Geoff Coenen
Well-known member
In the 1970’s I taught high school science, biology & chemistry in Bridgeport, the largest city in CT. There had been riots at this school a couple years prior to my arrival and uniformed police were stationed outside and occasionally inside. It was an enlightening experience. I’ll relate a few of my personal experiences.
One Monday a student living in low income housing told me with glee, not revulsion – guess what they found in the incinerator – the body of a burnt baby.
This school system had tracking, meaning classes were identified as G1,G2,G3,G4,G5,G6. G3 was average skills. G1 was tops above average. G6 was way below average, often foreign speaking, no language skills. In G6 failure was not an option, instead FL was graded – in other words failing due to lack of language skills. These students were then passed on to the next grade the following year. My level G1 chemistry class had 6 students. There were no G3,G4,G5 or G6 chemistry classes. The majority of my classes were G3 & lower general science & biology.
Discipline & behavior problems were often in the lower tracking levels. I will never forget the following exchange with one unruly, undisciplined, uncontrollable student. He clearly told me: “my mother doesn’t tell me what to do, and you are not going to either”. That succinctly revealed how their young lives would be run forever and this was not unusual. This often led to disruptive behavior as some teachers were afraid of some students. I was threatened occasionally, but never physically attacked.
The parents night meetings were very sparsely attended. Parents would follow their child’s school schedule & every 10-15 minutes go to their next class to meet that teacher. In some classes, no parent showed up. We just sort of went through the motions, stood out in the hall if no parents appeared. In my view there is a clear, absolutely clear relationship between the breakdown of the family and the rise of an uneducated, unskilled, unemployable class. I refer to them as ferals.
One of the most disturbing events was revealed many years after I Ieft teaching & went into business. As I was getting coffee to go at a local diner a younger girl approached me & stated “remember me Mr. C.” I apologized and said that years later, I only remembered the very worst & the few top students. She related, “I was in the same class as Bruce C.” Oh I remember him; he sat in the absolute rear row, would open his briefcase & point his hands at me as if he was holding a gun. She related, “did you know, he really did have a gun in his briefcase; he was one of big drug dealer in the school.”
I had a science club & arranged a bus trip to the Bronx Zoo in NYCity. In the House of Darkness day & night were reversed so that nocturnal animals could be observed. All of a sudden a door opened & I saw two uniformed NYCity cops dragging Karl B. outside into the daylight. They revealed he was molesting girls in the darkness & were going to arrest him. I pleaded with them to release him to me & he would be on the school bus back to Bridgeport that day. Thankfully they did as it would have been “difficult” to explain what occurred to the H.S. principal. Years later he was convicted of murder & sent to Somers prison. He’s probably out now, or a recidivist or dead.
After attaining 12 years public education + 6 years of college + master degree I was only netting $208.00 in my weekly paycheck & literally living from credit card bill to credit card bill. After purchasing my 1963 Corvette, beginning refurbishing and then selling the left over used parts I made over $500 at my first Corvette only swap meet. The writing was on the wall; soon I left teaching & never looked back.
Yesterday there was a photograph from a drone over the Rt 25/8 highway that was shut down for 3+ hours by protestors. It was between exit 2 & 3 on this 8 to 10 lane feeder that routes directly into the I-95 major North – South freeway. My warehouse is exactly next to this highway. Time will tell what happens next. Rioters broke the windows & the door to enter the local police station to be repelled by the police inside.
The breakdown of the family, lack of personal responsibility & no education or skills has produced an underclass that seems irredeemable. EBT, Section 8, obamaphones, WIC, SNAP are not the answer. My personal view is that Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society was an abject failure & set the tone for one group of politicians to maintain control via free this & free that. There is an old adage: if you pay someone not to work, why would they ever work.
I do believe the recent police murder of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis was absolutely wrong and statistically the vast exception to the reality of all deaths due to police interaction. Horrible yes. The protests are right. The tremendous arson, looting & violence is not.
One Monday a student living in low income housing told me with glee, not revulsion – guess what they found in the incinerator – the body of a burnt baby.
This school system had tracking, meaning classes were identified as G1,G2,G3,G4,G5,G6. G3 was average skills. G1 was tops above average. G6 was way below average, often foreign speaking, no language skills. In G6 failure was not an option, instead FL was graded – in other words failing due to lack of language skills. These students were then passed on to the next grade the following year. My level G1 chemistry class had 6 students. There were no G3,G4,G5 or G6 chemistry classes. The majority of my classes were G3 & lower general science & biology.
Discipline & behavior problems were often in the lower tracking levels. I will never forget the following exchange with one unruly, undisciplined, uncontrollable student. He clearly told me: “my mother doesn’t tell me what to do, and you are not going to either”. That succinctly revealed how their young lives would be run forever and this was not unusual. This often led to disruptive behavior as some teachers were afraid of some students. I was threatened occasionally, but never physically attacked.
The parents night meetings were very sparsely attended. Parents would follow their child’s school schedule & every 10-15 minutes go to their next class to meet that teacher. In some classes, no parent showed up. We just sort of went through the motions, stood out in the hall if no parents appeared. In my view there is a clear, absolutely clear relationship between the breakdown of the family and the rise of an uneducated, unskilled, unemployable class. I refer to them as ferals.
One of the most disturbing events was revealed many years after I Ieft teaching & went into business. As I was getting coffee to go at a local diner a younger girl approached me & stated “remember me Mr. C.” I apologized and said that years later, I only remembered the very worst & the few top students. She related, “I was in the same class as Bruce C.” Oh I remember him; he sat in the absolute rear row, would open his briefcase & point his hands at me as if he was holding a gun. She related, “did you know, he really did have a gun in his briefcase; he was one of big drug dealer in the school.”
I had a science club & arranged a bus trip to the Bronx Zoo in NYCity. In the House of Darkness day & night were reversed so that nocturnal animals could be observed. All of a sudden a door opened & I saw two uniformed NYCity cops dragging Karl B. outside into the daylight. They revealed he was molesting girls in the darkness & were going to arrest him. I pleaded with them to release him to me & he would be on the school bus back to Bridgeport that day. Thankfully they did as it would have been “difficult” to explain what occurred to the H.S. principal. Years later he was convicted of murder & sent to Somers prison. He’s probably out now, or a recidivist or dead.
After attaining 12 years public education + 6 years of college + master degree I was only netting $208.00 in my weekly paycheck & literally living from credit card bill to credit card bill. After purchasing my 1963 Corvette, beginning refurbishing and then selling the left over used parts I made over $500 at my first Corvette only swap meet. The writing was on the wall; soon I left teaching & never looked back.
Yesterday there was a photograph from a drone over the Rt 25/8 highway that was shut down for 3+ hours by protestors. It was between exit 2 & 3 on this 8 to 10 lane feeder that routes directly into the I-95 major North – South freeway. My warehouse is exactly next to this highway. Time will tell what happens next. Rioters broke the windows & the door to enter the local police station to be repelled by the police inside.
The breakdown of the family, lack of personal responsibility & no education or skills has produced an underclass that seems irredeemable. EBT, Section 8, obamaphones, WIC, SNAP are not the answer. My personal view is that Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society was an abject failure & set the tone for one group of politicians to maintain control via free this & free that. There is an old adage: if you pay someone not to work, why would they ever work.
I do believe the recent police murder of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis was absolutely wrong and statistically the vast exception to the reality of all deaths due to police interaction. Horrible yes. The protests are right. The tremendous arson, looting & violence is not.
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