Teacher loses it when boy takes too long in bathroom

Ohio teacher Nicole Lemire was furious with a fifth-grade boy who took too long to go to the bathroom.

And so she stood him up at the front of the room and asked the other students to try to remember everything bad he had ever done. Everytime he objected, she recorded a check mark for a recess that would be taken away from him.

How bad was this boy?

Not bad enough that Ms. Lemire had ever reported a problem to his parents. 

Here's the truth that most of us have known for years: some teachers are vicious bullies.

Here's a truth that most people don't know: teacher culture promotes anger and retaliation far more than it promotes truth-finding and reasoned responses to problems. A lot of teachers eat lunch in their rooms because the teachers' lounge is so full of vitriol.  In my experience, students are the favorite targets of lounge gossip, followed by parents, administrators and other teachers.

Now Ms. Lemire, who has been reprimanded and suspended multiple times, has been fired.

And what does she want now?  She wants the chance to defend herself--the very opportunity that she denied to the boy in her care.  I think a court case would be a good thing, in part to teach the students in Lemire's class how accusations are supposed to be handled in a free society.

The district noted the following in its decision to fire Ms. Lemire (see pages 93 and 94 in this document):

Ms. LeMire has displayed a repeated and persistent pattern of exercising poor professional judgment. Ms. LeMire engaged in the conduct stated in paragraphs #1, 2, 3 and/or 4, and incorporated herein, even though she received an Unpaid Suspension for ten (10) days dated December 23, 2014, and an Unpaid Suspension for two (2) days dated June 10, 2014, which both were due to missed deadlines and a lack of and/or poor communication. Ms. LeMire also received a Written Reprimand dated April 11, 2014 for poor communication and a Written Reprimand dated November 11, 2013 for leaving her class unattended. These incidents reflect poor judgment and Ms. LeMire’s December 23, 2014 suspension notice specifically stated if she “engage[d] in any further unprofessional or unethical behavior, violate Olentangy Board policy or do not follow an administrative directive, you will face disciplinary action up to and/or including termination.”

Ms. Lemire, ironically, doesn't seem to want to listen when others have complaints about her:

In December, she was suspended for 10 days after she did not respond to emails about her teacher’s evaluation from her principal at Glen Oak Elementary. She missed the deadline to submit a growth plan and failed to reply to repeated e-mails from her administrator. In response, LeMire-Hecker said she misunderstood and initially didn’t think she was required to submit a plan, according to district records. She also admitted that she had other priorities and did not read an e-mail the principal sent.

--Olentangy teacher fights elementary school’s effort to fire her 
by Charlie Boss
The Columbus Dispatch   
May 19, 2015

WHAT IT MEANS FOR A GIANT BANK TO PLEAD GUILTY TO A CRIMINAL CHARGE

WHAT IT MEANS FOR A GIANT BANK TO PLEAD GUILTY TO A CRIMINAL CHARGE

Today, five major U.S. and European banks – including giant Citicorp and JPMorgan Chase -- agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay more than $5 billion in penalties to settle charges their traders manipulated the $5.3-trillion-a-day foreign exchange currency market for the banks' profit. Their self-described “cartel” used an exclusive electronic chat room and coded language to manipulate national exchange rates in ways that benefited their own trading positions. It’s one of the biggest bank swindles of all times. 

But is any top executive going to jail? 
Not a chance. 
Black and Latino teenagers are locked up for selling ounces of marijuana. 
Bankers who fleece the rest of us for trillions of dollars get fat bonuses.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan (pictured below), has been lobbying on Capitol Hill to roll back the Dodd-Frank Act and eviscerate other bank regulations. If, as the Supreme Court says, corporations are people, then when Citicorp and JPMorgan plead guilty to criminal charges their top brass (including Dimon) should feel the pinch.
What do you think?

Sacramento Report: What the Hell Are We Doing? Assemblywoman Shirley Weber tries to help teachers improve

After I posted a comment on this page yesterday about the California Teachers Association's opposition to Assemblymember Shirley Weber's admirable efforts to improve teacher performance, I got a nasty, anonymous and untraceable phone call from a woman who sounded completely calm and sober.  She had a nice, ordinary voice, not the drug-addled, ignorant-sounding voice of most abusive phone callers.  I've been wondering who it could have been, and this morning I decided that it was very likely a teacher who was motivated by my comment in Voice of San Diego.

