We know that Anthony Hill, an occastional substitute teacher in the Glendale Elementary School District, got all verklempt by alleged anti-American sentiments made by his eighth-grade Latino students during a March 8 class.
State Senate prez Russ"Yap" Pearce
An exit report composed by the irate Mr. Hill (here it is, as reported in an earlier post by colleague Ray Stern) wound up getting read in its entirety on the floor of the Arizona State Senate.
Big whoop that a bevy of teens may have given a substitute teacher a hard time, assuming they did. We recall an incident from our past in which some punks (one of them later became a cop) threatened to hang an elderly biology teacher headfirst out of a third-story window if he didn't ease up on them.
But among other things, Hill claimed that
most of the Latino students he's encountered "do not want to be educated but rather be gang members and gangsters."Talk about stirring the turd, as a Southern buddy of ours might have phrased it.
State Senate President Russell Pearce lauded the sub's report as authentic, accurate, and vivid proof of the disdain that "Latinos" feel toward our nation.
The story's media shelf life predictably lasted but a few days, but now we have more to add--concerning Anthony Hill's own ongoing personal issues.
Records show that Hill, a father of eight, has been embroiled for years in an ugly Family Court dispute with his wife (they are legally separated).
A few years ago, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Susanna Pineda awarded the wife sole custody of the minor children (that's unusual), writing, "Father has a history of exploding by verbally calling the minor children vulgar names and using intimidating gestures towards Mother and the children...Father choked Mother at one point and physically abused the family pet in front of the children."
Choking Mom? Bad enough.
But physically abusing the family pet? Damn!
Judge Pineda concluded that the custody arrangement "is reasonable given Father's mental health and anger management issues...[his] erratic and violent behavior, [and his] long history of domestic violence against Mother and the children."
The court file notes that Hill was suspended in 2006 from his job at a supermarket "because of his irrational behavior," and was hospitalized for a time for depression and possible suicidal thoughts.
After his discharge, the file continues, Hill allegedly threatened his work supervisor and his wife -- the latter "fled the marital home with the minor children and all pets," and won a court order of protection.
Last January 11, according to a court Conciliation Services report, Hill, his estranged wife, and five of their children discussed the dysfunctional situation in a controlled setting.
"All [of the children] agreed that their father is not sincere about his past behavior," the facilitator wrote. "The father said he was and did not know what he could do."
Interestingly, Hill said a few days after his scathing letter against the Latino students came to light that his wife is of Hispanic heritage.
Though the guy apparently doesn't have a criminal record, the rather chilling Family Court file raises a question that we may get into at a later date:
Who the hell are our substitute teachers, and what kind of vetting process do they go through before being allowed into the classroom?
Ay carumba!
