If anyone wonders why I haven't given an interview to the Joplin Globe since I was escorted out of East Middle School by a police officer April 8, the article posted online pretty much says it all.
Reporter Emily Younker has made numerous efforts to get me to talk, both through e-mail and by phone over the past six weeks. I have politely declined all of those requests.
Today's article, just like the first and only other article the Globe has published about this situation, is heavily weighted toward administration's side of the issue.
The superintendent issued a statement on the situation in which he stated, for no apparent reason, that there were 28 pages of charges against me and if you want to know what Mr. Turner has been charged with, you are going to have to ask him.
At one point, I offered to provide the Globe reporter with information off the record so that she would have a better understanding of what is going on here. She said she did not do things that way. I ended the conversation.
The question remains if she doesn't do things that way, why is there a mention in both of her articles that No Child Left Alive contains "graphic sexual content." Did she download the book and then offer her own opinion of it or, and this seems much more likely, she accepted a description of the book from someone in administration and then dropped it into both of her stories, something which benefits the administration's efforts to paint me as a pornographer, a description that does not coincide with those of people who have actually read the book.
The reporter is also misleading the Globe readership when she quoted me as saying, "I don't have any plans to comment." She left ouf the part where I told her I had already made my statements on the Turner Report and she could use any or all of what I have written. Apparently, my side of the story is only worthwhile if it comes in response to her questions, while administration can simply issue a news release and it goes straight to page one.
If there was any justice, the administration should have to prove that I assigned this book and deliberately tried to get students to "download and discuss" it before they can start reading graphic passages during the hearing. This looks to be another method of cutting down on the number of people who will show up to support me.
5 comments:
Yet, the hearing is open and the media will be there, so the kids can hear the excerpts, taken out of context, anyway. Administration needs to know we aren't stupid. No one will be shocked, and the argument isn't what is in the book. The argument is whether or not the students were told to download it and read it. They weren't.
This is cheap theatrics designed purely for shock value, because quite frankly, it's all they've got. Cheap tricks. Is there nothing too low for them? Read the WHOLE book, then, and make sure nothing is taken out of context. I dare you.
Absolutely OUTRAGEOUS! This school district's manipulations, underhanded tricks, and deceptions are sickening.
I'd say if you want to MAKE SURE THE BOARD RECEIVES YOUR LETTERS, you should send them to their HOME ADDRESSES. It would be very easy for mail to get lost, you know, on the way to the mailbox. I'd say private email and home phones might ensure that they get your messages, too. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!!
Isn't interfering with the delivery of mail to its rightful recipient a felony? Surely no one would stoop so low and take that risk. But do send mail to their home addresses. Maybe certified letters? Emails to private accounts are good. Just print them.
There are so many legal questions and curiosities here. Hypothetically, isn't it illegal to fill a job in the public arena that was never posted? Perhaps a lawyer would like to answer some of our questions? Wouldn't you want the best person for the job? What motivations would there be for not posting? Favors? Cronyism? Laziness? Doesn't it come back to bite you later when the jobs aren't performed well? Just wondering. Hypothetically.
It's a public forum, but not for all the public. You can address the board, but by appointment. You can write to the board, but don't count on them getting your letters. Yeah, this is justice at work. This would be good discussion material for a civics class. In what not to do in a public institution in a free and democratic country.
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