I considered changing my comment. I realized it was too harsh.  I should have done a better job qualifying my statement.

But I am not going to edit my comment in Voice of San Diego.

Instead, I'll qualify it in this response.

First of all, I want to acknowledge that ANYONE WHO RISES TO POWER IN ANY ORGANIZATION ON THIS PLANET is subject to a lot of pressure. I know for a fact that perfectly-decent people who become school administrators or school board members not-infrequently set aside their principles under pressure. They go along to get along, just like officials of CTA--and members of the California Assembly, both Democrats and Republicans.

Also, I think there's a big problem with the Vergara decision.  It puts the cart before the horse.  It gets rid of tenure WITHOUT HAVING A GOOD EVALUATION SYSTEM IN PLACE.  This is a very bad idea.  Vergara would increase the politics in schools instead of increasing the effectiveness of teacher evaluations. 

But isn't this exactly why CTA should agree to a plan like Shirley Weber's?

My conclusion is that CTA wants teacher evaluations to remain political. Why?  Because sometimes the worst teachers are the most loyal supporters of CTA officials and their pals.

Here's the comment I published yesterday in Voice of San Diego regarding the difficulties Democrats have in resisting the power of the California Teachers Association:

A few years ago at the California Teachers Association's yearly conference for the presidents of all the local affiliates, I heard then-executive director Carolyn Doggett tell teachers that they needed to take responsibility for good teaching or the responsibility would be taken from them.  [I was not a union official, just a lowly teacher.]  Clearly, CTA continues to refuse to take responsibility.  I'm afraid that the type of teacher that rises to power in CTA is not the type that's deeply interested in children.

Democrats should be ashamed of kowtowing to CTA instead of supporting principled reformers like Shirley Weber.

Below is an article from Voice of San Diego .--Maura Larkins

 

Sacramento Report: What the Hell Are We Doing?

John Hrabe

Voice of San Diego

May 1, 2015

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber

Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle

...During the Assembly Education Committee’s Wednesday hearing, the San Diego Democrat gave an inspired speech in support of her bill to require that student achievement be used as a factor in job evaluations of teachers and school administrators. Weber’s bill is one of several competing proposals for a comprehensive revision to the state’s teacher evaluation rules.

“Unlike the current way of doing things, AB 1495 would structure our evaluations around student achievement and help teachers improve their classroom outcomes,” Weber said.

Weber, who is considered one of the legislature’s most knowledgeable members on education issues, lined up support from several of the state’s leading education groups, including EdVoice, StudentsFirst and Students Matter. But her bill had one very powerful opponent: the California Teachers Association.

That opposition from the state’s teacher’s union was enough to kill the bill on a 3-2 vote — with fellow Democrats Kevin McCarty and Tony Thurmond opposed and Republicans Rocky Chavez and Young Kim backing Weber. (Other members abstained from voting, which meant the bill didn’t have enough votes in favor to move on.)

The hearing was shocking on several fronts. First, it’s rare for a member of the majority party to have one of their priority bills – on their expert subject matter – fail in committee. Even if members are opposed to the bill, they’ll commonly pass the bill out as a courtesy.

Second, Weber’s not a far-right ideologue that views the California Teachers Association as “the worst union in America.” Rather, she’s been featured frequently in the CTA’s magazine and received the California Federation of Teachers‘ endorsement for her re-election.

Finally, she’s chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, a position that gives her influence over every lawmaker’s pet project or legislative agenda.

The fight over AB 1495 reflects a growing divide among California Democrats over how to respond to Vergara v. California, the pending challenge to the state’s teacher tenure and dismissal process. On one side, those loyal to the state’s teacher’s union have refused to cede any ground, while others, such as Weber, view Vergara as “a wake-up call.”

“If we are not about improving the lives of children,” asked a frustrated Weber, “then what the hell are we doing? … What am I going to do after 40 years of working in a system I am frustrated by? Just go along to get along?”...

Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With No Sex Ed

Apparently ignorance isn't as great as some people think.

Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With No Sex Ed

May 5, 2015, 1:03 PM ET

By SYDNEY LUPKIN

Health Reporter

via World News

A colorized scanning electron micrograph shows a cultured human cell infected by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, appearing as small round particles inside the cell wall.

Getty Images

 

A Texas high school is in the middle of a chlamydia outbreak, officials say. But according to the school district's student handbook, it does not offer sexual education.

