Mr. White's Apocalypse

Many of us may remember the film Apocalypse Now (1979), Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam masterpiece about Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen), an Army officer who must travel deep into Cambodia on a classified mission to assassinate Col. Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando).  Seems the American colonel has gone rogue and successfully eliminated members of the Viet Cong and, while this is likewise the goal of the American military Establishment, Kurtz has done it through his own extremist methods … and golly, it makes the Establishment look bad.  Hence, Willard is sent on behalf of the Establishment to “exterminate [Kurtz], with extreme prejudice.”

Mr. Michael White, much like Col. Kurtz, has had a goal for the past year and a half: to rid Bolingbrook High School of its gang-land image and bring some much-needed structure and order to a high school that, frankly, long needed it.  Under his brief leadership attendance has improved, suspensions have decreased, expectations for behavior and academic achievement have increased, and the general morale within the building (among faculty, staff, and students alike) has risen multi-fold.

Of course, there are those who question White’s extremist methods and denounce them as “bully” tactics, but consider: to effectively address the problems that existed within BHS when White was hired, he had to employ methods that were equal to the task.  A confrontational approach may not have been to everyone’s liking, but given the disciplinary issues within the walls of BHS it was, in a word, necessary. An extreme approach for an extreme situation.  And, believe it or not, students quickly learned what they could do and what they could no longer get away with, thus permitting teachers to do what is the business of a school: teach.

At last night’s school board meeting, many members of the BHS staff, students, parents, and community members packed the auditorium of Lucancic Middle School and applauded White for the job he’s done.  Many pleaded with the school board to reject White’s letter of resignation and give him time, time to continue making a positive impact on the school (which, who knows, might have even had positive ramifications on the district entire). Any educator knows that you can’t play the role of drill sergeant forever and, down the road, given enough time – once proper behavioral expectations and high academic standards had become the “culture” of BHS – there is little doubt that a confrontational approach no longer would have even been necessary.

Sadly, we’ll never know.  The Valley View school board voted 5 – 2 in favor of accepting White’s letter of resignation and, in effect, turned its back on the faculty, students, and parents of Bolingbrook High School and abruptly brought an end to his reign.  Despite what some at the meeting attempted to argue, this issue was *not* about race, nor ego, nor even curriculum -- it was about admitting what *works* for Bolingbrook High School, given the situation, and allowing Mr. White the time and latitude to see his vision come to fruition.

Looks like we’ll now have to hope the district hires a replacement principal at BHS who can sufficiently fill Mr. White’s shoes. But it’s doubtful.

The horror… the horror …