Anonymous wrote:Thank you jsteele.

+1,000

Thank you jsteele.

Wow.

Anonymous wrote:First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Okay, now this is just too much.

I've been wavering between staying out of this thread and jumping in to tone down some of the anti-Sela hostility. But, now I'm just going to lay my cards on the table.

The poster quoted here has been a pro-Sela sock puppet for months. Her normal technique has been to post an enthusiastic message about Sela and then respond to it as if she was another poster. The result has been a lot of "I love Sela", "So do I" sort of conversations (not those exact words, obviously, but you get the point). I've ignored it because Sela already seemed to face a lot of hostility and over the top enthusiasm is not uncommon for new charters.

As many of you know, I have kids in DC schools. Hence, I follow this forum more closely than most other forums. I noticed when this thread was first started. Later that evening, I noticed a rash of threads had received new responses. In my experience, it is unusual for so many threads to receive responses in such a short time period. My first thought was that someone was spamming every thread in the forum. Checking the threads, I found that each of the new responses was very short -- consisting of only a few words. All were from the same poster, who just happened to be a poster that I knew to be a sock puppet and Sela booster. I also noticed that just enough threads had received responses -- and hence been bumped to the top of the forum -- to push this thread to the second page. Whether the Sela booster was just feeling enthusiastic about responding to DC school threads that day or was trying to bury the news that Sela's principal quit, I can't say. That's not for me to judge.

Later, I noticed that the Sela booster had again returned to sock puppeting. She alternately identified herself as a Sela parent and not a Sela parent. She had a conversation with herself about the beauty of a kindergarten teacher (I thought that was a bit weird). She posted the message about a playground being across the street from Sela and, when that post was contradicted, adopted the guise of someone without kids at Sela in order to defend herself. That's when I had had enough and decided to call her out.

Since that time, the poster has repeatedly posted messages describing DCUM posters as bullies. Now, on the Jewish New Year no less, the poster quotes Martin Niemöller apparently to suggest that DCUM posters are little more than Nazis. I'm sorry, but that's too much.

Conflicts between boosters of newly-established charters on the one hand and skeptics on the other are not unknown here, to say the least. Whether it was Latin, Yu Ying, Basis, or now, Sela, they've all been through it. We survived all the previous ones without being called Nazis.

So, I want to make clear. Sela has a booster who is a sock puppet. That booster has been a sock puppet for a long time. That booster's first reaction to this thread was damage control: possibly by trying to bury the thread, but also by posting messages that disparaged the principal and minimized the significance of her quitting. This booster is now comparing herself to victims of the Nazis.

The actions of this booster should not reflect on the school because she is a single individual. Nor should it reflect on the other Sela parents who, to my knowledge, have not engaged in similar behavior. I have no way of knowing, but I suspect that other Sela parents know the identity of this poster and have their own issues with her. She just seems to have that sort of personality. So, I'd like the Sela skeptics to remain open-minded about the school and not let this single individual tarnish your perception too much. As for the booster/sock puppet, Yom Kippur is a week from tomorrow. You may want to consider a bit of atonement for your actions.

Touche.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

What a weirdo! Is there at least one normal honest parent at Sela? Anyone... Anybody...

+1. We will find one some day, as they surely must exist, and eventually will come to understand that transparency is a better policy than obfuscation."

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - FDR.

Definitely staying away from Sela. Definitely!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

What a weirdo! Is there at least one normal honest parent at Sela? Anyone... Anybody...

If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

"Courage is fie and bullying us smoke"

Anonymous wrote:
"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

And, if you want to maintain the sanity of these fora, please try to get fellow Sela boosters not to misrepresent themselves (as called out by the moderator), or to assume DCUM readers are plain stupid. The "across the street" insistence is simply absurd. Please engage with fellow DCUMers as human beings, not as mindless people to sell something to.

Anonymous wrote:
Please mediate on why you think it's acceptable to engage in petty bigotry. There are plenty of non-ignorant folks on DCUM - you're ruining the forum.

Anonymous wrote:
"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

Anonymous wrote:"We must never adjust to bigotry" MLK

"Let a bully's insults remain in the bully's mouth and not touch you at all" M. Gandhi

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?

"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

And, if you want to maintain the sanity of these fora, please try to get fellow Sela boosters not to misrepresent themselves (as called out by the moderator), or to assume DCUM readers are plain stupid. The "across the street" insistence is simply absurd. Please engage with fellow DCUMers as human beings, not as mindless people to sell something to.

Anonymous wrote:
Please mediate on why you think it's acceptable to engage in petty bigotry. There are plenty of non-ignorant folks on DCUM - you're ruining the forum.

Anonymous wrote:
"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

Anonymous wrote:"We must never adjust to bigotry" MLK

"Let a bully's insults remain in the bully's mouth and not touch you at all" M. Gandhi

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?

Please mediate on why you think it's acceptable to engage in petty bigotry. There are plenty of non-ignorant folks on DCUM - you're ruining the forum.

Anonymous wrote:
"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

Anonymous wrote:"We must never adjust to bigotry" MLK

"Let a bully's insults remain in the bully's mouth and not touch you at all" M. Gandhi

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?

"Please enjoy the school, and remember not not lie, manipulate facts or mislead people." DCUM

Anonymous wrote:"We must never adjust to bigotry" MLK

"Let a bully's insults remain in the bully's mouth and not touch you at all" M. Gandhi

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?

"We must never adjust to bigotry" MLK

"Let a bully's insults remain in the bully's mouth and not touch you at all" M. Gandhi

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ This. Can't believe a booster is still lying about the location of the rec center. This is so trivial and yet they won't give it a rest. Why? If they're willing to lie about this, what else are they up to at SELA. So glad we're not there and I too see why the principle left!

We wish you and your children peace and happiness, and best of luck with your ELL studies! You'll get there! The English language is HARD, but you can do it!

We wish you and yours the same. Quick question: given that Hebrew is across the street from English, why do you need a devoted bilingual charter? Can't you just watch some Baby Goldberg videos?