UPDATE on March 20, 2010 @ 1.59 p.m.
As of March 17, 2010, there was a resignation and an apology. I’m okay with that, for now.
I’d like to thank all those who have shown support, including those who have written to me privately (whose identities will have to stay private — for now) who have provided valuable inside information that will spell all the difference should this issue continue to hound my family.
Right now, we’re all just trying to move on.
———
(Republished from the school’s website. Additional explanatory notes in brackets.)
Relative to the letter I published recently, the school responded by holding a conference. My daughter, a minor, was called to the office for a “talk” with the school directress, her class adviser and the school nurse.
Oh, how they lamented that I published the letter in this [i.e., the school's] website. Well, the last time I wrote my [very negative] feelings about this school, I put it in a newspaper column, the column was photocopied and distributed to all and sundry at the school’s gate. This time, I’m saving the school the trouble. Save paper, save the trees, you know? Isn’t that the school’s advocacy? Just being cooperative.
Now, the issues.
First, I take issue with that meeting. Three against one. If it had been between student and school directress, the lopsided power play would have been bad enough. The intimidating authority, the non-neutral venue of the meeting, the fact that it is the directress that initiated the meeting. But three against one? I don’t have to be a psychologist to know how a scenario like that plays out on a sixteen-year-old girl. Good thing she has managed to do a lot of growing up and is fast learning the ins and outs of psychological warfare.
I wrote that letter. I published it. And they confront my daughter instead. I know a lot of power trippers who like to prey on those they consider to be weaker than they are. I was hoping that such a scenario would never happen in this school. But there’s no other name for that meeting. Why her? Confront me. Just try and intimidate me. But calling my daughter in a lopsided meeting like that? She’s a minor and there was no parent present. She was not even given the option to call me or her father to accompany her to the meeting. Neither did anyone from the school call us and we were home the entire day. I hope these people understand the liability to which they have exposed themselves. And I don’t use the word liability lightly.
Second, my daughter was told that she was not the target of the “quack doctors” remark. Ergo, that the remark was indeed made was NOT denied — a clear admission of unprofessional conduct on the part of the school official that uttered those words. The target, they “explained”, were some of her classmates who had been submitting medical certificates that they themselves have signed.
Really? For a school that is so strict with the implementation of its rules on students, it is amazing that students SUBMITTED FALSIFIED medical certificates and NO DISCIPLINARY ACTION was taken, and the extent of the reprimand was a mere “parinig” about “quack doctors.” An offense as serious as that would have merited, at the very least, suspension, and the offense would have been duly put on record.
Care to produce those records so that the “explanation” would not sound like genuine “palusot”? Care to recount how the parents of those students were called to the school to tell them about the very serious offenses that their children have committed?
And since no one else seems to be aware of this “explanation” except he who made the “parinig” about students who skip school activities by submitting medical certificates signed by “quack doctors”, whom did the class look at with suspicion? Who? Well, there is only one who did not join the Makiling trip and that was the most recent school activity. Even if — and this is a big, BIG IF — there was indeed no intention to cast aspersion on my daughter because the intended target were some other students, see what “parinig” results in?
Is the school willing to announce to the entire Year 4 who those falsifiers are so that they can stop looking suspiciously at my daughter? Unless it is done, then the “explanation” is just an empty statement.
Third, there was an obvious attempt to muddle the issue with the allegation that since my daughter did not specifically seek out the nurse, she couldn’t have offered the documents and, by implication, that the nurse couldn’t have refused to receive them. Where, oh where, does it say in my letter that my daughter sought out the school nurse to hand her the medical certificate? They saw each other, my daughter told her about the documents, she said she wouldn’t accept them — in the presence of two other students who heard the whole thing.
So what happens now? Will those two students be called to the office too in another lopsided meeting with no parents present? Three against two? Six against two? And when it happens that there are discrepancies in how people recall what transpires, it’ll be the word of two students against, what, three or six officials?
What about the entire class who heard, and remembers, how exactly the “parinig” about the “quack doctors” was made, will these students be taken aside too, one by one, two by two, without their parents present, and muddled until, out of fear and intimidation, they finally say that they don’t really remember and this entire incident can be conveniently swept under the rug, sans any negative image to the school?
