So @romanigypsyeyes, I think what @poetsheart suggests would be a fine, loss of teaching credentials and community service? Perhaps that would be enough to deter most others from committing this fraud in the future.
There are so many, many problems with our educational system. In my experience, the great majority of teachers are skilled, dedicated, and ethical. But like all professions, there are the bad ones, and of course they get all the press.
Cheating is now rampant in all areas of our society. Just last week, after submitting a scholarship app, my son received an email saying that several applicants had been caught plagiarizing the essay and those students had been dropped from eligibility. The scholarship required at least a 3.5 GPA. Did these kids cheat their way to the 3.5? Will they grow up to be professionals who cheat on the job? Maybe that’s how these teachers got their start.
And I completely agree with you. As it often the case, the “teachers’ bashing” is a misrepresented affair where some are offended by comments directed at the rotten apples and move on to an endless series of strawmen arguments. The defense often turns into a Three Musketeers parody with that All for One and One for All ruling the day.
Lost in those futile debates is that the people who dare to attack the system really think that the teachers are victimized by a system that rewards the mediocre, the abuser, or the criminal without much distinction. Lost is also that the same “attackers” believe in a more professional system where the better educated is rewarded as opposed to look at the incremental value of seniority. Respect could (and should) be regained but it requires changes.
Teachers should not be painted with the same thick brushstrokes; nor should they be defended in a block.
Not only were they offered “deals” over the weekend, they were offered the ability to NOT have to go through a painful and expensive 7 month long trial 18 months ago. All they had to do was admit that what they did was wrong. Only two of those who were sentenced today were willing to do that.
This trial took SEVEN MONTHS and 12 jurors spent that time faithfully and diligently discharging their civic duty to render verdicts. Those people worked HARD and this judge appreciated that. And not all of those who were tried were found guilty, by the way. I really appreciate the judges indignation and even anger at those who are now no longer “presumed innocent”, who refused, even today, any culpability in this.
And kids WERE harmed. A mother was interviewed whose daughter was caught up in this…she did “fine” on tests yet still did not master skills. This mom was able to transfer her daughter out of APS…where she was held back two years because of her lack of skill mastery.
Mark me down as one metro Atlanta resident who is GLAD these people are being punished.
The administrators (and likely some teachers) purposely covered up their crime more than once. I have no empathy for them and some I still think got off too light. Give the socio-economic blame a rest - it’s real, but you can’t use it for every problem all the time for the same demographics over and over or there will never be a requirement to take responsibility, there will always be an excuse. I’m sure I’ll get blasted for this but I live here and it gets old.
I have yet to read of affluent African-Americans in SW Atlanta and other healthy communities in the metro area complaining that the punishment was overkill.
I agree with the judges sentences. My only thing is that the lady who had the baby now knows that the judge was serious. I have to believe that she will take whatever deal is offered and admit guilt. That doesn’t really seem fair.
MichiganGeorgia, the pregnant defendant also chose to roll the dice. That was hubris or bad legal advice. Either way, she’s ended up with little room to plea for leniency. The Housewives of NJ felon has young children, too. She’s still going to jail.
I think they all have known, or should have, that this judge was serious from the start. He made no secret of the fact that he would hand down prison sentences for any convicted in this scheme. They just assumed they were beyond reach of punishment, it seems. Now they know differently.
This judge has shown mercy…he originally refused to allow first offender status for any of the convicted felons…but he did change that. Which is huge for them.
I was just riveted and kind of cheering when he responded to some of the attorneys today who were going on and on about their clients being away from their children, being unable to earn a living, etc etc. THEY chose to cheat, repeatedly covered it up, continue to refuse to acknowledge any culpability and refused any plea deal. The judge kept on reminding everyone that this is about the children. At some point we need to make it clear that cheating to insure bonuses, recognition, and job status for “educators” (I hate even to use that term) is NOT okay.
Consolation, this is one of my biggest pet peeves concerning the way education has changed over the last 30 or so years. In many school systems, teachers’ ability to be flexible and tailor curriculum on the fly has been taken away and replaced with rigid time tables and benchmarks that only work well in theory. We should all mourn the fact that, in many school systems, programs like music and art, and fun (but in my view, totally necessary) things like recess, field trips, and parties, have been greatly curtailed or eliminated in service to the almighty SOL. It’s a wonder those of us who grew up in the 60’s got educated at all, given that these things were considered staples in our schooling. School should not be constant high stakes testing and drudgery. Space needs to be created that allows students’ minds to relax and expand from time to time, because I firmly believe that it is within these spaces that a lot of cognitive synergy happens.
