Rant of the Day

RANT OF THE DAY

October 21, 2008 - (Vancouver, BC) Vancouver Sun columnist Todd Douglas worries that campaigns to teach teachers how to establish boundaries with students, "are contributing to an atmosphere of wariness and even paranoia -- at both high schools and universities."

With heightened surveillance of teachers and post-secondary instructors in the past decade and more, many educators privately tell me they and their colleagues are taking the safest way out -- they're simply having less contact with their students.

It's easier. But both instructors and students are the losers. The kind of rich relationships I developed with a few devoted teachers and professors in the 1970s and early 1980s would now rarely, if ever, happen.

He claims: "Now, in the wary and litigious atmosphere at universities, unstable students can and do ruin instructors careers by falsely accusing them of harassment. It's happened in B.C. and across North America."

Read the whole thing.
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TT - Zero tolerance of boundary issues isn't because of a few harassment claims. It's due to teachers having sex with their students, something Douglas would know if he visited the College of Teacher sites in Canada where disciplinary records are online in every province.

The fear of "closed doors" is the mantra of the teachers' unions here and in Canada as taught in so-called ethics lectures before the start of every school year. Bizarrely -- because of their opposition to reform at any level -- this styrofoam-cup-and-donut lecture is conducted mostly by union reps. Not surprisingly, the focus is on "false accusations" and not on moral conduct.

It's like hearing a lecture from a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in defending the mob. He doesn't really care what the creep did: it's his job to defend him. However, the defense lawyer doesn't bother with the pretense that he cares about moral choices. He's in it for the money. The same can be said for teachers' unions.

Which is why any attempt to bring sanity to the classroom in order to bring a check on behaviors that result in statutory rape or result in fewer arrests and sentences for sex charges is doomed. It becomes an issue of "false charges" and "false accusations." This, despite the fact that in over 8,000 entries, we have yet to find a single case where a student recanted.

False accusations often occur when a student accuses a teacher of shoving him around. It's teenage belligerence. However, sex charges substantiated by police enough to warrant an arrest are not false or intended to humiliate or get back at a teacher. A teacher can be found not guilty of the charges, but the likelihood is slim. There are few instances where they are exhonerated.

But the damage - the real damage - of the "false accusation" shibboleth (defined as common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth) is that other teachers, constantly warned of the danger do not report their suspicions and become suspicious of all complaints of sexual exploitation. As Dr. Robert Shoop, writes, in his book, "Sexual Exploitation in Schools," "Perhaps because educators fear false complaints against themselves, they tend to give other school employees the benefit of the doubt." (p 64)

That might be putting it kindly. When the so-called "ethics" reminder is given at the beginning of the school year by the teachers' union representative, it's a none too gentle reminder that you better believe it's a false accusation. Because you, too, can be taken down if you report someone else.

Most school districts in this country have student handbooks that clearly delineate acceptable behavior. Some of the handbooks are hundreds of pages long. How hard is it to print a teacher's handbook that said: DON'T HAVE SEX WITH STUDENTS. YOU WILL BE FIRED. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR LICENSE. YOU WILL GO TO JAIL. AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO MAKE CERTAIN YOU DO.

The British Columbia College of Teachers presently has an online survey on -- Boundary Violations.

Don't miss reading their monthly magazine that has a whole article on "Steering Clear of Boundary Violations" on pg 14. They call wrong accusations "extremely rare." Be sure to read how teachers justify having students as friends on Facebook. Teacher disciplinary decisions can be found on pg.20.
Current Issue PDF (large file)

On his blog, Douglas was forced to defend his criticism of the BC College of Teacher DVD and attempt to educate teachers on boundaries.

Knoxville, TENNESSEE

RANT OF THE DAY

Another murder trial eagerly followed by a tabloid press. We aren't talking about the National Inquirer, either.

September 3, 2008 - The trial has started for Eric McLean on first-degree murder charges for killing an 18-year-old former student of his wife. Jurors were informed they could be sequestered for the duration of the trial that is being carried live by truTV.

Eric McLean has since divorced his wife, who was 29 at the time, which makes this headline, "Love-triangle slaying: Judge won't issue gag order" distasteful. (from the Knoxville News-Sentinel, a Scripps newspaper)

It wasn't a triangle and no love was involved. It's the story of a sexual predator in the classroom,. But that would be a less-thrilling headline and McClean wouldn't have - less than 10 days after after point-blank shooting the boy to death - appeared on NBC's "Today" show.

