MikesVikes Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Was it Yukon or was it Irish? 'Unexcecpable' Furor over dean's spelling-challenged note BY NICOLE BODE and ERIN EINHORN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Thursday, May 3rd 2007, 4:00 AM A dean at a Staten Island middle school was so fed up with the food fights at lunch that he hastily sent home a letter riddled with meaty errors that most of his students wouldn't make. Intermediate School 51 Dean Michael Levy explained to parents that the "caferteria" had garbage "an all tables." This behavior, he wrote, was "unexcecpable," and all eighth-graders in IS 51's health academy could lose out on senior "activates" like the prom and class trip. In addition to at least 16 spelling or grammatical mistakes, the letter - first reported in the Staten Island Advance - was never approved by Principal Emma Della Rocca. "I would never have anticipated that ... Mr. Levy would actually write something that would have not been readable," Della Rocca said. She's investigating both the letter and the food fight that started it all. Though the letter told parents that all eighth-graders in the health academy - one of three theme-based academies in the school - would be punished for Monday's food fight, Della Rocca said only kids found responsible will be disciplined. Consequences for Levy will be determined after a disciplinary hearing tomorrow, she said. Levy did not return calls, but students say he told them he wrote the letter quickly. One student said she received the letter about 45 minutes after the lunch period ended on Monday. "I didn't really pay any attention to the spelling," said eighth-grader Veronica Kessler, 13, who was more upset that she could be punished for a food fight she hadn't even seen. "When we read it, me and my friends were freaking out," she said. Students coming out of the school yesterday were laughing at the spelling mistakes. Looking at the word "unexcecpable," one student said she knew it was wrong: "Where's the 'T' at?" she asked. Parents who saw the letter had a mixed response. "When you're taking care of a lot of children, it's no big deal that he misspelled a word," said Karen Del Grosso. "We all make mistakes." John Jelcic, the father of a sixth-grader, said he's more concerned about rowdy conditions in the slightly overcrowded middle school. "Every day they have a food fight," he said, noting that he plans to transfer his son. But Rajiv Gowda, the father of an eighth-grader and the president of the local Community Education Council, called for Levy's firing. "This sends a bad message and sets a bad example," Gowda said. "We are for zero tolerance when kids make a mistake. What is good for the goose is good for the gander." eeinhorn@nydailynews.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Sooo, Yukon's real name is Dean Michael Levy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 A Dean at a middle school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Sooo, Yukon's real name is Dean Michael Levy. dammitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonorator Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 they probably just past the guy through high school to get rid of him ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 they probably just past the guy through high school to get rid of him ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swashbucklers Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 A guy running for the school board in the district that I teach sent out a flyer to all of the teachers in the district that said he was a "Canidate" for the school board, had them all professionally printed and everything. Why don't people proof read their work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 A guy running for the school board in the district that I teach sent out a flyer to all of the teachers in the district that said he was a "Canidate" for the school board, had them all professionally printed and everything. Why don't people proof read their work? Trung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 Trung? Got beat to the punch again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeeman Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 This sort of thing never happens with a homeschool..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 This sort of thing never happens with a homeschool..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controller Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I consider myself a pretty good speller and like to think that spelling is an indicator of intelligence and education. However, I must say that one guy I worked for a few years ago was a brilliant, super sharp and visionary guy, but everything he wrote had to be carefully proof-read by his secretary or his wife. I saw a couple of things he wrote without having them checked by someone first, and he made Yukon look like the 2nd coming of Noah Webster. I suspect that some brilliant people are also poor spellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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