In 1883,  Emma Lazarus wrote:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

She intended her poem as a beacon summoning immigrants to America. It is now recorded on a plaque at the entry to the Statue of Liberty.

Fair enough!  Virtuous and magnanimous!  A creed by which we should all live!

But, like many virtues, it is vulnerable to abuse. I doubt Ms. Lazarus could have foreseen the unintended consequences of her plea. One recent example is New York City’s charter schools, conceived (and succeeding)to improve the lives of disadvantaged inner-city children.

The New York Times reported today, 132 years later,  on the outrageous requirement by the superintendant of  the Success Academy in Ft. Greene Brooklyn, that the kids behave themselves while in the classroom. Failure to do so results in expulsion. (Gasp!)

One mother claims her 6 year old son has  ‘hyperactivity disorder’ resulting in 19 suspensions last year. She claims he struggles with behavior issues, “often hitting, kicking, biting and spitting at other children”.  Now, she and other parents with abusive, disruptive progeny at Success Academy are up in arms that their kids are being suspended – after multiple warnings from the administrators. These parents deny any personal responsibility for instilling discipline in these kids at home.  “It is the school’s fault.”

Presumably when they enrolled their children at Success Academy it was to obtain a better education than that provided by NYC’s public schools – arguably, a low bar.

Unfortunately for parents, permitted entry through that Golden Door comes with rules and responsibility. Responsibility the parents seem to ignore, (because it’s inconvenient?).

Heed the message parents:  Ignore the rules if you will, but don’t complain when your ‘wretched masses’ can’t seem to light Ms. Lazarus’ lamp of learning; or when your child can’t find a job because employers ‘disrespect’ them because of sagging pants, tats, piercings and foul language.

And don’t blame the schools or the teachers who assume considerable personal risk coming into troubled neighborhoods to help your children. The least you can do is enforce the disciplinary rules that make it possible for all children to learn – including yours.

Perhaps if all else fails they can always get a job at the NY Times writing about how hard it is to ‘get along’. Standards there are abysmally low.
You are welcome.