Frankly, the National Inquirer has become more legitimate than our former mainstream media that have become low end, tabloid thrill-seekers. What kind of people celebrate a murder like this when an 18-year-old boy who delivered pizzas is dead?

The wife, Erin McLean, has since been involved in at least two other scandals involving teenage boys and has been on the run from her estranged husband's divorce attorney with the children, ages 11 and 8, since last summer.

TT - Entry for McLean

RANT OF THE DAY

RANT OF THE DAY

Compare this coverage of a "disgraced" teacher in New Zealand released on early probation with media coverage in the U.S. on parole releases of teachers in this country.

Continued here.

Thatcher, ARIZONA

VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN. Rant of the day.

Feb 7, 2008 - It's officially a celebrity contest to see what sentence a judge will hand out to an art teacher accused of secretly videotaping high school students while they changed clothes.

The judge has solicited letters from the victims and supporters that will be read before passing sentence in February once the official plea agreement is arranged.

If you wish to contact Judge Holt and give your fully-uninformed opinion, you can find his address and a spiffy picture here. Maybe the Jerry Springer show could arrange to be in the courtroom. Failing that, Geraldo Rivera is always available. (Scratch that, no one is Hispanic.)

TT entry for Stephen Charles Hume

Perverted Injustice

RANT OF THE DAY

The Aspen Times News has an editorial in support of "a gifted teacher" who was sentenced to probation for possession of child pornography.

Right and wrong aren’t easy to discern in a situation such as this one. Clearly society has an interest in protecting children from potential predators and punishing those who have harmed children. On the other hand, there’s not much to gain by locking up an offender who has not been accused of physically harming anyone, and who has contributed mightily to his community.

AND,

Moore’s case falls into an unusual gray area. He was not accused of directly harming any child. In fact, locals who spoke this week to Judge James Boyd in Moore’s defense said they still would trust Moore with their children. This would not be the case if Moore was accused of molesting an actual child.

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TT - Pardon us, but society has an interest in punishing people who sexually exploit children by virtue of collecting child pornography. That's why possession of child pornography is a crime in civilized societies outside of Aspen, Colorado.

Child pornography isn't a drawing. It's picture of a crime scene where children -- in this case, one as young as 3-years-old -- are being sexually abused for the teacher's pleasure and for other sick bastards who savor the enjoyment of watching such a perverse act.

Your "gifted teacher" had not one, not two, or even seven pictures. He had 119 images of children being raped, molested, abused and tortured by adults.

You ought to be ashamed of saying there are no actual victims! Who are those children in the photographs if not ACTUAL victims???? They're just not the kind of "victims" you care about because you don't know them. They don't contribute to your community. They aren't upstanding Aspen residents. They're just someone's children that you don't care enough about to be outraged over.

Cutting slack for a pervert who drooled over pictures of children being raped and molested by other adults is sick and self-serving. And, yes, damned perverted.

Rant of the Day

RANT OF THE DAY

O.J. had his judge and prosecutors from the Car 54 side of the bar. A Florida judge auditioned and shed tears for his own television series while ruling on a child custody case and made an utter ass of himself.

Yesterday three sentences made no waves. A New Zealand judge gave an Oscar-winning special effects artist 90 minutes to make a $400 donation to the Salvation Army following a no-charge discharge for possession of ecstacy. "Because of your particular involvement in the film industry and the travel involved, I consider that the direct and indirect consequences of conviction would significantly outweigh the seriousness of the offence and the culpability involved."

Heaven forbid his career might suffer by not being able to travel to the U.S. because of a drug conviction.

In Aspen, Colorado, the prosecutor indignantly pointed out that a six-year-old - "who felt victimized for a long time" - appeared in one of 119 child pornography images that were so graphic that it made a seasoned investigator sick. And then the prosector and the legally-dancing judge sentenced the drama teacher to - probation. They had to backdate the plea agreement to make the child pornography a misdemeanor.

Pennyslvania is no slouch in punishing the guilty. A legislator got six months' house arrest for two felony convictions in a corruption scandal. Lucky for us, he will be allowed out of his house to go to church. We're willing to bet, though, that Frank LaGrotta would be repulsed by a courtroom of cheering "community members" who applauded a sentence of six months' probation for pictures of the rape of a six-year-old child.

