The Highland Hall Community - Deaf Ears?

Here is another correspondence with the Highland Hall community. I have the date for this one listed as July 30, 2006.



Friends,

While I welcome the dialog that has begun (even though I am apparently not on everyone's mailing list) it is difficult to sit by and say nothing while so much anger seems to be directed at me. Does anyone really think I am to blame for Mrs. Leonard's suspension? Seriously? Even the Evaluation Committee claims my email communications did not shape their decision. Obviously, Mrs. Leonard's actions shaped their decision.

Mrs. Leonard alone is to blame - her actions clearly speak for themselves. How convenient it must be to blame me for pointing out what she said and did. Mrs. Leonard was seen handing out pills -not me. Mrs. Leonard read the rape/incest story to the children of her class - not me. Mrs. Leonard encouraged her class to join her in singing about battery and mutilation of a woman - not me. Nobody can deny these events transpired. I pointed these things out and expressed why I think they are inappropriate. If you disagree with me and you want your child exposed to such songs and stories, please read or sing them to your child separately. They do NOT belong in a classroom - no matter how disturbed the teacher, antiquated the teaching methods or bizarre the tenets of the society represented by that classroom.

I am not angry at Mrs. Leonard for I believe her to be ill, but I was angry at Highland Hall for dragging their feet while my child was regularly and continuously exposed to inappropriate behavior. I now applaud Highland Hall for finally taking the appropriate action against a teacher who has consistently used extremely poor judgment in her behavior and lesson plans. I strongly disagree that keeping her through the end of the semester would be of any benefit to the children whatsoever and believe that in fact it would indeed be extremely dangerous - not to mention exposing Highland Hall to serious liability should anything else happen during that time. Mrs. Leonard is obviously not well and should not be around children - this much is clear. Furthermore, she has proven that a reprimand from the school is not sufficient to contain her enthusiasm for exposing our children to inappropriate materials and behavior. I believe it would be in the children's best interests if a new teacher replaced Mrs. Leonard as soon as possible. I hope and pray that Mrs. Leonard will receive the help she needs and recover soon.

Pete Karaiskos