(From April 25, 2013, this post reveals the first set of charges the Joplin R-8 School District leveled at me. Of course, after I pretty much refuted all of those charges, they hit me with some more.)
As most Turner Report readers are aware, I was removed from my classroom at Joplin East Middle School April 8, placed on paid administrative leave.
Last night, as I read over the 28-page list of charges against me, I grew both angry and depressed.
Finally, I began detailing the charges on my Facebook page.
I am going to take a different approach for this blog and simply repeat the way I reported it on Facebook last night and early this morning:
Sunday, December 29, 2013
2013 in Review: A Warning to Young People; Don't Become Teachers
This post became my most popular on Huffington Post, with more than a quarter of a million Facebook likes at last count. Ironically, I submitted this to Huffington Post one day before I was removed from my classroom and escorted out of East Middle School by a police officer.
(The following is my latest Huffington Post blog.)
Nothing I have ever done has
brought me as much joy as I have received from teaching children how to write
the past 14 years. Helping young writers grow and mature has been richly
rewarding and I would not trade my experiences for anything.
That being said, if I were 18
years old and deciding how I want to spend my adult years, the last thing I
would want to become is a classroom teacher.
Classroom teachers,
especially those who are just out of college and entering the profession, are
more stressed and less valued than at any previous time in our history.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
2013 in Review: Forget Voter ID Law; we need a voter IQ law
(From March 2013, this was also a Huffington Post blog)
Society will be safer when
people can carry guns into churches.
Our standard of living will
increase once we get rid of unions and bring business into our states.
We can create a much more
educated society if we pay teachers based on standardized test scores and then
let them spend all of their time teaching to the test.
We can get a much better crop
of teachers if we do nothing but attack them and tell their students and their
students’ parents just how worthless the teachers are.
If we eliminate taxes for
businesses, they will automatically start hiring people.
All of those propositions
wither and fade away when confronted with reason, but the people who keep
pushing this snake oil keep returning to office, year after year, election
after election.
It’s not Voter ID that this
country needs- it’s Voter IQ.
2013 in Review: Senate: We have lobbyists buy our booze so the taxpayers won't have to
(From March 2013)
An audit released today shows that special interests are footing the bill for booze, food, and parties for the Missouri Senate and the expenditures do not show up in the disclosure forms of any senator.
You won't find Senate leaders challenging Auditor Tom Schweich's findings- they claim they are saving the taxpayers money by having lobbyists take care of their party needs.
The practice, which is heavily criticized in the auditor's report, is to have the Senate solicit money from the lobbyists for the Senate Administrator's Fund, and, according to the audit, "The Senate made expenditures from the Senate Administrator's Fund that would not be allowable for state agencies."
You won't find Senate leaders challenging Auditor Tom Schweich's findings- they claim they are saving the taxpayers money by having lobbyists take care of their party needs.
The practice, which is heavily criticized in the auditor's report, is to have the Senate solicit money from the lobbyists for the Senate Administrator's Fund, and, according to the audit, "The Senate made expenditures from the Senate Administrator's Fund that would not be allowable for state agencies."
2013 in Review: Feds arrest Sarcoxie School Board member on child pornography charge
(From February 2013, the Turner Report was the first to break this story.)
A preliminary hearing for Sarcoxie School Board member John Lewis, 67, charged with sexual exploitation of minors has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, in U. S. District Court in Springfield.
The case against Lewis is spelled out in an affidavit from Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force member Charles Root. The affidavit is printed below:
The case against Lewis is spelled out in an affidavit from Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force member Charles Root. The affidavit is printed below:
2013 in Review: Message to President Obama: My students deserve better
(From Feb. 13, 2013)
It certainly was depressing last night to discover that the only reason I am standing in front of a classroom of eighth grade students day after day, year after year, is so at some point they can be delivered job ready to some employer.
Whatever happened to the loftier goals of teaching young people the thinking skills needed to succeed in life, the ability to function not only as members of a faceless workforce, but also as key components in directing the civic and political discourse of this country?
In one short paragraph during last night's State of the Union Message, President Barack Obama spelled out today's definition of high school education.
Whatever happened to the loftier goals of teaching young people the thinking skills needed to succeed in life, the ability to function not only as members of a faceless workforce, but also as key components in directing the civic and political discourse of this country?
In one short paragraph during last night's State of the Union Message, President Barack Obama spelled out today's definition of high school education.
