like alice down the proverbial conestoga rabbit hole….

Student humor or taking back their power?

Today started about a TikTok I shared. Above is an image from it. So this woman contacts me at 6:50 AM. Here was the opening salvo:

My 6:50 AM pen pal. Conestoga mom

Let us start with 6:50 AM. Who contacts anyone at 6:50 AM unless it is an emergency and you were calling family or 911?

Homophobic image of minors.

What?

Homophoblic and misleading?

What?

Blames me for photo.

I did not take the photo.

It was in an article I did not write covering mask wars at Conestoga months ago. I guess everyone who writes looks alike or something, but really? Oh no wait…you have to blame me, it’s me. I think you can’t get into your Facebook groups of choice unless you hate me, right?

Savvy Main Line Article. Not a Chester County Ramblings article. Details, Details.

So there was this back and forth with this woman, accusing me of something I did not do….over a photo I did not take in the first place. It took one of my readers to tell me where I had seen the photo used before it appeared in the TikTok thing. It looked familiar, sure, but I didn’t take it. I wasn’t at any of those meetings. As a matter of fact, I have never been on the property of Conestoga High School or the Middle School that hosted that summer meeting – Valley Forge maybe?

Yes, even when I was in high school, I was never, ever on a campus of a school in the Tredyffrin Easttown School District. I went to a couple of events at Radnor (there used to be this wrestling tournament over Christmas vacation that back then friends of mine wrestled in and another thing may have been a play), I went to something at Harriton (a soccer game maybe and that was where we went for SATs), and I took summer school math at Lower Merion High School the summer I was transitioning to Shipley because the math wasn’t enough coming out of Welsh Valley and I had to take an extra class. As a matter of fact one of my former Welsh Valley classmates who was transitioning to Baldwin was in the same class.

This was the Tik Tok I shared that upset her, but hey why go to TikTok when you can blame me, right?

The student Tik Tok.

You will notice I have chosen not to identify this woman. as of now. She contacted this blog in an unsolicited manner, so I could if I wanted to. Just like I have all of the screenshots with her name, only I am choosing to share just one at this point. Without showing her name. She tells me among other things “I know you have posted the original photo because that’s on your blog.”

Wuuuut? No it was on Savvy. It is actually a photo owned by that author’s company. They made no secret of taking photos and covering that whole debacle and MANY others were taking photos that day, except for me, because I wasn’t actually there.

Then I shared these stills because I just didn’t get why I was to blame:

Here is a screen grab FYI of the OTHER TikTok:

The Conestoga alum Tik Tok (don’t know him)

So one thing I also did ask this mom accusing me of being homophobic etc. this morning if she knew why the gentleman heard in the audio recording taken at Conestoga in the OTHER widely circulating TikTok was even in a practice room or locker room or wherever not public space it was that he was addressing these kids in? Was he a coach or a parent volunteer helping the coach? Did he have permission of all of the parents and the school to speak to these kids in such a manner? Were kids given the opportunity to leave who may have felt uncomfortable? I mean why would there be a recording if not as a cry for help for adults to remember they were kids there not little soldier bots?

She chose not to answer the questions about that. Of course if she does know something or if any parent knows something about this or any of the other crap going on at Conestoga, they should tell the school, do the right thing. However, it appears the school district is NOT happy about that and they issued a release or incident report they called it:

Here is the verbiage verbatim:

CHS Incident Report, 2/15/22

We have become aware that on February 11 a parent of a member of the wrestling team entered the boys’ locker room after school without any authorization by or the knowledge of the wrestling coaches or any school administrator. This parent then delivered a speech to the team members to discourage mask wearing in schools.  The District is banning this parent from being on any District property and has reported the incident to the police.

As always the safety and security of our students is paramount.  Entering the locker rooms by anyone other than authorized students or staff is prohibited.  We have enhanced security in this area and have reinforced appropriate procedures with all coaches.

~ TESD 2/15/2022

Now I said to this woman and this morning to my readers on my Facebook page that I felt the kid with the TikTok blip of a video with the photo shop was reacting to the crap that students have been putting up with at Conestoga. To me it screamed a kid taking back their power and/or a cry for help that it’s gotten THAT untenable. Adults tell me the atmosphere at Conestoga is bad. I have to wonder aloud can’t you see where kids who are just tired of this crap and want normal school days for once, might wish to express themselves?

