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In light of the Kaitlin Pearson nude modeling scandal up in Fitchburg, something has never been answered. Who the hell was the anonymous person that got this whole bro-ha-ha started? Saw this letter to the editor in the Fitchburg Sentinel recently, and it’s pretty interesting….

First, some disclaimers: I am not writing as a spokesperson for the Fitchburg Public School system, nor as the principal of Memorial Middle School, though my experiences therein certainly inform my opinion.

But please be clear, I speak for no one but myself.

Secondly, I do not know the young woman who has unfairly become the focus of recent, and hopefully short-lived, attention. Never met her, she doesn’t work at my school, I do not know her.

People “provide” anonymous “information” for a variety of reasons. When law enforcement creates a means for someone to give tips without identification, it is because those who would do so have a very legitimate fear of reprisal from a criminal element.

However, in most cases, individuals who submit information anonymously — particularly that of a scandalous or tawdry nature — do so because were they to identify themselves, their motivation would be blatantly obvious. In other situations, the reason is simply one of cowardice.

In this case, it is both. As a parent and an educator, I am far, far, far more concerned about a student being in a classroom with petty, vindictive, sneaky, gutless bullies, than with a former model. Such people, and their behind-the-scenes ilk, have no business educating children, and should not be working in a school — public, private, charter or proposed charter.

FRAN THOMAS JR.

principal, Memorial Middle School, Fitchburg

I think we can all agree, that everyone in America wants to work for Fran Thomas Jr. He is 100% correct and basically nailed the shit out of this whole story. The cloak of anonymity is for people that ratted on the mob, not plus-sized rabble rousers who can’t stand the thought that a teacher is a teacher in the classroom, and an American citizen with rights outside of it.

Schools and the media in general should have a policy of not taking anything seriously from an anonymous source. Look what’s happened with Michael Sam the past few days. A bunch of anonymous NFL executives have claimed that their locker rooms wouldn’t mesh well with a gay player. This of course would be admitting that they have no control over the barbarians that they hired, which would make them incompetent. Thus they hide who they are, lest they publicly admit that they are unqualified boobs.

The same applies with the Kaitlin Pearson scandal. The Sentinel and South Street Middle School should have a policy – if you aren’t willing to put your name on it, then we aren’t interested in your bullshit. It’s the EXACT SAME THING as a masked man coming up to Kaitlin Pearson, punching her in the face, and then running away in the dark. The anonymous source doesn’t need anonymity for protection. They need it because they’re a coward. And for some reason the policy of the school department is that these people are taken seriously.

Think about it. If a school or newspaper has a policy that it investigates “anonymous” sources and complaints, then how can they ever be taken seriously? An anonymous source can say whatever outrageous things they want to and never be held accountable. A principal could just email themselves an anonymous complaint about a teacher and use that as grounds to suspend the teacher while they “investigate” the claims of the “anonymous” source. A reporter can likewise quote “anonymous” sources, which may or may not be the thoughts of the reporter themselves.

In case you can’t tell from Fran Thomas’ letter, he knows something the general public does not. And you’d be stupid not to believe him. He’s a principal at one of Fitchburg’s other middle schools. As a principal he is under the eye of public scrutiny. While many in his position are gutless cowards who are afraid of any sort of negative media attention, and would never have the minerals to write a public letter like this, he seems willing to punch anyone in the face who thinks he shouldn’t be allowed to speak freely as such.

He is obviously insinuating that another teacher at South Street Middle School sent the “anonymous” complaint. Particularly teachers who work for a “charter or proposed charter.” Hmmmmmm. Who is proposing a charter school in Fitchburg? Well that would apparently be a bunch of Kaitlin Pearson’s coworkers at South Street school. Did they really do this? How the hell should I know? What I do know is that for a public figure like Fran Thomas Jr. to all but outright accuse them in a public forum, it would seem as if the claims have some merit.

If this is true, this story just keeps getting better and better. Apparently this charter school movement isn’t going very well in Fitchburg, because the people there are smart enough to realize that it’s a giant scam. Did these teachers really come up with a plan to humiliate this girl, make the school look bad, and in turn push public support in favor of their breakaway charter school? Like I said, every time I make a judgement call on one of these things without the facts I’m always wrong. I was wrong about the Lunenburg racism story, and I was wrong about this story when it first came out. So I’ll reserve judgement until I know for sure. Until then, I’ll just get behind the awesomeness that is Fran Thomas Jr. – the world’s greatest boss.

So what do you think happened here? Feel free to share your thoughts to keep the conversation going.

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