2013 in Review: Tim Jones, Jason Smith ALEC connections spelled out in campaign finance documents
(From February 2013)
For the most part, you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The operation is much more sophisticated than that.
The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission.
Newly-minted Eighth District Congressional candidate Jason Smith, currently House Speaker Pro Tem, paid the $475 registration fee for the Nov. 28-30 ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D. C. out of his campaign account, according to his 30 days after election report.
The operation is much more sophisticated than that.
The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission.
Newly-minted Eighth District Congressional candidate Jason Smith, currently House Speaker Pro Tem, paid the $475 registration fee for the Nov. 28-30 ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D. C. out of his campaign account, according to his 30 days after election report.
2013 in Review: Tim Jones: "Very personal" constituent turned me into a birther
(From February 2013)
It was a "constituent of mine," who led Missouri Speaker of the House Tim Jones, R-Eureka, to join Orly Taitz' crackpot birther lawsuit trying to have Barack Obama removed as president of the United States because he was not an American citizen.
But not just any constituent, Jones told St. Louis Fox 2's Charles Jaco on the Jaco Report Sunday.
"It was a very personal constituent of mine," Jones said.
Jones never named that personal constituent, leaving the viewer to wonder just what kind of "personal constituent" could convince a state legislator to attach his name and alleged reputation to a frivolous lawsuit.
Perhaps it was some mentor who paved the way for Jones' meteoric rise to the top of the Missouri House of Representatives.
Or could it have been a childhood friend whose dying wish was to see Tim Jones proudly wearing the mantle of birther?
It could have been as simple as a buddy telling Jones over a couple of beers, "Look, if I can sign up one more birther, I have a chance to win an AR-15."
2013 in Review: Billy Long spends more on two meals than he received in contributions
(From February 1, 2013)
"The time has come for Congress to get serious about tackling Washington’s addiction to spending."
The man who authored those words (or had an aide author them), Seventh District Congressman Billy Long spent far more than he took in during the last two months of 2013, according to his disclosure report filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The documents indicate Long spent more on two meals, over $3,000 than the $2,000 he received in contributions during that time period.
The Long campaign paid for 11 meals in a 26-day period, according to the report, including $1,840.80 at Prime Rib in Washington. D. C. Dec. 6 and $1,186.76 Christmas Eve at Nicholas Ristorante in Springfield.
The man who authored those words (or had an aide author them), Seventh District Congressman Billy Long spent far more than he took in during the last two months of 2013, according to his disclosure report filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The documents indicate Long spent more on two meals, over $3,000 than the $2,000 he received in contributions during that time period.
The Long campaign paid for 11 meals in a 26-day period, according to the report, including $1,840.80 at Prime Rib in Washington. D. C. Dec. 6 and $1,186.76 Christmas Eve at Nicholas Ristorante in Springfield.
2013 in Review: Video- Ed Emery: Public school teachers undermining religion, patriotism, family
(From January 20, 2013)
During a December speech at the True Charity Initiative Leadership Forum in Joplin, Sen. Ed Emery, a member of the Senate Education Committee, ripped into public education and its teachers, claiming they have indoctrinated three generations of Missouri children.
"We have to take back the minds of children from the government," Emery said.
"We no longer have public schools, we have government schools. We have government-paid teachers, a government-made curriculum, and government supplied buildings."
"For three generations, we have allowed the absolutes of religion, patriotism, and family to be removed in favor of tolerance and openmindedness."
This is being done, Emery said, because teachers want to be liked and trusted by their students, so they are not teaching the children, as they should, that the "one size fits all socialist government" (represented by public school teachers) should not be trusted.
Emery's remarks begin about 20 minutes into the video.
During a December speech at the True Charity Initiative Leadership Forum in Joplin, Sen. Ed Emery, a member of the Senate Education Committee, ripped into public education and its teachers, claiming they have indoctrinated three generations of Missouri children.
"We have to take back the minds of children from the government," Emery said.
"We no longer have public schools, we have government schools. We have government-paid teachers, a government-made curriculum, and government supplied buildings."
"For three generations, we have allowed the absolutes of religion, patriotism, and family to be removed in favor of tolerance and openmindedness."
This is being done, Emery said, because teachers want to be liked and trusted by their students, so they are not teaching the children, as they should, that the "one size fits all socialist government" (represented by public school teachers) should not be trusted.
Emery's remarks begin about 20 minutes into the video.
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