We really mistrust & dislike teachers.
Compare their sentence to someone like Jon Burgh, who orchestrated the torture of 200 prisoners as a police officer, to force confessions.
He was sentenced to 4 1/2 yrs, but served less than that.
The reason that I asked whether you had visited kindergarten classes, xiggi, was that in our area, a very high fraction of the students enter kindergarten reading already. I know this is not uncommon elsewhere, either. I worked with a Head Start group where it would have been very uncommon, by the time they actually started kindergarten. This particular Head Start class had more Caucasian children than African-American children, so this is not a comment about race, but rather about socio-economic conditions.
Also, I understand that when people are working long hours or multiple jobs, they do not have the same opportunities to work on academic topics with their children that are possible for a well-to-do family with a stay at home mom. I don’t blame anyone for not being able to tutor their children as much.
Actually, I had some reservations about the teaching methods that I observed in the Head Start classes. However, I think that the teachers were sincerely trying to do their best.
I have not personally encountered teachers who were out to short-change the students.
Putting these people in prison at a cost of 30K per year is a tremendous waste of resources. Wouldn’t it be better to have them working in the community during the day, and on house arrest at night?
And if the threat of prison were truly an effective deterrent, we wouldn’t have 2.3 million people incarcerated in this country. I don’t see how adding 10 teachers to this group solves much of anything.
It is not about adding ten to the total. It is all about sending THOSE particular ten people. Better believe the fact that so-called educators are not above the law will be a strong deterrent.
Educators’ misconduct rarely ends up in criminal court, and the fact that so many of them received jail time sends a strong message, said a law professor.
“These sentences will send shockwaves through the world of education,” he said, adding that he believes it will be nearly impossible going forward for an administrator to pressure a teacher to cheat.
Now, let’s hope more get caught as the cheating is hardly confined to Atlanta.
Maybe they should dissolve the district, turn them in to charter schools (profit center), continue the testing (profit center) but detain, suspend and incarcerate the “problem” kids (profit center) which will instantly improve the test scores proving that the new system is better. What’s not to like?
That is pretty much the deal that was offered them. I think jail time on weekends was involved for some, but also community service which was to be working with those children WHO ARE NOW IN JAIL THEMSELVES who were affected by this cheating scandal. All these educators had to do was accept responsibility for their actions. Yes it’s a shame to spend the money and resources on keeping them in prison. It was a shame to spend money and resources on a 7 month trial. I am sure those jurors had other places to be! But that is the system we have and I am glad to see it working.
In that case, they were denied a Free Appropriate Public Education and someone should be held accountable. Not liking the system of testing doesn’t make denying children access to an appropriate education okay.
We don’t give people a pass to cheat and falsify records just because they’re under pressure. If you don’t like the law, you don’t just decide it doesn’t apply to you and break it; you work to change it.
What happened to these kids was awful, and there needs to be a consequence for the egregious actions of the teachers who harmed these kids. But, I am sorry that the ringleader, Superintendent Beverly Hall, did not have to answer to her part in all this- the pressure on the teachers to meet unrealistic goals, the lifestyle and image Hall wanted to protect, etc. I am sorry she had breast cancer and I am sorry she recently passed away, but this scandal has been going on for years and she and her handlers managed to shield her from having to answer to her constituents. Yes, she resigned in 2010 and was indicted in 2013, with charges of making false statements, conspiracy, racketeering, and influencing witnesses, but due to her illness never had to spend a day in court during the lengthy trial to answer to these charges. She passed away in March.
It’s not giving them a pass. They’ve already been convicted. But non-violent criminals with families, and who have never been in trouble with the law, should not be hauled off to prison like that. This judge was showboating. Yes, they are very likely to get an appeal bond. And because they are appealing he shouldn’t have been pressing them to admit their guilt. The way the judge conducted himself was out of line, and it makes me wonder if some of these cases will be overturned on appeal.
This may have been said previously, but the racketeering laws were never originally meant for schoolteachers. What’s next? Charging a group of jaywalking h.s. seniors with racketeering because they had a common purpose?