WE'RE STILL SNICKERINGA middle school in Maine wants to make contraceptives available to students in the 6th and 8th grades. We're talking about 11-13 year olds. No doubt, it's in response to those 5 students a year who report sexual intercourse, or maybe it's the fact that the percentage of middle school students in Maine who reported having sexual intercourse dropped from 23 percent in 1997 to 13 percent in 2005, according to the Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey. With some luck, this stupid school can reverse those figures.
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TRUSTWORTHINESS PART III
We aren't talking about the school board member either.
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SPEAKING OF BUBBLE GUM
Seventeen magazine, the slick publication for the bubble gum and plastic teenagers caught in a 1960s time warp, has an article in their November publication on "Predator Teachers." Don't rush out and buy a copy. We certainly aren't going to. But we link to our rant about the teacher.
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The ABC's of BETRAYAL Part III ***** (Excellent)
The Columbus Dispatch has done an outstanding job in their series on teacher misconduct in Ohio and how the Ohio Department of Education fails at every level to demonstrate capability or concern for students or parents. Their arrogance is such that they won't release records even when ordered to do so by the state Attorney General. This is not a problem unique to Ohio. The same could be said about most states, but it takes a real newspaper to uncover the truth.
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"Illinois does a poor job of dealing with teacher misconduct" *****
is the title of an article in the Small Newspaper Group in Illinois, written by Scott Reeder. He is the reporter who exposed "The Cost of Tenure" in Illinois. You wonder why teachers don't lose their certification? Two-thirds of the members of the certification board, under state law, are appointed by the two teacher unions. That's not all you will find out.
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Tenured teacher resigns in Illinois
It's headline material because it doesn't happen that often unless, of course, the teacher is bargaining for a plea agreement. The teacher in this case, however, had no choice. He did the unthinkable -- he -- and we hesitate to write this -- was "racially insensitive." We know, we know, that it's 2007 and we're long past Jim Crow laws and pone dog sheriffs in the Deep South, but in Illinois, the desperate desire to revive racial hatred lives on in the politically correct world of school boards looking for moral authority. Why not just teach and earn parent's gratitude? Wait, that would be too much work. Our bad.
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Mo' teachers strikes
Pictures of grown adults carrying signs saying "Fair Wages" or some such stupidity wouldn't inspire a good deal of respect in a five-year-old, but Pennsylvania teachers just love to demonstrate outside of schools anyway. At least none recruited their children to the picket lines.
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SENTENCED to 50 years in prison
In Virginia, John Sexton Jr., will be away a while. He was sentenced to 50 years, with all but 15 years suspended for sex acts with a 14-year-old girl. He will be on supervised probation for the rest of his life.
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SENTENCED - sex with student
Elaine Turner, 37, a Florida teacher was sentenced to 30 days in jail - not prison - for the sexual activity charge, as well as 30 days probation. For the aggravated battery charge, she was sentenced to 10 years probation and will be required to either spend 150 days at the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office work camp or 150 days at the Wakulla County Jail. The student was 17-years-old.
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SENTENCED - Sexual contact of a minor
Don't ask us why Duriel Martin, 29, would climb through a window at 3 a.m. in a "highly intoxicated state and forcibly touch a 17-year-old daughter of a friend. "Former friend" is how the newspaper described the relationship. He was sentenced to one year, but the judge suspended six months of the sentence, allowing Martin to participate in a work release program. (New Mexico)
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ARRESTED - Unlawful transaction with a minor
A band director in Kentucky was arrested and charged with misdemeanor unlawful transaction with a minor. Michael F. Colvett, 37, is getting a lot of support from students and alumni, which is always worrisome. Our experience has been that such cases usually end up with everyone feeling betrayed.
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ARRESTED - Animal cruelty
Those folks in Maine would be gasping in horror to hear that a teacher was alleged to be involved in a dog fighting operating. Daron Scott, 50, and his twin brother were arrested and charged with two counts of extreme cruelty to animals, a fourth-degree felony; two counts of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor; and one count each of conspiracy to commit extreme animal cruelty, a fourth-degree felony. (New Mexico) You realize that you can go to jail for a longer time for animal cruelty than you will if you sexually abuse a student?
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ARRESTED - Lesbian sex with student
Erin Baker, 25, an assistant girls basketball coach, was arrested in Ohio for having sexual contact with the a female student. She worked for the school for four years.
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GUILTY PLEA - Child pornography
In Florida, John McNair, 59, was arrested after he called two women in Nashville and threatened to molest his granddaughter if they hung up. The FBI tracked him down and in a search found 160,000 pornographic images on his computer. McNair isn't a teacher, but he was reportedly engaged to a technology coordinator at an elementary school. She was suspended, but isn't accused of anything. He pleaded guilty to the child pornography and making threatening interstate telephone calls. Bizarrely, police also found dozens of Barbie dolls in various stages of undress in their search, even though McNair had no children in the home.
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RELEASE FROM PRISON
David Kaster is due to be paroled Oct. 23. He was sentenced in November 2001 to nine years in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting three of his team members between March 1998 and April 2000. A a sex offender notification meeting is planned to discuss his release.
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