The Wild West

Teen Charged With Trying to Kill Teacher, Aide

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 26, 2009
Filed at 7:13 p.m. ET


SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) -- A 17-year-old boy accused of detonating two pipe bombs at a Northern California high school while armed with a chain saw, sword and explosives appeared in court Wednesday on charges of trying to murder two faculty members.
Alex Youshock, a former student at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, did not enter a plea to charges that included exploding or attempting to explode bombs in a school to terrorize others and possession of dangerous weapons -- the sword and chain saw. [NY Times, 8/26/09]



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A sword???????


I wish I had been there. I wish I had been there to scream, "Who do you think you are, Highlander?"



I want to know what happens when this crap goes down. Is defending yourself against imminent death in your job description?



Have you ever seen your job description?

No, neither have I. But we all sign a quote-unquote "contract" every year. Where else in American do you sign a contract SIGHT UNSEEN?

We want to know how much we will be PAID if we have to blockade the door, throw ourselves in front of a bullet.



We're not joking. How many people have been reprimanded for not following the "code blue," or "lockdown," or "the sniper is nearby" procedures? And if we can be reprimanded, scolded, or made to feel as if we aren't doing our jobs, then we want:



1) hazard pay

2) real training, not the joke training we all get

3) an opt out

4) a lawyer to explain to us EXACTLY what we are quote-unquote required to do and NOT required to do

4) a guarantee that if we do put ourselves in harms way to save a student or students, our families will receive a FRIGGIN' LOT OF MONEY.



The question becomes 'are you willing to die for these people?' For little children, probably 100 percent of us would answer yes. But we have heard colleagues, quite reasonably say, "You know what--some of these overgrown thugs have treated us so horribly, in what space-time continuum am I going to die for them? "

And having your own children is a game changer. No, I'm not dying for some of the worst people I will ever meet and leave MY children without a parent. Guess what--I'm not dying for some of the BEST people I will ever meet and leave my child without a parent. We are not the police. Yes, teachers have children, too.

Dumb administrator moment: Our VP scolded us for not taking the most idiotic training seriously, with the admonition, "I have a child, and I'm scared to think some of you would be in loco parentis.

Well, you know what--we have children, too, and they way you have trained us 1) endangers all of us, including our own children, and 2) Who the H-LL do you think you are? You think we should die to save YOUR child? No. My child is coming home to see her Mommy tonight.

Get a grip on reality, America. We are not paid enough to do this. Maybe you need to hire Blackwater.

Just once--JUST ONCE, I wish that when a lockdown drill or what have you is announced, an entire faculty would sit down in the hall with signs that say, "We have no idea how to protect this building."

Peter says, "I work in a district where a guy off the street walked into the girl's locker room after hours and just sort of hung out. That could have been a tragedy."
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It's very, very true--we don't deserve more money. We should stay after school, after having worked for EIGHT HOURS, and be the police, as well as tutor, coach, paint floats, Xerox, grade....



....for free.