Nova Central School Nova, NY 14414
Nov. 7, 20__
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
I am writing to you with concern for your son, Ben. I know that new students take a while to adjust to their new town, home, and new friends and it’s especially difficult to adjust to the new school environment. I am helping him as much as I can.
However, Ben has been in this new school for three months and should have adjusted to most of the changes by now.
He comes to my desk when other students are working on an assignment or raises his hand during lessons always to tell me something that has nothing to do with the lesson I’m teaching or the assignment I have given to the students.
What he wants to tell me are always trivial things, such as someone is using an eraser on their textbook (the student was erasing something that one of last year’s students had written), or that someone had sneezed without covering their mouth, or someone took their shoes off during a lesson. These things are very minor and not worth interrupting my lessons and demonstrations to the whole classroom. Naturally, this shows that he isn’t attentive to the lessons.
He even comes to me to complain about me. When I say the word ‘gotcha,’ he’ll tell me that ‘got you’ is what I should be saying, or ‘willya’ is ‘will you,’ or that once in a while I falter and say ‘I got’ instead of ‘I have. The slang in our language amounts to thousands of sayings that we all understand. Yes, it would be technically more correct not to use them, but we all do.
Sincerely,
Mr. Washington
Nova Central School
Nova, NY 14414
Nov. 9, 20__
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
The tattle-tale behavior has continued and have gotten worse.
Now Ben has made a clique of boys and calls it his Army of Correctness (AOC). He says that there’s too much wrong with this school and it is in desperate need of being corrected. He doesn’t only fault me anymore; he’s added the principal to his list whom he says is negligent by not instructing teachers how to speak proper English.
As can be expected, Ben claims to be the AOC General of his growing troops of like-minded students. His followers police the classrooms and hallways. Ben gathers followers as a magnet attracts iron filings. He currently has a “Team” which I’m told is four lower class soldiers and one team leader.
When we get in line to go down the hallway for a class such as gym or art, his troops insist on being at the end of the line with him at the extreme end so he can not only police the regular students, but also so he can police his own troops who pretend that they are marching, bringing their knees higher than usual and swinging their straight arms back and forth at their sides.
He seems to be trying to make his own limited dictatorship focused on our classroom but spreading its influence into other classrooms at our grade level.
Please help me to remain a teacher and not a policeman. Undisciplined behavior has become increasingly frequent.
When I spoke to him about his “troop’s” undisciplined behaviors disrupting the teaching and learning process, he insists that his troops, like all armies, need discipline, too, and he is teaching that to his AOC. Furthermore, he says the students are inconveniently bored with lessons.
He refuses to see my point of view and how his actions are depriving his classmates of their lessons and making enemies of the majority of students who want to learn these lessons. Now that he has support, the situation is worsening.
Sincerely,
Mr. Washington
Nova Central School
Nova, NY 14414
Nov. 11, 20__
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
Today I found it necessary to send Ben to the principal’s office. I was shocked when, as he walked out the classroom door, he looked at some boys and stated, “At ease, troops.” He sees himself as an Army General in command.
I asked a boy if he knew what Ben meant. The boy told me that an Army squad, which I’ve learned is about ten soldiers or “troops” as he calls them. He was talking to Joey, Danny, Chuck, and me.” Johnny added, “ ‘At ease’ is also an Army term for relax and not to stand at attention’ which is a stiff, straight, motionless posture with eyes straight ahead. “ He’s our team’s leader,” Johnny elaborated.
The principal, Mr. Knox, tried to make an analogy about ‘sedition’ which is someone committing a felony by gathering, organizing, and then acting to take illegal action by revolting against a lawful government. However, Ben accused the principal of treason against the student’s rights to choose who, when, where, and what they will learn. Ben is only ten years old and obsessed with military life.
Mr. Knox was trying to compare Ben’s actions about taking illegal control of his classroom, and other classrooms and, according to his own words, “Take command of this school.” Ben rejected the argument as a typical adult trick to indoctrinate students.
Now he has accused me of using mind-control to brainwash my students as sometimes occurs in wars. I have no authority over his mind, he said to me. I sincerely don’t know what he’s talking about. He uses Army war language and reasoning, then projects it onto this classroom and now the entire school.
He now has a squad of loyal troops and has modernized it to include girls. Few have accepted. I tell you this to show Ben’s appeal to certain students.
Sincerely,
Mr. Washington
Nova Central School
Nova, NY 14414
Nov. 12, 20__
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
Mr. Knox and I will call you since we are not getting any response to my previous letters. The situation is now urgent. Parents are coming to school because they’ve heard about Ben’s nonsense. They are ear-twisting and shouting at their children who have joined Ben and even the parents of non-members are showing up to prevent their children from thinking about joining Ben. The elementary school is on the edge of chaos.
