Actually, they really don't make me angry; they just hurt. As one
of those who asked you questions, I want to say I'm sorry it was
hurtful, truly.
Nothing that has been publicly posted seemed like "flames’ to me. I
think everyone was just baffled by the idea that the situation you
describe would exist, so we were trying to make sense of it. It is
still hard to imagine anyone telling an adult that they could not
leave a room at any time as she chose, and hard to imagine an adult
accepting being told she could not leave when needed. Your experience
doesn’t seem to fit with the experience of others, and it is a
natural human tendency to try to fill in to reconcile
disparate facts. Hence the questions. But I feel I speak for one and
all when I say we sympathise with your difficulty and are sorry you
had such a terrible time.
The harsh criticism of the Revere Academy by one person does not
seem to be getting much traction or sympathetic "me-too"
testimony. The complaint may be justified, but the Revere Academy
apparently has consistently operated a high quality program with
integrity and satisfied students to such an extent that the
accusation does not seem credible, as expressed in several posts.
Jaynemarie indicated that Revere Academy was concerned she might
fall asleep while playing with fire. Since fire consumed most of the
city 100 years ago, I’m guessing fire insurance might be expensive
in San Francisco. Plus, the school may be in a high risk category
for fire insurance.
The school’s insurance company may require that a binder be added to
their insurance policy to accommodate any increase in risk. The
increased insurance coverage would probably remain in effect
indefinately, which would ultimately increase tuition for every
student. Therefore, it seems likely that insurance issues probably
influenced the school’s difficult business decision to terminate her
participation in class.
I don’t think everybody who’s responded to this thread is personally
attacking you.
I think many of us–myself included–are simply puzzled.
Metalsmithing’s a pretty small world. A lot of us know each other,
at least to say ‘hi’ to. I’ve taken workshops from Alan once or twice
over the years, and I know some of the people who teach for him.
The conduct you’re describing is so totally out of character for the
guy I’ve talked to, and the other instructors I know there, that I’m
left wondering what else was going on. On its face, your request to
take a break seems completely reasonable, assuming there was some way
to accommodate you without disrupting the class. The reaction you’re
describing is totally out of proportion to what appears to be a
fairly low-key request. It forces me to believe that there was some
other factor involved. It’s as if you were adding 2+2 and got a
result of “Grapefruit”. Clearly, there must be something else at
work.
I think that’s where a lot of the Orchid readers are: sitting at
their computers, reading this thread, and asking themselves
"What??!" It simply doesn’t make any sense, which leaves people
groping around for what the other factors were, and filling the
blanks in ways that fit their experiences, rather than your
situation.
I have a saying that I try to remember when things get dicey: “Never
attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by
ignorance”.
Therefore, it seems likely that insurance issues probably
influenced the school's difficult business decision to terminate
her participation in class.
I suspect you are on point here. Request for breaks should have been
handled off the record. Once knowledge of disability was made public,
school had no choice but to terminate, or face insurance policy
cancelation.
If you can't find a school in your area, then try to find a job in
a quick fix quiosk in a mall. You would be amazed at how much you
learn in a situation like that.
That is true for many skills it but does fall under the
classification of “Cruel & Unusual Punishment”.
I have to agree with Brian. I do not discount the fact that the
person writing the original post had issues. But like Brian said, its
out of character with Alan Revere and his instructors. Knowing Alan
for years, he and his staff are very sweet and caring people.