Letter: What We Have Learned from Attending the Hearings for Mr. John Yoon

letter to the editorThe following letter was submitted from Craig W. Amundson on July 28, 2015

To The Editor:

I am writing to express my continued support for currently suspended Greenwich High School Band Director, Mr. John S. Yoon. Having now sat through the public hearings and listened to our school administrator’s justifications for moving to terminate Mr. Yoon, I am even more appalled. The school district’s action is solely based upon the word of two students, one of which specifically told Greenwich High School Headmaster, Chris Winters, that she didn’t want Mr. Yoon terminated. And the second, an over scheduled student whom just wanted to drop one of Mr. Yoon’s honors classes.

To top it all off, our school officials failed to even investigate the complaints before deciding to terminate Mr. Yoon, a teacher who has had an amazing impact on our students and our community.

We have heard no evidence of bullying, no evidence of verbal abuse, no evidence of unprofessional anything. What we have heard is that two students were mildly disciplined, resulting in one student losing his Section Leader position, and the other had her seat assignment moved one row back. Both had been reprimanded for their disrespectful behavior. If the “professionals” who run our schools don’t believe that students need to be disciplined and reprimanded, perhaps we are considering the continued employment of the wrong individual. Through Mr. Yoon’s dedicated tutelage based upon concepts like commitment, responsibility and integrity, he has grown our High School’s band program to be recognized as one of the best in the country.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Yoon since 1993 and can personally attest to his character, passion for his craft, and dedicated service to our children and our Town. I feel very strongly that we are punishing this man for performing his duties with the same enthusiasm we wish all teachers had. I would hope that our School Administrators and the Board of Education will rethink their position.

Sincerely,
Craig W. Amundson