Several students in one Crane, Texas, school district contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, according to a letter obtained by ABC News that went home to parents Monday. According to the letter, the surrounding counties were also in the middle of an outbreak.

"Crane Independent School District would like to make our parents aware or more aware of a problem that has been identified in our teenagers and young adults of our community," the letter reads.

Crane County has had three reported chlamydia cases in the last two weeks, but health workers have seven days to report them to the state, according to the Texas State Department of Health.

Chlamydia is the most common STD in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's caused by a bacteria, and can be passed between sexual partners who aren't using condoms, according to the National Institutes of Health. It is treated with antibiotics, according to the NIH.

Most people with chlamydia have no symptoms, but some men and women can develop discharge, burning and tenderness, according to the NIH. In women, chlamydia can prompt pelvic inflammatory disease or liver inflammation. It can also make it harder for women to get pregnant.

Crane Independent School District

PHOTO: A letter sent home to parents of students in the Crane Independent School District in Crane, Texas states that several cases of chlamydia have been reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The school does not have a sexual education program, according to Crane's student handbook for the 2014-15 school year, which is posted online.

"Currently, Crane ISD does not offer a curriculum in human sexuality," the handbook says, explaining that if it ever does institute such a program, the parent can opt out. According to the handbook, state law requires more attention must be spent on abstinence than other behavior.

The school district did not respond to a request by ABC News for comment beyond the letter.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a senior medical contributor for ABC News and practicing OBGYN, said half of her patients are women under 21 years old.

"The factual knowledge regarding [sexually transmitted infections] is generally poor," she said, adding that it prompted her to write a book, "The Body Scoop for Girls."

"Reproductive health or sex ed courses have enormous variability in their content and teaching approach. Factors such as geographic region, school district and teacher beliefs/comfort with this subject matter all come into play," Ashton noted.

"Abstinence only may sound ideal but it's not realistic," Ashton said. "And in theory, better education reduces adverse outcomes."

Republican ‘Abstinence-Only’ Crusader’s 17-Year-Old Daughter Is Pregnant

Author: Jameson Parker  

Addicting Info

July 10, 2014 

A Republican lawmaker who promoted legislation to teach “abstinence-only” sex education in schools announced that his own unmarried high school-aged daughter has gotten pregnant.
Bill Cassidy, a state Senator from Louisiana released a statement to NOLA.com announcing that he was to be a grandfather and expressing his support for his daughter during this “challenging” time:

“Earlier this year, Laura and I learned we will become grandparents this summer. Our children have been the greatest blessing of our lives and we welcome our grandchild as a joyous addition to our family. Our daughter now faces a more challenging future than her peers. She has our unconditional love and support.”

Cassidy has made a name for himself as somewhat of a “abstinence-only” crusader. Last year, he co-sponsored the Abstinence-Only Reallocation Act, which would award grants and special funding to public and private schools which stuck to teaching only abstinence instead of a more comprehensive lesson plan on sexual behavior. The bill, authored by perennial bad ideas machine Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), has been tabled in Congress, but Louisiana teens aren’t in the clear.
Despite efforts by some legislators to address this problem, Louisiana is one of the leading abstinence-only promoters in the country. In roughly one-third of all schools in the state, students are taught exclusively abstinence. No safe sex. No birth control. Nothing but “Don’t do it.” And you know how good kids are at listening to adults when they tell them not to do something…
It might explain why Louisiana currently has the 6th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. And while most of the country has been seeing major declines in teen births, Louisiana’s has hardly changed.
Now, it appears Cassidy’s own daughter contributes to those statistics.
Who could have seen this coming? Oh, right, the scientists who study teen sexual behavior:

States that prescribe abstinence-only sex education programs in public schools have significantly higher teenage pregnancy and birth rates than states with more comprehensive sex education programs, researchers from the University of Georgia have determined.
The researchers looked at teen pregnancy and birth data from 48 U.S. states to evaluate the effectiveness of those states’ approaches to sex education, as prescribed by local laws and policies.
“Our analysis adds to the overwhelming evidence indicating that abstinence-only education does not reduce teen pregnancy rates,” said Kathrin Stanger-Hall, assistant professor of plant biology and biological sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. [source]...

