How strict is Durst, really?

[Z Fan]

Same with me, that's why I decided to record them, so I don't have to stay up til eleven to enjoy them. And I can fast forward commercials.

[lazerxangel]

Nice I should try that.
Oh dear, Gideon. I think we've now torn apart this thread and gone completely off topic.

[Z Fan]

I know. I feel slightly bad. It was a good thread, then we switch the topic and that was a good thread, now we're just vistiting about the possiblitly of watching BHH whenever we want. *sigh* Still, it was good while it lasted. We just need to focus and find another topic that involves BHH. *starts thinking*

[lazerxangel]

Hm...well, we can resume the topic, or just abandon this thread.

[Z Fan]

hmmm...well, do we have anything more to say about Durst? If not...then I vote abandon with an apology to Gideon for taking over the thread.

[Gideon]

lazerxangel said:

Oh dear, Gideon. I think we've now torn apart this thread and gone completely off topic.

I don't mind at all. Nobody needs to apologise, Z Fan.

[lazerxangel]

Ok, maybe we should ask Gideon what to do with this thread. Should we just leave it and wait for a mod to lock it?

[Gideon]

Well, I guess the thread has pretty much run its course, so if everyone wants to leave it, I guess we can leave it. But you guys can do what you like. I know I created the thread, but I'm not the Big Boss.

Lazerx, check your PM box.

[{88Keys}]

She often is only strict to make the school look good. A good example is in Robot where an 'inspector' pays a visit. And she is mad when she is made to look a fool, that is when she is strictest.

That's possible, but personally I think she is strict to make sure the students in her care turn out well, both educationally and as people. Think about it- she has a hundred or so young people spending some of the most important years of their life under her care, more or less without their parents. She probably feels double the responsibility that most teachers/principals would.

I think that parallels with the Principal in Recess (Principle Prickly) who is always telling the kids of for showing him and the school up. I think it is a common Principle personality in the minds of American Writers. Are Principles like that for real, American friends?

Adam, Recess is a cartoon. Seriously, I would say to some extent. Unfortunately, there are a lot of politics involved in being a school administrator (especially if it's in a small town or school district). There is some pandering to the parents, board members, faculty, etc...trying to keep everyone happy and still do your job is difficult.

I wonder if Durst feels the need to be even more strict and exert herself more because she's a woman? For a long time, school administration was more of a male-dominated field, I believe. At any rate, I think Durst is the shizzle. She's a good teacher, she geniunely cares about the students, and she runs a tight ship. I think deep down, all of her students respect her for that, even if they don't always like her.

And the disciplinarian usually always comes off as the bad guy no matter what. I always get yelled at for deleting posts, locking threads, etc <_< . HailStorm does just as much as I do but gets off easy.

Not today she didn't!

[Z Fan]

Way to pull us back on track! Thanks!

[lazerxangel]

Well, since we're back on topic, my old principal was actually the nicest principal ever. In fact, all, or most of my principals were extremely nice. It was the dean that got on our nerves. He's more of a 'Victor Pearson.' Like, he has good intentions, but people are scared of him (including my teachers!)

[MirrorCard]

gideon said:

She must have a strong attachment to BHH, though. It's clear that she'd love to have a nice, normal, school to run, but she never attempts to leave the school, or apply for a job anywhere else. So, in spite of all the problems, she really must like BHH a lot. She did say in Magnet that she's been there for 25 years, so she obviously feels something for the school, and I imagine it would be quite hard for her to leave after such a long time.

In Lifetime, she admits annoyance with her treatment. In Chirality, she gets fired and willingly leaves the school.

Like others have pointed out, she is probably in too deep to leave. Also consider that she is in a position of Principal of a boarding school. It's not like she's a teacher and can go anywhere. She'd be looking for a job of atleast being principal for the money that she gets. With his money, Victor probably pays her enough to make it worth it for her to put up with him.

I think something we forget is that this isn't a school where odd things happen and the students struggle to have normal lives. This is a school that is relatively normal but odd things happen every so often.

Because the episodes only show the mysterious events, we get the perception that weird stuff is always happening. However, seeing as the students aren't in a constant state of paranoia (minus Lucas), it seems like the events do not happen as much as we think they do. Normal activities function independant of worry of mysterious events (not like that one Buffy episode where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and all the activities were focused around avoiding the nighttime because the vampires had gotten out of control). The Science Club talks about other things, like a normal science club, besides how to thwart "Pearson's nefarious experiment." But the events are common enough that the students don't flip out when they do happen (observable in many episodes). When the episodes are plotted on a timeline, weeks - even up to a month and a half - go by between some episodes. If there were more mysterious events, I think the students would be more edgy and less normal, so I'm inclined to believe there's less mysterious events than we think, probably even somewhat restricted to when the episodes take place.

88keys said:

At any rate, I think Durst is the shizzle. She's a good teacher, she geniunely cares about the students, and she runs a tight ship. I think deep down, all of her students respect her for that, even if they don't always like her.

Have we seen her interact with the students for anything else besides discipline? Like, she's never really talking with them - nothing to suggest a kind of respect for her. Lifetime makes her seem more human, but she was talking to (someone she thought was) a teacher.
Lifetime does show she has genuine concern for the students. When lucas went missing, she nearly nearly broke down. In Radio, she was also really concerned for the welfare of the students. So, you're probably right that there is a side of her that gets along with the students but wasn't shown.

---

gideon said:

Vaughn is probably a bit scared of Madison (or wary.)

From Brainwaves:
Marshall: "What is up with you and Madison?"
Vaughn: "None of your business."

zfan06 said:

I'm thinking of just recording the series on VHS.

Do it while you still can! Seriously, start the next chance you get.

[Gideon]

mirrorcard said:

Have we seen her interact with the students for anything else besides discipline?

Well, in Shrink, she has quite a nice talk with Josie. Okay, she is disciplining her too, but she tells Josie that if people pick on her because of her height, it's them that have the problem, not Josie, and she seemed to be trying to make Josie feel better.