Re: "Good Kid/Bad Kid"

[Joan Kaiser <Joankaiser@AOL.COM>]

George,

I'm sure what you said happened.  I'd like to point out that it is a power
situation and it's happening in rural and suburban communities too.  In my
first principalship in a rural CT town, there was a teacher who had broken a
sixth grader's arm the previous year before I was hired.  He continued his
demeaning verbal assaults on kids.  He threw things at the kids.  It took me
200 pages of documentation, and he resigned before he was fired.  Ridiculous
that no one took the necessary steps to ensure safety.

In my suburban school principalship, there was a music teacher that threw
instruments at kids, screamed and yelled at kids all day, and was a living
diaster.  The district had moved her to many different schools; never fired
her outright.  Even after I had over 300 pages of documentation and did all
the right steps, the human resource director gave her an additional year
before she left.  Amazing, but true.

In the same school, there was a veteran teacher who sexually harassed girls.
His colleagues adored him...a nice guy. The girls were petrified to stay
after school for extra help in math. I made things very tough for him, and he
ended up retiring early.  My staff hated me for being so awful to a "good"
teacher.

The stories go on and on.  It's not so much prejudice, as much as power.
I've read that some people go into teaching because they can have power over
children when they feel powerless with their peers and other adults.

I'm sure prejudice factors into this too. However, power and control are two
big issues that deserve attention too.
Best,
Joan

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