Clueless Principal Of Teen Who Shot Himself

Principal Rosemary Oppenheim, the principal of Vasquez High School, said the following when questioned about the bullying of a teen with learning disabilites who ultimately shot himself in the school bathroom:

“I’m on the yard at snack and lunch, and I don’t see any of it,” she said. “I can’t fix what I’m not aware of.”

I DON’T see any of it.

Interesting choice of words there it seems to me.

Not, I DIDN’T see it.

I DON’T see it.

Maybe it’s being picky but DON’T sounds like policy ? Especially when combined with her assertion that she can’t fix what she’s not aware of.

Perhaps, it’s not an issue of NOT seeing it as much as it is a DECISION not to see it.

(It reminds me of the classic scene in Casablanca with Captain Renault )

I was waiting for Ms. Oppenheim to proclaim that she was “Shocked! Shocked to find bullying occuring.”

In order to be aware of something you have to be paying attention and you have to CARE.

Think I’m being to harsh and unfair ?

Then consider the fact that the principal might not have been aware of what was going on but evidently she was in the minority.

Teachers were aware.

Even the classroom wasn’t always safe for the 6-foot-5 teen, who in middle school was poked and teased by some of his fellow special needs students, according to a former teacher.

Students were aware.

Monday was no different. At least two boys threw food at Lasater during lunch, two students said.

Parents were aware.

… grief was mixed with dismay because some parents and students said they knew Lasater was being bullied at school, taunts that some insisted school administrators were aware of and ignored.

The community is aware.

But Daly and others involved in education in the area said bullying is a significant problem at the high school.

It makes you wish the kid would have fought back and defended himself, right? After all the kid was 6-5, well, it turns out he did ….

Michael Daly, one of Lasater’s former special education teachers, said the teen had endured teasing and bullying for years….. When the boy was younger, Daly said, he would occasionally fight back, earning several “on-campus suspensions,” when he would be pulled from class and required to work in the school office. But by the time Lasater reached the eighth grade, Daly said, the boy had had enough of getting into fights that only got him into more trouble.

So I guess that shows a HISTORY of him getting picked on.

So there’s :

• A history of bullying and problems.
• Teachers knew about it.
• Students knew about it.
• Parents knew about it.
• Other educators in the community knew about it.

But the principal was UNAWARE because she doesn’t see it.

Perhaps she should open her eyes.

The part of the story that made my heart climb into my throat was …

“He didn’t go with a bunch of bullets and try to kill others. He went with one bullet and killed himself,” said Daly, who taught Lasater in the eighth grade at the district’s High Desert School. “He didn’t try to hurt others. He was tired of hurting, himself.”

The Principal explains that bullying goes on in every school and she’s right.  Does that mean we should just accept it though?

The point here is that this was a child pushed to the point that he took a gun, locked himself in a school bathroom stall and blew his brains out.  Lots of people knew that he was being bullied and nobody did enough to stop his sliding.

Of course Ms. Oppenheim couldn’t stop it because she was unaware.

Could Ms. Oppenheim have saved Jeremiah Lasater ?  Maybe yes, maybe no.

BUT….

Could she have reduced bullying? Yes.

Could she have made sure that his day was a little less hellish? Yes.

Could she have tried a little harder to SEE what was (and is) going on? Yes.

Could she have reduced the likelihood that one of her students would take a gun into the bathroom after lunch and shot himself? Yes.

Could she have created an environment to make bullying less acceptable and easier to report? Yes.

Could she have been AWARE ? Yes.

It’s her JOB to be aware. It’s her JOB to keep her students safe at her school.  It’s her JOB to create an environment that promotes safety.  It’s her JOB to make sure that when bad things happen in her school that she knows about it and responds effectively.

Is it all her fault ? No.  But the fact that she attempts to use a claim of being unaware as her shield against her responsibility to have done something is disgraceful.

Has she seen enough now?

Has it been brought to her attention enough now?

Is she aware now?

Is your child’s principal aware?

Are you?

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Thanks to Patricia Bauer’s great blog from bringing this story to my attention. Check out our “News and information” page for the latest from her great blog (and others).

Tagged as: education, learning disability, news, school