High school cheerleader/basketball star arrested for sexual relationship with team mate. Right or wrong? - Justin Ormsby

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If you support Kate and her struggle please visit the Facebook group "Free Kate."  

There you can keep up to date on Kate's struggle and purchase wrist bands to support her extremely expensive legal defense costs. 

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Kaitlyn Hunt and her father

On February 16th of 2013 former Sebastian River High School (Sebastian, Fl) cheerleader and basketball star Kaitlyn Hunt was arrested and charged with "lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 - 16 years of age."

The 18 year old high school senior who admittedly had a relationship with a then 14 year old female team mate that eventually became sexual, now faces up to 15 years in prison and "sexual offender" registration for life.

Adding fuel to the fire are the accusations that both the parents of the younger party and law enforcement officials are actively "cracking down" on this case due to Hunt's sexual orientation.

The nature of the case has proven to be highly controversial.  Many who believe this issue is discriminatory, including hactivist organization "Anonymous" have rallied to Hunt's aid.  Still others have claimed that regardless of sexual orientation, the age difference is unacceptable and Hunt should be tried and convicted regardless of her sexual preference.

So how does one decipher the morality of this circumstance?  To me, it seems pretty simple.  Let's consider the letter of the law versus the intent of the law.

The intent of the law is clear.  It's intended to keep adults from preying on underage children who may not yet have developed the capacity to exercise reason and good judgement successfully.  When thought of in that regard, it certainly seems a law for which we should be thankful.  

In March of 2013 former Tennessee Titans cheerleader Elizabeth Leigh Garner (42) was arrested for attempting to perform oral sex on a 12 year old boy one drunken evening.  In this example things seem more clear.  Garner was clearly an adult (42) the victim was 30 years her junior and in no way gave consent (legal or not) to the action.  If the allegations in this case are true, then I was suspect many (myself included) would agree that the perpetrator should suffer serious consequences for her actions.

Should Ms. Hunt be held equally accountable for her actions?  I think not.  Why?  Because age alone cannot be the only variable in these cases.  Hunt and her partner were in the same peer group.  They went to school together, played on the same basketball team, and should have, in every way, been expected to be close friends.  

In a high school setting 14 year old freshman and 18 year old seniors mix together daily as peers.  Not as adults and children.  Their friendships would not be chastised as would the friendship of a teacher and a student, or even a college student and a high school student.  They are, in most practical ways, in the same place in their lives.  They attend the same classes and the same social activities.  They play on the same sports teams.  They should be expected to bond and form friendships and on occasion those friendships will naturally blossom into something extra-platonic.  

Would it be less of a controversy if Kaitlyn was a 16 year old sophomore and her partner was a 14 year old freshman?  I think it might be.  In such a case, would it be reasonable to ask the elder girl to terminate the relationship immediately upon turning 18 or else face being branded a sexual predator for life?

To me this controversy boils down to one simple point.  Regardless of sexual orientation and regardless of your moral perspective on underage sex, these two individuals were peers.  The nature of their relationship was not one of an adult and a child.  Neither held a position of authority over the other.  Neither was in a position to manipulate, bribe, or extort the other.  They were friends.  Simply two class/team mates who bonded and formed a strong romantic relationship.  Expecting any high school student to suddenly develop the responsibilities of an adult and immediately discharge any relationships he or she might have on his or her 18th birthday is unreasonable. 

The intent of law is not to track down high school students on their 18th birthday day, arrest them for relationships they were already in, and ruin their lives by branding them sexual offenders.  The intent is to protect vulnerable children from predatory adults who, because of their stature, age, or position in life have the ability to take advantage of young and impressionable children. 

Anniversary of Brown vs/ the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas - Are we there yet?

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Today is the 59th Anniversary of the decision that outlawed the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public school in the United States.  The question remains...how far have we come?  Are school districts across this country truly moving towards equality?  Do largely white suburban communities afford the same educational opportunities as do largely minority inner city schools?  Does every American student in this country grow up with the ability to be whatever he or she wants to be?  Should we use today to celebrate our progress or remind ourselves how much further we still have to go?

For more on inequality in public schools, I highly recommend the following works by Jonathan Kozol.

