Reply to Landon article from 7/1/10 Washington Post

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[quote=Anonymous]In my reading of the piece, some questions emerge: Why does the Board Chair acknowledge that the baseball coach made "unacceptable" comments to his players and made an "error in judgment" in taking players to Hooters and even required summer classes for "positive techniques," but then turns around and defends him by saying that other accusations (homophobic remarks, inappropriate sexual comments, humiliating comments about players' physical appearances) are "scurrilous" and the coach should "get the benefit of the doubt."  After acknowledging all the inappropriate behavior, why then stick up for the coach when the accusation has been made that he "had discussed his sex life with the boys and had offered to show them a picture of his wife in her underwear?"

Second point: What are the four white students who accused the black honors student of cheating doing with a camera in the middle of a test, if they are to be believed?  How can a unanimous Honor Court convict the boy when one of the accusers has character issues of his own?  Why was the verdict overturned?  And did the few black teachers who skipped the graduation ceremony in protest include the departing Upper School Head?

A larger theme that emerges is that Landon is not necessarily a school full of bad kids, but rather that the bad kids (and apparently also some coaches) are not properly disciplined or even kicked out, and that punishments vary by sport and parental influence.  This is true whether it's lacrosse players cheating on the SAT, 9th graders humiliating girls with a "fantasy league" that is posted on the Internet, boorish behavior at Landon by George Huguely, disgusting remarks from a coach, conflicting verdicts on an incident with racial overtones, etc.

Landon does not sufficiently (or equally) provide the boundaries that kids (especially boys) need to grow into mature young men, and to learn to be respectful of girls and women, notwithstanding the lip service that the school pays to the notion of character education.

Perhaps the lack of religion in a secular, all-boys school is part of the problem, which has led to a warped notion of entitlement.  Some of the coaches and parents don't seem to be helping, either.[/quote]

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