The bitterness of one man is
exploited by the Tribune
Peter
Larocque
The bitterness of one man becomes
exploited by the Tribune Acts
8:23, “For I perceive that thou art
in the gall of bitterness, and in the
bond of iniquity.”
There was a recent article in the
Eagle-Tribune by staff writer Mr. Mark
Vogler containing an interview with my
colleague and veteran Lawrence School
Committee Member, James Vittorioso; where
he states that he is launching a campaign
to publicly expose nepotism in the
Lawrence School Department.
“I want to name all families that
have three or more names on the payroll,
if I can get the records.” Mr.
Vittorioso said. He also vows to make
public the names of family members or
relatives of School Committee Members.
So, to help my colleague in his endeavor
I would like to state for the record and
to anyone who really wants to know that I
have a son who is in his second year of
teaching for the Lawrence Public School
System. I would like to thank Mr.
Vittorioso for this worthwhile campaign
because now I get to talk about one of my
favorite subjects; my son the Teacher.
My son is a graduate of UMASS Lowell, his
Bachelors Degree is in Mathematics and he
is now going for his masters in
education. He lives with his wonderful
wife in Danvers. After he graduated he
could have gone anywhere in the state,
because the need for Math teachers in
this state speaks for itself. He alone
chose to take on the challenge of
teaching math to 7th and 8th graders at
the Arlington Middle School in Lawrence.
I am so proud of our son. Math has always
been a favorite subject of his, a trait
that comes from his mother. He decided
back then to become a math teacher to
help others to become proficient in math.
You may have heard by now about the
status of the Arlington Middle School;
that it is designated as being a Priority
One School. We are still awaiting
information from the Department of
Education as to what that really means.
My son is a real Math Teacher, meaning
that he went to college to be a math
teacher as apposed to those who go into
the business world and after sometime for
whatever reason then decide to go into
teaching.
Now what kind of father, (who also
happens to be a School Committee Member)
would stand by and let his son be grouped
in with other teachers at a school that
has economic and academic challenges like
the Arlington Middle School? Surely I
should be pulling some strings behind the
scenes to get him into a less stressful
and challenging school, some would think.
Something definitely must be wrong with
my parenting skills or my ability to do
the right thing for my son.
According to the article in the
Eagle-Tribune, nepotism is the showing of
favoritism toward relatives when it comes
to hiring and promotions. I must try
harder to do the right thing for my son
so that I fit into this profile for my
colleague’s campaign .
My son as a young teacher has still much
more to learn in the art of teaching. As
far as content goes, from all indications
he knows his stuff! In my humbled
opinion, my son has done more for the
students of that school (as far as Math
is concerned) than any other Math teacher
for sometime.
The Arlington Middle School is a better
place because of the caliber and
character of teachers like my son, as
well as the colleague’s he works
with day after day, performing the tasks
that they are confronted with. I thank
God for all of them!
So to my colleague Mr. Vittorioso I say;
I hope this helps you in your worthwhile
campaign. Just for your information, I
abstained from voting for the New
Lawrence Teachers Contract because of
this very reason, I have a son who is a
teacher for the Lawrence School
Department. I also have on file at the
Lawrence City Clerks office a Disclosure
of Appearance of Conflict of Interest as
required by G.L.C.268A,section23(b)(3).
stating that “I, Peter Larocque, as
a Lawrence School Committee Member
District E, publicly disclose the fact
that I have a son who is a teacher in the
Lawrence Public School Department.”
In conclusion, I find myself asking what
can be the motivation behind such a
campaign. Then I remembered a statement
made by my friend and colleague many
times during the public participation
portion of our Lawrence School Committee
meetings, “yes I am bitter, you bet
I am bitter.”
So to my colleague, I very humbly ask
that you take a look at the Webster
Dictionary which states that
Bitterness is characterized by strong
feelings of hatred, resentment, cynicism,
etc.
I also recommend taking a good look at
Ephesians 4:31-32,
”Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be
put away from you, with all malice; And
be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Peter Larocque is a member of the
Lawrence School Committee. He was
originally elected by the Lawrence City
Coun-cil to fill the unexpired term of
Amy McGovern in 2006 and then elected in
his own right last month. You can email
him at peterlarocque@hotmail.com
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