Shame SHAME on Ackerman!

[Sylvester]

Any word yet on when Tyler Perry is flying out this allegedly disabled kid to Disney World?

(Oh, I couldn't resist) =O

[Cya]

CYA- sorry; I realized that after I hit post, so I went back and edited it.

That is a very good point given the latitude with which the tag disability is sometimes (mis)appropriated or simply applied outside of our own experience. I guess I have a wide experience with physically "disabled" people and some of those who have the most limited mobility also lead the most active lives- not from the relative standpoint of a disabled person, but from the standpoint of anyone, able bodied or not. There are others much less severely limited who are very interested in sharing with the world how miserable they are.

When I saw "disabled" I immediately leapt to the conclusion that it was a physical, not mental disability. Call it in abject lesson in reading more carefully .

Regardless, I still think it's a red herring.

Well, my thought was:

1. I find it very hard to believe that a group would converge on a truely physically disabled person and beat them. However, we are talking about S.Philly High, so I guess it's possible.

2. By Ackerman pointing out that that the beating of the Asian kids was retaliation for Asians beating on a "disabled" black kid she seems to almost be giving it a pass...since after all, the black kid was "disabled" and the Asian kids beat him.

And yes, the term "disabled" can mean many things these days. But what the word conjures up in my mind is someone with serious physical/mental disabilities.

If the Asian kids beat down on someone with these types of disabilities... well... I won't shed a tear for them for the asskicking they got.

[PhilPa]

It appears that the chickens have come home to roost. Racial tension is nothing new in Philadelphia. If anything, for better or worse (and mostly worse), if defines the Philadelphia experience. What is "new" in this current case is that it is a publicized incident of Black on Asian violence. While this certainly has existed in Philadelphia for a long time, it always seems that race in Philly is still constantly only being viewed as being White vs. Black. If any other group is involved, it is often unacknowledged or dismissed as "an isolated incident" or an act of retribution. By ignoring the incidents until the media shoved them into their faces, the school district officials are playing into this pattern. Then the district fell into the pattern again by attempting to imply that this was an act of retribution. Then they tried to use smoke and mirrors by claiming that acts of violence supposedly declined (never mind that attendance at South Philly High *also* declined - hence fewer attackers and people to be attacked).

There is no question that Ackerman should be fired over this. Whether she directly condones the racism in South Philly High or not, the fact that she has allowed it to go on despite what were apparently multiple complaints is reprehensible enough. In fact, she ought never work in the field ever again. However, she's just the tip of the iceberg. The Inky articles note that teachers were allegedly also either ignoring the complaints or, worse yet, encouraging and participating in the racial taunts. THEY should also be fired and never allowed to work in the field again. Also, what has City Council or Nutter said about these incidents - NOTHING. And what about the great Rendell? He's been silent too.

With the proverbial foxes (the racist teachers) guarding the hen house and the leaders asleep at the wheel, it's no wonder that the city has been in decline for 60 years.

[PhilPa]

Is Ackerman black? I don't know anything about her.

She's black.

Superintendent of Schools Biography - The School District of Philadelphia

[BobGS]

I read today a written statement by asian students who have taken time away from that battlefield-school, and assessed the situation.
I think it is extreemly well developed and MATURE. Need I say, much more mature a response than Ackerman's blame-searching and easy-fix attempts. I am proud to consider myself a supporter of their cause:

Targeted because we're Asian: South Philly students speak out about racial assaults | Young Philly Politics


Here is what students have documented:

South Philadelphia High School is not a safe place for us.

We are targeted because we are Asian immigrants. Every day we face taunts and violence. It hurts when we are attacked by other students. It hurts more when school staff ignore, deny, or cover up the racial attacks against us.

For the last three days we have chosen to boycott our school in order to get a real education about how to ensure our safety. This is what we have found.

On Thursday, attacks against us happened throughout the day both inside and outside of school. Adults in the school are supposed to care for us and to make us safe. Instead this is what happened. School staff:

Allowed large groups of 15-20 students to wander through the building for over four hours. These students were reported to be looking into classrooms for targets of their attacks;
Overrode one security guard’s efforts to keep a large group of students from the second floor where they did not have classes and purposefully allowed them to go running through the halls;
Ignored Asian students’ fears about going to the lunchroom following these clear signs of trouble in the building;
Forced Asian students to follow a security guard to the lunchroom where they were attacked and beaten by a crowd of students in front of several adult staff;
Failed to call all the parents of injured students for several hours after the attacks;
Refused to allow some Asian students who were seeking shelter and safety in the school at the end of the school day to stay at the school, until community advocates called 911 and arrived on the scene;
Forced Asian students who had been assaulted to leave the school building even though they were hurt and frightened;
Discounted Asian students’ fears of walking home and to their transit stops;
Directed Asian students into the streets where crowds of students had gathered and where immediately afterward they were assaulted;
Neglected to call the students and families who were victimized by the attacks to either check on their well-being or to get a full report of what happened to them;
Failed to conduct a full investigation of what happened;
Downplayed the seriousness of the attacks until they were reported in the media;
Disregarded students’ and families’ fears and recklessly called on students to return to school before even investigating what happened on Thursday; and
Refused to accept responsibility for the mistakes of school staff and administration on that day and placed all the blame on the student attackers.