None of your business

Translation: It's none of your business.

Stupid comments from school officials when an educator is arrested that translate to "It's none of your business." There are hundreds of reasons cited why officials "can't" give out information.

It's a personnel matter # 451
# In Schenectady (NY) two school officials were fired. Police were called by the school as a precaution. But school officials could not go into personnel matters including why the employees were fired. They would not provide contact information for the fired school director, either. Link

# A kindergarten teacher in West Virginia was arrested for drunk driving on her way to school. The district will investigate. It's a personnel matter. Link

# In New Jersey, not only wouldn't the school superintendent confirm the teacher was employed, but also declined to comment on what Beebe's job was with the district, citing it as a personnel matter. Link
[This is only easy in New Jersey. Do not attempt in other states without testing first.]

Continued here for space considerations.

Rant of the Day

Check out the three four arrest stories below.

Maybe it is nostalgia, but remember when an arrest was sufficient grounds to fire a teacher because even being arrested was a character issue?

Now it's endless court rounds, paid vacation for the teacher in the form of paid administrative leave - thank you, taxpayer - while a teachers union-supplied lawyer fights the application of the law, followed by a ridiculously low sentence if the court finds the teacher guilty.

Even then the teacher can't be fired because drugs and alcohol are addictive which makes the teacher disabled. So, following drug or alcohol therapy (and under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you can get paid while in therapy - thank you, U.S. taxpayers) they are allowed to continue to teach.

Fine lesson for children. Because it doesn't matter what lessons you instill in a child in the home. They find life lessons in school.

RANT OF THE DAY

If there is one organization in this country that ought to be banned or taxed out of existence, it's the American Communist Lawyers Association, commonly referred to as the ACLU. (We're being facetious here because they have hundreds of lawyers who have wayyyy too much time on their hands.) The organization would be missed about as much as herpes.

Annually, the ACLU costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars spent on lawyers hired to defend annoying lawsuits that are carefully crafted to be wholly dependent upon finding judges who share the views of the ultra-leftists at the ACLU. They choose their cases carefully, like PETA, to maximize self-publicity and self-promotion.

Whether it's a teacher fired for painting with his posterior or drug testing of teachers in Hawaii, or suing a Mississippi school district for school prayer or challenging the state of Indiana because people elect to buy a license plate that says "In God We Trust," the ACLU is determined to undermine laws written by elected legislators in order to establish law by court edict.

That, of course, is dependent upon unelected judges to side with their view. They are confident of, as well, benign review by the media, most of whom share the same views.

But for the rest of us, it is an intrusion on our established preference of making laws through legislative bodies. Not law determined by unelected and, therefore, not accountable, judges.

Ultimately, they succeed if the public doesn't get mad.

Arlington, TEXAS

RANT OF THE DAY

Sept 13, 2007 - There's a new name for it. "Cyberbullying" And, ridiculously, Arlington schools are demanding that students sign a "contract" that states they would not send harassing e-mails to other students. They would not instant-message. They would not send offensive digital pictures, download video footage or hack into another student's e-mail account.

A Pew Internet and American Life study released this summer found that as many as one in three online teens had experienced some form of harassment online.

And schools nationwide now are attempting to stop the scourge of bullying over the Internet — dubbed cyberbullying— which has become so prevalent that many experts say it is the most disruptive threat to the school day. Students as young as 1st and 2nd grade routinely are being asked to sign computer usage contracts, albeit in blocky print rather than cursive.

TT - Ridiculous, because they cannot legally restrict free speech outside of the limitations placed upon it in the classroom and courts have not supported their claims to be able to do so.

Stupid, because in Rhode Island, the article notes, they plan legislation to prosecute students and their parents if the student is caught sending Internet or text messages that prove disruptive to school.

Ludicrous, because there is not a word about teachers who maintain MySpace accounts and interact with students outside of the classroom or who text message students with whom they have sex.

The Nanny Staters really need to get a life and quit being so goofy.

RANT OF THE DAY

RANT OF THE DAY

In a story about the arrest of high school teacher Jerry Wayne Linton, 58, in Mathews, North Carolina, community reaction and concern was included, but also the school district and the teacher's association.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools plan random background checks during the school year. They said they hope parents keep such charges against teachers in perspective.

