Bill O'Reilly - School Issue

Bill O'Reilly & The BMW On ....

The School Issue

Bonnie M. Wells

** indicates fictitious name:

The Fox News channel is one of my favorite tv stations with the O'Reilly Factor being my favorite program.

By mid January 2003, "Factor" host Bill O'Reilly was up in arms over a school situation in Massechuttess. Apparently a couple of kids had engaged in oral sex on a school bus, in front of other students, and O'Reilly just didn't think this was proper.

For some strange reason O'Reilly believed that the American taxpayer had a right to know what type of discipline the principal of the school intended to dole out to the people involved. And therein lay the problem! It seems the school officials have an entirely different outlook on things than O'Reilly has.

It appears, at least at this time, that they don't feel it's any of O'Reilly's or anyone else's business how they spend our tax dollars and how they discipline "thier" students.

I could have told O'Reilly. In fact, I probably did warn him at some point and time. I'd been watching "school situations" for a long, long time. I knew there was a problem. No one else seemed aware of it or concerned about it though, so I just kept writing and watching. I figured something would happen somewhere other than this backwoods area sooner or later. Perhaps O'Reilly would succeed, where I had failed .... perhaps they would listen to him. Well, he was a man ... he did have a job and a title ..... he was well educated.

Meanwhile I was just an unemployed housewife. But I was also a mother and a grandmother, and although I didn't have a college degree in anything I felt I was reasonably intelligent and had a lot of common sense. And I felt "common sense" was what was lacking in today's "educated elite." Then again, perhaps it was those very people who were banking on the idea that "common sense" was what was lacking in today's society.

Guns On School Property:

In recent years I'd learned of a school principal who brought a gun to school, left the gun and amunition in an unlocked vehicle and then failed to report the incident when the gun was stolen!

As if this weren't bad enough, that same gun was used to kill a student from another school within a few weeks after it was stolen. Still, there was no report forthcoming from the principal. And for some weird reason the local prosecuting attorney decided that there was nothing that could be done about an adult taking a gun onto school property and that irresponsible, neglegent action resulting in the death of a student.

Apparently federal law doesn't apply in this area!

If the parents of the dead boy had not filed a wrongful death law suit against the principal and others involved, no one would have ever learned of what happened. I didn't hold out much hope for their law suit. I'd seen wrongful death law suits in this area before. Their estimated value of the human life who was not part of their pack was about two bits.

Most of the time, I agreed with O'Reilly. Once in a great while we went in opposing directions, but not often. I agreed with him on this school discipline action because I'd already been down the path a time or two myself.

I wished him more luck than I'd had.

Negligent Injury On School Property:

When my daughter was in the third grade, the class had been returning from recess. One of her classmates was acting up and horsing around with another classmate. The horseplay turned rough and the two boys began pushing one another. Just as they entered the class room one of the boys shoved the other one with enough force to knock him into Christina's back.

The blow was so hard that it sent her sailing, head first into one of the desks!

I was at work when the school called. They thought I should consider taking Christina to her dentist because the "accident" had slightly chipped one of her teeth.

I asked how bad the "chip" was and was told it wasn't really anything to worry about. I decided to leave work and go get her anyway.

I'm sure Doctor Poole in Belpre still remembers when I brought Christina in. I know I will never forget it. The "chip" that the teacher referred to was the entire back side of one of her front teeth and half way up the front of it!

And thus began a lifelong process that has now cost hundreds of dollars and will continue to cost. The tooth had to be "rebuilt" using dental materials that have to be removed and then replaced every so often.

There was never any apology; never any disciplinary action against the boy that hit Christina, or the one that shoved him; never an offer for the school "insurance" to kick in and pay the dental bills ..... nothing. Absolutely nothing.

That's okay. She's an adult now with children of her own in the "public" school system. Hopefully, they will live through their "education days!"

I doubt that O'Reilly will ever learn what disciplinary action ...if any.... was ever taken against the kids who engaged in sexual acts on a public school bus. I remember a situation that occured with Christina's son Joshua a year or so ago. It was a real eye opening experience.

The Sex Offender

Joshua had spent the night at my home and caught the school bus there the next morning instead of his own home. The bus drivers all knew he and Mariah stayed with me quite often so there was no problem whichever bus they chose.

The conversation between **Kelly and **David was in full swing when Joshua got on the bus. He sat down beside **Kelly and she immediately asked him if he'd heard what **David had said to her. He had caught part of it, but not enough to understand.

**Kelly began to explain to him that **David had informed her that **Johnny was telling around the school that she had gone down into the woods with four male friends and had sex with all four of them! Joshua blushed. He wasn't much interrested in such conversations.

