Arizona Principal Suspended for Sarcastic Letter

FOXNews.com ^ | Tuesday, February 02, 2010 | Associated Press

[metmom]

PHOENIX — An Arizona school principal who penned a sarcastic letter that chided parents for children who were either "too lazy or too stupid" to complete their assignments in class was suspended after the missive was mistakenly sent home.

"The math we do is really easy," said the letter from Litchfield Elementary School principal Ron Sterr. "If your child is either too lazy or too stupid to finish it in class, I'm sending it home so that you can work with them and judge for yourself whether it is laziness or idiocy that inhibits your child's progress."

Ron Sterr has called each parent individually to apologize and take responsibility, the Litchfield school district said.

The letter sent home Jan. 26 with second graders also contained passages about students with peanut allergies and emotional problems stemming from puppy deaths.

[metmom]

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

This ping list is for the “other” articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. This can occasionally be a fairly high volume list. Articles pinged to the Another Reason to Homeschool List will be given the keyword of ARTH. (If I remember. If I forget, please feel free to add it yourself)

The main Homeschool Ping List handles the homeschool-specific articles. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping list. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from either list, or both.

[metmom]

Sometimes it’s better NOT to put what you’re thinking in writing.....

[G Larry]

“Sometimes it’s better NOT to put what you’re thinking in writing.....”

ya...that’s what FR is for!...well, mostly....

[raj bhatia]

“If your child is either too lazy or too stupid to finish it in class, I'm sending it home so that you can work with them and judge for yourself whether it is laziness or idiocy that inhibits your child's progress”

If this constitutes an act worthy of suspension my grandfather would have been sent to the chair. Thanks to the good man's taunting I learnt Math well and tried to actually be good at it.

[wku man]

The sad thing is, he's probably right...the kids are too lazy and/or stupid to do the work.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[buccaneer81]

He’s in a position to know. I’ll bet he’s right on the money.

[buccaneer81]

Were he not a straight white male, this story would have never seen daylight.

[metmom]

Teachers ridicule of me in front of the class is what made me just dig my heels in harder and fight them more.

I knew better than to talk back to any adult, but I also knew what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior from them, even if I couldn’t say so.

So, I fought back in the only way I could, by not caring and not trying.

[DJ MacWoW]

also contained passages about students with peanut allergies and emotional problems stemming from puppy deaths.

This would be what would concern me. Doesn't sound like he understands little ones at all.

[prairiebreeze]

He said this about 2nd graders? Seven year olds? Sheesh....

[metmom]

Try again.....

Actually, between the quality of the textbooks used these days and teachers who are challenged when it comes to teaching second graders math, I’d lay money that it’s not the kids.....

I can’t believe that the human race has become that monumentally stupid in one or two generations, that they can no longer learn what was expected to be mastered in schools by kids just a few decades ago.

[buccaneer81]

Good point. These kids will never be able to comprehend basic economic theories as adults, and the left will rejoice.

[metmom]

Kids at that age are sometimes not even physiologically ready for that kind of structured academic desk work.

An excellent book dealing with that topic is *Better Late than Early* by Drs. Moore and Moore. He was a public educator before becoming a outspoken proponent for homeschooling.

[Palladin]

The man is a colossal jerk. Second graders are just babies.
They try so hard to please their teachers.

Sounds to me like the problem may be dumb and lazy TEACHERS.

[pandoraou812]

I found it was very easy to deal with principals when my children were in school. My dad told me that I should stick to my guns & demand my rights. And the rights of my children. So I did & I guess Joe wearing his colors to the meetings made a difference. I don't care if it wasn't normal or right to some people. I suppose he scared the school staff but those principals were usually wrong anyhow.

I remember high school & the principal hated me. The main one. My dad went down there & you could hear him in the hall yelling you will treat my daughter with the respect you give every other student. After that the principal was always very nice to me.

Sassy's principal was happy to see us go. She didn't like my questions & she didn't know how to deal with us. I am so happy we home school & don't have to deal with the bs.

[GladesGuru]

So, the educrat who told the parents the truth about their under performing ‘lil darlins is being punished?

Just more proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

[Magic Fingers]

“If this constitutes an act worthy of suspension my grandfather would have been sent to the chair. Thanks to the good man’s taunting I learnt Math well and tried to actually be good at it.”

Yes, but that was your grandfather - not some numbnut of a principal who didn’t even know your name.

[achilles2000]

We have become that stupid....but it is a self-induced stupidity that we have lovingly labored over three generations to create.

[exhaustguy]

I would probably be accused of child abuse.

I use the judge’s quote from Caddyshack everytime I think my girls are not trying their hardest -

“The world needs ditch diggers too.”