Buried deep on page 5 of section two in the 05/23/11 edition of the Antigo Daily Journal (out of sight, out of mind) is an article titled “School district paying $300,000 to fight porn using teacher, his union”. The article can also be seen on the link below.
http://www.channel3000.com/education/27988366/detail.html
After all the negative publicity Wisconsin school teachers and their unions received a few months ago, I find it absolutely amazing that the teachers union for the Middleton school teachers, is filing a grievance for a terminated porn watching 7th grade school teacher.
The seventh grade teacher at Glacier Creek Middle School was fired for viewing porn at school. The president of the Middleton Cross Plains School Board says the board hates spending its limited cash on lawyers, but it’s doing so because the community supports firing teachers who view porn at school.
Union leaders tell the Wisconsin State Journal they’re not defending the teacher’s behavior, but the discipline was unjust and based on unclear standards.
Unclear standards ? Seriously ? Can they say that with a straight face ?
This union should be on the wall of shame. This is what unions are all about, protecting employees who need to go.
In a second, unrelated article in the 05/20/11 Antigo Daily Journal an Eagle River middle school math teacher is accused of owning a stash of child pornography and also accuses him of engaging in sexual computer chats with a 14 year old girl and performing a sex act in front of her through a webcam.
A $20,000 cash bond was set for the teacher.
Lets see how long it takes for this guys union to file a grievance for unjust discipline and unclear standards. One would think that every school teacher with even an ounce of integrity would be calling their unions and giving them an ear full, I know I would.
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Just think…the taxpayers are paying for these atrocities. How long before teachers and school districts hold out on a zero tolerance? How long before they start paying their own way and quit whining about the job they are doing? What does it take for the people who vote to really do the research on the candidates before they vote. Maybe my teacher can teach me how to read so I can do the research and yank all of their benefits except what is necessary? Yes, this will anger some, but when you start having teachers viewing porn (at school, I don’t care what he does at home) their is some level of perversion here. My question is this…can’t you wait until you get home to be a pervert? Let it be my kids in this situation, and a jail cell won’t hide them. Male or female, school is no place for that, and the community that pays for a lawyer for a pervert to teach in it’s schools, deserves everything it gets.
It states, “The president of the Middleton Cross Plains School Board says the board hates spending its limited cash on lawyers, but it’s doing so because the community supports firing teachers who view porn at school.” What? can we fire the entire community? Is it all sex offenders there or what? Well, I am going to take a deep breath, and pretend this never happened. So, if the community supports firing him, I say fire him. The free ride is OVER jack, and it’s time to pay your own way. Probably on paid administrative leave as well. Nothing like paying the perverts to stay at your school eh?
There was a little bit of an argument. Supposedly the teacher opened up an e-mail from a relative and had no idea the e-mail contained a pornographic picture. Yes.. I can see that happening. It could be an honest mistake BUT..
1. Many school districts (not all) block attachments on e-mail servers in school e-mail. That includes executable programs, photos, recorded music, and pictures.
2. It is likely the teacher was not accessing the school e-mail about but rather his or her own personal e-mail account.
3. I bet the e-mail from the relative was not work related or came from the school’s mail server.
So that means the teacher was likely not following the guidelines outlined in the employee manual, and probably not following the student guidelines outlined in the student handbook.. Check your personal e-mail and facebook on YOUR TIME. I respect my employer, there is absolutely nothing in my home e-mail, or on my Facebook that can’t wait until the end of the day when I am not on company time. Believe me checking your personal e-mail at work or playing around on Twitter or Facebook is not worth losing your job..
IF it was just an accident in a personal Email account, he should be dealt with according to THAT offense and not for purposely viewing lewd photographs in school.
Can he prove it was just an Email from a relative? What does this relative say?
It is difficult to access pornography (thankfully) at school but not impossible. If it wasn’t an accident, he should be fired. I am sorry but I don’t want someone who can’t put their sexuality aside for school hours to teach kids. When I am around kids, the last thing I think about is physical desire.
