Teacher sues for academic freedom

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@uclink4.berkeley.edu>]

Two articles about this case...


Teacher sues for academic freedom
2003-01-03
By Dawn Marks
The Oklahoman
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=968447&pic=none&TP=getarticle
STILLWATER -- A Stillwater second-grade teacher is asking a judge to decide 
if she has the freedom to choose how she teaches.

In a suit filed Dec. 13 in Payne County District Court, Linda Green- 
shields alleges that Stillwater Public Schools administrators are harassing 
and threatening to fire her if she doesn't use a certain method of teaching.

Greenshields said her contract specifies she has the freedom to choose her 
methods.

Her husband, Bill Greenshields, said the judge's decision could affect 
teachers statewide because it would clarify their academic freedom.

"Administrators are telling teachers how and what to teach," he said. "Our 
contention is that her contract gives her that freedom. The school board is 
ignoring that for not only Linda Greenshields but all Stillwater teachers."

Linda Greenshields, a 30-year veteran who teaches at Sangre Ridge 
Elementary, said she doesn't believe her students benefit enough from the 
science module method of teaching advocated by administrators.

"They never say this is best for the students," she said.

Joe Haney, school board president, said members have not met to review the 
lawsuit and that he could not comment.

Wendy Pratt, spokeswoman for the state Education Department, said the 
agency sets curriculum standards and holds schools accountable for 
students' performance. The department does not tell teachers how to teach, 
she said.

"How it's taught is up to the local district and the teacher," she said. 
"The teacher's in the driver's seat in instruction."

The science modules, used in grades kindergarten through eight, contain the 
materials for science experiments, and students are supposed to receive the 
instruction they need in other core curriculum through the experiments, 
Linda Greenshields said.

She objects to the method because it takes her out of the classroom too 
often for training and because it does not contain enough material from 
other subjects such as spelling, math and reading.

For example, in one module that teaches about soil, students measure grass 
seed and soil. Then, they measure the growth of the grass. Through the 
experiment, the students also are to exercise reading and math skills, she 
said.

However, her students are moving into multiplication, meaning they would 
not receive the math instruction they needed from that module, Greenshields 
said.

The modules also do not contain objective testing, she said.

Teachers must have three days of training for each module, and each grade 
has four modules.

Greenshields said she attended training for three of the four modules for 
her grade. She said she could get the same information from reading the 
teacher's guide included in the boxes.

She said she has taught two of the modules.

The petition maintains that Linda Greenshields' methods of teaching comply 
with state standards, but administrators have continued to harass her to 
make her use the module method.

"Defendant's efforts to compel her to use (the module method) violates her 
academic freedom guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth amendments," the 
petition states.

According to records Bill Greenshields said he obtained from the Education 
Department, scores on Oklahoma core curriculum tests have gone down since 
teachers started using the modules in 1999-2000.

In 1998, the average fifth-grader's score was 83.83, and in 2002 it was 
78.14, the document shows. The trend is the same for eighth-grade scores 
except the scores in science have increased while other categories 
decreased, the Greenshields say.

Linda Greenshields has filed two grievances with the Stillwater School 
Board, but board members said she didn't file on time and wouldn't rule, 
she said.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/010303dntexokteacher.a4d5f.html
Teacher sues over science instruction

Oklahoman says she faces harassment for disagreeing with state

01/03/2003

Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla. ? An elementary school teacher who disagrees with the 
Stillwater school district over how science should be taught has filed a 
lawsuit claiming that she has been subjected to harassment and retaliation.

Linda K. Greenshields, who teaches second grade at Sangre Ridge Elementary 
School, says she follows state standards for teaching science and objects 
to the science curriculum required by the district.

Ms. Greenshields, who says she has more than 30 years of teaching 
experience, said her views on teaching science have put her at odds with 
the district and that she now faces a hostile work environment.

She objects to the district's requirement that teachers use a modular-based 
science curriculum, which she finds inferior to her inquiry-based method of 
teaching. She also says the district's Comprehensive Local Education Plan 
does not provide for any objective measurement of second-grade students' 
academic progress in science.

She alleges that the Stillwater Board of Education did not provide her with 
a fair and impartial hearing.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that her contract and the U.S. 
Constitution give her the academic freedom to determine her own teaching 
methodology.

In a prepared statement, Ms. Greenshields said she believes she will be 
recommended for dismissal or nonrenewal of employment by her principal as 
retaliation for filing the lawsuit.

The question of academic freedom for career teachers in Oklahoma public 
schools is unprecedented and may become a landmark, her statement said.

Stillwater School Board President Joe Haney, saying board members had not 
discussed the case, declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 13 in Payne County District Court.



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