April 26
...serving up your daily dish.
It's official. The Montclair elementary school being planned on the site of the old "colored Y" on Washington Street now has a name: the Charles H. Bullock Sr. School. Bullock was director of the Y from 1916 to 1935. Mr. Read of the Star Ledger reports today:
The name Charles H. Bullock Sr. School was the unanimous choice of a commemoration committee, Assistant School Superintendent Jeanne Pryor told Mont clair's board of education Monday night.
In recent months, the commit tee, students and staff have been studying ways to acknowledge the Washington Street Y -- as it be came known after its integration in 1959 -- in the new elementary school.
Among the recommendations are incorporating the 1926 cornerstone, a bust or portrait of Bullock and even the mosaic pool tiles into the school to recognize the Y's contributions to the African-American community.
Sure, fine. The Barista thinks it's admirable to honor the African-American community and everything. But the name Bullock, for a school? Isn't that the British word for ....
A little trip to Urban Dictionary straighened us out:
1. bullocks 19 up, 3 down
A term Americans mistakenly use when they really mean to say bollocks.
"Bullocks"? Bollocks, mate, say it right!
Ohhhhh. That was it. Bollocks! Or as Wikipedia explains:
"Bollocks" is a swear word meaning testicles in British English. The word is often used figuratively, most commonly as a noun to mean "nonsense" or as an expletive following a minor accident or misfortune, but also in a number of other ways; as an adjective to mean "poor quality" or "useless", and in various compound expressions (see below). Due to its versatility, bollocks has been called the Swiss Army Knife of andrological profanities.
So sure, great guy, not even the same word. But in a school? We're sure the name with provide hours of titillation -- as well as an opportunity for some great cross-cultural learning -- for the bad little boys of Montclair for decades to come. The question the administration might start to think about now: would use of the term "bullocks" "bollocks" be enough to land a kid in the principal's office?
April 26, 2006 in Scooped by Phil Read, Again | Permalink
"Never Mind the Bullocks," yes, it's true, but the poor man can't change his name.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Apr 26, 2006 9:13:08 AM
Bullocks are cattle. Especially in lowland Scotland. Specifically castrated steers. How charming a usage. This, too, is an obscure word.
But this item was also so obviously filler on what I'm guessing looks to be a slow news day in the offing.
Posted by: cathar | Apr 26, 2006 9:17:45 AM
Miss Martta, it's Bollocks on the Sex Pistols LP. Poor Sandra Bullock, to have a misunderstood name.
Posted by: Krys O. | Apr 26, 2006 9:27:17 AM
Come on, Ms B. You should be ashamed of yourself. Making fun of a dead man's name is bad enough, but doing it when he is being honored for his contributions to the community is stooping pretty low.
Posted by: Bitpusher | Apr 26, 2006 9:41:52 AM
Who knew there was a committee discussing what to name the school. Last I saw anything of this reported, the name of the school was off into the future.
What else is the Board of Education hiding?
How much will this school really cost? How about a pool, Barista. My money is in the $140M world. Everything this school administration seems to touch ends up costing about 4 times what was originally promised.
Great evidence in the bio of NY Parks Commish Robert Moses who clearly understood how he (a bureaucrat) could easily manipulate the politicians. Give them a reasonable number. Then, little by little, keep raising the number, eventually, the politicians have put so much cash into the project, they cannot walk away.
Watch it happen here.
Cost over runs, extras, new stuff, cool toys. All coming.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Apr 26, 2006 10:12:52 AM
The Star Ledger article reveals a bit of Montclair's (and Northern) history.
The article states that the (proposed)new Montclair elementary school will be constucted on the site of the old "colored Y" on Washington Street.
A 'colored Y"?
Could it be that SEGREGATION was a matter of life in Montclair during the late-1800's?
We've come a long way since then!
Posted by: Franklin | Apr 26, 2006 10:16:27 AM
Poor Sandra Bullock, to have a misunderstood name.
Not so. Actually an accurate depiction of her non-masculine nature.
Posted by: Byron | Apr 26, 2006 10:19:18 AM
"Could it be that SEGREGATION was a matter of life in Montclair during the late-1800's?"
Was a fact of life in the late 1940's
Posted by: Byron | Apr 26, 2006 10:21:48 AM
You wankers! It could have been worse in relation to U.K. slang. The early feminist Fanny Wright could have been the person being honored.
Posted by: E. Goldstein | Apr 26, 2006 10:23:57 AM
"What happens to the name "Rand"?"
And who was Rand, anyway? My kids spent a total of 8 years there and I never knew (nor asked!)
Posted by: latebloomer | Apr 26, 2006 10:32:13 AM
Rand you ask?????
There is also a park across the street from the high school that bears the family Rand name.
And if my memory serves me right the Rand's were also influential in establishing the Montclair Museum of Art.
Apparently the Rand's were early blue haired residents of our fair township.
Posted by: Franklin | Apr 26, 2006 10:39:12 AM
My guess is that unless the kids watch a lot of Britcoms on PBS they may actually not even think of this slang term. Not commonly used here, is it?
Posted by: mauigirl52 | Apr 26, 2006 10:48:55 AM
Charles H. Bullock Sr. is just a mouth full. Impossible to chant at rallies. Difficult to fit on a t-shirt. But it seems like a fitting tribute and a fine compromise. Maybe it will become know as CHB Elementary.
Posted by: cheaplazymom | Apr 26, 2006 10:58:39 AM
Could it be that SEGREGATION was a matter of life in Montclair during the late-1800's?
Haven't you ever heard of Rice et al. vs The Montclair Board of Education?
Posted by: Bitpusher | Apr 26, 2006 12:48:57 PM
Public buldings should be named after someone who contributed a lot to the community, like Mr. Bullock.
Posted by: Bitpusher | Apr 26, 2006 12:51:59 PM
Trust me. Segregation, by race and ethnicity, was an absolute way of life in Montclair well into the 1960's. We understood not to cross the Mtclr Mason-Dixon line. As late as 2000, the words "Colored YMCA" remained inscribed in the concrete block over the entrance of that facility.
Folks blowing up this entire issue as a fight about black history is "political bollock's." But, at this point, I'll put up with alomst anything that will end this stupid debate and re-focus black parents on EDUCATIONAL content and achievement. Who knows, it might produce a generation of black and white citizens who could move us beyond black history trivia into the technology age!
Posted by: Black Nana | Apr 26, 2006 1:25:42 PM
I associate the name Bullock with the HBO show, Deadwood. The sheriff, played by Timothy Olyphant, is a very manly man named Seth Bullock. In light of all this information about the meaning of the name, an interesting choice of name for the character.
Posted by: bt | Apr 26, 2006 1:36:04 PM
I think Rand was the first superintendent of schools.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Apr 26, 2006 3:43:54 PM