And then the news source contacted the union.

Some teachers said incidents involving teachers and children have thousands of them fighting to keep their reputations and parents’ trust. Judy Kidd of the Classroom Teachers Association of North Carolina said she hopes criminal incidents don’t reflect on those who are trying to make a positive impact on children in the community.

“Don’t let a few teachers ruin the name of the profession for everyone because there are very few teachers who would even think of doing such a thing. We’re all good people. We have a few bad apples. It’s just like in any other profession,” Kidd said.

She said all teachers receive rigorous training in ethics before stepping into the classroom.

Linton was arrested and charged with three counts each of taking indecent liberties with a child, first-degree rape of a child under 13 and first-degree sex offense on a child under 13 for sex games and sexual activity with three children. Two were relatives. He took nude pictures of the children and kept them on his computer. TT - LINK

Linton was the second teacher arrested on the same day. Amanda Athey, 27, was arrested, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student. TT - LINK

Two other Charlotte-Mecklenburg teachers were arrested for drugs in June. One was selling cocaine and the other was caught shooting up in a classroom. Both had previous arrests.

The teacher caught shooting up heroine in the elementary school classroom had a 2005 arrest for drugs and got deferred prosecution and charges dismissed after completion of the program. Also found at the news site on the same day was yet another C-M teacher who resigned for sending sexual text messages to a student. That story didn't end with an arrest and there was no further information. LINK and LINK

The problem is that, increasingly, it is becoming clear that teaching isn't a profession. It's a job where tenure and collective bargaining contracts means that professional oversight is not guaranteed, where children are the LAST concern, where parents are the last to know of abuse in the classroom, and, then, only if the school has to admit it. Amazingly, drug use is not grounds for license revocation but a question of rehabilitation with the goal of returning the teacher to the classroom.

Teachers are judged by the same people who hire them.

The lack of transparency in teacher discipline guarantees more privacy for the offending teacher than concern evidenced for the student. And it shows genuine contempt for parents.

Bad teachers who don't teach or become sexually involved with their students are genuinely despised by good teachers.

But until the day that a teacher is automatically fired - as are many charter school teachers and non-tenured teachers - for being arrested for having sex with a student or using or dealing drugs or failing to show up for work 50 days out of a 170-day school year or just plain not teaching - giving children first priority and concern and not a union contract - teachers are just industrial union workers.

Most schools aren't as bad as this district. But the rules that are the same in every state that allow behind-doors negotiations for revocation of a teaching license or suspensions for reasons, the knowledge of which ought to serve to alert parents and taxpayers.

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RECOMMENDED READING: A 2005 series by Scott Reeder called "The Hidden Cost of Tenure" (Subhead: Why are failing teachers getting a passing grade?) ought to be on the reading list of every parent. Because what the six-month investigation found in Illinois isn't unique to that state.

Bargaining with Devils

RANT OF THE DAY

If your child is sexually abused by a teacher, you can be sure he'll be in a better position than any other man or woman accused of the crime. That's because the near impossibility of firing teachers gives them a bargaining chip - their teaching licenses.

The very people who prosecute teachers who sexually abuse students also work for the state that licenses those teachers. Since revoking a license is long, brutish and costly, the volunteer surrender of the license means time and money saved. For the victim, it's another victimization.

Shawn Feeney was sentenced to four years for sex with two female students. He pleaded to two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and a single count of official misconduct. As part of his plea agreement, Feeney surrendered his teaching license. (New Jersey)

As part of a plea agreement, Scott Fazekas agreed to resign from his teaching position, surrender his state teaching license and register as a sex offender for sexual contact with a 16-year-old female student. He has yet to be sentenced. (Ohio)

Mark Taylor got a really hard slap of 60 days in jail for "intimidating his fiance," was released immediately for time served and ordered to leave Houston county. The agreement included a stipulation that Taylor would drop his appeal of his termination from the Houston County school system, the prosecutor said. Charges of stalking, simple battery, making harassing phone calls and false imprisonment were dismissed (Georgia)

A Michigan assistant principal, James Lighthizer, was sentenced to one year in the county jail -- not prison -- five years' probation and must register with the Sex Offender Registry, for sexually abusing a 15-year-old male student. The District attorney bragged. "He will surrender his teaching certificate," [District Attorney Bill] Whitesell said. "I have it in my possession." (Michigan)

See our rant about Lance Diefenderfer's sentencing. LINK
As a condition of the plea agreement, Diefenderfer’s teaching license was permanently revoked last week. One year home confinement, three years' probation for sex with an 11th grade student. (South Carolina)

Trenton, New Jersey teacher Slyvester Jones was allowed to enter Pretrial Intervention Program in lieu of a guilty plea. This, for sex with a student that started when she was 16-years-old. He is required "to never teach or coach again and surrender his New Jersey teaching license." He's 56-years-old.

