ducation system needs the attention

r RIKE hy teae hers i is fou serious wan: iter for jokiag, °

and: besides (have:

good friends whe are teachers, and

they would be mad at me if t expressed any negative, fecl-

‘dings about the v
education System, .
Sa let me approach tai, ‘angen.
calla, tnrongh the telling af a.true
Li stérye
~ happened 10a hunily Phacw eX:
“tremely well: es :
oWe are tithing about a fours:
_ person family, ‘with a hoy and a
“girl and three television set
The litte girl, whonr we'll call.
Alice (not het real same, as we
‘always say in parenthesis at this
“paint); seemed, Atauythings
* MPCCOCIOUS. ar

This is something that re ally’ ;

She displayed an carly t alent for

“She was a gifted dancer,
tous potential iis ‘an ac.

drawing
eo with ob
: ite

y but even if'she wasn't mmaking
n ohole fot of sense, she wa 7
- babbling so much,’so soon, that.
‘everyone had her figured fora
“great lawyer when she grew up
sanyway.

The parents, typically, were

kindergarten classes by’ the time
“she ‘as five, being dropped off .

ked: up: by her, mather, five os

“She threw.a tau trum every. ,
single morning, howling discon--
~ solately for the first Ahalf-hour, at
leasts 20.
“We may, guess that’ the teachers
were. less than thrilled with her.
'She'could be an extremely @X=
Vasperating little martyr. «’

“Her baby- talk: period did seem :
10 goon bit longer than irought:

5

There were strong genetic, traces

of her grandmother on her pater-
nal side; ‘her mother observed
“more ‘than once, fy ‘
“Indeed, litte Alice did want to
run the show, whatever, show she

“was in, not just be told what 10:
do, along with everyone else:

: ‘Being part ofa group wasn! Uy

ally
The casiest way 10 deat: with

9 tside ‘and wave to her’;
getting into ‘the arya nd.

‘iso, because in today’s pro
gressive. educational environmen

. social actitudes

alu ofthe Work Gone, by the public’

“STRICTLY PERSONAL

“had iaken a little more interest in
“Alice, irritating as she could be;
‘instead of leaving her off ina
corner to doodle and piay by
herself,-and-contenting themselves
at parent-teacher meetings with -
‘complaining about Alice's aati-.;
ind whata pain
in the butt she was. ve
it was only through listening to
“other children inthe neighbor-
hood who came over to play that.
Alice’s mother discovered hier -
« daughter was beirig ostracized at
choal, regulated to the role of a
“playground ‘dumeay"? b y the, :
other Kids
i vlatedly that their’

“daughter i uldn't read, Alice's
_parents ¥ catito the teacher and
rincipal and demanded some | :

jhind of remedial program.

A social worker was called in

who grilled’ Alice 1o see if she was,

bare sexually abused at hom

Mare’ CAPUrts Were called j in,
Cand it was eventually derecniined
“that Alice had a type of dvsheon.

She woukl need speciaf atten:
tion. Tis jedant she. would, be
picked up by a school bus.and
catkon log special schook,

Shree was'goine to be even more
poked jethe agighborhoaod, bitt

owhat chaice was there? Herself)

contieneg was alrestdy being
damaged,

fostead of drawing. pichares: of il
beautiful litle girl being suiled
upon'by the.sun, she stirted
drawing a lonely, dawneast fittle

person, and the smiling sun inthe

sky-disappeared as a moti fram :
herent /

AL the special school, it turned
Cout she was the only-girt ina class
of boys r auiging from her age
(sevendayp to nite.

She renorted this'to be an inter:
esting experience, aid she im-

mediately learned the trick of

making the biggest boy her best

friend, so nobody bothered her,
“Bur itwwas aboucall she learned.
The “special teachers’ were

~young and inexperienced

educators, who quickly decided 10
‘cope With Alice. by leaving her 2
mostly to herself. As usuale 20-65

After several months. Alice's:
parents concluded that, rather
than being given any kind of
remedial help, their daughter was
being more and more isolated, ;
and basically just kept entertained
during the day. we

She was allawed to: draw all she
wanted (which, she oved) but her:
reading disability. wasn't being

© dealt-with atall:

-When the parents complained io:
the teachers; they were told to
“keep their noses out. The
perts’” were doing everytt

inthe sis months § since they did
that, she hacreached the point

where ste writes oul several pages.

of stories al atime and proudly:
reads them to.the whole family:

She has been ‘taened around, "

cas they say,

And the question i808 hy
doesi’C thatckind af: Magic prevail -
inthe publi pehools?) ? ;

“mentality, and indifferent te:

Ir mosorrye it’s entrenched ‘bu:
reacts, an dndustrial union
achers |
attiacted by the security and
perks, not the hope of redeeming,
afost child: my ns

That'y the problem: Solve that woe
never mind bloody Mage es, for. tee

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