Sacramento Report: What the Hell Are We Doing? Assemblywoman Shirley Weber tries to help teachers improve

After I posted a comment on this page yesterday about the California Teachers Association's opposition to Assemblymember Shirley Weber's admirable efforts to improve teacher performance, I got a nasty, anonymous and untraceable phone call from a woman who sounded completely calm and sober.  She had a nice, ordinary voice, not the drug-addled, ignorant-sounding voice of most abusive phone callers.  I've been wondering who it could have been, and this morning I decided that it was very likely a teacher who was motivated by my comment in Voice of San Diego.

I considered changing my comment. I realized it was too harsh.  I should have done a better job qualifying my statement.

But I am not going to edit my comment in Voice of San Diego.

Instead, I'll qualify it in this response.

First of all, I want to acknowledge that ANYONE WHO RISES TO POWER IN ANY ORGANIZATION ON THIS PLANET is subject to a lot of pressure. I know for a fact that perfectly-decent people who become school administrators or school board members not-infrequently set aside their principles under pressure. They go along to get along, just like officials of CTA--and members of the California Assembly, both Democrats and Republicans.

Also, I think there's a big problem with the Vergara decision.  It puts the cart before the horse.  It gets rid of tenure WITHOUT HAVING A GOOD EVALUATION SYSTEM IN PLACE.  This is a very bad idea.  Vergara would increase the politics in schools instead of increasing the effectiveness of teacher evaluations. 

But isn't this exactly why CTA should agree to a plan like Shirley Weber's?

My conclusion is that CTA wants teacher evaluations to remain political. Why?  Because sometimes the worst teachers are the most loyal supporters of CTA officials and their pals.

Here's the comment I published yesterday in Voice of San Diego regarding the difficulties Democrats have in resisting the power of the California Teachers Association:

A few years ago at the California Teachers Association's yearly conference for the presidents of all the local affiliates, I heard then-executive director Carolyn Doggett tell teachers that they needed to take responsibility for good teaching or the responsibility would be taken from them.  [I was not a union official, just a lowly teacher.]  Clearly, CTA continues to refuse to take responsibility.  I'm afraid that the type of teacher that rises to power in CTA is not the type that's deeply interested in children.

Democrats should be ashamed of kowtowing to CTA instead of supporting principled reformers like Shirley Weber.

Below is an article from Voice of San Diego .--Maura Larkins

 

Sacramento Report: What the Hell Are We Doing?

John Hrabe

Voice of San Diego

May 1, 2015

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber

Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle

...During the Assembly Education Committee’s Wednesday hearing, the San Diego Democrat gave an inspired speech in support of her bill to require that student achievement be used as a factor in job evaluations of teachers and school administrators. Weber’s bill is one of several competing proposals for a comprehensive revision to the state’s teacher evaluation rules.

“Unlike the current way of doing things, AB 1495 would structure our evaluations around student achievement and help teachers improve their classroom outcomes,” Weber said.

Weber, who is considered one of the legislature’s most knowledgeable members on education issues, lined up support from several of the state’s leading education groups, including EdVoice, StudentsFirst and Students Matter. But her bill had one very powerful opponent: the California Teachers Association.

That opposition from the state’s teacher’s union was enough to kill the bill on a 3-2 vote — with fellow Democrats Kevin McCarty and Tony Thurmond opposed and Republicans Rocky Chavez and Young Kim backing Weber. (Other members abstained from voting, which meant the bill didn’t have enough votes in favor to move on.)

The hearing was shocking on several fronts. First, it’s rare for a member of the majority party to have one of their priority bills – on their expert subject matter – fail in committee. Even if members are opposed to the bill, they’ll commonly pass the bill out as a courtesy.

Second, Weber’s not a far-right ideologue that views the California Teachers Association as “the worst union in America.” Rather, she’s been featured frequently in the CTA’s magazine and received the California Federation of Teachers‘ endorsement for her re-election.

Finally, she’s chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, a position that gives her influence over every lawmaker’s pet project or legislative agenda.

The fight over AB 1495 reflects a growing divide among California Democrats over how to respond to Vergara v. California, the pending challenge to the state’s teacher tenure and dismissal process. On one side, those loyal to the state’s teacher’s union have refused to cede any ground, while others, such as Weber, view Vergara as “a wake-up call.”

“If we are not about improving the lives of children,” asked a frustrated Weber, “then what the hell are we doing? … What am I going to do after 40 years of working in a system I am frustrated by? Just go along to get along?”...