Adam Albrecht was sentenced to one year in jail - not prison - for sex with a student. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, one felony count of oral copulation with a minor, and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for providing the girl with alcohol and marijuana. The judge confirmed that Albrecht has requested to have his teaching credentials permanently revoked."I am certain you will not teach again," Grandsaert offered, to which Albrecht nodded in agreement. The fact that he resigned his teaching position was also in his favor.

Sacred Responsibility

RANT OF THE DAY

"I'm startled that a school district would support a woman who assisted in covering up a sex crime against a child."

August 2, 2007 - The above was attributed to Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, to describe the action of West Islip school district officials who wrote letters of support for a teacher who lied on the witness stand to cover up rape of a student by her husband - another teacher..

West Islip school district officials are under fire for using district letterhead to write a judge in support of a teacher who was later convicted of trying to cover up the rape by her husband of a North Babylon High School student.

Included in a packet of letters of support sent to Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn were letters from the school's principal, Anne Shierant, the assistant principal, Dawn Morrison, and the district's director of special education services, Deborah Vertovez.

John Collins, chief trial prosecutor for the Suffolk district attorney's office, called the letters "striking" in their unseemliness."I think it's inappropriate for individuals to purport to speak on behalf of a district and its constituents in support of a person who has been convicted of intentionally perjuring herself in an effort to protect a child molester," Collins said.

Although none of the letters addressed the charges, Morrison wrote that she has "the utmost respect and admiration" for Melissa Cuesta, while Shierant in her correspondence to the court called it "a letter of support."

Melissa Cuesta pleaded guilty to third-degree perjury for lying on the witness stand during the trial of her husband. She was sentenced to three years' probation. Danny Cuesta was sentenced to a paltry 15 month's in jail - not prison - for a two-year sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. They dropped pending investigations into allegations that he had sex with two other girls. TT -LINK

TT - Two teachers testified on behalf of the David Constanza, (LINK) recently sentenced to months to two years in county jail for sex with a 15-year-old girl. The school Superintendent expressed outrage that two teachers testified on his behalf. "How you diminished these actions and testified to his positive contributions, while this girl, the victim, with her family, sat in the courtroom, is beyond my understanding." He wrote that teachers have a "sacred responsibility to protect children" and that his confidence in the two "as guardians of our children has been diminished." TT- LINK

David Costanza is the son of school board president Charles Costanza.

We have seen the same thing over and over. Teachers who attend the trial in support of the teacher, flaunting their partisan support for the accused.

A Maryland principal wrote a letter in support of a drug dealer. A school teacher asked that his son, teacher Nathan Cox, not be sent to jail for sex with a 13-year-old student. Three teachers wrote to support Garland Eary who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. A North Carolina school superintendent wrote a letter to the court asking the judge to allow a local anchorman who while driving drunk killed a pedestrian to speak to the school's driver education classes.

It's their right to write such letters or testify in support; it's our right to ask "Do you have no decency?"

The Education Cash Cow

The National Urban League held its 97th conference this month. Described as "the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African-Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream," they heard from a number of presidential candidates including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama.

They also heard from Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, who spoke on education issues. (See TT - LINK)

It was decidedly odd having Bloomberg and others address education issues in a city where the state recently took over the schools. ( See TT - LINK ) St. Louis isn't the only school district in the country where the state has replaced elected school boards.

In New Jersey, there are a number of districts currently under state control or being closely watched. Jersey City has been run by the state since 1989. Newark has been under state control since 1995. Paterson was taken over by the state in 1991. Salem is classified as a Level II district. The Level II districts were subject to an external review from the Montclair State University School of Education. Six other districts are being closely monitored.

And then there is Camden. Camden has been controlled since 2002.

