So, Dave got in a war of words with Bob McManus, who is apparently the Editorial Page Editor of the NY Post, today over
this editorial. I thought the follow up banter was pretty great.
With Dave’s permission, I’m re-publishing the whole thing here, except I’ll do it from top to bottom rather than bottom to top so you can read the dang thing. Here goes:
Letter (From Dave to the NY Post): A recent editorial (A Gut Check for Mike) complains about the fact that teachers and principals refuse to be forcibly relocated to work in failing schools. What I would like to know is if the author of this editorial would agree to work in an office where they could not walk down certain hallways, for fear of their physical safety, as many teachers and principals in some failing schools do. Of course, the fact that the
author of this editorial did not have the courage to have their name published alongside their commentary pretty much answers that question.
From: “McManus, Robert”
To: Dave
Subject: RE: Letter to the Editor
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:39:18 -0400
Mr. Dave —
Editorials in American newspapers are, by custom, unsigned. If you have a beef with *that,* I can’t help you. If you have a beef with the content of a particular editorial, take it up with me. And if you are a New York City teacher — or principal — unhappy with your working conditions, take *that* up with your union. It’s a legitimate issue. Or you can quit. It’s a free country.
bob mcmanus
editorial page editor
From: Dave
Sent: 7/10/2003 2:13 PM
Subject: RE: Letter to the Editor
Actually, yes, I do have a beef with the fact that editorials are unsigned. In my opinion it displays a certain amount of cowardice on the part of the author. I believe that if you have something that you feel is important to say and that you truly believe what you say then you should attribute those remarks to yourself. Blasting a person or a group of people, specifically naming them, while keeping your own identity secret is, in my opinion, a spineless act that truly shows that the author lacks the courage of their convictions.
As for my beef with the content of the article, I did take it up with you, in the only way that I know how…by sending a letter to the editor.
Now, as far as teachers or principals being uphappy with their working
conditions and taking those issues up with the union, that is exactly what they do. Then they get blasted in YOUR editorial section for doing just that. These people get criticised for having the “nerve” to actually look out for their own interests when negotiating their contracts.
In case you missed it, being a teacher or principal is a JOB…just like any other job. These children who they care for every day are not actually their kids. Yet, for some reason, people like yourself seem to expect these teachers and principals to put their own interests aside; to treat these children as if they WERE their own. I am not a NYC teacher or principal, but my wife is…or I should say, was (it looks like she got out just in time.) However, I can tell you for a fact that for a number of students my wife was more caring and more concerned about her students than their own parents were. The fact that the editorials in your paper consistently blame the teachers, the principals, their unions and the administration for the failures of the NYC school system, without ever blaming the parents for the way that they “raise” their children just goes to show the slanted bias that you have when it comes to this subject.
From: “McManus, Robert”
To: Dave
Subject: RE: Letter to the Editor
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:56:01 -0400
obviously, you don’t read the paper regularly, or closely, but i forgive you: *most* people don’t. but, just for the record: nobody’s keeping anybody’s identity “secret.” My name, the editor’s name
and the publishers’ names are on the editorial page every day. –we were the ones who embarrassed the UFT into coming to the aid of that
brooklyn grade-school who had come under racist attack for using a teaching aids some “parents” didn’t like. –we were the motive force in the new state law strengthening protections from classroom violence for teachers; it was *our* idea, and the union signed on.
–nobody is more aware of the in-loco-parentis role forced on teachers than us. and we’re the only daily editorial-page in the region that writes regularly and specifically about this issue (save for the New York Sun, which sells all of 3,000 papers a day.)
–are we critical of the UFT’s undue influence in setting education policy in NY? Damn bet’cha. and that’s not going to change.
–i’m married to a teacher, too. so what.
bob mcmanus
From: Dave
Sent: 7/10/2003 1:39 PM
Subject: RE: Letter to the Editor
Actually, I DO read the paper regularly and, apparently, I DO read it
closely enough to have some insight, as the Post has published at least
three letters that I have sent to the editor in the past few months.
However, I read the online edition…where your name, the editor’s name and
the publisher’s name are NOT displayed on the editorial page (maybe you
should have a chat with your web designer about that.) As for your
assertation that you are “more aware of the in-loco-parentis role forced on
teachers” and that you are “the only daily editorial-page in the region that
writes regularly and specifically about this issue”, well, I just don’t see
it.
-Dave