Just my thoughts…
I have utmost respect for most teachers…with that being said I have lost almost all my respect for unions this year.
Meezer, interesting point. And I have lost all respect for Republicans this year.
Wausau Daily Herald 05/26/11
“Teacher resigns over profane email to lawmaker”
The Peshtigo School District has accepted the resignation of a teacher who sent a profane, threatening email to a state lawmaker who supported Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining bill.
High school chorus instructor Rob Schneider told authorities he was upset and intoxicated when he wrote the email using his work account to Republican Rep, John Nygren in March, after the mass protests at the state Capitol over the bill that cut collective bargaining for most state employees.
In a statement released by the school district, Schneider said he had accepted responsibility for his actions and resigned his position.
I have to ask, if he was intoxicated when he wrote the email on his school work account, was he drunk on the job ? I guess I don’t understand how teachers can be viewing porn and be emailing profane emails from their work accounts while admittedly drunk ?
The teacher from Eagle River with a stash of child pornography accused of web casting sexual behavior to a 14 year old girl will be forever listed on the State of Wisconsin sexual predators list right ?
Ben Drinkin, looks to me like you want to paint an entire profession with the tar from the brush of a couple of bad actors.
Jerry, not the profession, but the unions that protect the few bad apples from spoiling the crate of good apples in the profession. Every profession has a few bad apples including mine. My profession deals with the bad apples. My profession puts them on a 30 day performance improvement plan, puts them on probation, makes them get rehab or additional training, and even suspends the license of bad apples to protect the public from these folks until they get their act together.
Unions do just the opposite. Unions protect the bad apples (because they want their union dues) and when the profession happens to be educating children, most people don’t want their children being educated by a few seedy perverts, pedophiles, and drunks. People want schools filled with educators who are true professionals in every sense of the word. If the school board doesn’t hold these bad apples accountable, who will ?
Jerry, here is a link the the Wisconsin Department of Licensing. In the middle of the page is a drop down box titled “Profession”. Click on the drop down box and look at all the catagories of licensed professionals who are strictley monitored in the state. Everything from barbers and hairstylists to real estate agents to you guessed it CHIROPRACTORS.
The state likes to protect the public from ill performing licensed people. Why no teaching profession in the drop down box ? Do they have their own regulators or is it just left up to the local school boards? Also click the “Home” button and check out the rest of the web site, very interesting.
http://online.drl.wi.gov/LicenseLookup/IndividualCredentialSearch.aspx
Ben, teachers are not unlicensed. The Department of Public Instruction issues licenses for teachers. The fact that chiropractors are licensed should be a clear signal that certification by the Department of Licensing is no guarantee that the public is being protected from institutionalized idiocy, nor that individual practitioners are actually being held accountable to standards of their “profession”. The licensing boards themselves are composed of practitioners of that particular “profession”, and they feel obligated to protect their own rather than the public. They are far more group-think circle-the-wagons in their actions to protect members of their professions than any unions would be. Just file a complaint with any of the licensing boards and see what happens.
Jerry.. I think you lost respect for Republicans 15 years ago… LOL
I agree.. Teachers are suppose to be roll models in life. They claim they are intelligent with Bachelor and Master degrees, specifically trained to deal with issues, complications, and critical thinking. Yet, we are hearing stories of teachers almost on a daily basis.. I can’t recall hearing such stories a year or two ago. Is it because the media is reporting these incidents? or did we have “bad teachers” like this in the past but rarely did media pay attention?
“Meezer, interesting point. And I have lost all respect for Republicans this year.” says Jerry.
Sounds to me like you want to paint all Republicans with the tar from the brush of a couple of bad actors.
Muelver loves to get on his tiny soapbox and gripe about chiropractors, but its a little silly to compare teachers and bone crackers. I wonder what percentage of the population visits a chiro? 5%? possibly 10%? And when they do, they can choose which chiro to visit and switch if they are not happy or comfortable with them. Our children on the other hand, of which probably 95% attend Public Schools have no choice in their teachers. So when the unions fight to protect a “bad teacher”, its a hell of a lot different then some licensing board protecting a peer.