About a dozen teachers at a troubled Newark elementary school were removed, and the district's longtime union boss, Joseph Del Grosso, supported their ouster.

That's the kind of teacher and union support Camden needs to turn around its struggling schools. A good education starts with teachers. If teachers don't commit to improving the education Camden students receive, nothing will change.

It's not coincidence that the same districts also suffer from political corruption in local government.

The former mayor of Newark (mayor from 1986-2006) Sharpe James has pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. He retains his Senate seat while awaiting trial.

Paterson mayor Martin G. Barnes (mayor from 1997 - 2002) pleaded guilty in 2002 to mail fraud, and tax evasion, admitting that he took free trips, home improvements, a swimming pool and more from city vendors or prospective vendors. He was sentenced to 37 months. Two Paterson officials were indicted last month for taking bribes.

Former Jersey City mayor Gerald McCann wants taxpayers to pick up the tab for his legal difficulties associated with his narrow election to the school board. Jersey city has a long history of political corruption.

A Camden councilman, Ali Sloan El, was sentenced to 20 months for bribery. Former Camden fixture Sen. Wayne Bryant, a member of the education committee, is also being investigated for corruption.

Annette Knox, the controversial school board superintendent, is now gone amid a test-score scandal and at least two investigations in the district. Board president Philip E. Freeman stepped down after a change in state ethics laws barred him from holding public offices while in his current job as assistant director of the New Jersey Office of Civil Rights.

Another education figure no longer in the forefront is Paul Mehne, the popular and much-admired dean of the Camden campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Mehne stepped down because of a federal probe into financial irregularities and abuses.

A self-serving comment considering the rate of politicians elected in N.J. that are union-backed. A recent report on Camden schools cited more than 500 district personnel with questionable certification.

States don't take over schools because of low academic standards. They take them over because rampant corruption in state and local politics allow incompetence, bribery and political patronage to thrive in schools. They are, after all, cash cows.

Children are the VERY last concern in the political swamps of New Jersey or St. Louis.

Gloucester, MASSACHUSETTS

RANT

UPDATED to discuss newspaper editorial on the need to fire teachers convicted of felonies.

July 24, 2007 - A school can't fire a teacher who was sentenced for her fourth DUI. The school district doesn't have a policy for dealing with convicted employees, and they probably never will since collective bargaining would likely be required because the grounds for termination are laid out in each union's contract.

Kathleen Burley, 47, was the teacher who kicked one officer in the groin, bit another and had to be wrestled to the floor. She was sentenced to 4 1/2 years and 10 years' probation. TT - LINK She was found guilty of three counts of assault and battery on a police officer. Despite all that, the school claims they can't fire her. The responsibility is, apparently, on the Massachusetts Department of Education.

TT - It's up to the Massachusetts Department of Education to revoke her license, but don't expect much. They found no cause to revoke the teaching license of a Weymouth health education teacher who was convicted of his fifth drunk driving conviction last December. TT - LINK

UPDATE July 25 - The Gloucester Times editorial ("Felony policy needed in schools") on the need to adopt a school policy that would "state that felons have forfeited their right to work in the local schools." They write:

This is particularly important regarding alcohol abuse. Alcoholism is a disease, but drunken driving is a crime.

School leaders regularly tell students that there will be harsh consequences for drinking and driving. That message will be lost if students see that such consequences don't apply to faculty.If anything, the standards for teachers ought to be higher.

They are supposed to be setting an example for students.

TT - The editorial board of the Gloucester Times doesn't link to the collective bargaining agreement between their school committee members and the Gloucester Teacher's Association. Nor, the Gloucester Policy Manual, also online, that clearly states in Section note GBEC that

disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with contracts negotiated by the Gloucester School Committee with the bargaining unit representing the employee.

Source: Policy Manual PDF Section G pg 5

The bargaining agreement includes this proviso: "Teachers shall not be officially reprimanded, officially disciplined, dismissed reduced in rank or compensation, or denied a salary increase of any kind without just cause." Pg 37 B1

Just cause is explained here.

In other words, they can't fire a teacher who is convicted of a felony without the express consent of the union, who, otherwise, can file a grievance and can tie the school board, school and school administrators in legal tangles that could last months. Or years.

Dolthan, ALABAMA

July 20, 2007 - An Alabama teacher arrested on two counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes in July was "let go" in May by the school when they found out that he had prior arrests for bad checks and simple battery in Georgia. He had worked six months before they learned of the charges.