The bus arrived at school and Josh thought no more about the conversation until recess time. At that time another student came to Josh and asked what had been said about **Kelly. Josh informed the student that all he knew was what **Kelly herself, had told him on the bus, but he did add that he didn't believe the rumor which had supposedly been started by **Johnny. The other student said he was going to check into it and walked away. Again, Josh thought no more about the subject .... until he went to his next class, that is!

He was sitting in class when **Kelly's teacher came to the classroom door and asked to speak with Josh and **David. The teacher immediately accused Joshua and **David of spreading viscious lies about **Kelly and said the girl was in the rest room in tears because of them! Josh and **David ended up in the principal's office.

**David was sent back to class and Joshua was given a stern lecture about "sexual harassment and repeated propositioning" of a girl on school grounds!" The principal informed Joshua that he was going to be punished by detention and that his permanent record would contain the charge of sexual harassment and that he would be branded a sex offender!!!

Poor Josh. The kid came home in tears and was scared half to death. He didn't even know what he was being accused of and just plain didn't understand. After I read the so called rules and regulations in the school handbook, I decided the principal didn't know what he was talking about either!!

Well, needless to say, this little stunt brought Christina and me as a team into Mr. Principal's office, and it was not a pretty picture!

I'd already drawn up the petition that was going to the school board as well as the next school meeting. **Kelly's parents were at the school too, as were **David's. We were all angry, and all demanding to know why he had singled Joshua out and labled him a sex offender, while **Johnny, the boy who had actually started the rumor, wasn't even considered!

I didn't know wheteher to laugh or cry when the educated principal showed me in the school handbook about "sexual harrassement." It said something about "repeated propositioning," and he insisted that's what Joshua had done!

"What is your problem man? Why can't you understand that it is impossible for Joshua to be guilty of "repeated propositioning" of this girl. He never propositioned the girl in the first place, much less repeatedly," I insisted.

Now here I was sitting across the desk from this man who was supposed to be intelligent enough to manage however many kids attended the school and he couldn't even understand his own handbook on rules and regulations! What a way to have to live.

"Joshua "repeated" a sexual accusation while on school property," he stammered. Christina and I left our chairs at the same instant!! I'm not sure which one said lawsuit first .......hell, maybe we said it together! Our reasoning was a little different....She wanted to sue him for branding Joshua a sex offender ....well, I was all for that too, but my primary concern was his freedom of speech! The man was telling the child that he did not have the right to respond to another person's questions!! That was a violation of his freedom of speech rights. This man intended to deprive my grandson of his civil liberties!!! Over my dead body mister principal, over my dead body ....and his mother's dead body too!!!

"For the love of all that is sane, are you telling me that you based your decision upon the fact that you do not understand the language in your own rule book? What is your problem? "Repeated propositioning" means that Joshua would have had to approach the girl in question and asked her to have sex with him. After her refusal, perhaps he offered her money to have sex with him. Another refusal might have brought forth a threat of some type, etc. etc. Don't you understand what this means?" I was really irritated at his ignorance.

"What you are talking about here is an entirely different situation. You are angry with Joshua because he "repeated something that the girl in question told him herself. It wasn't heresay. It wasn't gossip, and it sure as hell wasn't a proposition!" I explained as calmly as I could.

Christina was already gritting her teeth and in tears! I knew I had to get her butt out of there before she ended up in jail for assault! She was one spitfire when angry, and boy was she angry now!!

Well, to make a long story short ..... the principal decided he might have been a little unreasonable and he dismissed the sex charges against Joshua. He did punish him for "repeating gossip," and Christina and I both decided since the punishment wasn't too bad, we'd just let it ride. It would be a good lesson for Josh. First of all, don't get involved in vulgar conversations. Second, don't pay any attention to girls who boast and brag one minute and then go into tears the next because they are being branded the school sluts. They usually aren't worth the time it takes to repeat their gossip, and they certainly aren't worth getting branded a sexual deviant over.

The Story

Everyone's nerves were on edge because there had been a rash of school shootings. It seemed no one really knew what their kids were capable of until it was too late. Sometimes we saw warnings .... comments made, written statements and/or threats, hit lists were found in some cases, and at other times classmates told of warnings that had gone unheeded. It was a sad time and a very frightening time. Law enforcement was telling everyone to watch for any warning signs and never take them lightly when they did see or hear anything.

Halloween drew near and for some reason the music teacher at Joshua's school decided to give the class a writing assignment! I'd never heard of such a thing, but I suppose it was okay. Regardless, she wanted the students to write a short story .....something spooky or strange. It could even be something that they or a family member had experienced, such as a ghost sighting, unexplained noises ..... spooky things.

