My wife and I have been involved with education for many years, she for her entire career including two decades as an administrator so we have a relatively broad perspective on education.
This recent decision and public pronouncement by the new superintendent, Laine Larson, found us both surprised and disappointed. This appears to be a capitulation to some of the most rabid public responses. Hardly what educational leadership should look like in these contentious times.
That the teacher made an error in judgement and performance is not questioned, nor is the five days suspension, the real issue is about proportionality, professionalism and leadership.
A superintendent, as any educational administrator, is to help provide a supportive structure, and the tools and materials to help the faculty effectively carry on the job of education.
In this case the focus seems to be on public perception and not on helping to find ways to resolve the issue internally.
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The measure of an administrator is how they perform under pressure.
She appears to be willing to risk sacrificing the career of a veteran teacher to score public perception points. This seems to me to be the opposite of ethical and professional educational leadership.
Personnel decisions have a long history of being dealt with internally and away from public scrutiny in order to resolve issues within the context of careers. To lambast a teacher so publicly is quite an error in judgement. Even some of the proposed steps required of the teacher seem to be out of proportion and petty, given the years of productive service of this teacher. This response was a lapse in ethical and professional behavior.
And then the journalistic error of not reporting on the teacher's response, nor the responses of other teachers or of Education Minnesota.
Bob Passi
Baxter