The local police are arriving tomorrow morning. The principal has asked them to use their authority status to convince the AOC to stop their disrupting actions. I don’t know if they have the authority to arrest anyone, but I do know who they will arrest first if given that authority.
Ben walks around with an incredibly wide smile and is as proud as a Medal of Honor winner. He now has a platoon (20) of loyal student soldiers and is attracting more. I do not understand Ben’s appeal. He had hardly any friends at all. Perhaps this is his way of making friends quickly. If so, he’s cunning but foolish.
The principal is under pressure, as are we teachers. You could be the solution to this problem by taking charge and correcting Ben’s behavior. When he sees no punitive action at home for his negative actions, he will, naturally, continue to increase his actions. Ben will make an excellent Army recruiter as an adult, but now his distractions are preventing nearly all teaching and learning.
I hope you will show support for teachers who intend to help Ben learn, find friends and be happy in our school and town. Please contact us.
Mr. Knox phone 555-468-2842
My phone 555-468-1447
Sincerely,
Mr. Washington
Nova Central School
Nova, NY 14414
Nov. 13, 20__
Mr. and Mrs. Arnold,
I don’t understand why you won’t respond to my letters or make a phone call to me or to Mr. Knox. You must realize that this entire chaotic situation can be resolved with your assistance.
Ben, in his Army language, would probably call you traitors to his cause if you were against his actions. Perhaps that is why there’s been no response. You are the adults. You are his authority figure. You are his models for values, ethics, and social interactions. Please serve as examples of what is right and wrong.
Ben now has about forty followers, most of them loyal to him. He is enjoying his position of power and influence, but he’s doing the wrong thing. That’s where you come into the situation. Explain to him why he is wrong.
The AOC is now the AOR (Army of Revolt). There’s no corporal punishment in schools anymore. You need to lead by example.
Most likely he will be expelled, especially now that he is preparing his AOR to march on the principal’s office tomorrow. His troops have been ordered to leave the classroom no matter what the teachers say, then proceed to the principal’s office and protest in the hallway. I see homemade signs that have already been made for tomorrow’s protest for students governing the school and learning whatever they choose is important to them. I guess he (they) haven’t thought about who will teach them.
Perhaps the final resolution will have to be ‘homeschooling’ which will place one, or both of you, under much stress, especially if one or both of you work. It seems to me and Mr. Knox that having Ben in our school would be highly advantageous to both of you, though I don’t pretend to know the
details of his home situation.
Posters are hanging in the hallway announcing the protest at 10:00 a.m. I fear for Ben and all of his followers who think Ben’s proposals are a form of freedom from adult control and tyranny.
Please help,
Mr. Washington
The next morning I stood in the hallway monitoring the arrival of students. The air was filled with excitement, and loud discussions from most students, mainly from the ones who wanted to participate. The glum faces I saw must have been students who chose not to participate and were discouraged by the chaos and constant disruptions.
The buses were empty now. I did not see Ben. When the students were settled at their desks, I took attendance. Ben was absent. He had betrayed his loyal troops showing disregard for honesty and the mental well-being of his faithful followers.
His loyal troops had been excited, thrilled even, as if they really believed in Ben’s form of educational utopia. When he did not show up to lead them and, most of them realized that Ben did it purposefully, they were angered, some with tears, at his blatant betrayal. They did learn an important lesson in politics (betrayal). But then they also realized he had made fools of them. It will be extremely difficult now for him to be accepted by any student except the few school rebels. You could have helped avoid this. I am puzzled, confused, and sad at the consequences waiting for Ben from his followers and the upset parents.
My phone rang so often last night that I had to disconnect it. Mr. Knox had the same problem. This whole affair was frustrating, upsetting, and, I would say, irresponsible of you to let it continue.
*****
Dear Mr. Washington,
My wife and I apologize, but we know that’s meaningless now.
To be brief, a similar incident occurred at his previous school where he really was expelled. Luckily, I was in the process of moving my family to your area due to a job promotion and location change.
I had hoped, even prayed, that Ben would not repeat his incorrigibly negative behaviors, plus I realize my wife and I were negligent, too. I served my country as a Marine, thus Ben’s military ideas. We were advised by the superintendent to ‘home school’ him. We are now forced to do that. My new promotion makes it financially possible for us to hire a tutor.
Finally, and unfortunately, Ben’s DNA gives him his heritage. He is the same way at home, nearly ending our marriage. But his behavior and thinking run in the family because that personality disorder skips every other generation.
With Genuine Sincerity,
Benedict Arnold Sr.
I read the letter one more time and thought, History repeats itself to the further detriment and embarrassment of Benedict Arnold’s family tree.
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