Josh and I jumped right into the project. I almost always helped both Josh and his sister Mariah on school projects. Well, I was the one with the free time. Christina had her own beauty shop now and she was lucky to have a moment to call her own anymore. Besides, I enjoyed "school work!" I jokingly remarked that if I hadn't died of repetitious boredom by the time Mariah graduated from high school, I should get some kind of award or certificate for investing 48 years of my life, while going through grades one through twelve ...... four times!!!

Joshua chose one of my Scotty stories that involved his mother's sighting of the air craft that I'd long ago accepted as a UFO and had named "Scotty" just in case I ever needed "beamed up!"

When the class convened again the teacher asked that the students stand up and read their stories. The first few that were read were entertaining and the class enjoyed them. Then came **Doug with his spooky story.....

"**Doug and a couple of friends had come to the school ahead of the rest of the students and placed guns and ammunition inside the heat registers. Then they left and returned after class had taken up for the day. They retrieved thier weapons and began taking hostages within the school. The teachers were tied up one by one, and shot. A girl named **Debbie was taken hostage and a gun placed along side her head as another gun was handed to her with the instructions to put a bullet between Joshua's eyes if she wanted to live! She shot Joshua. Then she was shot to death.

Next, the thugs went to the cafeteria where most of the students were eating lunch. Here they opened fire and watched as their fellow classmates died in agony. **Doug described the ankle deep blood that ran through the corridors and how he and his comrades waded through it and went outside where they used electronic devices to set off explosives that they had placed around the school. And they marveled at the sight of the school being blown to bits. Then they calmly awated the arrival of the police!"

End Of Story /

By the end of **Doug's story there was silence in the class room. The teacher was the first to recover. She informed **Doug that his story was improper for any classroom, anywhere on earth and she marched him to the office where he would be dealt with by the principal!

**Debbie was tramatized as was Joshua. The child feared for his life for months after this incident, and although he'd previously considered **Doug his friend, he now saw him as a dangerous and possibly deadly enemy.

Within a short time many people were talking about what had happened in school that day. I won't name names here, but you can rest assured I do have them in my files. I wrote a letter to the school principal. Christina went to the school. Eventually I went to the school.

We didn't need to know "who" had written the story. We already knew who he was. What we wanted to know was what the principal intended to do about it. We were never told. In fact we were told it was none of our business.

**Doug never missed any school so we know he wasn't expelled. He never stayed late so we know he got no in school detention. No one ever saw any indication that the boy was reprimanded or punished in any way, shape or form.

Later, when I accused the principal of doing nothing, he looked me straight in the eye and said ...."How do you know I did nothing? You aren't here and you dont live in his house. How do you know what was done?"

He was right. I wasn't at the school, but I knew plenty of people who were at the school. He was also right about me not living in **Doug's home ..... but he was wrong about one thing. I lived a whole lot closer than he realized and I knew that nothing had been done.

And I know something else. When the time comes, I will not be one of those naive people who stands up and says ...."Well, I didn't have a clue. If I'd known, I would have done something." But more importantly, neither shall that principal ever be allowed to make these statements because I will be standing real close to him when the time comes and I will tell this story for all the world to hear and I will produce those witnesses that can veryify that he knew all about it.....all along, and he did nothing. And that Mr. (former) Principal is a promise! And you can ask anyone who knows me.....

I always keep my promises.

Yes, I have my doubts that Bill O'Reilly will ever learn the truth about what was done to the students who had oral sex on a school bus because it seems the entire "system" of this nation needs an overhauling .... much like an old motor that has been run too hard for way too long.

A lot of the people in this area are still country people. My grandchildren go to the same schools that their mother and I attended as children. This is our home and our homeland. Our people used to be good people. They cared about their neighbors. Then "progress" came along. The farm lands were converted to housing projects and people came from everywhere. They were not of this land and in many cases only cared about the money they made in the surrounding factories and businesses.

It won't work. It never has, and it never will. The end result will be the destruction of their own children and lives. But that's for them to learn I suppose.

Meanwhile, I continue to hold my family together based upon the old principles. There was nothing wrong with the standards and principles by which I was raised and taught to be a fair minded, honest, decent human being.

Joshua will be sixteen years old in August {2004}. He's still the sweetest kid you'd ever want to meet. He's been taught to respect life .... all life.

He still tells his mother and me that he loves us every night before he goes to bed and when he's with me he gives me a kiss on the cheek before bed or leaving the house. He does the same with his mother. He is kind hearted, gentle and intelligent. He shares the indoor and outdoor work of both households without resentment or complaint.

He is my only grandson, and I love him dearly, and yet, I have not been easy on him. He has been treated with respect and understanding, but those things have also been required of him. He has not let us down.

We are very proud of him.