The anti-masking often anti-vaxxing parents are also among those who want to ban books, expecially books which speak to teens exploring their sexuality, etc. So I went back to that TikTok video and read some comments:

So to ME, not knowing the players but reading this is YES a kid taking back his power but it’s not him who did photoshop? Ok, so once again, NOT me. Should the kid who photoshopped taken the photo from Savvy? Maybe not, but totally get their frustration with all the craziness. But it is easier to attack me with everything, like take today’s love note:

These comments come in every day from these people. Yesterday I was snobby and elitist. A few days before that I was a dirty liberal and a community. Today I am the hunchback of Notre Dame, miserable and nasty. Also ridiculous, fat, and nasty and “everybody hates me” , and I can’t write. And people wonder why I think the Stepford Wives for Totalitarianism and their ilk are pretty much just basic, bullying bitches? (Semi rhetorical and the answer is because they are.)

➜ ➜➜➜➜ And they wonder where kids learn about bullying and then they complain about that too don’t they?

And these people? They crave attention, they want the spotlight, only when it happens and it isn’t what they want exactly, then what? Quick answer: always nasty.

When the Conestoga walk-out was happening, the self-righteous “conservatives” publicized it all over including here:

Ok sure you hear about these things quickly if you have friends with kids in a district, but you also hear because these people tell everyone. They post public photos and videos. They belong to extra special groups that have more leaks than the Titanic.

And let’s touch on last night’s media coverage of the Conestoga virtual day due to threats:

Snippet of CBS 3 report – not full reportfollow this LINK for full report.

CBS 3 and others covered it. 6ABC. The Inquirer.

I will say it again, that no kid should be threatened or harassed the way the CBS3 report indicates. But the kid interviewed by CBS 3 who purportedly led the walk out? Should he have been attacked? NO and NONE of these kids should be attacked.

Kids shouldn’t be bullied, period.

My sources tell me Conestoga High School is in crisis. From what we see that is leaked out via media, it is a school in crisis. And it is but one of many schools experiencing this. Downingtown district, Great Valley, Radnor (and Radnor even has lawn signs.) Radnor has like three Facebook groups now: Reimagine Radnor, Unmask Radnor, and Radnor Parents Union.

When does the madness stop? When do those who have been driving this train off a cliff take responsibility for their actions?

Every day, it is something new with these people. It’s old, we’re all tired. Your rights do not supersede the rest of the population. You all don’t like me? That’s on you. You do not get to tell me how I should think.

These alt groups? THEY created this. THEY groomed your kids to do the craziness at Conestoga. THEY are grooming kids in other districts. THEY want attention but if they can’t control the narrative with their skewed and limited world view, THEY freak out. THEY project – everyone else is mean, racist, homophobic, and so on and so forth. I realize people like this are as old as time itself, but wow it was nice not knowing they existed in the days that were pre-internet. And they could also just behave differently. But they act self-important, overly entitled skitzoid tornadoes. Take the meeting from January where these people were even rude to kids speaking.

I think all adults and the students deserve better. In all of these schools. I completely expect that as soon as I hit publish, more of you will come at me with your basic, bullying drivel. You put things out into the public, and you don’t like anyone who doesn’t agree with you. You call people fascists and communists and it’s actually hysterical because you all should check yourselves: you are the ones behaving as such. You spout big thoughts like civil rights, freedom, patriotism. You seem to fail to understand the people who suffered an died so you could have the freedom to behave like jackasses. No one can educate you, because you are never wrong. That’s on you.

But you don’t get to tell the rest of us how to think, nor do you have the right to try to make us capitulate to your will. That is actual freedom. Not hunting those who disagree with you like big game.

Public education has limits, but people like you limit it more.

I will close with a little something from the Conestoga student paper. A screenshot from their Instagram. I am sure these kids are taking heat too. I would say “just stop” but you can’t, can you? If it isn’t masks, it will be something else. But enough already. Your ilk is turning all of our communities into three ring circuses and nothing gets done. And the greatest of bitter ironies is you are actually hurting the kids you claim you are protecting.

teenage consequences

By now if you live in the greater Philadelphia region you have heard about the latest thing out of Conestoga High School. Two very white girls vaping, out of it, saying the N-word. Repeatedly.