Not Politically Correct says: “So when the unions fight to protect a “bad teacher”, its a hell of a lot different then some licensing board protecting a peer.”
Leaping to judgment about an entire organization based on a specific inflammatory instance is quite fashionable these days, but it is still an egregious logical error. To back up your assertion, you’d have to show (1) how many teachers are union members in this state, (1) how many “bad teachers” the unions have “protected” over what period of time, (2) how many good teachers unions have protected against groundless or mistaken charges over that same period, (3) what specific contract language (teachers serve under contracts, not at the pleasure of the board) justifies the charges, (4) what penalties are stipulated in the contract for the violation described in the charges, and (5) what evidence has been provided on both sides of the issue.
Given the amount of effort it takes to be fair and reasonable, it’s understandable that you would prefer simply to spout opinions as if they were facts, and unilaterally declare the issue resolved. I know that’s the way it is done in the Wisconsin State Legislature, but is that the way you would like our children to be taught to solve problems?
Muelver, you missed my point completely.
Oh, really? If I missed your point, perhaps others did, too. Why don’t you restate your assessment of the situation, perhaps with some actual data, so we can all understand it?
How about these numbers Jerry. WEAC protects 100% of pervert teachers.
How this, Not Politically Correct – “Innocent until proven guilty.” That’s the concept that causes WEAC to defend its members. And that’s why your tax dollars go to the Public Defenders Office to defend perverts, druggies, and murderers as their cases work through the justice system. Note also that WEAC does not defend “perverts” from the alleged charge, but from being fired before guilt has been proven. Of course, with concealed carry coming to Wisconsin, those who want to shoot first and ask questions later will be able to dispense your brand of justice.
Not exactly my “brand of justice.” But I will tell you what I think concealed carry will do. It will possibly make some of those perverts, druggies and murderers think twice before accosting someone. They wll not know if the potential victim is packing or not.
Of course I know you will disagree with some high and mighty theory or some statistics that will “prove” your point. So dont waste your time. I am just a common red neck and your lecture goes in one ear and out the other.
Lecture? Me? Naw… Just trying to make sure that folks actually have some facts behind their opinions. That gives me the opporunity to learn something, too.
How is packing heat supposed to protect you? A guy steps up behind you, presses a gun barrel to the back of your neck, and demands your money. Than what? You fumble through your clothing, dig out a gun, turn around, point it at the dude, and shoot? What’s he doing? Waiting to see if you’re serious?
So, Jerry, since everyone is innocent until proven guilty you would be ok with sending your child to school knowing their teacher looks at porn during working hours because they haven’t been proven guilty? A school is not a court room they are a business. There was not criminal act he violated company policy. This about it this way, what if I were to look at porn at my private sector job? I shouldn’t be fired until I’m proven guilty?
They are there to do a job not to go there and look at porn on the tax payers dime. If they don’t do their job then they should be reprimanded just like any other employee. If they choose to sue the school for wrongful termination then they should be doing it on their dime not hiding behind the union and letting the union do their dirty work for them. They need to be held to the same standards as a private sector employee.
If the school has just cause to fire someone then they should be allowed to do so without fear of retribution from the unions. How is it right that the students have to suffer from the loss of $300,000 because a teacher was not doing his job, violated company policy, got fired and is now whining to the union because he got caught? If I got caught looking at porn at my job I would be fired, also. There would be no 30 day warning, there would be no suspension. And if I were fired, no lawyer in their right mind would take the case because there is no way they would ever win it especially if there was proof that I did what I was fired for.
So… I didn’t say anyone should be kept on the job until proven guilty. I said they should be able to defend themselves if charged or accused. Schools have procedures already in place for this process. Suspension while the charges are being investigated and litigated is the usual procedure. Nobody is approving porn-viewing on the job, for teachers or anyone else. If your problem is with the procedures themselves, go to school board meetings and address the issue directly. Claiming that unions are on a mission to provide and protect porn viewing is a bit over the top for a policy assertion.