Man Up!

You may have seen this news story and picture in the Southern Illinoisan.  I found myself very tickled by it for two reasons.  First I'm not sure I would have reported this to the police.  To be honest I have had many threats made against me by angry parents and I have never once felt that anything would come to fruition.  My initial reaction was confusion as to why the administrator felt threatened.  The article states, Brown threatened to “kick her (the administrator's) teeth down her throat and make her suffocate on them,” when the administrator is “old and no longer a principal,” according to the information.  There is no immediate danger to this person and I'm sure she didn't feel the urge to schedule an ass whoopin in her calendar for a post retirement date.  But hey, to each is own and I can't say how one should feel.  I was told once in a voice mail that I was going to get my throat slit.  It became a great joke around the office when that person apologized the next day.

Here may be the reason that it was reported since no immediate threat existed.  Simply put, payback.  I have parents do this very thing all the time.  They get mad at the school for something that may or may not have happened so instead making a simple phone call, they take to the airwaves thinking that it is private and hoping to gain support from their peers.  This is the most frustrating thing that can happen to a school administrator.  We come to work representing all of our students, teachers and families and we do it with pride.  When we get bashed, it does sting a little.  The fact that a parent will go on Facebook, discuss facts that have not been substantiated and place blame, is tremendously disrespectful to the school as a whole.  Man up!  If you have a concern, call.  I love all my students but they are going to cover their butts when they can so you likely do not have the whole story.  Be fair.  I spend more time with some of my kids than their parents do.  I'm not complaining but I may be in a good position to tell you how they behave.  By the way, is she laughing or crying?

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutor-woman-used-facebook-to-threaten-school-principal/article_8ba292f6-ab86-11e2-bc21-0019bb2963f4.html