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May 21, 2007

The Press is Being Rather Nice to Teachers

I'm trying to figure out why Dan Brown has a problem with the media's reporting of pedophile teachers, but I don't get it. Brown seems to think there is some sort of conspiracy to defame teachers because every time he Googles "teacher" on Google News, 20 to 30 percent of the headlines he pulls up involve scandals (usually sex scandals and usually involving children).

This is bad. With similar methods in how the media has skewed and perverted perceptions of the dangers and criminality of African-American men, teachers are in the crosshairs of disproportionately sensational, negative reporting. This kind of coverage preys on people's fears and weaknesses, and it poisons an ostensibly informed citizenry.

I support the First Amendment wholly, and am not calling for certain egregious incidents not to be reported, but here in the blogosphere, I must shout into the amorphous vacuum of media interests: Why the hate on teachers?

Brown then goes on at length about how wonderful teachers are and all the wonderful things they do for America and decries the lack of media coverage of all their goodness. It's just plain a silly assertion. Media doesn't cover the goodness about anything as a general rule because goodness is rarely newsworthy. But Brown seems to think that with all the stories of pedophile teachers, people are beginning to view teachers as creepy (Catholic priest-type creepy). I can only say, "Wow."

I have plenty of reason not to trust teachers. I have two family members who actually were molested by teachers, one male and one female. My son's 6th grade teacher lost his job after two girls (not from the school, but of the age he was teaching) accused him of molestation. I once was friends with a girl who started dating her husband back when he was her 6th grade teacher. Creepy, I know, but true story. But even with all that, I still believe in teachers. I know my kids' teachers and the way they have positively influenced my kids' lives. In no way do I see teachers as creepy.

Brown then tries to claim that because people are beginning not to trust teachers not to molest their kids, they're also no longer trusting them to be able to teach their kids.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002, soon to be up for renewal, is based on a tacit mistrust of teachers. Within the legislation, virtually all accountability is defined through a very small number of high-stakes standardized tests, forcing teachers and students to endure rigid, test-centric, "teacher-proof" curricula.

Does Brown honestly believe that parents will begin to distrust teachers' ability to teach because they've heard of a few cases of molestation? Isn't it more important to publicly shame pedophile teachers and force them out of the profession? I think the statistics are such that we're not giving the problem of pedophile teachers anywhere near the attention it actually deserves.

A 1999 report found that many teachers who were caught having molested kids were able to play the system and get teaching jobs elsewhere, undiscovered by their new employer. Many actually got help from their former bosses finding a job in another district or state (it's called "passing the trash"). Only rarely do pedophile teachers actually pay the price they ought to pay. In fact, when students report sexual abuse by school staff or teachers, the teachers only resign 38.7% of the time. 17.5% are "spoken to informally," 15% are terminated or not re-hired, 11.3% receive a formal reprimand, 8.1% are suspended and resume teaching, and 7.5% are said to have "not meant it." All but 1% of those who resigned, weren't rehired, retired, or were fired actually retained their teaching licenses. When the press does their job and reports these people, it is easier to prevent them from hiding from their past.

Brown says the news coverage of pedophile teachers is disproportionate, but statistics say otherwise. As many as 5% of teachers sexually harass or abuse students, and rarely does it occur only one time. Most of these cases are never reported. A 2002 Department of Education report estimated that from 6 percent to 10 percent of all students in public schools would be victims of abuse before graduation.

After reviewing the statistics, Hofstra University researcher Charol Shakeshaft said, “[T]hink the Catholic Church has a problem? The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.” Richard Dangel, a child psychologist in Dallas, said, “Only about 4% of offenders get busted. The other 96% don’t.” If the media was out to smear teachers, then why are we hearing so much more about Catholic priest abuse than we are about teacher abuse? Maybe it's because too many of us have that Dan Brown attitude that teachers are perfect and lovely and can do no wrong. I think the papers are being very subdued in their reporting of this problem, specifically because they don't want to destroy the public's faith in our school system. It's a difficult balancing act when your putting children's futures on the line.

I mentioned four cases I knew of involving teacher molestation. In one, the teacher was asked to relocate, but kept on teaching. In another, it was never reported and the teacher became "Teacher of the Year" not long afterward. In the case of my son's 6th grade teacher, the school was aware of the allegations the entire year my son was in his class, but we parents were never told and he was allowed to stay teaching. Only during the summer following school did the information become public knowledge. I have not heard any more about what happened in that case. And my friend who married her 6th grade teacher? Why, of course nobody knew that she had been having sex with the man since she was 11 years old because she was in love and never told on him.

In the end, I don't think revealing pedophile teachers denigrates the entire profession. If we cracked down on these people and got them in jail where they belong, instead of shuffling them around to new schools and waiting for them to be re-discovered, then the teaching profession would be seen as even more credible and worthy of trust than it is now.

Posted by Becky at May 21, 2007 01:59 PM