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NC places such high standards on teachers passing Praxis testing.......and yet:
NC teachers may hit children with wooden planks for any reason, without parental permission, with no training, and when a child is injured, the parents seemingly have no rights......
In Union County, NC, we now have FOUR teachers with charges pending for having sex with students, and our Board of Education REFUSES to hear parent concerns. At the high school that my children attend, the fourth arrest took place in April, 2007, and on the heels of that arrest, the athletic director, mulitple coaches, and now our principal, have fled the school. Is there a connection? Many parents fear just that.
It is nice to hear that there is such a standard imposed on teachers when it comes to knowing the subject matter that is required, however, it would stand to reason that these same teachers would be held to a higher standard when it comes to student safety. We need to have rigorous screening and standards when it comes to prevention and reporting of teachers who seduce students. We need to prevent teachers from verbally, physically, and sexually abusing students.
To all you teachers out there who would never dream of this, kudos to you, there are many out there who do the best job daily. For those allowed to slip through the cracks, shame on all of us for not stopping you, especially those who have the power to do so.
This sort of punishment is still legal in Arizona as well, although I can't imagine anyone actually taking advantage of corporal punishment.
As far as the requirements --- it's really sad. I don't understand it. I worked with a teacher in one district who got a student pregnant. This guy had a wife and several children. He was in the district for years. No one saw it coming.
Sorry if I posted in the wrong section, but the corporal punishment part of my post is why I did, that topic tends to heat up quickly.
I just want teachers to be held to the highest of standards. FYI in Arizona, for the last data submitted to the Office of Civil Rights, over 1500 children were hit at schools by an educator in the 2003 school year.
I find it very interesting how the standards and laws vary from state to state. If we are in a position to move again, I would avoid a district that embraces hitting children. It is a smokescreen for a negative school culture, one that allows adults to get away with other misconducts. Perhaps that is just our district, but I feel that it is this way in others.
Now about the sexual misconduct, do other states have ways to prevent teachers who have active charges pending from seeking employment in other districts? An example here would be that we have a Union County teacher who had charges filed, he left our district, the accuser failed to show up in court, and he got a teaching position in South Carolina. He was later arrested and charged for the original crime, and removed from the SC school, but why should he have landed there to begin with? We need tighter reporting requirements, and a better system of communication between states and districts to avoid playing this game of "pass the trash".........
Thanks to all of you who are teachers, and have made a positive contribution to children. My kids have been so impacted by great teachers, yes, here in Union County as well. But for those who slip through the cracks, we need to do a better job of screening and preventing issues
peg, previous work I have done revolved around high-profile cases of "educators" and their illicit activities with their students. My daughter is only 17 months old, but I already know there is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I would allow her to have any interaction with a male PE teacher. Period. I also have first-hand experience with this from my own high school days since I was on the track team, and all the coaches there were males. I avoided serious transgressions against me, but my best friend wasn't as lucky.
Schools are obligated to perform background checks on potential hires, and if they fail to do so and the person commits a crime, the school is liable and should be sued. They carry insurance to protect themselves from this and other liabilities. Here in California couple have successfully sued schools for millions for ruining their children's emotional health.
I would not live in a state that allowed corporal punishment in the schools, unless they also allowed the parents to take whacks at the underperforming teachers <snip>
Last edited by jco; 06-30-2007 at 11:16 PM..
Reason: language
...My daughter is only 17 months old, but I already know there is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I would allow her to have any interaction with a male PE teacher. Period.
I don't understand. Are you saying you wouldn't let her attend a physical education class by a male teacher?
Schools are obligated to perform background checks on potential hires, and if they fail to do so and the person commits a crime, the school is liable and should be sued.
Unfortunately, background checks only work if the person has been convicted of something. Back in 2002, a youth minister near Boston went to jail for molesting at least 25 boys. The schools and churches where he worked did background checks, but nothing came up, so they assumed he was safe.
Schools are obligated to perform background checks on potential hires, and if they fail to do so and the person commits a crime, the school is liable and should be sued.
Unfortunately, background checks only work if the person has been convicted of something. Back in 2002, a youth minister near Boston went to jail for molesting at least 25 boys. The schools and churches where he worked did background checks, but nothing came up, so they assumed he was safe.
You're right on that. We have to have fingerprint clearance cards, but you're cleared for one if you have a clean record.
This is really sad, and I don't know of any teacher who has used corporal punishment, but I'm also in secondary education, but I know of SEVERAL instances where students physcially abused teachers. When I was pregnant, I was pushed to the ground by a student who was fighting. He wasn't even suspended.
North Carolina schools are, for the most part, horrible. I am homeschooling and we were going to send our older kids off to highschool, but here in our county . . . the principal's son has made 2 girls at the school pregnant, the assistant principal was charged and indicted for running a "meth" ring, and the other assistant principal lives an alternate lifestyle, which is her business, but promotes it, has formed groups, instead of letting kids find out who they are and what they are first . . .
Wow, AAA, that is very disturbing about what you shared about your county. We really do need accountability in these districts, and I have come to find out that the state really has little jurisdiction over school districts who do not hold the adults accountable for misconduct. The kids are the ones paying the price.
Do you mind sharing what county this is? I am working toward 2009 and attempting to strengthen NC legislation regarding teachers/administrators having sex with students. We need to raise the bar here in NC, I am sure that we are not alone in this, but at least I can try in my state.
NC is a big state with 100 counties. There are a lot of great schools with great teachers. All too often, good teachers/schools are not recognized. As the old saying goes "The squeaky wheel gets the grease".
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