Available at Amazon.com

Available at Amazon.com

(Reviewed by: Justin Ormsby)  

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Principal fires security guards to hire art teachers -- and transforms elementary school - Katy Tur

(link to article at NBC News)

1chance2learn.net is in no way affiliated with NBC or author Katy Tur.  In fact, we doubt they even know we exist.  Please click the link above to view the original article.

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One of the principle difficulties in teaching the arts is finding a justification for your subject that is not purely anecdotal.  Sometimes however, anecdotes can be extremely powerful and insightful.  This is a must read for all teachers of the arts.

(Reviewed by: Justin Ormsby)  

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Orchard Gardens K - 8 in Roxburry, MA. 

ROXBURY, Mass. — The community of Roxbury had high hopes for its newest public school back in 2003. There were art studios, a dance room, even a theater equipped with cushy seating.
A pilot school for grades K-8, Orchard Gardens was built on grand expectations.

But the dream of a school founded in the arts, a school that would give back to the community as it bettered its children, never materialized.

Instead, the dance studio was used for storage and the orchestra's instruments were locked up and barely touched.

The school was plagued by violence and disorder from the start, and by 2010 it was rank in the bottom five of all public schools in the state of Massachusetts.

That was when Andrew Bott — the sixth principal in seven years — showed up, and everything started to change.

“We got rid of the security guards,” said Bott, who reinvested all the money used for security infrastructure into the arts.

Teachers are babysitters! Fine! Pay them that way! - Justin Ormsby

Teachers:  Have you ever been derided by a parent or local citizen who said you were just an over priced baby sitter?  Well that sure is degrading!  Makes me feel like all that time I spent in college was wasted!  But wait...maybe those concerned parents are onto something.  Maybe you SHOULD pay me like a babysitter!

Let's see...the average salary for a baby sitter is between $4 and $18 an hour.  Let's just start at minimum wage, $7.75 and round up a quarter just because I'm a nice guy.  $8/hr.

Experienced adults are likely to make twice as much per hour ($10) as inexperienced teenagers ($5).  I've been doing this 8 years, have "babysat" thousands of children and have 2 degrees in "babysitting".  Just to be fair...let's add $2 an hour for experience.  $10 an hour.

Generally speaking you should expect to pay an additional $1 an hour per child if you expect me to sit more than 1.  I have about 22 kids per class...so let's add $20 and go ahead and divide that by 2, again, out of kindness.  $20/hour.

Now let's do a little math:

Pay: 20/hour.
Kids: 22
Hours: 6 (no pay for lunches and plan time of course)
Days: 182

20*6 =  120
120 * 182 = 21,840
21,840 * 22 =

$480,480 a year.  Yeah I'll take it!

Actual pay?

$38,00 a year or $1.56 per kid/day.  Heck of a deal!

Wondering where I got the pay numbers?

Babysitting Rates

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Goodbye Mr. Conti: the resignation letter

(link to article at Scribd)

Mr. Conti's resignation letter has gone viral and is available in many other locations.  Our publication of this letter is for educational purposes and is not a violation of any copyright.

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Have you ever thought to your self "that's it, I just can't take this job anymore!"  As standardization and high stakes testing run rampant in educational policy, more and more teachers are simply too disheartened and beat up to go on.  Mr. Gerald Conti of the Westhill Central School District was one of those teachers and his resignation letter, which has gone viral, gives great insight into the struggles that teachers now find themselves dealing with.

Teaching used to be a profession for the impassioned, highly motivated professional who loved knowledge and loved children.  Certainly nobody was going to college to pursue education because of the swollen pay checks and inflated public reputation.  Many continue to hold on and make the best of a situation that is deteriorating at an increasingly rapid pace.  But for some, especially those who became teachers because of a true appreciation and passion for the profession, the massive changes in policy and the dwindling lack of faith in educators as professionals has simply taken the joy out of the job.  

Are you a teacher who has left or considered leaving the profession?  What are your reasons? 

Oh, and if you're wondering if losing Mr. Conti was truly a blow to education, browse through his "Rate My Teacher" page and see what his students thought of him

(Reviewed by: Justin Ormsby)  

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Mr. Casey Barduhn, Superintendent
Westhill Central School District
400 Walberta Park Road Syracuse, New York 13219

Dear Mr. Barduhn and Board of Education Members:

It is with the deepest regret that I must retire at the close of this school year, ending my more than twenty-seven years of service at Westhill on June 30, under the provisions of the 2012-15 contract. I assume that I will be eligible for any local or state incentives that may be offered prior to my date of actual retirement and I trust that I may return to the high school at some point as a substitute teacher.

