This below is excellent, boffo advice from a reader. I hope it sinks in with Goader. He is one of the teachers I took to the three-hour meeting with the Tribune editorial staff to tell it the teachers’ side of the story. I know Goader is articulate and could fight this battle if he made up his mind to do so. But he has fallen into the funk of believing that such things as are happening to him are so bad that they can’t be true, that the administration is not so awful as to treat a teacher in such a despicable way and that the board will not let it happen. Yes, the administration is as awful as can be imagined. And, yes, the board will look the other way. If anybody doesn’t believe so, that person should go to the Public Affairs office and read the boxes of data on the Erwin Crucifixion.
As I told teachers (when they imagined two years ago that the board was on their side and would rescue them from the extra class imposed on them by Ms. Elia to solve her budget problems), the board is interested in nothing but itself and its posturing in the community as sponsors of education. It bows only to Ms. Elia. Teachers must not count on this board. It’s up to the person attacked to strike back pronto. That’s what Bart Birdsall did with my encouragement when two years ago Elia and Home-ec Auschwitz Kipley tried to fire him by cooking up a story on him because he had opposed publicly on his home email the abuse of gays in the county library. Ms. Elia lied fluently in this situation. I think Ms. Elia lies when the truth would serve her better.
Ms. Elia is quite prissy about such things as gays. She is not progressive or tolerant. She is a woman of limited knowledge and sympathies who doesn’t want to upset the bigots in the county for fear this outrage would give her bad publicity. Bart fought the administration, Professional Standards, and the board and won even though he had to go to counseling to overcome the trauma of the experience. The bonus is that he has a Teflon status post the battle. Fight back, and you become a third rail. I don’t see how any teacher can win against retaliation unless that teacher is willing to battle with every weapon available. The best one is to expose the board and administration for what they are: parasites on the public purse and utterly useless in improving the schools.
None of the board is on teachers’ side. Lip service is one thing; action is another. There is no hope at all that Candy, Doretha, Jack, Jennifer, and Carol with lend a helping hand to teachers. They cheerfully sign Ms. Elia’s onslaughts against teacher wellbeing as illustrated in their passing without a murmur the extra class day, the grade inflation scheme to set up a situation that would make possible Ms. Elia’s making more “bonus” money, and lately Ms. Elia’s buying the multi-million-dollar Spring hustle that teachers have to implement without even contacting teachers. There must be some money involved in this deal for Ms. Elia. Money is her constant motive. Raking in more tax money to augment her pension pile is Ms. Elia’s number-one goal. April Griffith showed how ignorant the board was about this Spring ploy by asking that a workshop be held after the teachers started grousing about it. Ms. Elia had not even bothered to consult or inform the board about the buy of that tinker toy. And not one made a public fuss about this fact.
I don’t exempt any of the board from their cynical use of the board position for their own petty goals. One of these is the board’s gadding about the country on tax money for so-called education purposes. They every one traveled extensively and billed the taxpayers for pleasure trips last year when the economy was tanking and then fought like sandbox occupants when the situation came to light to make each other look bad. These board peregrinations on such pleasure trips as Candy’s to Anchorage and Susan Valdes’ spending $50,000 worth of tax money on amusement trips when the poor children of the county can’t participate in class projects because they lack the supplies are outrages reveal the shallowness of these board member’s care about education of the children of the county. . Every board member splurged on travel. They should not get a nickel more than $1500 a year for such so-called education travel.
