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#Post#: 24627--------------------------------------------------
Passing the Buck by St. George
By: David M. Katz Date: May 6, 2022, 2:16 am
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HTML https://malespank.net/viewStory.php?id=50970
The sixth graders have a new teacher. His approach to discipline
is nothing short of bullying and the subject of his bullying
seems to always be one particular student. Can the students
stand up for what is right? Will they? If so, will it do any
good?
This is a superb story.
I fell in love with this students and wanted to give Joey a hug.
An excellent study in a social experiment.
#Post#: 24630--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: No Way Out Date: May 6, 2022, 6:29 am
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Agreed!
I almost stopped reading because I hate stories where kids get
humiliated on purpose. But then I realised that the story was
just about that kind of bullying that I hate, and I loved how
the story turned out. It's a really fresh take on our little
genre that often suffers from the lack of new perspectives.
#Post#: 24631--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: ivor Date: May 6, 2022, 6:34 am
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This is Kat at his thought provoking best.
#Post#: 24632--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: afinch Date: May 6, 2022, 6:53 am
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I agree with the others. An extremely well-written and thought
provoking story. It made me angry and a little bit nauseous to
read. None of my teachers paddled--that was something reserved
for the VP--but that kind of bullying was relatively commonplace
minus the swats. It's a must read--I wish there were a star for
something other than "hot"--I voted both stars because there
isn't another alternative, but in this case "hot" means
"furious", not at the writing or the story, but at its events,
and especially at the horrible human at its center.
#Post#: 24633--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: No Way Out Date: May 6, 2022, 7:02 am
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I often vote with the yellow and red star if I think a story is
awesome. I know this is not how the feedback system is supposed
to be used, but I don't give a sh.it. Credit where credit is
due.
#Post#: 24634--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: Adric Date: May 6, 2022, 9:39 am
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Wow! I think this is a really outstanding story. Wish I had
more than two stars to rate it. Beautiful story of heroes and
heroines emerging from an ordinary sixth grade classroom. And
it took one leader, Ira, to get it started. Great descriptions
of all the characters.
The Buck has a historical precedent in the form of the Welsh
Not:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Not
It worked in very much the same way as the Buck. When I first
heard about it, I thought how miserable an experience it would
be to know only one language well and be punished for any
attempt to speak it. I was taking an informal adult continuing
education course in Spanish at the time, in which everyone was
attempting to communicate only in Spanish. There was of course
no Buck, no Not, and certainly no Paddle, but just the
embarrassment of being tongue-tied for lack of the right Spanish
word was enough for me to understand how those poor Welsh boys
must have felt. (And for that matter, the Spanish-speaking
students in many American classrooms.)
#Post#: 24635--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: Kat Date: May 6, 2022, 2:06 pm
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I want to thank Katz for starting the thread with such a
positive review. I also want to thank NWO, Ivor, Kier, and Adric
for their encouraging remarks. I submitted this one with very
low expectations, so I really appreciate the feedback.
As Adric suggests, "The Buck" is a proxy for "the Not" in Welsh
schools. I first heard about the Not several years ago and
wanted to write a story about it. After a few attempts, I
realized that I don't have the necessary knowledge of Welsh
culture to do justice to the historical reality. I transferred
the idea to the US and made the horrible object about general
discipline rather than language. I can't imagine what sort of
twisted mind conceived the Not or why any human being with
pretensions towards decency would have participated in such a
system.
As Kier points out, the teacher's bullying doesn't even have to
result in a paddling. Classrooms have long been environments in
which sadistic adults could bully and humiliate children. I
certainly saw some of that in my schooldays.
Kat
#Post#: 24640--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: afinch Date: May 7, 2022, 2:50 pm
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[quote author=No Way Out link=topic=2621.msg24633#msg24633
date=1651838534]
I often vote with the yellow and red star if I think a story is
awesome. I know this is not how the feedback system is supposed
to be used, but I don't give a sh.it. Credit where credit is
due.
[/quote]
I do too, and did. J/S it would be nice if there were some other
button than "hot".
#Post#: 24641--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: afinch Date: May 7, 2022, 2:52 pm
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[quote author=Kat link=topic=2621.msg24635#msg24635
date=1651863999]
I want to thank Katz for starting the thread with such a
positive review. I also want to thank NWO, Ivor, Kier, and Adric
for their encouraging remarks. I submitted this one with very
low expectations, so I really appreciate the feedback.
As Adric suggests, "The Buck" is a proxy for "the Not" in Welsh
schools. I first heard about the Not several years ago and
wanted to write a story about it. After a few attempts, I
realized that I don't have the necessary knowledge of Welsh
culture to do justice to the historical reality. I transferred
the idea to the US and made the horrible object about general
discipline rather than language. I can't imagine what sort of
twisted mind conceived the Not or why any human being with
pretensions towards decency would have participated in such a
system.
As Kier points out, the teacher's bullying doesn't even have to
result in a paddling. Classrooms have long been environments in
which sadistic adults could bully and humiliate children. I
certainly saw some of that in my schooldays.
Kat
[/quote]
The humiliations in med school and residency made grade school
bullying look tame. I'm sure that is the reason why almost
every surgeon or surgical subspecialist I've ever known has been
to some degree a sociopath.
#Post#: 24642--------------------------------------------------
Re: Passing the Buck by St. George
By: Kat Date: May 7, 2022, 3:50 pm
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[quote author=afinch link=topic=2621.msg24641#msg24641
date=1651953170]
The humiliations in med school and residency made grade school
bullying look tame. I'm sure that is the reason why almost
every surgeon or surgical subspecialist I've ever known has been
to some degree a sociopath.
[/quote]
I remember a psychology class in which the prof mentioned that
surgeons tend to rate high on the sociopathy scale of the MMPI.
I was lucky the only time I had surgery in that they guy at
least seemed nice and normal.
I'm not really surprised that medical school and residency are
hostile environments, though I wish they weren't. I doubt very
much it makes better doctors.
Kat
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