Danny got a letter of character assassination and outright lies sent about him form the parent of one of his students.

This girl's father (a lawyer) wrote a letter to Danny's boss, which was so god awful that Danny had to share it with me.

I will, in fact put the letter in its entirety behind a cut, edited only to keep folks names from being used. Italics will be my commentary.


Dear [PRINCIPAL]

First, let me take this opportunity to thank you and all of the staff at [THE SCHOOL] for the excellent job you have done in educating our daughter [NAME] not only academically but also spiritually for the three years she has attended. [NAME] will be a better person throughout her life because of the education she received at [SCHOOL].

However, unfortunately there is always one bad apple in the bunch. (That's why the region named him teacher of the year and students clamor to get into his classes, I guess) Our daughter [NAME] has been in your learning center for three years receiving extra help, specifically from [OTHER TEACHER'S NAME] who stands alone in the effort, care and love he has devoted to our daughter [NAME]. The reason she has been in the learning center is that [NAME] (Thank goodness he finally stopped with the "Our daughter [NAME]" bit... simple enough to figure out who he's talking about.), no matter how much she studies and how hard she tries, tests very poorly and therefore is prone to failing mid terms and final exams. (From what I was made to understand, she wasn't trying very hard, as she didn't do homework, nor had a displayable grasp of the subject at hand, and that she's not some sort of heroic blind woman climbing to the top of Mt. Everest. she's a slacker that didn't do work, and failed as a result at least in part due to that.)

In spite of the above history, it appears that [NAME]'s present Algebra teacher, [DANNY], fails to understand the physiological significance of attention deficit disorder of which [NAME] has been diagnosed and for which she takes medication. (Ok, I can understand to a point that this is a "kid with special needs"... but see below, regarding her work and understanding level.) [DANNY] takes the position, [NAME] has been cheating and/or copying her homework and make-up tests and has decided that he will fail her irrespective of what grade she gets in the assignments she has recently turned in. (Well, if you get caught cheating, you get a zero on the test. If you are caught replicating someone else's homework, that too is a ground for a zero. Repeat this enough, and you will, in fact, end up in such a deep hole that it will be nearly impossible to dig yourself out of it. Paired with the fact that the girl doesn't know math, odds are good that she won't pass. Note that there were plenty of mid terms going out with grades on them the entire time. They get gruff a week before graduation because the girl is failing, and will have to go to happy camp summer school for 3 weeks rather than graduate immediately.) We understand [DANNY] has had problems with other students and this complaint may not come as a surprise to you. (It came to the father's surprise that Danny not only has not had serious problems with any other students, but rather he is well loved, despite being a teacher that has a hard-nosed stance against cheaters and slackers.)

As soon as we learned [NAME] was having extra ordinary trouble in Algebra, we hired a private tutor who has been working with her for six weeks. The tutor, [TUTOR] attempted to call [DANNY] for at least the past two weeks to discuss with [DANNY] what if any additional help he could give [NAME] in understanding the material. (the tutor is a professor at Miami Dade Community College) including the fact that [NAME] completes the assignments with his help, but with her effort, all of which is falling on "deaf ears". (Danny did try calling the guy back, but apparently neither side could get to the other for the two weeks.. again, way too late to be of any good. Math is a skill that builds upon itself. If you don't know the fundamentals of addition, you're never going to figure out how to multiply. Danny's not one to ignore a student's legitimate cry for help.)

In sum, [DANNY] is intent on failing [NAME] apparently from personal animosity toward her and not because of her lack of effort or lack of understanding the material. (So, this father has no real understanding that this is actually the case. Danny's a consummate professional, and would never, ever fail a kid just because he didn't like them. A child fails ONLY when they either fail to understand or to do the work placed in front of them. And yes, even if you have ADD, you can fail math. Heck, let's stretch it a little further and have someone that only understands Hebrew pass English because they copied someone else's tests, and got a tutor at the 11th hour. Let's pass 'em, because they're disadvantaged, due to them not knowing English to start with!) Your school is above having teachers such as [DANNY] on your staff. (If the school had more teachers like Danny, I think that the quality of the system would go up by at least a factor of one.) I request that you investigate the matter and if our understanding of the matter is true and [DANNY] has had other confrontations with other students of a similar nature, you consider terminating him. (First instance of him actually coming forward with the idea that his information source might not be entirely accurate. a bit late in the letter. I'd think a lawyer would be better at something along these lines. Again, for the record, what this guy is saying doesn't jibe at all with the reality of the situation.) As far as [NAME] is concerned, she will go forward, she has a strong personality and the support of her family and friends irrespective of the "[DANNY]'s of the world". However, for the benefit of your students in years to come, they deserve better. (Despite any reality of the situation , we will send letters from attorney's offices rather than allow [NAME] to face up to the possibility that she may not always get her way.)

If any of the foregoing is erroneous or I have misstated the facts (like all of it?) please contact me so that we may discuss our misunderstanding. In the alternative we have requested and request again a meeting with the dean of students, dean of teachers, [DANNY], [OTHER TEACHER'S NAME] of the learning center and any other persons you feel are appropriate to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
[SIGNATURE]

cc: [DANNY]

End document.

When the Parent-Teacher-staff meeting was held on Friday, the Principal, in his own words, "Tore the parent a new asshole." Danny was vindicated, and got an apology from the parent, which was accepted.

[addendum] Principal opened the meeting by saying that he's been in education for 38 years and that this is the most inappropriate letter he'd ever seen.