The Jay Mathews column does not appear anywhere in today's Washington
Post site, at least not the version I'm getting. I did see the LA Times
article and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. The Royal
Nonesuch strikes again....
On Fri, 2015-06-19 at 12:39 -0700, Shelley Fisher Fishkin wrote:
> Joyce Cohen and Hal Holbrook just encouraged me to share this with the =
> Twain Forum:
>
> In a column appearing today on Jay Matthews's blog in the Washington =
> Post, Matthews urges people to email protests to L.A. schools =
> spokeswoman Ellen Morgan, at [log in to unmask], with a copy to =
> Matthews at [log in to unmask]
>
> Jay Matthews blog post follows along with links to other articles about =
> Rafe Esquith's removal from his classroom.
>
> > I consider Rafe Esquith of the Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in =
> Los Angeles to be the best classroom teacher in the country. So when I =
> learned that he has been barred from teaching since March for telling a =
> joke about nudity in Mark Twain=92s =93The Adventures of Huckleberry =
> Finn,=94 I wondered if the education world had finally, inalterably, =
> gone crazy.
> > I have written many columns about Esquith. There are several =
> chapters about him in my book =93Work Hard. Be Nice.=94 He teaches fifth =
> graders from mostly Hispanic and Korean families in a low-income part of =
> the city. No where else have I seen such depth or imagination in a =
> public school classroom.=20
> > Every year his students produce and perform a Shakespeare play. =
> His students love him. Their parents love him. Teachers from around the =
> country visit room 56 to see him and his kids in action. He has won many =
> awards. He has published four very good books, and is a superstar in =
> China where teaching is taken much more seriously than we do here.=20
> > Yet the Los Angeles Unified School District is still =
> investigating him for what they apparently consider possibly =
> inappropriate words in his classroom, even though the accusations have =
> already been found without merit by the California Commission on Teacher =
> Credentials. His attorney says he is just one of hundreds of teachers =
> who have been send off to a district administrative office, known widely =
> as the teacher jail, without any formal charges, to wait for results of =
> investigations that often have no merit and are very hard to understand.
> > Esquith told me in March there was trouble. Like many other fans =
> of the annual Hobart Shakespeareans dramatic production, I reached a =
> notice then that this year=92s performance had been canceled. When I =
> emailed him, he told me it was a serious situation and he could not tell =
> me more. He asked me to hold off writing anything until he could speak =
> freely.=20
> > The Los Angeles Times published an account today (Friday) of his =
> removal from class, which apparently was first reported by KCBS =
> television. I have spoken to Ben Meiselas, an attorney from Mark =
> Geragos=92 firm which is representing Esquith. He has given details not =
> in the L.A. Times account, including the fact that the incident started =
> with a joke and that the teacher who reported it to the school=92s =
> principal now says even she wants Esquith back in the classroom.
> > According to Meiselas, Esquith was rehearsing his students for =
> this year=92s play and reading from a section of Huckleberry Fink about =
> the duke and the king, merry actors who provide some of the book=92s =
> comedy. They were practicing Shakespeare, not Twain, but Esquith thought =
> the passage was relevant. In one performance, Esquith read, =93the king =
> came prancing out on all fours, naked. He was painted in rings and =
> stripes all over in all sorts of colors and looked as splendid as a =
> rainbow.=94
> > Meiselas said Esquith said if the school district couldn=92t =
> provide enough support for the annual play, he guessed the class would =
> have to similarly perform naked.
> > Esquith was joking. He does that a lot, as anyone who knows him =
> has long been aware of. But a teacher who was in the room reported this =
> to the principal and the principal reported it in turn to the district. =
> =46rom there on, Meiselas said, the district has been handling the =
> matter =93as basically a sex crime,=94 even though no one in authority =
> has said that it is, and the teacher who made the first report has said =
> the investigation should end.=20
> > Esquith=92s lawyers have told the district to publicly =
> apologize and let him return to work or be sued. Meiselas said district =
> officials pulled some of Esquith=92s students out of class and =
> questioned them intensely about what Esquith had said and anything he =
> might have done to them, without first seeking the permission of their =
> parents. Meiselas said the students were extremely upset, as were the =
> parents.=20
> > Esquith was send to the teacher=92s jail for two months, and =
> then allowed to await the end of the investigation at home. The district =
> has indicated there may be no conclusion until August.
> > The questions being asked and the letters Esquith has received =
> indicate the district is now intent on killing off some of the programs =
> and trips that make his classroom so good. A district official wrote to =
> tell him his students=92 annual summer trip to Oregon for the =
> Shakespearean Theatrical Festival must be cancelled. He was told to =
> report his students=92 contact addresses so their parents can be =
> informed that =93the trip is not authorized or sponsored by the =
> District.=94
> > This is the way they treat one of the most famous and =
> conscientious teachers in the country, who has worked 12 hour days for =
> several decades, usually keeping his classroom open during summer, =
> holidays and on some weekends. Hundreds of former students come to =
> visit. Many of them he advises on how to get into the best high schools =
> and how to prepare for college.=20
> > There are no suggestions that he has harmed any children. But as =
> all of the great teachers I have written about over the years have told =
> me, if you work hard and show administrators how much better our schools =
> could be if they took their responsibilities seriously, you are going to =
> become a target for abuse.=20
> > If you have something to say about this, please send your =
> thoughts to L.A. schools spokeswoman Ellen Morgan, at =
> [log in to unmask], with a copy to me. I have witnessed many =
> outrages by school administrators, but this may be the worst yet.
>
>
> =
> http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-esquith-investigation-20150617=
> -story.html
> =
> http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2015/06/renowned_teacher_raf=
> e_esquith_removed_from_classroom_in_la.html
> =
> http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/06/18/award-winning-teacher-removed-fr=
> om-classroom-gives-lausd-an-ultimatum/=
|
