The Education Wonks
I'm not one to pry into peoples' background and preferences...but isn't there someway to screen for these behaviors? I know the %age is low but the stories of student-teacher relationships are so disturbing and so damaging to the profession.
Are sociologists & psychologists trying to figure out what these people have in common or how they got there? Who are these people?
Are they damaged goods who seek out employment with youth (un?)conciously to exploit? People who refuse to recognize the exploitative nature of these taboo relationships (I refuse to believe teaching colleges could address this and we'd avoid the problem)? Weak people who are confused about platonic/ avuncular/ parental/ caregiver vs. sexual affection and "fall" into it? Sad, empty souls who so lack self-confidence or healthy, emotional relationships that a young, naive student expressing affection or appreciation fills the void? Would co-workers past and present say they saw the signs? How can principals and hiring committees protect their students from the immediate threat and their teachers, schools, and communities from the ripple (tsunami?) effect of these poisoned liasons?
It's scary we don't have answers. Every time this happens, it hurts the balance of nurturing/ hostile environment in schools and discredits the profession.
"we keep an eye on those that bring discredit to The Education Craft"
No wonder you cover the unions so much....
Actually, there's a difference between an intern teacher and one on an emergency credential.
The intern teacher has passed the California Basic Educational Skills Test and is working while attending night/weekend classes to get a credential. Some school districts are authorized to have intern programs--Elk Grove District in Sacramento Country used to have one (don't know if they still do), and LAUSD does.
An emergency credential is granted to someone who has a bachelor's degree and has passed the CBEST.
That is right. As you correctly pointed out, interns are currently taking classes in order to finish their teaching credentials, while emergency credentialed personnel have not yet been accepted into an accredited teacher-education program.
There is another BIG difference: Interns actually earn credit for the purpose of getting tenure. They earn it at the rate of one-half the rate for regularly credentialed teachers.
Emergency-credentialed teachers can not be tenured in California.
In California, a teacher is tenured after two full years (plus 1 day) service.
as an intern, i must speak up and say that the program i am in (which is through my district and a state school) requires me to take 12 units per semester for two years, as well as 4 units each summer. i haven't fully investigated the tenure situation, but my understanding now is that i will have been teaching for FIVE years before i get tenure. i won't work for my district (we are planning a move to somewhere where the cost of living is affordable) for that long.
back to the topic of the post- i have never understood 30-year-olds desiring their students. it is beyond bizarre to me, and i also wonder why it's always women teachers with male students. it's so beyond creepy...
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