# Miss Kaitlyn's first day in the classroom. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 5, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209 "2005-01-05T16:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/141 "2005-01-07T14:41:09Z")
I think Mr. P could beat Jackie Chan in a fight, too. I’m so relieved to hear the update on the parents’ meeting. I hope that now you can settle into your job and do what you’re there to do—teach! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/142 "2005-01-07T14:47:10Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > As to Mr P, I want to say that, for the a good story arc, he needs to start with his own prejudices, but, because he’s a professional, he acts accordingly. As he gets to know **Kaitlyn** this becomes respect and finally friendship. Might not be the way it plays out in real life, but he’s just too good to be true to be believable on screen. Let’s make him a little human. A little human? You mean a little cliched, ugh. He sounds fabulous as it is; can’t we just give him a messy office and a combover or something instead of messing with the motivations? Congratulations, **Kaitlyn** , and good luck; this sounds like it may be the start of an, erm, interesting year but it also sounds like you’re well-equpped to handle whatever it throws at you. ---
**Author:** ![Redwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@Redwing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redwing)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/143 "2005-01-07T15:35:36Z")
Since I have nowhere else to put this: Mr. P., I have had your actions conveyed to me by Miss Kaitlyn via an internet message board. I must commend your actions as those that I wish every school principal, and, indeed, every person was capable of. You have shown great grace, tact, understanding and restraint when dealing with a situation that many would find overwhelming. I have seen what is possible when an educational community is full of caring, hard working people; I have also seen what happens when that community is full of apathy and pettiness. I am glad to see that even in Texas there are people who go beyond what is required of them and reach out to make our world better, happier, and more trusting place. Again, you have my sincerest thanks. Yours, TR Lynn, MA 07 January 2005 07 Janurary 2005 ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/144 "2005-01-07T16:20:00Z")
I found this story and the first thread from the Pit thread. I just want to say that this principal totally rocks. I’m picturing the guy from “Boston Public”, whose name I can’t remember. I figured there’d be at least one or two jerks in the parents’ meeting, but I wasn’t expecting one to use the word “freak”. What a great response the principal and VP made! Good luck to you, **Kaitlyn** , I’m completely in awe! ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/145 "2005-01-07T16:26:15Z")
> [@Redwing](#): > > I am glad to see that even in Texas You could probably leace that part out. We aren’t ALL red-necked, homophobic, mullet-wearing, pickup-driving, morons. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/146 "2005-01-07T17:22:38Z")
We have another two hour delay due to weather conditions. The weather gods hate me. I can’t spend a lot of time, so I’ll just drop a note and come back later for an update if necessary. Casting information: Mr. P is a Jewish man in his mid-sixties, about 6’ 4" tall, with gray hair. He seems to have one gray suit that he wears every day with a different colored tie to provide variety. Jerry Orbach would have been perfect. Upon rereading some of what I wrote last night, I noticed a mistake I need to correct. Mr. P was doing the Deniro delivery during the teacher’s meeting; at the parents’ he was straightforward deadpan. There was a brief section that was supposed to follow the “expert on all sexually related matters” intro that somehow got deleted. The gist of it was that some parents were asking some truly bizarre questions that had no bearing on our situation whatsoever, such as whether a particular contestant on the previous night’s episode of Jeopardy! was a transsexual. Gotta go, will update as I have time. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/147 "2005-01-07T17:37:21Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Me too ('cepting I’m neither gay nor Canadian - nor, for that matter, am I dead, to fill out the sometimes-quoted triumverate). Me three! (Except I am neither gay nor dead…) Let’s snag from screencaps from the new L&O series and CGI Jerry Orbach in! Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/148 "2005-01-07T18:02:56Z")
[That’s a school policy question](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/dougmrdth/jerry2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/149 "2005-01-07T18:06:20Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > Casting information: Mr. P is a Jewish man in his mid-sixties, about 6’ 4" tall, with gray hair. He seems to have one gray suit that he wears every day with a different colored tie to provide variety. James Cromwell (with a yarmulke?). **Kaitlyn** , thanks for these posts. Hang in there. Too bad I don’t have any kids, or live in Texas. I know the meeting wth the parents was only last night, and you’ve got a weather delay today, but do you think any of the parents are going to pull their kids? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/150 "2005-01-07T18:08:49Z")
