Here is the column:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/the-outrageous-treatment-of-one-of-the-nations-most-outstanding-teachers/2015/06/19/e87f67e0-16bb-11e5-9518-f9e0a8959f32_story.html
On Jun 19, 2015, at 1:52 PM, Scott Holmes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 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/=
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