This is unacceptable.  There is no other way to couch it.

It’s racist. It’s ignorant.

And then there is the whole vaping thing with what looks like that Juuling contraption I read about in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The article written by Mari Schaefer says (and I quote):

Social media is a window into the growing use of Juuls. In June, there were 10,000 Juul-related posts on Twitter. By December that number had climbed to 150,000, Dobbins said.

Locally, a video of two Conestoga High School students that has made the rounds on social media, more for the use of racial slurs, also shows one of the girls using a Juul.

In an email, officials at the Tredyffrin/Eastown School District in Chester County stated that using a Juul “would be considered a code of conduct violation, which would be enforced.”

Calls to local school districts, including Philadelphia, about Juuling on campus went largely unanswered — though two Montgomery County districts acknowledged the use of the product in their schools.

On Tuesday, wellness counselors in the Lower Merion School District sent a letter to middle and high school parents about the Juuling trend, suggesting parents talk “openly and honestly” with children about not only Juuling but also drugs and alcohol.

 

Ok now two excerpts from articles on the whole N-word situation:

Video of teens using racial slur sparks outrage at Conestoga
By Linda Stein, lstein@21st-centurymedia.com, @lsteinreporter on Twitter
POSTED: 03/10/18, 4:45 PM EST | UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO

DEVON >> A video featuring some Conestoga High School students casually using the N-word is now the focus of a school board investigation.

The video, which was not made during school, is going viral – and not in a good way.

The video shows two white, teenage girls who are apparently vaping, using the N-word and laughing. The video has been widely shared on social media like Facebook and Twitter. The two girls have not been identified.

 

Community Matters: The “N”-Word has No Place in T/E Schools — Or in Any Schools!
March 9, 2018

I received several copies of the recent live social media post by two Conestoga High School girls with racial slurs. The ‘white’ girls use the “N”-word multiple times in the racially offensive video which has since gone viral.

For African-American students living in some parts of the country, the use of the N-word by their white peers may be routine. But I admit that in 2018, living in the T/E School District, I found the racial vitriol  of the video shocking and extremely disturbing. Am I naive to think that this video by a couple of Conestoga High School students is an isolated situation or … is it symptomatic of a bigger problem in the school district?

Following the video going viral, the T/E School District families received a letter from Superintendent Gusick which contained the following message, “T/E School District strongly condemns this and all forms of racist language. Although this video was not made during school, it has hurt and offended many in our school community. This is unacceptable behavior, and it will not be tolerated. The school will investigate fully and apply consequences as appropriate. T/E School District will continue to stand for respect and inclusion, with schools where all are welcomed to learn and grow.”

 

Now one of the girls was identified.  And her father posted a public apology. One has to feel his pain as a parent.

The actions of two teenage girls are going to have very extended consequences.  As I peered into the social media of it all, I was struck by something profound that a friend said to me:

I’m not saying in any way that what these girls did was OK – but the level of hate towards them is close to a lynching mob.

I have to agree.  Hate begets hate but somewhere we all as a society need to pause and think, don’t we?

Someone else said:

A number of problems have surfaced in this district but schools generally reflect the norms of their community rather than form them in a vacuum.

Also somewhat true.

I feel I have to ask why is it that only the girl who was the field hockey phenom on a fast track to UNC as an early field hockey commit was named by name?  Two girls are in that video.

And let’s step back and look at the other lesson here: two teenagers have learned that actions indeed have consequences and words do wound.

Teenagers never want to listen when you caution them about social media.  Even after the nationwide news in June 2017 when Harvard University revoked acceptances on students over…wait for it…offensive social media posts.

Words wound. Actions have consequences.  Teenagers are of the invincible age.  They imagine they are like teflon and nothing bad can happen.

Uhhh d’oh. Just because you think it’s cool to be an ass on social media, it doesn’t mean it won’t follow you.

Kids today live in a different kind of scrutiny filled world.  Instant communication is great, but now look at two teenage girls who have in essence, tanked their cozy little worlds for transmitting ignorance.

Someone else said to me today:

These girls were probably at home when they posted this video, not at school. So I don’t quite understand how it is the fault of the school district and not the parents. …There are so many good things that happen at Conestoga and so many amazing kids that go there. Just hate to see them all affected by the foolish actions of 2 students…please do not throw all the kids into one bucket. Take it from me, there are a lot of good things happening at Conestoga, You just don’t hear about them!

 

So we are back to the power of the Internet. Which, incidentally, is why we all hear about the negative things so often at Conestoga. And we have heard about a lot of negative incidents coming out of this school and the corresponding school district over the past couple of years, haven’t we? And while not indicative of every student, every teacher, every coach, and all parents it certainly does make one pause and wonder about an unpleasant culture that pops up every now and again, doesn’t it?

Expressions of hate aren’t cute little things to be tossed around while giggling with your friends.  Words wound and these are words that are just a big bag of wrong.

People speak of social media boot camps.  I think they should develop them for middle school and high schools everywhere. Make parents, educators, and students attend.

And as for the parents who will say things like they didn’t know.  Ok look, I am the step-parent of a teenager.  They are the secret society.  They communicate by text and various social media platforms and via their gaming systems .  But we are the adults.  And while we should resist the urge to be prison wardens, we need to be present.

Parents need to be clear that actions have consequences. Parents need to set boundaries. Have difficult or awkward discussions at times.

Teenagers need to realize that social media can and will follow them.  Even adults are turned down for jobs and even relationships because of what people see on social media.

Trust me, I know. I am a blogger.

I have the video the girls posted.  I was going to include it on this post, but decided NOT to include it.

I want to have a different conversation, and that is the conversation of how we can all work together as an extended community wherever we live to strive towards ending this crap.  

We as the adults in the equation need to set a better example for the future generations. We live in a crazy volatile world, as well as a crazy politically volatile country.

We need to teach our children well.

We need to appreciate differences in other.

And from the Lord’s Prayer:

And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
 

I don’t know what else to say except, this whole situation saddens me. I feel like this country is spiraling out of control and it is reflected on every level of society and age group.

I am going to sign off now.  I have struggled with this post for hours.  I felt I had to write, but even now I wonder if in this situation are any words the right words?

Pax.

No automatic alt text available.

 

 

coach touchy feely pleads guilty

In May, 2012 when I first wrote about the touchy feely swim coach in the West Chester Area School District I took some heat in the comments for being harsh.

Well I hate to say I told you so, but I was right and former  West Chester Rustin High School swimming coach Kenneth Fuller has pled guilty in Common Pleas Court.

God help his poor family.  Through no fault of their own they get to live this every day with him.

I have said it once, I will say it again, I am sick of predatory authority figures whether teacher or clergy or anyone else.  And these school districts need to pay better heed to issues teachers are having.   Take for example the teacher booted from Conestoga High School around Christmas for being blotto drunk on the job.  That stuff doesn’t happen overnight.

I have to say sometimes I tire of all the whining you hear regarding contracts, pay, and benefits from teachers when their school district contracts are up for renewal.  I think that people might be more amenable at times to them getting a little more here and there if they took their moral obligation to our children more seriously. That includes those who work with someone that they know is doing wrong by kids.

Teaching is an honorable profession, but teachers/coaches like this guy Kenneth Fuller are without honor.  Sorry, but I find taking advantage of kids despicable.  And to put his family through this is despicable too.  And selfish. Hope he gets help in the clink.

Former West Chester swim coach admits having sex with student

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013

By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN
mrellahan@journalregister.com

WEST CHESTER – The former West Chester Rustin High School swimming coach pleaded guilty Wednesday to engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his female team members.

Kenneth Fuller stood before Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner and admitted that he had taken the girl, then 17 years old, to a hotel and an area park in the spring of 2012 and had sex with her after supplying her with alcohol.

He also admitted that he had helped fake a doctor’s letter for her that would excuse her from missing class when the two had one of their trysts. Finally, he acknowledged that after his arrest in May, he had continued to contact the girl about his case – although there is a disagreement about what exactly he said and why.

Fuller, dressed in a blue business suit, striped dress shirt and tie, said little during the 30-minute hearing in Bortner’s courtroom besides saying he understood the rights he was giving up in entering his guilty plea, and understood the charges against him. He was accompanied by family members and his attorney, Vincent DiFabio of Paoli….Fuller, 48, of East Goshen, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of endangering the welfare of children, which carries with it a possible maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison, and a standard recommended sentence of between three months and one year in jail.