After letting him go and before his arrest, they were notified by the state Board of Education that Keaton Lamar Battle, 34, met the suitability criteria for employment despite his arrest records.

Michael Sibley, a department spokesman, said the department determines the suitability of school employees with less-than-perfect records on a case-by-case basis. Sibley said a federal court ruling prevents the department from issuing a blanket list of offenses that will automatically excludes people from getting a job in education.

TT - LINK for Battle

TT - In Oregon, they wanted to hire teachers who have been convicted of misdemeanor prostitution in the past. LINK

UPDATE July 22 - Turns out that Battle previously worked in Seminole County, Georgia, before coming to PASS, and the former school district gave him an excellent rating. Except they failed to mention that Battle had been charged in Seminole County for roughing up a student. PASS learned about the history in March and let Battle teach until May when they did not renew him.

UPDATE July 24 - WTVY reports that the state notified the school district that there were discrepancies in Battle's record.

"The letter came in March to the individual and was never presented to the board. So the employment body had no knowledge that he had falsified information on his employment application," said Gayla White of Dothan City School Board.

TT - Why are teachers even allowed inside a classroom before background checks are completed? If a school decides to employ a teacher without the results, why don't they ask, as a condition of employment, that the candidate take a lie detector test? Honest to God, how hard is that?

Highly Qualified Teachers

You would think finding "highly qualified teachers" was equivalent to the search for the Holy Grail.

July 22, 2007 - At least the Bakersfield Chronicle apparently thinks so.

Of Kern's 250 or so schools, 141 traditional schools had yet to meet the No Child Left Behind requirement to have 100 percent highly qualified teachers as of October 2006. Of those 141 schools, about 74 percent are considered "high poverty."

They quote the coordinator for teacher quality for the California Department of Education.

"That tells us right there the neediest kids in our state are still not getting access to those experienced, highly qualified teachers."

The methods of recruiting and keeping highly qualified teachers vary. "Competitive salaries" and assuming student loans if they agree to teach in needy areas and bonuses are all considered.
---------------------- OPINION ----------------------
TT - To be a highly qualified teacher, you only need three things:

1. A bachelor’s degree
2. State credential or intern certificate/credential for no more than three years
3. Demonstrated competence in the core academic subject or subjects they teach. They can prove that competence in a number of ways, such as by passing a test or taking classes in that subject.

If it strikes you that those are what you thought were the minimal requirements all along to be a teacher, join the club. It's what the No Child Left Behind Act was all about. One of their core requirements was to ask for those three things to improve teacher quality.

The problem isn't the bachelor's degree. It's that colleges that awarded those degrees are turning out graduates who can't pass certification and licensing tests, let alone demonstrate competence in the core academic subject they teach by passing a simple test.

The worst part about this, however, is that the unqualified teacher continues to predominate in classroom. Despite failing either, or both, of these competency exams, teachers are given 1 to 4 years to practice teaching on your child, despite lack of aptitude. That's why retention rates are so bad. It isn't low salaries; it's low test scores. Over and over.

If 56% of Kern schools can't meet the NCLB Act requirement that 100% of the teachers are -- let's call it what it is -- minimally qualified -- it's because the Kern schools and the teachers unions don't want it to succeed. They're pinning their hopes on a change in the White House. That way, no one will know just how little they care about teacher quality.

And they will continue to cheat children out of an education, further miring blacks in poverty and Hispanics into the same low expectations. Uneducated voters don't vote. It's a win-win for incompetent schools.

Teacher Conduct

RANT OF THE DAY

A good many teacher misconduct cases are finalized in a plea bargain agreement. Whether it's an Alford plea or it's called "No Contest," or a guilty plea, not infrequently the news reports include "As part of the plea agreement, he accepted the loss of his teaching license." or "The teacher agreed to surrender their teaching license." It ought to be automatic that the teacher loses his license for engaging in sex with a child, but the vagaries of the Education Establishment is that it is not a foregone conclusion.

A recent case illustrates perfectly how the difficulty of firing a teacher gives the defendant a bargaining chip that no other group of citizens is given. Lance Diefenderfer, a 38-year-old assistant principal was sentenced to 1 year of home confinement for sex with a 16-year-old student. In a story on the sentencing, there was this rationale for the conclusion of the case.

