To the Editor:
Let me try again. This will be my second draft since the first one was rejected, apparently too long and filled with facts that only I and those involved can attest to.
You have got to be the advocate for your child and know what is going on after you drop them off. There is so much that you don’t know, and when you do find out, stand up and take care of it. Stop sitting back and putting your trust into the hands of wolves in sheep’s clothing. It’s not just kids being kids, it’s much worse, and often there are teachers who have been there far too long with very short fuses and do not belong there any longer.
My experience with Laurie Binney — this great man as he speaks of himself — has been our worst nightmare and I for one am glad that he is gone, the sooner the better. My son went to the OB school for six years from K-5. K-3 was great, he had all kinds of friends, he played sports, had friends over to play, and was a very happy outgoing kid who had the world in his hands.
For many reasons that I can’t mention here, although they are very important to the reasons behind the sheer hatred that I have for this man, my son was bullied relentlessly under Mr. Binney’s watch. He not only knew about it, but so did the superintendent. Not only were students involved, but a fourth grade teacher was actually the start of it all. Mr. Binney protected this teacher until the end, but refused to protect my son. She humiliated him almost on a daily basis.
I told Mr. Binney I wanted my son removed from her class and put in another class. He refused me on several occasions. I wrote to the superintendent, and he never answered my plea. I called the guidance teacher more times than I can remember and asked for mediation between the boys who were bullying him, and was told over and over again that he would take care of it and [he] never did.
I got to school a few minutes late and saw about five or six kids all around my son pushing him back and forth I pulled up with my car and yelled at them to get away from him. I received a letter two days later from Mr. Binney telling me if I ever did that again I would be banned from the school.
My letter in return was if he was not going to protect my son while under his care, then I was. I finally had to enlist an advocate for my son to go to meetings with me.
Every single day I had to drop my son off at that horrible, horrible school, I cried my eyes out because I knew I was sending him to the wolves, including adults who should have been protecting him. He missed so many Mondays of school because he was so afraid and would not go. I never got a call from anyone asking why.
By now his self-esteem was in the gutter, his passion for life was gone, he doubted himself around every corner. This is not my son; he was never like this. He was the happiest person alive with the best outlook on life, and anyone who knew him before this knew it was true. I thank god for Bob Moore, he is the best; and this man does not for one second tolerate bullying. He should be a role model for the rest of you, including the superintendent who chose to ignore my pleas.
It is true that this behavior starts at home, but it flourishes in the school system that does not get involved and keep it under control.
It was not only my child who went through this, there were many, many others whose parents were afraid to go to the school and stand up for their kids. They just wanted and hoped that the school would do the job and protect them. Wishful thinking.
I know I am not the only one who has pulled my child from Mr. Binney’s clutches. Unfortunately, my granddaughter is going there after living off-Island for the past two years, and she has come home with stories of bullying that still goes on there. I hope that the superintendent does a thorough job at hiring the new principal. Two of the main questions should be: What is their stand on bullying, and what will they do to make teachers get the proper education to teach children with learning disabilities without drugging them.
I feel like I have to address a couple of Mr. Binney’s quotes in the paper. The first being that he states “the stress that was being created by what’s happening with me at work just said it’s time to step away.” You want to talk about stress? How do you think these kids feel that have to come to your school and feel true fear and stress of being bullied? Do you think that it is fair that they can’t get a safe education and might be failing because they can’t concentrate due to their stress? Do you think it’s fair that they probably do not eat their lunch out of fear and stress that they will be bullied in the lunch room while your teachers stand idly by? What about their stress? After all, they are a lot younger than you, and you are supposed to protect them.
Cathy Peters
Oak Bluffs