Psychological or Behavioral Screenings

Mar 28, 2007 -
After the fourth district employee accused of sexual misconduct this year, Broward County school officials said they must scrutinize the district's hiring practices. They might add psychological or behavioral screenings.

School Board members Eleanor Sobel and Jennifer Gottlieb suggested the district add psychological or behavioral screenings, which are not part of the process. The district also does not conduct drug tests on applicants.

The newspaper reports that more than 17,000 teachers work for Broward schools. They also give space for a a forensic psychologist who specializes in the treatment of sexual predators and offenders, who cautions against psychological screenings. Besides questioning their legality, he said such a small portion of educators are pedophiles that people would be misidentified."If you look at the number of teachers vs. the number of teachers doing this, it's a minuscule proportion," Alexander said. "It would be impossible to screen for this."
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TT - You can't screen for a sexual predator. Most teachers are not arrested for child pornography, or pedophilia, but for having sexual relationships with their students. Most teachers who get involved with students don't start out to seduce them or be seduced. It's a question of opportunity and woeful lack of self-discipline.

What you can screen for is suitability to be a teacher with an emphasis on maturity, responsibility, commitment and character. How hard is that to judge? How hard would it be to ask an applicant to sit at a desk and write an essay on values? Besides verifying that they can actually spell, it might signify serious intent to find the best candidates.

Departments of Education and school systems have become hiring factories with little interest or concern with the ethical training of their teachers or administrators. Except for that once-a-year, mandated training exercise that involves sitting around a table with a cup of coffee in a styrofoam container, the subject is pretty much a non-goer. The teacher knows it. The principal knows it. The student can sense it. Parents fear that's the case. Headlines prove it.

We aren't looking for pedophiles in schools! We want teachers who act appropriately and maturely with their students. No teacher should have a MySpace page to engage students in an off-campus dialogue. They shouldn't be text-messaging them. Both should be grounds for immediate unpaid suspension. Sex with a student, even if the student is of legal age, should be criminalized.

How difficult is it to act like an adult?