Or will their parents be sought out, in typical loyalty check fashion, to make sure that if the students are ever called on to tell the truth, they know exactly which side of the field is greener?
I was teary-eyed reading this post.
Years ago,my daughter was 16,a sophomore student at an L.A.public school.
She is very outspoken,assertive but sometimes gets aggressive when one
does not agree with her opinions.One day she complained about her
male teacher and I didn’t pay much attention, instead I recited my
Pinoy style litany”Your job is to study,treat your teachers as your
second mom/dad,respect your elders,do not answer back.” In short,I didn’t
acknowledge and validate her complaints.Big mistake.
When 3 of her classmates went to our house and talked about their teacher
I knew that something is indeed wrong.I discussed this with the school
principal and investigation was conducted.
The teacher was suspended and eventually terminated.A written apology
was given to the students and parents by the school.The district
superintendent sent me a letter of appreciation and I had to apologized
to my daughter for not “listening.”
I do not understand why the people in that school are acting that way.
Clearly,they still have the colonial mentality and absolute abuse of power
uncharacteristic of respected educators.
And for some readers and commenters suggesting that this whole thing is
a product of imagination….wake up,grow up and get a life!
OMG. I am just so enraged about this whole thing. It started after reading your letter, and then latest comments accusing you of something else. Having that conference without your presence is bullying, among other things. And their excuses, WOW!!!!! I’m just flabbergasted.
Where is sense of propriety gone to? you don’t subject minors to this kind of experience diba? okay lang kung one on one talk, pero tatlo? hello brigandage!
What the school did is very unethical and highly considered as bullying tactics for cover-up when school authorities take upon themselves to gang up on a minor without the presence of her parents.
It is plain and simple coercion on a minor by school authorities. A complaint should be filed with Department of Education or an appropriate body that oversees teaching profession especially the school principal for unprofessional conduct and neligence.
You can also file a complaint against the nurse with Professional Regulatorion Commission.
Your case is serious since the nurse refused to accept a medical certificate issued by a specialist regarding a medical condition of your child.
typo – PRC for Professional Regulation Commission.
I’m not very sure if she is a licensed nurse.
Let those administrators read your followers’ comments; they ought to know that most intelligent people can see them for what they really are–pompous and immature scumbags.
Outrageous, really.
I am in the position that the school administrators should have talked to you privately. I hope something good comes out of this.
If the school administrators realy wanted to clear up the issue, they should have sent a letter or note requesting for a meeting..
Growing up in the province, i studied in a school run by the nuns.. That was several decades ago.. LOL… but even then when something went wrong , they would make an effort to send a letter to our parents requesting to meet..
To think na modern age na tayo now. we have mobile phones, e-mail , and so many means of communication…
Miss connie… i feel for Alex coz she has to go on seeing these people every day at school..
Adding to your comment, there was a time that teachers would take time to visit the student’s residence to know why a parent could not come to a meeting.
Scary, teachers and faculty in public school in particular, they have the security of tenure and they are politicized! They can indoctrinate young students at will. What we always hear from complaints are students manhandling and excessive school donations.
BTW, the story about that nurse, perhaps, is not exclusive to the incident discussed in this post. It also happens in some, if not most, of the private firms where i was employed.
Can you imagine when you’re working businesslike every time and suddenly you’re in a clinic for a medical consultation. Alas, you’ve got to wait, not because there is a waiting list. The “front desk” nurse is on the phone discussing her rellenong bangus order in full details with the other person on the other line plus other incidental topics.
Ha ha ha, pahabol lang. I was reminded of the comment of one commenter in your other post. Maybe if that is a problem for me, I should resign from my work.
A straightforward solution isn’t it?
(This is a double post. Nagkamali ako doon sa isa. Para lang may continuity just in case)
“you’ve got to wait, not because there is a waiting list. The “front desk” nurse is on the phone discussing her rellenong bangus order”
That’s a very common scenario in government offices. There is a rural bank here in Antipolo where the system is like that too. Only one phone so the employees use it for everything. Yun na rin yung fax.
The nerve of those school officials. Biglang nagmamalinis pa. Although I get the feeling that we haven’t heard the last of them.
Ha ha ha, pahabol lang. I was reminded of the comment of one commenter in your other post. Maybe if that is a problem for me, I should resign from my work.
A straightforward solution isn’t it?
