ZeroIntelligence.net

Hypocrisy.

As defined by dictionary.com, hypocrisy is a “pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.” That word has surfaced, yet again, as the first vocabulary word for the new school year in South Florida.

New Florida Teachers Website
As the first day of school was the headline news of the day, The Florida Department of Education, the State School Board if you will, unceremoniously put a new piece of it’s website online. The Board decided in July to publicly post its Disciplinary Actions Taken on Educators and their licenses. The local paper reported a week earlier that this website was coming and will be posted on the first day of school. That was the last you heard from the local papers. Why? Because the elected hypocrites have the media in South Florida in their pockets. Controlled like puppets.

To see the list for yourself, go to myfloridateacher.com. It’s a catchy name, although I certainly would not be quick to admit any of these “teachers” were mine. Simply click the search button and you will be provided the entire state list and plenty of water cooler talk for months to come.

Those Crazy Teachers
Welfare fraud, accessing pornographic websites on school computers, child abuse and neglect, and plenty of grand theft charges will have your mouth dropping. DUI’s and drug possession are commonplace, some with multiple counts of DUI. The majority of “Final Orders” are simply letters of reprimand and various, small fines. There is no consistency within these Final Orders. The Final Order on the same complaint of “possession of marijuana” can range from revocation to a letter of reprimand.

Where’s the Zero Tolerance Now?
How does this affect zero tolerance rules in our schools? Parents whose children have been excessively or unfairly punished by local School Boards may need to take an extra blood pressure pill before perusing this list. Back in March, 2005 we published an article about Lynn Deering, a high school anatomy teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Florida. The “incident” involved an 11 inch knife and the “stabbing” of a stack of papers on a student’s desk. We all have common sense.

Common sense tells us that this individual has no right to be in charge of children - especially when those children are teenagers. If a child in that classroom had committed the very same act, he would have been escorted out in handcuffs and splashed all over page one in the papers. Right? Well, wasn’t that what happened to Deering?

Slapping the Wrist
Actually, no. The complaint was “Reckless Display of a Weapon” and “Inappropriate Conduct with Students“. The disposition (or Final Order) on this case was just decided on 7/31/07 - two years later. I hope you’re sitting down, the final order was a Letter of Reprimand and a $250.00 fine! Move on, pay your fine over there, next in line please.

Fair? Certainly not. Next question? Was this Deering charged by local law enforcement? Continuing research of the public records in Broward County has turned up nothing in the court system as yet. If I ever find a case I will certainly share with all but I do not believe that will happen. Was this Deering fired? Don’t know. But if this had been a student, one can bet the parents would still be paying enormous legal fees as the case winds its way through the justice system.

Just remember your word for the day: hypocrisy.