Assistant Solicitor Julie Anders said the main goal was to ensure that Diefenderfer never taught again. As a condition of the plea agreement, his teaching license was permanently revoked last week, Anders said in court Thursday.

Not justice for the victim, mind you, but convenience for the state of South Carolina.

Why is it that police or firemen aren't asked to give up their badges in negotiations with prosecutors when either are accused, or convicted, of sex crimes? They lose their badges.

We give teachers free and unmonitored access to our children. That alone creates a bond of trust we offer few individuals. We would frown if a doctor called our child on a cell phone or sent instant text messages asking the child to visit them at their homes. We would be outraged if the doctor encouraged our child to borrow her sister's car to visit him at his house and then lie to her parents. We would be incensed if he picked up the child at home and told us they were going to a library and then proceeded to have oral sex at his home.

In every profession, we would find such behavior so abominable that it would call for jail and automatic peer review. Why is it that teaching is the one profession that it isn't guaranteed that peer review would even occur, let alone result in revocation of his or her license?

Teaching isn't a privilege. It's being privileged because the same state that hires the teacher also prosecutes the teacher for misconduct. The result is a blatant conflict of interest.

See Passing the Trash, Self-policing doesn't work TT - LINK
See TT - LINK - Plea agreement includes dropping termination appeal.

Godwin Heights, MICHIGAN

What is "unethical behavior?"

July 19, 2007 - Firing teachers is a legal dance.

A veteran Godwin Heights High School teacher is on paid leave while the district files tenure charges to have him fired over what administrators call "performance issues."

Superintendent Valdis Gailitis said Wednesday the Board of Education voted Tuesday to dismiss science teacher Robert Czachorski for "unethical behavior."

Czachorski has taught in the district for 37 years.

Gailitis said he could not discuss details of the charges because Czachorski requested the session be conducted behind closed doors. A hearing before the state teacher tenure commission, which will determine whether he will be fired, has yet to be scheduled.

Gailitis said the teacher was placed on administrative leave near the end of the school year because of classroom performance issues.

He said there are no criminal charges and no students were involved.

Czachorski referred questions to his union attorney, Fil Iorio, who said he will fight charges of poor performance.

"You don't last 37 years as a teacher if there are performance issues," he said. "Mr. Czachorski has had good evaluations, and we will challenge this."

TT - Chances are the newspaper will not follow up on the attempt to fire the teacher, the teacher will incur no cost whatsoever in fighting the action, the school will continue to pay him for not being in the classroom as well as the cost of a substitute to replace him when this drags on to the new school year. Taxpayers will also pay for the school district attorney's time as well as the tenure commission. No final report will ever be public as both sides claim "confidentiality."

Foolish Editorial

RANT OF THE DAY

July 18, 2007 - The St. Petersburg Times editorializes against the 5 1/2 year sentence for Daniel Zdrodowski, the 28-year-old music teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student. TT - LINK for Zdrodowski

At sentencing, [Prosectuor] McCabe also objected to any punishment less than the 5 1/2-year prison term prescribed under state guidelines. [Judge] Ley, in turn, followed the guideline - even though it was blind to the unusual circumstances in play. In this case, the girl and her mother fought prosecution. The boyfriend is 11 years older. He and the girl claim to be in love, to have considered marriage and to have ended their relationship until she was to turn 18. Can a state that should be focused on violent crime really afford to find a space in its prisons for Zdrodowski?

The prosecutor is right that Zdrodowski violated a public trust when he developed a romantic relationship with a student. That's one reason the Pinellas school system moved so quickly to investigate the original allegation, which came from another student, and why he lost his privilege to teach.

The real issue here is whether laws designed to protect children from sexual predators are the tools by which to judge more complicated affairs that involve the consent of both parties and both families involved. At the point a prosecutor seeks to throw a young woman in jail for refusing to behave like a victim, maybe someone needs to step back and look at the larger picture. Who is the victim here?

TT - The better question ought to be, Who is the adult here?

It wouldn't be half bad, except the Times Publishing Company that owns (funds, really) the St. Petersburg Times also owns Poynter Institute that trains a good many journalists. And you wonder why so many of our Peter Pan Press act the way they do? The editorial could have been written by a Harlequin Romance writer, but Harlequin is owned by Torstar - the Toronto Star.