http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/monmouth_county_teacher_will_p.html
Let me start by saying that as a teacher, I try my hardest to set a good example and abide by school policy. Is it appropriate to make a personal phone call during class time? In theory, no. In actuality, perhaps. It's a judgement call, folks - one that every working person makes during his or her work day.
Should my dentist take a phone call while working on my teeth? Probably not. Has he? Yes, he has.
Has my manicurist pardoned herself to take a personal phone call? Absolutely.
And so have my shop attendants, bus drivers, police officers, toll booth workers, restaurant servers, secretaries, grocery store clerks, realtors, day care workers, pet groomers, gas station attendants, airplane pilots, and my absolute favorite call takers: the parents of my students, who have stopped and taken personal phone calls WITHOUT HESITATION during our parent/teacher conferences that THEY requested.
Heck, a dear rookie teacher I recently met told me a horror story about a high level administrator stopping an interview to APPLY MAKEUP - not just dab on some Chapstick because his or her lips were drying out from talking, friends, oh no. This administrator actually stopped the interview and fished a compact mirror, lipstick, AND lipliner from his or her purse and proceeded to do a full application.
Is that appropriate in theory OR in actuality? Hmm, I think we would all agree that bold move was uncalled for, period.
But do I think that admin should be fined $22,000?
No, I don't. To me, it seems the appropriate response to the lipstick situation is a no brainer - the administrator should be spoken to one - to - one by his or her supervisor to determine if he or she had a good reason for applying makeup during a professional interview (such as "my lipstick is actually a cleverly designed applicator for a vital medication that I must take once an hour; it allows me to intake my needed dose without the stigma of popping pills hourly in front of strangers) and if a good reason is not supplied, then the admin should receive a written warning that if the behavior continues, he or she may be reprimanded further - but that reprimand should not be in the form of a fine. A weeks' suspension, perhaps; forewarned loss of pay is not the same as paying a fine.
Why is it that teachers are penalized for making slight errors in judgement above and beyond other workers in society? Don't get me wrong - I'm not talking about MAJOR offenses such as diddling kiddies, drinking on the job, putting students in harm's way, slugging a kid, etc.
I'm talking about errors such as taking a two second personal phone call from a nanny when a child is sick, making an offhand comment without thinking, giving students a study hall at the onset of a raging migraine, leaving students unattended in a classroom to run to the bathroom and deal with a leaky tampon, etc.
Many are quick to judge teachers for simply being fallible human beings yet God forbid if a teacher ever has the audacity to cast judgement on the precious children of his or her jurors or on the jurors themselves.
Cast not the first stone, readers, or in this ridiculous court case, the first fine, unless you are ready to play by the same rules.
Let me start by saying that as a teacher, I try my hardest to set a good example and abide by school policy. Is it appropriate to make a personal phone call during class time? In theory, no. In actuality, perhaps. It's a judgement call, folks - one that every working person makes during his or her work day.
Should my dentist take a phone call while working on my teeth? Probably not. Has he? Yes, he has.
Has my manicurist pardoned herself to take a personal phone call? Absolutely.
And so have my shop attendants, bus drivers, police officers, toll booth workers, restaurant servers, secretaries, grocery store clerks, realtors, day care workers, pet groomers, gas station attendants, airplane pilots, and my absolute favorite call takers: the parents of my students, who have stopped and taken personal phone calls WITHOUT HESITATION during our parent/teacher conferences that THEY requested.
Heck, a dear rookie teacher I recently met told me a horror story about a high level administrator stopping an interview to APPLY MAKEUP - not just dab on some Chapstick because his or her lips were drying out from talking, friends, oh no. This administrator actually stopped the interview and fished a compact mirror, lipstick, AND lipliner from his or her purse and proceeded to do a full application.
Is that appropriate in theory OR in actuality? Hmm, I think we would all agree that bold move was uncalled for, period.
But do I think that admin should be fined $22,000?
No, I don't. To me, it seems the appropriate response to the lipstick situation is a no brainer - the administrator should be spoken to one - to - one by his or her supervisor to determine if he or she had a good reason for applying makeup during a professional interview (such as "my lipstick is actually a cleverly designed applicator for a vital medication that I must take once an hour; it allows me to intake my needed dose without the stigma of popping pills hourly in front of strangers) and if a good reason is not supplied, then the admin should receive a written warning that if the behavior continues, he or she may be reprimanded further - but that reprimand should not be in the form of a fine. A weeks' suspension, perhaps; forewarned loss of pay is not the same as paying a fine.
Why is it that teachers are penalized for making slight errors in judgement above and beyond other workers in society? Don't get me wrong - I'm not talking about MAJOR offenses such as diddling kiddies, drinking on the job, putting students in harm's way, slugging a kid, etc.
I'm talking about errors such as taking a two second personal phone call from a nanny when a child is sick, making an offhand comment without thinking, giving students a study hall at the onset of a raging migraine, leaving students unattended in a classroom to run to the bathroom and deal with a leaky tampon, etc.
Many are quick to judge teachers for simply being fallible human beings yet God forbid if a teacher ever has the audacity to cast judgement on the precious children of his or her jurors or on the jurors themselves.
Cast not the first stone, readers, or in this ridiculous court case, the first fine, unless you are ready to play by the same rules.
