Sometimes the teachers are the sane ones

[proud2BlibKansan]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/11729715.htm

Penalty leads to rockslide of protest

By DONALD BRADLEY

The Kansas City Star


A lone girl lugging a bucket of rocks into the woods.

That is what teacher Christa Price remembers about that day last September.

She thought the punishment was extreme, even dangerous, for a fourth-grader who had refused to do her schoolwork. What she did next cost Price her job and caused seven other teachers in the tiny East Lynne School District to quit in protest. Only two classroom teachers are staying.

Dan Doerhoff, school superintendent and principal, says he is through with rock punishment, but he stands by his decision to fire Price for insubordination.

This teacher was fired for speaking up about this punishment. The principal is also refusing to sign her paperwork to have her state certification renewed. He sounds like a tyrant. Anyone who runs off nearly 80% of the people who work for him must have at least one or two screws loose.

[getmeouttahere]

1. After 10 years in the educational publishing business....

I found that MOST of the time, the teachers are the sane ones.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Research shows

that administrators have a greater impact on student achievement than teachers or even parents.

[coloradodem2005]

2. What happened exactly?

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. The principal punished the girl

by making her pick up rocks and fill a bucket in a lot across the street (or maybe behind?) the school. A teacher objected, told him so and he reprimanded her. So the teacher went out to keep the child company and help her fill the bucket. Other teachers went also.

The principal decided to terminate the teacher and 7 others have quit in protest. The principal is also the supt (it's a small rural district) and he is refusing to sign the teacher's paperwork to renew her state certification. So she could be locked out of future employment as a teacher. - Because she stood up for a kid who was being unfairly disciplined.

The principal sounds like a major moran.

oops, I just realized I forgot the link. Sorry. You can read the whole story now. I guess I am being kind of moranish here too ha ha.

[coloradodem2005]

8. That is pretty stupid.

[zbdent]

13. I wonder if the teacher was terminated because you don't send a

10 year old girl out alone without watching out for people who could just come along and snatch her. Of course, that never happens. :eyes: :sarcasm:

That teacher probably, by going out and being with the girl, saved a statewide search that probably would have ended up with a sexually molested dead (too-small) body and a massive lawsuit.

Of course, since the teacher is a TEACHER (read: likely union member and therefore a terrorist according to one Bush genius), the teacher is being made into the evil force.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Principal said he was terminating her for

not supporting HIM. Sounds a bit arrogant, eh?

[Justin54B20L]

4. Thats pretty sad, especially considering America needs

all the qualified teachers it can get right now.

But then again, this is Kansas we are talking about, so I guess the superintendent will fill the teaching positions with right wing radical clergy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. No this is a rural district in MO

about 30-40 miles SE of KC.

[Justin54B20L]

14. Oh, ok, thanks for the correction.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

5. Who came up with this punishment?

The principal? That's just bizarre. Someone is on a power trip...
The teacher can probably get a law suit together over this so that she can get her certification back, but it's a real shame she has to be inconvenienced like that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. The article says

someone important is working with the state dept of ed on her behalf. Let's hope they consider revoking the certification of this principal.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

10. Probably a teacher's union rep...

This is why all teacher's should join up with their local union. I've actually met some teacher's in my area who decided not to join their union. They were probably republicans. They seemed to think paying union dues was a waste of their money.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I don't belong to mine

I did for 15 years. Then it was literally taken over by a group of insane power hungry incompetents. So I quit. I refuse to give those morans $700 a year to do nothing.

I buy liability coverage from an insurance company now. It's lots better coverage and I pay a whole lot less than the teachers who belong to the union.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

18. That bites...

I can understand your situation. At least you are looking out for yourself by getting the insurance.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Any union is only as strong

as its weakest members. I was active and a leader for 15 years. It was a great organization and I was proud to be part of it. Then we had a change in leadership and some of the weaker members became the leaders. It was a sad situation but I just couldn't stand by and watch them destroy the union anymore. For my own sanity, I had to get out.

I have prayed for years that AFT and NEA would merge. That would solve a lot of our problems. And it would create the country's largest union.

[elehhhhna]

16. Here in Tx, there are written policies re; punishment for students,

and the words "rocks" "bucket", and "Woods" are not to be found. We mat be backwards about some things, but sadistic Principals don't get the opportunity to just invent "creative punishment".

That guy needs to bust some rocks for a few days.

[Lights_Out]

12. Here's to No Child Left Behind

How can we achieve higher education if we still have physical punishment in schools, and teachers fired for "insubordination." It's appalling. What is even more disgusting is what happened at the beginning of this school year. Upon signing up for my high school, I received a form for joining the military. Not only does this not belong in a high school setting, but the origin of the paper was stomach-churning. It said that due to the recent No Child Left Behind Act, I was required to sign at the bottom so the feds can put my name on a list to be drafted. Has the NCLB act turned into one big recruitment application? Damn neo-cons.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. You can opt out of that

go to www.leavemychildalone.org

[Lights_Out]

23. Thanks

Thank you very much. Needless to say, I never turned in that paper.

[Lights_Out]

24. I just read that website

No one ever told me that i can opt out of that damned thing. What sort of action, if any should I take? Because that is absolute bullshit.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Just saw that posted here yesterday.

I don't think they have to tell you that you can opt out. So just take the action of filling out the form.

[Lights_Out]

26. Alright, Thank you

[RedCloud]

15. All students should have gathered rocks!

With the teachers helping them.
Then off to the principal's office.
Playing in honor of Bob Dylan
"Everybody must get stoned!"
Rock on!
Using cave man technology to overcome religious zealots!

[elehhhhna]

17. Great idea! Back in the 70's, when I was in 7th grade, a teacher

sent a kid she didn't like to the Princ.'s office for misbehaving, despite the fact that the entire class told her that he hadn't done the deed (don't recall what--maybe throwing a test tube? It was science class.) We walked out en mass with him and sat on the floor outside the P's office in protest 'til they backed down.

"Attica! Attica!"

Lucky we weren't attending Kent State Jr. High...

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. LOL

Love that idea :)