Chapter 22: Meeting

Miss James, and most of the faculty and staff, was aware of what had happened at the Board meeting. And before it. They also knew that it was traditional for a new chairman of the Board to address the faculty and staff the day after being elected to that post. Therefore, there was a special meeting scheduled for the purpose. Later, there would be an Assembly so that the students could be informed of the new leadership.

When Linda entered the room for the meeting, she did so in her power suit. There were some raised eyebrows over that, and some frank expressions of disapproval. She moved to the head of the table and stood beside Miss James, waiting for her formal introduction.

"Ladies, may I have your attention please? It is my duty and honour to introduce the new Chairman of the Board of Governors, the first female to hold that post in the history of this school, Miss Linda Magnesson." She then led the ritual applause.

"I will now turn this meeting over to her."

"Thank you, Miss James. Ladies. First, we must be clear on one point. I am addressing you today as the chairman, not as a student of this school. That fact is reflected in my mode of dress. Your reactions to seeing me dressed this way, while understandable, are inappropriate. Over the next few months, we will be having more such meetings. This mode of dress will serve as a reminder of the function I am serving."

"There will be many changes over the next few months. The primary change will be to the mission of this facility. This will no longer be a place where girls are sent to be broken and humiliated. Instead, it will be our duty to teach these girls respect and strength. They will learn to respect themselves, first and foremost. Beyond that, they will learn to respect their families and their society. We will be creating generations of leaders, instead of cringing servants."

"There will be many changes to the procedures and even the staffing of this school. Those of you who are unsuited to the new mission of the school will find your roles changed. I will say more about that in a moment."

"I came here to investigate this school, and I did. I was shocked and disappointed at what I found. Not about the sadism and sexual humiliation - I was warned about them." Her audience looked at each other with concern and some confusion. "I was most disappointed at how lazy and complacent you have become. For a school that prides itself at turning out students, those who survive, with high academic skill and achievement, you have shown a stunning lack of creativity and flexibility. I might expect that of the sadists, but even the best of you are in a rut. Someone acts out, you strip her and humiliate her. Someone seems undermotivated, strip her and humiliate her. Someone doesn't learn the day's lesson, strip her and humiliate her. Things get worse, or she stands up for herself, strip her, humiliate her, and beat her. The most creative ones are the sadists, and they are only creative in finding new excuses for their abuses. And even they are in a rut."

"Thousands of teachers maintain discipline, even rigid, effective discipline of otherwise unruly students, without the least hint of nudity or violence. They vary their measures to suit the individual student. Even in a Borstall they do so, and that with the kinds of girls you routinely turn away. If you are going to stay here, you are going to have to be able to do the same. I can tell you here and now, nudity and physical violence will no longer be accepted as disciplinary measures here. At least, not when applied to the students. And other forms of humiliation are largely incompatible with the new mission of the school. If you are so hidebound that you cannot teach under these conditions, then you have no business teaching here."

"I will be proposing a few tools for your use. The real educators among you will come up with many more. And will undoubtedly continue to do so for the rest of their tenure here. We will expect nothing less."

"I have made several references to the fact that some of you may not wish to continue in your positions here, and that some may not be allowed to continue. That is not as simple a matter as it may seem. To put it bluntly, most of you know too much to be allowed to leave freely and easily. It could become very unhealthy to make yourself seem a threat to the powerful and well connected people among the parents of our students, and among my fellow Governors. Therefore, over the next few weeks Miss James and I will be meeting with each of you to discuss your options regarding continuing employment or severance. I need not remind you that any one of you could be charged with many counts of sexually abusing these girls, under our current laws. And I should not have to describe the probable consequences if you should threaten, or even hint at, using what you know about these people to the detriment of any of our students, their parents, or the backers of this school. If you do as we say, most of you have a good chance of getting through this with your careers, and your very skins, intact."