Natawa lang ako sa nabasa ko in your last post that the nurse wanted the x-ray film… alam kaya niyang i-interpret yun? Ang alam ko, only a physician who is a licensed radiologist ang may trabaho nito. lol.
Actually, one of the teachers (not involved in the incident) posted a series of comments in the school site. He was angry at first, then apologized then asked me to “Please come to the school” to discuss then appealed for a halt on the posting in the school website.
But it’s not that simple. The “parinig” (and I discovered there was more than one coming from the teachers) were made in public. I’m not going to allow this issue to be swept under the rug, in silence. They were brazen enough to make public snide remarks; they should be men enough to apologize publicly.
A public apology would have corrected the school mistakes. Instead, HEDCEN made it more tragic with the message to the students that it is only interested in keeping incident quiet – a lesson for cover-up.
Even a minor can understand that.
“They were brazen enough to make public snide remarks; they should be men enough to apologize publicly.”
From their behavior it seems that there are no adults involved in that incident from the administration down to its faculty of members. The handling of this situation is really both clumsy and “juvenilish”. There is no place for “parinig” in an educational establishment especially if it comes from the educators and higher ups. They are supposed to set an example for their students. But it’s the other way around, they are the ones that need to be educated.
How about this?
Two Fridays ago, it was half day for the seniors. The class adviser tried to seek permission from the school to require them to stay until 5.00 to finish projects etc. The school denied permission. The students started going home. Naturally. The few that got left behind (Alex included) had to bear the class adviser’s fit. He was angry that the others had left, to the tune of “walang malakasit”, making them feel guilty that he (the adviser) had a fight with his wife because he wanted to spend even the weekends at school.
I mean, nice dedication although I wouldn’t call it natural given that he had admitted that it disrupts his family life. More like an obsession.
But officially school was over for the day. The kids had a right to leave. And he got mad?
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise. -Tacitus
they ganged up on the daughter in an effort to silence her– to intimidate her– so that when the parent comes they know who to point their fingers at. if i knew the name of this school i would tell all the people in my facebook and post your link to my page telling them never to enroll their kids there.. I have some 645 friends on my personal network, 2,200 fans on an organizational acct so one or two knowing about it and passing it on ought to do some damage.. People should know about this kind of unfair treatment that happens in a place you trusted to take care of your child and that this can happen to them anytime.
if anyone from “the school” reads this, YOU OUGHTA DO SOMETHING!
someone’s got to be fired, put in black and white your administration’s code of conduct and corresponding repercussions. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER! Tsk tsk to think these people are educated.. and they’re EDUCATORS!
The thing is, there are very good teachers there still. To this day. Wonderful and inspiring people. And I wouldn’t want this to reflect on them too. Very specific people were involved in this and it is them that I want to answer for what they did.
Sorry Ms. Connie about the crass remark I just got a little carried away. I hate it when I read of stories like this, sometimes I don’t get why people like making other people’s lives miserable.
I’m a mom too and if that ever happened to me and my kids I’ll do the same. I really hope all this gets sorted out.
I know. Can’t understand it either. The school’s “supporters” are calling me names. I don’t care.
A blunt option would be to have 3 photocopies of the medical certificate, roll each copy and give a copy each to the directress, the class adviser, and the school nurse.
Then you tell them as you leave, to shove them up their collective asses.
hhehehe tempting, tempting…
I agree with what John said. Short, succinct and straight to the point. LOL
Alam mo Connie, Alex’s situation brings back ugly nightmares of my youth. It’s very depressing having to cope with such dirty politics and underhanded attitudes from your teachers & school officers. As I said in your original post, I would expect this from a public school – I experienced it extensively. But never in a place we pay to care for our kids expecting them to have “better standards”.
Maswerte si Alex dahil she’s got parents who can really fight her corner & I’m sure di ka nagku-kulang nang payo sa kanya about these things.
I do hope the school does the right thing NOW.
I hope so too, especially since the issue has divided the school community. Yesterday was graduation day and it was badly attended. Too many empty seats, too many empty parking slots. In previous years, graduation was jampacked. And the funerareal tone of the program. Urgh! And the parent hand picked by the school to deliver a message from the parents criticized the school, albeit obliquely, in his speech!
Serves them right!
Hopefully, this is topic that brings laughter in Alex’s future HS reunions.