EVEN STUDENTS ARE FREE TO ABUSE TEACHERS

I taught in a public middle school in California for 6 years. A colleague and I, with the support of a great principal, were able to design a fabulous math program. He taught algebra to 7th graders (normally a 9th grade course) and I taught honors level geometry to 8th graders (normally a 10th grade course), and occasionally advanced algebra-trig to the really stellar 8th grade students. The parents loved that we had such a great math program in an inner city school. Our students were the top in the city.

I finally got a job at a closer school, which meant I didn't have to commute any longer. I lived less than 2 miles away from the school and much preferred that to the 26 mile commute in one of the worst traffic corridors in the country. My son was a 4th generation graduate of that same school and I was a second-generation teacher at the school.

The problem? Even though we live in a very affluent area, the feeder middle school to the high school could in no way compare to the academic level of the inner city middle school where I had taught. None of the teachers at the middle school had a degree in mathematics. Where my former principal had insisted in hiring well-qualified teachers who could work independently, the administration in my new district apparently didn't operate the same way.

I taught honors level, 9th grade geometry (a course that I taught to 8th grade and occasionally 7th grade students at my former school). The students came to the high school without the training that I was accustomed to and... they were accustomed to receiving A's and Bs in their middle school classes. Incidentally, there is a recent book called The Price of Privilege, by Madeline Levine, who lives in the same affluent county as I do. The book discusses some of the problems of entitlement that so many of our "privileged" students have and the consequences and costs of this child-rearing paradigm.

In the new school, I taught the honors level freshmen for 5 years and after a year or so, there began to be gossip in the parent loop about what a tough teacher I was. Of course, I was following the California State Standards and aside from that, teaching at a lower level than I had taught in an inner city school.

This past year, the gossip rose to an unprecedented level. A 14 year-old student, who had trouble maintaining a grade higher than a D, complained to her parents that I was "mean." In the complaint by the parents (I was never allowed to talk to the student and although I had an open-door policy for all parents, not one opted to visit my class) I was accused of telling the students that "they need to think." Of course my telling the students that was in response to students rushing to answer questions without pause to think about what they were saying.

I was also accused of "divulging confidential information." This was because even though I regularly gave the students computer-generated itemized progress reports every two weeks, there were competitive students that wanted to know their grade almost daily. For those students, I would report their grade to them, occasionally at my desk, reading it from computer grading program.

The girl, who complained to her parents, never approached my desk to get her grade. She did however, sit in the front row and apparently overheard the reporting-out of the A grades that the competitive students usually received. I NEVER READ HER "D" GRADE ALOUD in class. But, apparently she was intimidated by overhearing the "A" grades that I reported to other students.

I was charged with "immoral and unprofessional conduct" and threatened with having my credential taken away and being reported to the California Commission on Teacher Credentials, potentially disallowing me to even obtain licensing in another field such as cosmetology or real estate. I, my family, my colleagues, my friends, and neighbors were shocked!

During the school board meeting to determine my fate, more than 150 supporters attended including students, parents, colleagues and other members of the community. My union, part of AFT, was not only not supportive, but even sabotaged my efforts to protect my job. Instead of supporting me during the board meeting, the union president associated with the superintendent in the back hall. In the end, I had to hire, an attorney from the NEA, who was fabulous. I paid for this myself.

Finally, I settled with the district. I am not allowed to discuss the settlement, but let me say that my attorney was wonderful. I didn't get fired and I do have another job. I'll be back to working at an inner city school. I lost my sick leave, over 3 months worth, and since I'm no longer working for a public school, the contributions to my retirement have ceased. I took a $30,000 pay cut.

Hopefully I won't again be subjected to a coddled 14 year old that has no knowledge of pedagogy, being the judge of my capabilities as a teacher. And I still have doubts about continuing teaching after the abuse I was subjected to.

WHAT IS SO DISTRESSING ABOUT THIS STORY, BESIDES THE WAY HER UNION DESERTED HER, AND BESIDES THE FACT THAT AN AFFLUENT SCHOOL COULD NOT SUPPORT THE LEVEL OF ACADEMICS AN INNER CITY SCHOOL HAD SUPPORTED, IS THAT IT IS UNHEALTHY FOR CHILDREN TO HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL AWAY THEIR PERSONAL ISSUES. THIS CAUSES THEM TO GROW INTO SELF-CENTERED "ADULTS" RATHER THAN HIGH FUNCTIONING CITIZENS. ALLOWING CHILDREN THIS CONTROL IS A LOSE/LOSE FOR ALL. IT TAKES EDUCRAT$ TO SET A SCENARIO LIKE THIS INTO MOTION AND NO COMMUNITY IS SAFE FROM INFERIOR LEADERSHIP AS LONG AS WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS REMAINS SECRETED.

IN ADDITION TO SHOWING CHILDREN AS CONDUITS FOR TEACHER ABUSE, THIS STORY SHOWS THAT INNER CITY SCHOOLS CAN OFFER EXCELLENT ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AS LONG AS QUALITY LEADERS ARE IN PLACE TO INSIST THAT THIS HAPPENS. THE AVOIDANCE OF INAPPROPRIATE PARENTAL INTERFERENCE IS THE DUTY OF ADMINISTRATORS. BUT WHEN ADMINISTRATORS ARE FOCUSED ON POLITICS RATHER THAN PEDAGOGY, INAPPROPRIATE PARENTS GROW WINGS. WE MUST REFRAIN FROM JUDGING THE PARENTS AND FOCUS ON THE LEADERSHIP. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE INAPPROPRIATE PARENTS AND INAPPROPRIATE STUDENTS AND INAPPROPRIATE TEACHERS. IT IS THE JOB OF ADMINISTRATORS TO CONTROL INAPPROPRIATENESS WITH QUALITY LEADERSHIP, SOMETHING SORELY LACKING IN MOST SCHOOLS. WHEN POWER SUPPLANTS PRINCIPLES, INAPPROPRIATENESS TAKES THE LEAD. NAPTA

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