One of the more intriguing - and saddening - stories I've been tracking is taking place in Ogemaw County, Michigan. In particular, it deals with a horrible story out of Rose City, which is a bit north of West Branch, and with the West Branch-Rose City School District, which I covered as a journalist in the early 1990s. Apparently, a long-time middle school teacher in the district named Neal Erickson was recently convicted and sentenced of having sex with an eighth-grade boy a few years ago. Normally, this is where the story would end, a small-town version of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case.
Except ... seven of Erickson's coworkers, as well as a school board member (one of the seven's husband), wrote to the judge handling the case asking for leniency in his sentence. The WBRCSD has opted, despite the outrage from area citizens, not to fire the seven educators who supported their former colleague. And this collective action has pissed off a whole bunch of area residents.
I "get" the whole First Amendment rights thing, I really do; yes, Erickson's colleagues have the constitutional right to voice their opinion and support him. And I "get" that, despite the community anger, the school board has chosen not to release the teachers from whatever contract under which they are employed.
But I also, equally, "get" that the educators in question used extremely questionable judgment, not only in writing the letters (which are public documents), but in being present at the sentencing. There are definitely situations where supporting colleagues in the education field is appropriate; I'm not so sure this was one of them. I am a professional educator, and I would be hard pressed to stand in union with a coworker or a colleague who was involved in such a horrid betrayal of children's trust. Erickson's actions are a blemish on the profession; appearing to publically support anyone who has admitted to, and been convicted of, those offenses is also a betrayal of children, their parents, and the necessary integrity of teachers. No, it is not in the same universe as child molestation itself ... but publically supporting a confessed and convicted child molester does incredible damage in many ways - to the community at large and the microcosmic community that is a school setting.
Years ago - early in my career as a teacher in Florida - I had a senior in my honors British Literature course who asked me for a letter of recommendation. I agreed to write it for him. But before I got around to actually doing the deed, said student turned in not one, but two, plagiarized essay assignments. Along with the "zero" grades for the papers, I had to tell him the letter of recommendation was not something I could go through with anymore, because the opening sentence would include references to his cheating in my class.
I believe the same holds true here; if Erickson's fellow educators were openly supporting him before any known transgression had taken place, it would be fully understandable. But to do so after he has been convicted, and openly ask the judge for a reduced sentence ... sorry, I can't go that far. I fail to understand why someone would continue to support such an individual - especially one who breaches professional ethics - in such a manner. Teachers - along with clergy and other child care workers - are entrusted with our most precious possessions, and for one of them to harm such a person is to destroy that family.
That Rose City school setting is going to be a hellish place in the foreseeable future. I'm a teacher; kids talk - a lot - about their friends, families, and teachers, and many of the things they say can be hurtful. They don't hold back, whether it be through chatting live with friends or posting comments on Facebook or Twitter about their daily lives. Many of those who end up in the supportive educators' classes will have a serious distrust of their teacher, as will their parents. There could even be a divide between educators, which would add to the stress already destined within the building.
I don't know if the school board should have fired the teachers. But I do suspect their professional lives will not be as pleasant as they had been in previous school years.
There are stories that make me ashamed to be a teacher. This is one of them.
The Fine Five - August 20, 2013
(1) Meanwhile, in Decatur, Georgia, a teen gunman fired off rounds at an elementary school before being apprehended today. Luckily, unlike Sandy Hook, there were apparently no injuries or deaths. But the whole "gun rights" question will be opened up again, just as it was in December ... and after every mass shooting that takes place.
(2) RIP, Elmore Leonard. Perhaps the best-known writer out of Detroit passed away from complications of a stroke today at the age of 87. Several of of Leonard's books have been made into movies, including "Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown," "Out of Sight" and "Hombre." You were always a fun read, and you will definitely be missed.
(3) How is it that in TV commercials, men using shaving cream always lather up their face with what seems like a solid six inches of foam? I never get that much lather. (Then again, females with amazingly long, Wolverine-esque fingernails doing extremely lame ninja-eqsue fighting moves never happen to me, either ...)
(4) Two days of school, three administrative pop-ins, each by different administrators, each in different classes. Guess I should expect two more visits in my two other classes soon?
(5) Performed my Gil Scott-Heron poetry program for the novice debate class today. Yeah, it's good to be back in the swing of things.
Weird News of the Day
From The Mirror Online: "'Foods to fear: Top 10 dishes that can kill - or land you in hospital" - I'll have the Schwinn, medium-well!
Stupid News of the Day
From The Raw Story: "'Tennessee father and son dead after AR-15 goes off and ammunition-filled room explodes" - “Any loss of life is tragic, when a child looses their life it hit the community hard,” Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke explained to a reporter who doesn't know shit about the proper use of grammar - it's "loses," not "looses," damnit!
Florida News of the Day
From WTSP: "'Man caught on surveillance stealing Ronald McDonald House donations" - Almost as bad as stealing Girl Scout cookie money during the sale of said deliciousness. Or possibly even stealing a whole bunch of GS Cookies.
Video of the Day
My favorite movie of all time, BladeRunner, as an 8-bit video game? Don't mind if I do!
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