In a letter to The Daily News which published on July 10, 2009, I wrote about Dr. Arlene Ackerman’s “remarkable silence on the criminal behavior pervading the schools.” I could not imagine how prophetic that statement would become. The events surrounding December 3 at South Philadelphia High School corroborate Dr. Ackerman’s callous indifference of the welfare of the Asian students bordering on malicious disregard. Now the article “Nutter and Ramsey consider…” which published on April 9, 2011 comes perilously close to politicizing it. As a teacher at Southern for nearly 7 years, I have seen and felt directly on a deeply personal level the effects which Dr. Ackerman’s tolerance and accommodation have comforted the irresponsible use of freedom by a large cadre of its students. They clearly explain the philosophy behind the violence in a way which can no longer be ignored or misunderstood. Common sense has shown that learning cannot take place without discipline and order in the classroom and lamentably, recent events underscore the need for a visible and formidable city police presence for it to happen.
However, Dr. Ackerman doesn’t see it that way. She believes that all children regardless of intellectual and moral stature can and must be saved. Failure to do so is indicative of bad teachers. In the March 27 issue of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dr. Ackerman said: “Good discipline occurs in classrooms with good teaching.” Inculcating a strong semblance of moral rectitude through the responsible use of freedom is the parents’ responsibility and begins in the home not in the classroom. Children who decide to act criminally deserve to be both prosecuted and expelled not tolerated and accommodated. She needs to wise up as the tyranny of moral relativism will not avail.