Most of the students at South Philadelphia High School – Asian, African American, Latino and white – are just like us. They are trying to get an education in a school where they do not feel safe or respected. We are calling on the adults in the school and in the School District to take responsibility for the unsafe environment of South Philadelphia High School that makes it hard for all of us to learn there.

[grahamstreet712]

It appears that the chickens have come home to roost. Racial tension is nothing new in Philadelphia. If anything, for better or worse (and mostly worse), if defines the Philadelphia experience. What is "new" in this current case is that it is a publicized incident of Black on Asian violence. While this certainly has existed in Philadelphia for a long time, it always seems that race in Philly is still constantly only being viewed as being White vs. Black. If any other group is involved, it is often unacknowledged or dismissed as "an isolated incident" or an act of retribution. By ignoring the incidents until the media shoved them into their faces, the school district officials are playing into this pattern. Then the district fell into the pattern again by attempting to imply that this was an act of retribution. Then they tried to use smoke and mirrors by claiming that acts of violence supposedly declined (never mind that attendance at South Philly High *also* declined - hence fewer attackers and people to be attacked).

There is no question that Ackerman should be fired over this. Whether she directly condones the racism in South Philly High or not, the fact that she has allowed it to go on despite what were apparently multiple complaints is reprehensible enough. In fact, she ought never work in the field ever again. However, she's just the tip of the iceberg. The Inky articles note that teachers were allegedly also either ignoring the complaints or, worse yet, encouraging and participating in the racial taunts. THEY should also be fired and never allowed to work in the field again. Also, what has City Council or Nutter said about these incidents - NOTHING. And what about the great Rendell? He's been silent too.

With the proverbial foxes (the racist teachers) guarding the hen house and the leaders asleep at the wheel, it's no wonder that the city has been in decline for 60 years.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying here but I wanted to point out something.

Just to clarify, almost all of the individual staff members accused of acting inappropriately (actually, reprehensibly is probably a better word) that have been mentioned in student accounts are not teachers but rather other types of staff members - administration, security guards, lunch room personnel, etc. Don't get me wrong: there are racist teachers working in SDP but the reports have only mentioned one teacher, someone who told the students they had to go to lunch when they were scared.

From Asian students describe violence at South Philadelphia High | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/10/2009

"Troung, the South Philadelphia student, recited a litany of problems with school staff. She singled out the security officers, who she claimed forced Asian students to follow them into a lunchroom where they were attacked and who directed the frightened students to leave school after they were beaten.

Yan Zheng, another student, said that when students were fighting in the lunch room last Thursday, "the lunch lady did not do anything to stop them, and went around cheering happily. . . . The staff shouldn't just stand there and watch and say, 'Stopping fights is not my job.' "

Duong Thang Ly said the school's security officers "are the big problem," saying they looked the other way when a group of African American students interrupted a lunch line and heckled a group of Asian students. They ignored groups of students as they roamed during class time, Ly said.

It's not just Asian students who are suffering, Truong said.

"Most of the students at South Philadelphia High School - Asian, African American, Latino and white - are just like us. They are trying to get an education in a school where they do not feel safe or respected," said Truong."

More from here: Asians say officials, not kids, are the problem at South Philly high | Philadelphia Daily News | 12/10/2009

"Xu Lin, community organizer for the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., said community members were upset during a meeting with school officials last Friday "to see the principal playing with her cell phone when the students and their parents were giving statements about the violence that had occurred the day before. We were even more offended to see the safety manager . . . sleeping during the meeting in front of the whole community."

[Mr Morley]

TIt boiles down to a failure of the "Grown-ups" to run the school.

That's been a major problem in the public schools for decades; even in the "good" schools, and I speak as a product of the Philly system.

[PhilPa]

After nearly a week, Ackerman now agrees to meet with the student but under the condition that the students, and the students only, meet with her at South Philadelphia High.

Asian students want to meet Ackerman, but not at school | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/11/2009

Hmmmm, so she's asking the students to go back to the school with no protection to meet with her. My guess is that this way she can say "Hey, I offered to meet with them but none of them showed up. I did my job".

