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Pardon me, Rayilyn for referring to you as a "history buff". Thanks for correcting me, although since a"buff" is defined by the American Heritage dictionary as being "one who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a given subject, why....I suppose I must have erred in thinking that a history teacher would fit that definition. At 12:35 AM 9/19/01 -0400, you wrote: >I vowed I would shut up,, but have one more response re Don calling me a >history "buff'. This was no hobby, it was a calling and a job. I was a >public school teacher in two inner-city schools for 26 yrs. My colleagues >and I had to maintain peace and order while educating our students armed with >nothing but our wits. I had great students, but some who were angry and >destructive. I once chased an intruder who threatened my class with a chair. > Another teacher had a class held hostage. Another student was shot in >class. One of my colleagues stood between gangs of armed Samoan and Black >students to stop a fight. She had no gun. A security guard was disemboweled >outside our school. I took a student who had been stabbed in he eye with a >pen to the nurse's office. This was all over 10 yrs ago. Dave Moreland's >sister Mary stills teaches at this same school. I've heard from others >since I retired that it has gotten worse. > >Surely we have not forgotten the recent violence in our schools where >students have killed teachers and students. Recent events present an >unprecedented challenge to our intelligence, patience and resolve. I don't >think people are interested in the historical causes of our situation. I >feel like the guy on MSNBC town meeting last night who lost his brother on >Pan Am over Lockerbie. He has been after the Congress to do something about >airport security ever since. Nobody paid attention and he is so upset and so >am I. > >I am just praying that the President, his advisors and allies use their heads >and that someone in the portals of power have learned some lessons from >history. > >If I didn't have PD I'd be back in the "trenches" at school. I am not >sitting in an ivory tower mulling over the past at my leisure. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn