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Hundreds of Junior High School students, parents and teachers gathered for an angry protest outside JHS 8 in South Jamaica, Queens yesterday morning to call for the removal of controversial principal Dr. John Murphy (not pictured). Since taking over in 2005, Murphy has improved the school's rating from a D to a B, and the school just came off the state's list of failing schools. But yesterday protesters declared Murphy's management style abusive and intolerable. Music teacher David Butler tells Channel 7 News, "His office is used as a place of intimidation, where teachers come out crying and bang on walls. I've experienced that myself."
On Wednesday, paramedics were called to the school after Murphy yelled at a special education so harshly she required medical attention. Teacher Nyasia Johnson was so disturbed by the upbraiding that she was taken to a Long Island hospital, where she spent the night being evaluated for headaches, shock symptoms and elevated blood pressure. The NYPD also responded to the school, but no charges were filed.
Protesters say the incident was simply business as usual for Murphy. Teacher David Spraragen tells Channel 2, "He tells teachers to carry a resignation letter with them at all times so they'll know how disposable and dispensable they are." In 2004, Murphy resigned under pressure after a tempestuous six months as Danbury High School principal culminated with 158 teachers signing a letter of concern about his leadership. Yesterday UFT president Randi Weingarten called on Mayor Bloomberg to fire Murphy: "Will he do something to stop somebody who harasses people enough to send them to the hospital?"
But the principals union stood by Murphy, releasing a statement saying, "There is no evidence that he has acted inappropriately." The Department of Education also issued a supportive statement, but is now investigating two incidents involving Murphy, and the NAACP is meeting tonight to hear from parents and teachers about possible civil rights violations. Anastasia Daniel tells Channel 7, "He's segregating the kids. He's making it seem the Indian kids are the smartest in the school, and the black ones dumb."
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finally somebody has decided to go after these abusive principals.
This principal should get a job at the Dallas high school where the kids were forced to fight in a steel cage: Troubled students forced to fight in cage
That's hilarious.
Battle Royale!!
It reminds me of Lean On Me.
In fact, I see nothing wrong with this principal as I think it's showing some accountability.
That movie was such a load of crap. He locked the fire doors to keep the bad kids out. If a fire broke out hundreds of people could have died. And he never repeated his "miracle" again at any other school after 20 years.
This principal should get a job at the Dallas high school where the kids were forced to fight in a steel cage: Troubled students forced to fight in cage
Supervising, not participating, I presume. He seems like the sort of coward who'd lose a fistfight with a 15-year-old ghetto gangbanger.
Sounds like he's doing a good job.
All this guy probably did was insist on some basic academic standards (regardless of race) from the students and competency from the staff. No wonder they're throwing a tantrum.
You have no idea what you're talking about. I work at that school. All day long, he interrupts lessons by yelling over the PA system, calling teachers to his office. When they come out, they're usually in chock that anyone could have spoken to them in such manner. If you try to talk back, you would get a letter to file for insubordination.
As for the school's rating (not to discredit anyone at the school because the teachers work really hard), I will say "don't believe the hype." Feel free to take a look at last year's NYS tests, a 2nd grader could pass the 6th or 7th grade tests.
Why would you talk back to your superior and expect it to not be considered insubordination?
We are not children Brainwash! When someone is yelling at you and making the wrong assumptions, don't you think at some point you'll want to comment, clarify, or at least ask that a union delegate be present at the meeting? We are not talking in the sense of rude children who talk back to their parents here. We are all adults with lots of responsibilities and we only wish to be treated as such.
Damn these principals pulling our failing schools out of the gutter and changing the culture of mediocrity often perpetuated by teachers who are no better for the kids than their indignant parents.
So you are basically saying that these teachers have nothing to do with teaching these kids?
If the school fails, its the teachers' fault. If the school passes its the principals' success
Something seems off with that.
I'm not saying that at all, but I do know several teachers that will tell you they work in a toxic culture where much of the staff has given up on the kids. I don't know the ins and outs of this school, but if the kids *and* the teachers are complaining, he must be doing something right. I'd like to see the stats on nearby schools in that area...
From quotes here, you basically have no idea what he does. He yells at people, and then they cry and bang on walls? They get stressed out and go to the hospital? What is he yelling at them about? He "makes it seem like the Indian kids are the smartest in the school"? WTF?
It's par for the course here. The editors find a few news stories on an incident, and then pull the most incendiary quotes from each story. Reading the source material usually leads to a much clearer picture of the situation.
Of course Mr. Del Signore would never bold the statements, But some teachers and parents disagree, or, "Without him, the school would have gone down," said Gourdet.
Sounds like Murphy went to the Mike Keenan school of management style.
And to his similar credit, Keenan took the Rangers to the team's first Stanley Cup in 54 years, while scaring the shit out of every player on the bench.
Did he break the law doing it? Did he make them use illegal drugs or threaten them and their families? or, or, or did he just make them realize their weaknesses so that they could work harder to strengthen them. Please stop comparing apples and oranges! You have no idea about this devil (I mean Murphy)!
Wow, they really did call the waaaambulance.
"He's making it seem the Indian kids are the smartest in the school, and the black ones dumb."
Indian people may not necessarily be smarter, they just value an education more and tend to come from stable families. Well, in a way that is being smarter.
Sounds like another case of the black community blaming their own shortcomings on other people. Denial: not just a river in Egypt.
teachers are the biggest whiners.
when the school sucked they had less work to do, now that they are being held accountable there is a b*itchfest. that and the principal is probably a total dick but whatever get results for our precious kiddies...
Any teacher that cries and bangs on walls is too damn immature to be teaching. They clearly don't like having an adult in charge.
Wow, you are all over this story, Ides. What did they do to you in junior high school?
It beats stalking other commenters.
I'm just concerned for your well being, man. You can tell me - what did those baaaad teachers do to you? Did they track you in the "intermediate" level when you knew you were smart enough to be "advanced"? Did they give you a bad grade on that book report that was four whole pages, longer than everybody else's?
It's OK. You can let it go. You're an adult now, and what they thought doesn't matter.
Everyone knows there is nothing more important in life than high school. The rest of your life is totally worthless.
...Don't You (Forget About Me) Don't Don't Don't Don't
He's segregating the kids. He's making it seem the Indian kids are the smartest in the school, and the black ones dumb," said Anastasia Daniel.
The article's sources describe Murphy as a hardass who has improved things. He has tried to shitcan a bunch of teachers who he may have felt contributed to the mediocrity of the previous years. I didn't read anywhere how he making it seem like the Indian students are better than the Black students. The school is improving-yet parents think he is bad for the school. Do they prefer lax management standards for a crummier school?
You are so far off! The school is still the same school it's always been. The school's report card grade went down to a "D" during Murphy's 2nd year. Last year, in order to get the ratings up and receive his bonus, he turned all of our lives upside down. We were told that we couldn't fail any students. The few teachers who did were given a tongue lashing, and threatened with termination for disobeying a directive from their principal. Many teachers passed kids who they knew didn't deserve to be promoted. We were told to give incompletes to the ones who were truant and we really had no work to go by.
Keep in mind that the D to B rating of the school came from several factors, and not just from those NYS gimmick tests. Other factors include the number of students passing their classes, the number of incidents in the school, and the number of out of school suspensions. Well, we were told that no matter what a child did, we could not suspend outside the school. That went on for months. Many incidents were not reported to the local precinct when they should have. And, kids who should have failed, passed, because we were ordered to. Murphy did what he needed to do to ensure that the records showed progress. Yes, by any means necessary. He wants the teachers to be wardens and the kids are his prisoners in training.
White people are causing blacks to be stupid, listen to rap music, sell/use drugs and have illegitimate children. Yup. Blacks should never be held accountable for anything they do.
He should be removed as principal.
But then promoted to head of the MTA.
Excellent image.
Cheese-and-crackers: there's a principal's union!? That just stretches my capitalist credulity too far.
I would LOVE to be a teacher under this guys direction.
He probably runs that school like a gestapo...but you know what? He gets results & at the end of the day that should be all that matters.
I can't stand this generation of wimpy 'teachers' who flinch & whine at the first sign of real authority & desire for discipline.
PS: that image is awesome. Love that guy!
You Emily, Illinois Governor Blagojevic, and John B. Murphy probably belong in the same jail cell. You all seem to have the same mentality, that it matters not what means you use to get things done. As long as it makes you look good, then it's okay. Blagojevich was only doing his job when he tried to find a senator who could "benefit" the people of Illinois. But did he take the right path? Neither did Murphy! They both took the path that would fatten their pockets. You applaud that?
Perfect case of marxist theory as applied to education: When a certain group doesn't achieve, dumb down the whole system to the level of the lowest common denominator thus bringing about "equality" and then vilify those who demand excellence and competition.
Reading this again makes me really question the parents, too. Parents seem so unable to take responsibility for their kids' learning situations. THEIR kid never does ANYTHING wrong. The problem is ALWAYS with the teachers/administration, not their kids. God forbid parents assumed any accountability, either. That comment about the Indian kids being treated as if they're smarter kind of points to that. Come on, your kid's grades are lousy and maybe they're being segregated for that reason? Maybe your kids are showing absolutely no desire to learn? If the parents really gave a wet doodie about their kids education they'd get honest about it.
This guy seems to be getting results and, unfortunately, you're not going to get results in this school system unless some feathers are ruffled.
hey...you mess with the bull..you get the horns.
That's right -- "You mess with the bull, you get the horns."
If my kid went to this school I'd give the principal a medal. Those stupid tenured teachers just want to be left alone to do nothing until they get their 30 years, sell the house in Levittown and move to a Truman Show-like housing development in Palm Beach County, where they'll live in a house with no basement and have a Lexus ES baking in the garage. Then they'll run at 4:30 PM every day to catch the early bird special in some strip mall shithole while cashing their pension checks.
But the last thing they ever want to do is actually teach kids something.
I think we all know people who don't give a damn about the profressions that they're in, but let's not generalize! From K to HS, we went through at least 25 to 30 teachers, can you imagine if none of them cared?
I have to wonder: If a bad meeting with the boss sent a teacher with hypertention to the hospital, what does dealing with school kids all day each school day do to her?
This teacher deals with kids just fine. But trust me, when Murphy talks to you in his condescending tone, you will want to curse him or punch him, but if you are a true professional you will not do it. And when you know you've done your best and someone is wagging a finger in your face and telling you off, it's hard to control the emotions. Teachers cry and tremble in his presence and he loves it.
I challenge any of you teacher critics out there to go and take a job with John B. Murphy. You couldn't last a week. Many teachers have left just within that time frame because they couldn't handle it. So, please give the rest of us some credit. We are in the teaching position for a purpose which is to prepare the minds of our young and prepare them for a successful future. That's why we've put up with Murphy's antics for so long.
He's segregating the kids. He's making it seem the Indian kids are the smartest in the school, and the black ones dumb."
The kids are segregating themselves.
#31 exactly! Birds of a feather flock together.
On top of that the ones who are having high achievement academic success are neither whites or blacks, they are Indians and Far east Asians.
I have always had a low opinion of the majority of NYC public school teachers. Don't get me wrong, I will sing high praises for the few (and sadly far between) standout teachers who are overworked but still care.
My sons' educations were definitely less than ideal and they were in gifted programs and specialized high schools. The lack of care by tenured teachers and complacent administration leaves much to be desired.
If he rattled the teachers by letting them know they were expendable, power to him! I say ger rid of the tenure system altogether or at least put them up for review on a regular basis.
I continue to be shocked by the amount of vitriol that Gothamist commenters always seem to direct toward NYC public school teachers. @JenChungsBra: I am a teacher, and I am neither stupid nor tenured. I do not own a house in Levittown and will never move to Palm Beach County or drive a Lexus. What DO I do every day? TEACH KIDS SOMETHING.
There's a difference between getting results and running a tight ship and being a harassing dictator. We don't know what the working environment is really like at this school, but there are plenty of schools out there whose grades have improved without teachers being treated disrespectfully. (Which probably has more to do with the complicated DOE grading system than the schools themselves, but I digress.)
You need to give respect to get respect. That's the example we try to set every day for our students, and if the principal of a school is not modeling that behavior, the message won't resonate with the rest of the school no matter how many test scores go up.
Where's Henricus in this debate? He says he's a teacher, so he should definitely have some strong opinion on this.
From D to B. Whats the problem.
I copied and pasted this just for you "Life."
The school's report card grade went down to a "D" during Murphy's 2nd year. Last year, in order to get the ratings up and receive his bonus, he turned all of our lives upside down. We were told that we couldn't fail any students. The few teachers who did were given a tongue lashing, and threatened with termination for disobeying a directive from their principal. Many teachers passed kids who they knew didn't deserve to be promoted. We were told to give incompletes to the ones who were truant and we really had no work to go by.
Keep in mind that the D to B rating of the school came from several factors, and not just from those NYS gimmick tests. Other factors include the number of students passing their classes, the number of incidents in the school, and the number of out of school suspensions. Well, we were told that no matter what a child did, we could not suspend outside the school. That went on for months. Many incidents were not reported to the local precinct when they should have. And, kids who should have failed, passed, because we were ordered to. Murphy did what he needed to do to ensure that the records showed progress. Yes, by any means necessary. He wants the teachers to be wardens and the kids are his prisoners in training.
From D to B. Whats the problem?
It's amusing that people who have blogged act as if you've been exposed to said environment. To me it sounds as if you have no respect for teachers OR students in general. First off, the same people who were at the school before the Murphy reign are not there now, so your first point is mute. Whatever the cost, Murphy does not care who he threatens. That's right, brainiacs...threatens. If he doesn't like you because you remind him of someone who probably treated him badly in his younger years, he finds a way to get you gone. He'll give you the ultimatum- You're doing good, but I want you GONE. If you leave now, I'll give you a good reccommendation. The schools grade is what you are all concerned about? When your kids aren't studying and doing homework, and haven't been in school for over 20 days, but somehow pulling 65s and 70s, wouldn't the bells go off in your head?
I guess not, since you don't have the details.