Ethical Treatment of Teachers-Where is the Line?

Lately the media floods us with stories of criminal teachers. Educators caught with child pornography and teachers engaging in sex with students are just a few examples. With the help of the law, these offenders are caught, arrested, and charged for their crimes. However, what of one teacher who was fired for her hairstyle? Or another who was let go due to a false rumor of her being a "witch"? Are sexual crimes and personal choices such as hairstyle being equated by the law? Where is the ethical line?

Debra Lafave, a 23 year old Florida middle school teacher admitted to having sex several times with a 14 year old student of hers on June 28, 2004. She faces a myriad of felony charges against her in two different counties, as she rightly deserves. This was a clear breech of teacher-student conduct and law, and she will pay for her offense.(The Smoking Gun, 2004)

Consider also Melvin E. Johnson, a 40 year old high school student working in Baytown, TX. He was sentenced a minimum of 5 years, no more than 20 years in prison, and a 250,000 fine for receiving child pornography via a website subscription. On or about Jan. 17, 2004, Johnson received images containing sex with minors, some under the age of 12 years old. Upon investigation of his home, some 600 images of child porn where found neatly filed away according to the images content. Thousands more where uncovered on disks, thumb drives, and external hard drives which he admitted to hiding from his family. Videos featuring sex with minors were also found and confiscated (Houston Department of Justice [Department of Justice], 2006). This criminal will never escape the horrible reputation he has earned (and deserves, the slime) and will probably (hopefully) never teach again.

What of Julie Amero, who faces up to 40 years in prison for pornographic pop-ups that started appearing on her computer? These pop-ups were a result of Amero either accidentally or intentionally visiting a site embedded with this trap of a pop-up. The pop-ups featured naked men and women and were seen by as many as 10 minors in her class. Recall how many years in prison Amero could be handed for this crime: 40. The admitted and convicted Melvin Johnson from above was maxed out at half that sentence, even drowning in the evidence of thousands of child porn images. Is that fair? Is it ethical? Considering the nature of the crime, I can't agree that it is indeed ethical. Realistically speaking, the minors who viewed the pop-ups have more than likely seen naked people before, probably due to their own internet exploits. Is this a reason to put a teacher who is already 40 years old in prison for another 40 years? If the law is the law, how is there such a discrepancy in this case? Why not the same for Johnson?

Along those notes, what of Claire Anderson who was fired from the Catholic school she taught at for her hairstyle (WSBTV.com, 2006) Or of Erin Jensen who was excused from her job as a teacher in Utah for untrue rumors of her being a "witch" (Cline, 2005)

Among the most unethical and ridiculous, Marie Bain, a former drama teacher at a Sacramento Catholic school, is fired for previous work at an abortion clinic. She did not assist in any medical procedures but rather welcomed troubled women into the clinic to aid and comfort them, and to successfully get them past protestors. Bain stopped her volunteer work before teaching but this did not spare her job (Cline, 2005).

Last of the frivolous examples is Kim Littrell, nominated four times for "Who's Who in American Teachers". Her light-hearted oral quiz to encourage kids to keep their minds "out of the gutter" got her fired due to a direct and imbecilic misunderstanding of the test. Here are some example riddles that were on her quiz:

What is a four-letter word that ends in K and means the same as intercourse?

Answer: Talk.

What is it that all men have one of; it's longer on some men than on others; the pope doesn't use his; and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?

Answer: Last Name.

As you can see the above riddles are not only an attempt to reach her class at their level (an At-Risk class full of F students who still couldn't read), and amuse them all while inspiring them to think past the dirt to get the correct answer. The fools who condemned her for this are obviously gutter-minded themselves and instead achieved stamping themselves on the forehead with ignorance. On top of having to suffer intense, moronic behavior, Littrell was also let go from her work with project HOPE, assisting hurricane victims, thanks to the controversy (Kovacs, 2005).

In closing I'd like to point out a marvelous contradiction. Recently on the Dr. Phil show, many of us observed a heartbroken former teacher who was fired after porn videos of her from over 10 years ago were made public and she was fired from her position (Sentenac, 2006). She argues that she stands as a wonderful example of how one can turn their life around and become a successful, valuable part of society. Apparently no one agrees, as she hasn't been given her teaching license back. What then of popular T.V. judge Greg Mathis? He was a self-professed gang member involved in violence and served jail time as a young adult. Now he is in an extremely important position (ironically enough) to judge others and apply the law to them. Not only does he stand as a capable and inspiring role-model, that is part of his "selling-tactic". How are these people different? Only the nature of the crimes, and their sex. Unethical? I think, yes.

With people frivolously 86ing teachers from their positions, it's hard to wonder why anyone is complaining about a "teacher shortage". Until administrators stop firing decent teachers for personal vendettas and issues, we can only thank the powers-that-be that people still want to become educators.

References

Cline, A. (2005, July 27). Utah: Teacher Fired For Being A Witch. Retrieved Dec 18, 2006, from http://atheism.about.com/b/a/188747.htm

Cline, A. (2005, Oct. 19). Teacher Fired For Previous Work at Abortion Clinic. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2006, from http://atheism.about.com/b/a/211483.htm

Houston Department of Justice (2006, Feb 6 ). Former Smiley High School Teacher Convicted of Recieving Child Pornography. Retrieved Jan 17, 2007, from http://houston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/ho20606usab.htm

Kovacs, J. (2005, May 15). Teacher of the Year fired over "4-letter-word" quiz. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2006, from http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44281

Sentenac, H. (2006, Dec. 10). Teacher who lost her job over porn films says she deserves to have her job back. Retrieved Dec. 18, 2006, from http://foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,235410,00.html

The Smoking Gun (2004, Dec. 3). Middle School Sex Scandal. , . Retrieved Jan 17, 2007, from http://thesmokinggun.com/archive/1203041lafave1.html

WSBTV.com (2006, Oct. 26). Teacher Says She Was Fired Because Of Hairstyle. Retrieved Jan.17,2006, from http://www.wsbtv.com/print/10168265/detail.html