Screen shot of The Washington Post article at 9:43 PM August 13, 2013, showing comment on Montgomery teacher article. Comment has now been removed and no commenting permitted. |
When the article went online at 9:27 PM, Tuesday evening, comments were permitted. Soon after comments began to be posted on the article, The Washington Post removed all of the comments and removed the comment response section from the article.
What does this accomplish? This story is obviously a public relations nightmare for MCPS and the Montgomery County Board of Education. By removing the comments The Washington Post eliminates any discussion of the obvious parallels between the Penn State child abuse scandal and what is now being revealed to have happened in MCPS.
This is not the first time we have seen The Washington Post cover for Montgomery County Public Schools and the Montgomery County Board of Education, but maybe it will be the last time as the paper will soon be under new ownership.
As of 7:00 AM, August 14, 2013, every front page article of The Washington Post has comments, except for the article on the MCPS teacher accused of sexually abusing 15 girls.
Internet & Obama: 1715 comments
Airline Merger: 402 comments
Iraqi Jews: 70 comments
Mexican oil: 7 comments
The Butler movie: 16 comments
Egypt article (top of online stories): 100 comments
MCPS teacher: No comments permitted
Before Washington Post removed the comments, there were over 80 comments, and it was a constructive discussion. We need a way to review overall sexual abuse across MCPS, not only look at one school at a time when it blows up. We can be sure that this is not the only case, because we see the way it is handled by BOE, Superintendent, Bronda Mills, etc. and covered up by Dana Tofig "everything is fine". Issues are swept under the rug with no regard to the well being of the children.
ReplyDeleteWhy has the Washington Post protected MCPS over the years?
ReplyDeleteGood question. There's an old say "follow the money." Do we need to keep the reputation of the schools high so that property values and property taxes stay high, hence MCPS salaries, perks, and contracts stay high; contributing to the wealth of the county and state governement? Do our politicians care more about the money than about destroyed children? Just a thought. The other pertinient saying, is "who watches the watcher"? Where are our honest watchdogs? As far as I see, the only honesty and concern for the children comes from Parents Coalition. So then the question becomes, how to increase the Parents Coalition's power and make concrete legitimate improvements to the system?
ReplyDeleteHere is your answer:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gazette.net/article/20120912/NEWS/709129629/1022/maryland-legislators-hope-to-close-gap-in-sex-offense-law&template=gazette