Figures.

The students should not give up on this. They need to get this story on 60 Minutes, Dateline, or some other national media.

The swimming club incident over the summer was bad and was nationally covered. This incident, if anything, is even worse since you have actual violence and school administrators not doing anything real about it. If anything spells scandal, this is it.

I hope the students band together and sue the school district and drag them through the mud. This type of thuggery in Philadelphia should no longer be tolerated. Enough is enough.

We wonder why Philadelphia is so crime-infested, why there are so many drugged-out homeless people on the streets, why companies keep relocating to the suburbs or elsewhere because they can't get good help in the city. It all goes back to poor upbringing and lack of education and it is instances like this where the Philadelphia School District is being a participating actor in the city's 6 decade decline.

[lankenau]

Violence in inner city schools does not garner much publicity. The innocent student in Chicago beaten to death with railroad ties was barely a blip on the news radar. There's violence everyday in rougher public schools be it motivated by gangs, racism, or old fashioned bullying. Unless it happens in an affluent area "where it isn't supposed to happen", most people don't care unfortunately...
I agree that the Asian students and their parents must fight the school and school district to demand better...

[jedi mind fart]

Don't worry it will all turn around and be blamed on whites , we are after all keeping everyone down , we are the man !

[drewrob23]

I wonder if the posters felt this much fury when teenage African immigrants were being assualted. Then again that was black on black violence so there was no need to get all angry.

[drewrob23]

Don't worry it will all turn around and be blamed on whites , we are after all keeping everyone down , we are the man !

Only for about another twenty years! Then we can blame the next majority!

[Cya]

I find it interesting that the Asian students are not blaming the kids who attacked them, but rather the school staff.

Yes, the staff should have been doing more to stop the violence and maintain order in the school, but I'm guessing lots of these staff members are also afraid of the roaming gangs of youth.

Ultimately, it's the kids who are to blame, I think.

I see Phila Police officers at Lincoln and Frankford schools. Doesn't South Philly High have real cops?

[seand]

I find it interesting that the Asian students are not blaming the kids who attacked them, but rather the school staff.

Yes, the staff should have been doing more to stop the violence and maintain order in the school, but I'm guessing lots of these staff members are also afraid of the roaming gangs of youth.

Ultimately, it's the kids who are to blame, I think.

I see Phila Police officers at Lincoln and Frankford schools. Doesn't South Philly High have real cops?

I think that if you complain about students doing illegal things and the staff ignores you or says "kids will be kids" or seems to take racial sides, you are more put off by the staff.

[sometimesilie]

I wonder if the posters felt this much fury when teenage African immigrants were being assualted. Then again that was black on black violence so there was no need to get all angry.

Yes, I remember how angry that made me. Quit trying to distract from the issue, Arlene.

[sometimesilie]

I was also wondering how long it would be- 31 posts- before the obligatory "you're all just ganging up on these poor little (felons) youths because they're black." Well I have 9 and 1 dialed already, and when you say so, I'll dial the last "1" for the Wahmbulance.

And for the record, I would like to come out and say I have no problem with gangs of feral anythings targeting individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, favorite M&M color, etc., etc., etc., as long as the roving gangs are not black, because if they are, well boy howdy, it's time to make a big stink about how that's not cool.

[drewrob23]

I find it interesting that the Asian students are not blaming the kids who attacked them, but rather the school staff.

Yes, the staff should have been doing more to stop the violence and maintain order in the school, but I'm guessing lots of these staff members are also afraid of the roaming gangs of youth.

Ultimately, it's the kids who are to blame, I think.

I see Phila Police officers at Lincoln and Frankford schools. Doesn't South Philly High have real cops?

I think the Asian kids can see that it's not a majority of the black students that are attacking them. In another article the Asian kids mentioned how some of the black students have helped them. More than likely the teens that are attacking Asians are the one's who don't even go to class. Which is why I'm surprised that groups of children are able to run the halls so freely. Especially after the incidents that have happened in the past.

I don't see why NTA's and other adults at the school would need to be afraid of children. If anything they probably have some ill feelings toward the Asian community and they turn a blind eye to the teens that try to intimidate them. Of course the teens that assaulted the Asian students should be punished but last time I checked, adults were more responsible than children so they def. share a bit of the blame when it involves the treatment of other students that they seem to choose to ignore.

[drewrob23]

Yes, I remember how angry that made me. Quit trying to distract from the issue, Arlene.

You're very witty!

[sometimesilie]

You're very witty!

Finally, some recognition!

[jedi mind fart]

Only for about another twenty years! Then we can blame the next majority!

The Chinese !?