school daze

Fourth Grade Fight Club: The Squeakquel

Turns out the teacher-mandated brawl at P.S. 65 in Queens that the Daily News reported yesterday wasn’t the first of its kind. Fourth-grade instructor Joseph Gullotta has set up sparring scenarios before. From the News today:

Jovan [Ortiz], who was in Gullotta’s class last year, said the teacher came up with a brutal scheme to control his behavior. “My teacher said if I got out of my seat, kids were allowed to punch me in my face,” he said. His mother, Wajana Vallechillo, said she filed a complaint after classmates punched Jovan in the stomach twice. During a sitdown at the Ozone Park school, Gullotta cried and said he was just trying to “toughen up” Jovan, the mother said.


It’s shocking,” the 10-year-old Ortiz told the tabloid. “I thought he would learn.” (Since when is that how 10-year-olds speak? Getting punched in the face seems to have matured this kid at least enough to learn how to parrot his parents.) Gullotta, of course, has been suspended (with pay) and has been remanded to a reassignment center where he’ll await a review. In the meantime, he’ll be hanging out in the school department’s “rubber rooms” with all those sexed-up lady teachers from James Madison “Horndog” High.

We see great things coming in the very near future.

School ‘Fight Club’: Queens wrestling teacher told kids to punch classmate, ex-student says [NYDN]

Fourth Grade Fight Club: The Squeakquel