A Bill I Think We All Should Support

Editorial Note: When I'm writing posts I typically put them into a word document first, so that I can use the spell check more effectively, and then I move them here to the blog. The downside of that is that I don't always get posts to the blog in a timely manner, and that's what happened with this one. The bill is a dead issue for this session, but it could be worth keeping an eye on for next year.

HB3037, sponsored by John Ahern, Joel Kretz, Larry Haler, Mary Skinner, Glenn Anderson, Joyce McDonald, and Judy Warnick. Yes, they’re all Republicans, but look beyond that, because I think this is legislation that’s long past due. It would amend the current RCWs on discharge with the following paragraph:

Upon service of a notification of probably cause or causes for discharge, and until and unless the hearing officer’s final decision is in favor of the employee, the employee shall not continue to be paid or compensated. If the employee requests a hearing to determine whether or not there is sufficient cause or causes for the employee’s discharge, the district shall, pending a final decision of the hearing officer, deposit into an escrow account money sufficient to compensate the employee for back pay if the final decision is in favor of the employee.

I’ve blogged before about the Peter Perkins situation here in Spokane, where he was relieved of his duties nearly 18 months ago yet is still drawing a salary because of what's involved with due process. I think that situations like that make us as a union look foolish, cost us an incredible amount of good will with the public, and degrade the profession as a whole.

“But Ryan,” I can hear you objecting, “what about the innocents, who are accused of serious violations that could lead to discharge, but they didn’t do it? You wrote about Linda Cawley—how could you do this to someone like her, who was cleared?”

I accept that point, but to my mind that’s what the union is here for—to help teachers in their time of need. If we believe in someone’s innocence, then we can put the full financial resources of the association behind them until they are cleared. If they slept with a kid, and the evidence proves it, we owe them nothing.

I’ll be curious to see how this evolves.

Read more here, if any.

Every Teacher's Nightmare, Part V

On Saturday the Washington Post ran an exceptional article about the struggles at Coolidge High School in the district. It speaks to the power of intention vs. the reality of some of our most troubled schools; it’s also one of the most disturbing accounts of an assault on a teacher that I’ve ever seen. From the article:

Two boys appear outside the door. One has been kicked out of Cox's class for being disruptive. The other is a student of Willis's. They peer through the window and laugh. They bang on the door. Willis shoves the metal door open, and it hits his student. A knot swells on the student's forehead, and blood runs down past his eye.

A deep sense of inevitability descends on the afternoon.

"Why you hit me? Why you hit me?" the boy screams. "Look what the (expletive) you did to my head." The bell rings. Students file out. The boy continues yelling and cursing. He is stomping up and down. A crowd gathers, egging him on. You can't let him do that (expletive)! Steal him, son! kids yell.

The two boys push into Willis's class. Other students follow. The one who is bleeding turns over desks. He knocks over a computer. He tears apart the bulletin board that told them to respect themselves and their school.

All around, kids shout for vengeance.

Willis rushes out and down the stairs. The two boys follow him. The crowd follows them, 20 kids or more, running and jumping down the steps. Everyone is hollering. The last of the crowd gets to the first floor and rounds the corner.

Suddenly, kids are running back against the crowd. As he flees, one boy yells: "He put that nigga to sleep!" His voice echoes. Bodies blur in a rush. Seconds later, the hallways clear, the yelling grows distant and a surreal scene comes into focus.

On the floor, a few yards from the main office, Fredrick Willis lay crumpled. He is not moving.

Seemingly far off, someone starts to yell. "Get the (expletive) to class."

Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

There’s also a piece on the problems of black kids later on that I found rather odd, from the leader of the local PTSO:

"African American kids come with anger that comes from longtime situations," Goings says. "We're angry folks, and most times that's the only way (kids) know how to deal with anger is violence. How can we deal with them before they become violent?"

This feels more like an excuse than a reason, but when you consider the evidence about stress that’s been coming out recently, maybe this is the way it is for a reason.

Read more here, if any.

Every Teacher's Nightmare, Part V: The False Allegation

One bad decision by a girl will likely haunt this guy for the rest of his life. From the Everett Herald:

ARLINGTON - A teenage girl on Thursday admitted she lied when she reported that a substitute teacher inappropriately touched her this week during class at Post Middle School.

The teacher, 59, was removed from school on Tuesday and was under investigation for assault.

On Thursday, after interviewing the girl and two other students, investigators determined the teacher didn't commit a crime, Arlington Police Chief John Gray said.

"We found a 30-year professional without a blemish on his record," Gray said. "He's completely devastated."

The students recanted their allegations, admitting to police that they'd exaggerated "and it snowballed," Gray said.

My sympathy actually goes both ways here, though way more towards the teacher than the student. The student made a mistake that I hope she regrets, but the fact that she even went there sends pity running, and when you consider where this could have gone if she'd stuck with the lie it's pretty horrifying.

It'd be awful hard for either the substitute or the student to return to that school.

Read more here, if any.