Say what you will about due process rules that make it difficult to dismiss incompetent teachers, but stories like this are what shape public perceptions. A 39-year old tenured teacher at a New York City high school developed a crush on a 15-year old student in 2005, emailed him repeatedly, and then—I’m not making this up—blogged about it. Her penalty? A 90-day unpaid suspension.
Adult supervision has taken the form of a ruling by State Supreme Court Justice who said the arbitrator’s recommendation of a 90-day unpaid suspension was “irrational” and “violates a strong public policy” to protect children. The judge sent the case back for a new penalty.
A New York Daily News editorial this morning titled “Lovesick and Brain Dead” sums it up. “Three years. Endless proceedings. All over a loony individual who, as anybody can see, has absolutely no business in a classroom. But who is tenured. And thus undislodgeable.”