> [@Priam](#): > > [That’s a school policy question](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/dougmrdth/jerry2.jpg) Brilliant! _applauds_ Now we still need a supervillain and some evil ninjas… and a love interest! We gotta have a love interest… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/151 "2005-01-07T18:10:40Z")
The height issue and race aside, I think Ben Kingsley is perfect for Mr. P. He’s the perfect mix of mild-mannered deadpan with an ability to make me quake in my boots while being ever-so-polite. Then, of course, he can go totally ape-shit like no man ever. Chilling. (I’m thinking recent Kingsley especially, _SexyBeast_ and _House of Sand and Fog_.) I mean, can you imaging being that sixth grade boy and making a stupid comment and then being called into _Ben Kingsely’s_ office? I’d be peeing myself. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/152 "2005-01-07T18:15:44Z")
…Ben Kingsley. _Ben Kingsley_. I can’t decide now! The agony! ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/153 "2005-01-07T18:55:35Z")
That’s _Sir_ Ben to you. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/154 "2005-01-07T19:01:33Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Add a married straight guy from North Carolina to **matt** ’s and **punha** ’s endorsement – that man is like a character out of fiction. I’m very impressed with him! > > (And you yourself, **Kaitlyn** , are handling this whole thing with amazing gracefulness – let me add my kudos to the 138 previous posts telling you that you rock!) Add a Texas expat to the soggy reaches of the Great Pacific Northwet to the list of impressed posters – Mr. P and Mr. VP both rock, as does Mrs. Six. **Kaitlyn** , I salute you for your grace and humor. Make that 140something posts. 😃 And Ben Kingsley? Dude. Totally could see him as Mr. P, especially given **Kaitlyn’s** description of the guy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/155 "2005-01-07T19:11:49Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > That’s _Sir_ Ben to you. To \*\*Kytheria \*\*in Canada, probably. But I don’t think you and I here in The Colonies are supposed to use those titles, are we? I thought those went out with the “Lords” and “Majesties” (Although if there was any man I’d call majestic, it’d be dear Mr. Kingsley.) [/hijack] But if we go with Mr. Kingsley for Mr. P, we need to cast Mr. VP as someone big and hulking, who we might expect to be the heavy, but who is nowhere near as internally powerful as Mr. P. I’m thinking the red-headed giant from ER (Olaf the Troll on BtVS). He seems like a pushover, so I could see parents trying to go through him, but he’s got a loyalty that would be unmatched. Yet he’s not an annoying toady. (Maybe in Act II, we find out he’s gay.) ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/156 "2005-01-07T19:38:18Z")
Lunchtime update. Three students were pulled from my class today, all boys. I shall have some rather unladylike things to say in response to this after school, using language I would prefer not to use while posting from a school computer. One student was transferred in, a girl. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/157 "2005-01-07T19:43:31Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > I shall have some rather unladylike things to say in response to this after school, using language I would prefer not to use while posting from a school computer. Probably best not to post it at all, regardless of language, from a school computer. IIRC anything written on a school computer can later (I’m not sure of the statute of limitations, but I wouldn’t want to test it) be pulled for court/state use. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/158 "2005-01-07T20:47:26Z")
Wow - I just read thru this thread and the prequel, and all I can say is Wow. **Kaitlyn** - you are one strong, smart & sassy lady & Mr. P absolutely ROCKS! Poli ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/159 "2005-01-07T21:30:56Z")
> [@Kaitlyn](#): > > Lunchtime update. > Three students were pulled from my class today, all boys. We all knew it was too good to be true to hope that all of the parents would’ve been able to accept this. Life, unfortunately, is not a feel-good movie where everyone learns love and acceptance and bigots stop being bigots. Still, it makes me sad that anyone would be so stupid, and I can only hope that those boys will not follow in their parents’ footsteps. On the other hand, this > [@](#): > > One student was transferred in, a girl. is a positive sign that not everyone is as close-minded as those boys’ parents. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209/160 "2005-01-07T22:42:18Z")
F. Murray Abraham as Mr. P. Frank Langella as Mr. VP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-kaitlyns-first-day-in-the-classroom/283209.md?page=9)