As with Lincoln and Springfield, I have grown from a young to an old man here; my brother died while we were both employed here; my daughter was educated here, and I have been touched by and hope that I have touched hundreds of lives in my time here. I know that I have been fortunate to work with a small core of some of the finest students and educators on the planet.

I came to teaching forty years ago this month and have been lucky enough to work at a small liberal arts college, a major university and this superior secondary school. To me, history has been so very much more than a mere job, it has truly been my life, always driving my travel, guiding all of my reading and even dictating my television and movie viewing. Rarely have I engaged in any of these activities without an eye to my classroom and what I might employ in a lesson, a lecture or a presentation.

Ex-Atlanta superintendat reports to jail in teaching scandal - CNN

(link to article at CNN)

1chance2learn.net is in no way affiliated with CNN.  In fact, we doubt they even know we exist.  Please click the link above to view the original article.

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Many may read the story below and be tempted into a feeling akin to shock.  I am not shocked.  I'm not even relatively surprised.  Over the past 30 years our nation's school systems have faced dramatically increasing pressures to meet the "standard."  The stakes for failure have been dramatic.  The punitive measures for not meeting adequately yearly progress (AYP) as determined by standardized test scores are often intense and can include a complete (government) re-organization of a school district and the termination of many, if not all, of its administrative personnel.  It should seem surprising to no one that, when everything is on the line, some people are going to do whatever it takes to "be" successful. 

It is amazing to me that many policy makers have yet to understand that there is more to education than a single piece of quantitative data.  What of ethics?  Is there value in producing not only "smart" people but also "good" people?  Further more, is it possible that the over emphasis of academic success is actually detrimental to ethical behavior?  I think examples like the one that follows suggests that indeed this high stakes standards movement is responsible for the creation of cheaters, liars, and thieves. 

(Reviewed by: Justin Ormsby)  

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http://www.reporternewspapers.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Hall-speech.jpg

The former superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools was among the educators who surrendered to authorities Tuesday after being indicted by a grand jury in a cheating scandal that rocked the district and drew national attention.

Beverly Hall resigned from her position in 2011 after a state investigation into large, unexplained test score gains in some Atlanta schools. She has denied any role in the cheating scandal.

A Fulton County grand jury last week indicted 35 educators from the district, including principals, teachers and testing coordinators. They were ordered to turn themselves in by Tuesday, District Attorney Paul Howard said.

By 10:00 p.m., 27 of 35 educators had turned themselves in at the Fulton County Jail to face charges including racketeering, theft by taking and making false statements about their roles in an alleged plot to falsify students' standardized tests. Eight of them had been released on bond late Tuesday, the Fulton County Sheriff's office said.

Springfield bus beating sent middle school girl to the hospital - Mary Moloney

(link to original article)

1chance2learn.net is in no way affiliated with KSPR.  In fact, we doubt they even know we exist.  Please click the link above to view the original article.

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As educators it seems that our chief responsibility would be to educate -- and it is -- but if you believe Maslow to be correct (and I do) then keeping our students safe, especially while they're in our care, must also be our primary responsibility if we expect learning to occur. 

The information presented in this article is admittedly one sided.  The school district did not give an official response about the incident or the actions being taken to prevent future occurrences.  Regardless, this article is representative of a very real problem--violence in schools happens.  

What types of violence have you witnessed or experienced in your school?  To what do you attribute the cause of violence in schools?  What can teachers and other school officials do to prevent violence and keep our kids safe?

(Reviewed by: Justin Ormsby)  

Video:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfEBrjaHUGg

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Photo: KSPR

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A violent attack on a Springfield school bus put a sixth grade girl in the hospital. The 12-year-old student said another girl broke her nose. Now, the bullied girl is afraid for her life. Her family said they would not rely on the school district for protection.

Being picked on is something that Heavenly Chapman is familiar with.

"It's been going on my whole life with the rumors and everything. But since I started this year and stuff, this is like my worst year," said Chapman.

As a sixth grader at Carver Middle School, Chapman said she's been taunted and humiliated by other students.

"They say that I need Proactive just because of my pimples and everything and they pick on me how big I am," Chapman said softly. "It's just drama."