“Martin Luther King Jr.'s
birthday reminds me of
many injustices ...”
Editorial by Alumni President - Kaz
Endo (1/19/04)
“Only
someone as charismatic
as Dr. Nelson, could get away
with what would otherwise
be a questionable remark.”
An
insiders view of the headmaster (1/19/04)
“Never
doubt that a
small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens
can change the world.
Indeed, it’s the only
thing that ever has.”
Read this powerful email sent by
fellow alumni - Jay Rojas (1/17/04)
“I
want to shake the hand of
that teacher that said:
"This is the real world ...
In Corporate America
you get fired at 5PM,
you're expected to leave
by 8PM with your things...”
Fellow alumni- Tony Martinez makes a
great
point with this peculiar email. (1/17/04)
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January
22, 2004
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“'Winning
the Cultural War'
- by Charlton Heston.”
A speech
to the Harvard Law
School Forum, Feb. 16, 1999 (1/22/04)
Mr.
Nelson,
I do not know whether Dr. Jenkins has done anything wrong,
but Dr. Jenkins is not the issue. His matter is distracting
from the main issue which is that this was not handled
well and St Johns is being poorly administered.
What I learned about the present activities leads me to
conclude that this has not been handled well. It has undermined
the students' security like a parental divorce. Although
I do not know the circumstances, I do know that Moore
or Tuman or Sherril would have handled it much more smoothly,
being compassionate to the students and parents. I realize
I do not know the entire situation, but I am sure that
even I would have handled it more compassionately.
For thirteen years I was involved at St. Johns. We had
a sequence of three headmasters, Moore, Tuman and Sherril,
and Dr. Jenkins was a prominent benefit the whole time.
Things were managed well and St. Johns
clearly grew and developed. Mr. Tuman was exemplary, greeting
the children each morning when they were being dropped
off by their parents, and acting as a role model, occasionally
picking up a piece of litter in the parking area. I felt
compelled to treat St. Johns as a home and be pleasant
to eveyone and pick up litter myself. I am sure that everyone
else had feelings similar to mine in response to the good
leadership.
I do not know whether Dr. Jenkins has done anything wrong,
but my thirteen years of experience forces me to give
him the benefit of the doubt. I find it hard to believe
he has done anything wrong. But this is not the issue
here.
Sincerely,
Charles Birkeland
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