-gun; never mind that he was completely innocent of any collusion or conspiracy in this matter.
Sure, it was a stupid thing to bring a “gun” into school. But suppose I tell you that the school system does nothing to teach the kids about the consequences of any actions that may hint of Columbine lunacy? They prefer to absolve themselves of any responsibility by letting the cops handle everything. And the students, in overcrowded conditions where their only concern is to endure the madness until they are “released”, are clueless about the traps that the administration sets up to protect their own you-know-what at the expense of the students and their fragile teenage years.
By the actions of the North Bergen School system we are saying to our children: you cannot be trusted; we have to treat you like criminals until such time that you can be accepted into society via a process that is beyond our ability to teach. Oh, and, for God’s sake, don’t make us earn our pay by having to deal with your individuality.
Mayor Sacco, where do you get off calling North Bergen a progressive community? Superintendent Fishbach where do you get off calling yourself an educator in the public’s trust?
Angel Jimenez