And April and Susan should not get a free ride with the teachers for their posturing about being pro-teacher. Pro-teacher, my foot. I wrote and appealed to both to have a teacher-student slot on the board meetinga so that both pivotal populations could share their ideas and complaints with the board. April and Susan did not even answer me, and I had given both money for their campaigns when they first ran. They do nothing for teachers but mime concern. One of them revealed to me that she didn’t even know about Goader’s plight recently. I bet my best frock that she didn’t bother to find out after I alerted her to it. The whole board knows and has known for years that the Professional Standards Office is the Gestapo used to trap teachers who murmur a whiff of criticism about the schools so that the superintendent can keep them in a state of terror, too scared to say anything negative about the administration. Board attorney Gonzalez promised me three times to author a pamphlet’s letting teachers referred to the Professional Standards Office know what measures they could take to defend themselves in the Professional Standards Cell Block. He chickened out. He is neither a gentleman nor an ethical member of the legal brotherhood. I asked the board to have Le Gonzalez fulfill his promise. Not one did. Not April. Not Susan. These two are getting a cheap ride. Teachers should stop their silly belief that anyone on the board gives a fig about teachers. Teachers must fight for themselves. Period.
I will help all I can if asked. Six million Jews—men, women, children—died in the death camps in Nazi Germany with no citizen’s even acknowledging that it was happening. The one elderly priest who did went to the ovens in Buchenwald. The German citizens remind me of the Hillsborough County School Board, with the difference that the board is more contemptible than the colluding German population because the board members would be doing what they promised voters to do on the stump. The board not only betrays the teachers and students but also the citizens who put their trust in them. Lee
C: All members of the board; all members of administration
From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:34 PM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on Oh, Yeah? You Just Try it, Bud!.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Oh, Yeah? You Just Try it, Bud!":
Lee,
This is the comment I left on Goader's last post:
Absolutely! I have seen up what administrative retaliation looks like up close and personal. This included a hostile workplace where any other employees seen speaking to me were quickly brought into the Principal’s office and chewed out for their lack of loyalty. This eventually turned to very unsafe working conditions as I could not get anyone to assist me in breaking up several fights between students. My office and harddrive were searched on a nightly basis. I could go on and on. I drew the line when my principal locked themself in the office and left me alone to handle an upset violent, and mentally ill (almost terminated teacher). I was stalked, threatened, ostracized, you pick it it happened to me. I fought fire with fire. I took my written complaints all the way up the ladder (principal, area director, proffessional standards, superintendent’s office and the internal affairs division with the Hillsborough
County Sherriff’s Offie) and guess what happened? NOTHING! Not one word. None of these folks were willing to do what was RIGHT, only what was expected.
Obviously I have left a great deal out of this rendition, but have included enough so the jist of it can be derived.
I let it get to me. I felt extremely violated and totally disappointed in my organization. I had such high standards when I started this job, but see that I am one of the exceptions in my peer group, not the rule.
The long and short of it was is that I was threatened with a transfer. My response to this was not only NO, but hell NO. Furthermore, if this line of action was pursued, I would be speaking to every media outlet I could find. I then made sure that every party involved got a copy of the memo with the media threat.
Not too long after all this went down, the parties involved started getting promoted, taking early retirement, seeking employment outside education and so on. I’m sure you get the picture.
Lee problably says it best when she tells her readers “when in Rome…”. I was in Rome and giving back better than I got. Guess what, I’m the last one standing and I’m still here!
You too can do it. Don’t be afraid, be on the offense, not the defense. Do NOT be a doormat. Do not cower or let them know they are getting to you….even when they are. Start carrying a recorder so the next time you get called into one of the impromptu meetings, whip that baby out and introduce it as your impartial witness. It gets them every time.
Good luck. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thank you (a little late) for your excellent words of advice and wisdom. Even if I only read about them, they were still highly effective.
Publish this comment.
Reject this comment.
Moderate comments for this blog.
Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 7:33
From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 1:20 PM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on The Police Report Has Arrived.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Police Report Has Arrived":
email follows district pattern:
ron.smiley@sdhc.k12.fl.us
do NOT use a school district account
set up a special FREE account at any of the big providers.
LET GOADER ALONE!
(Dammit)
Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 9:04 AM
Well said, Bart. lee
From: William Birdsall [mailto:montolino@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:30 PM
To: lee de cesare
Cc: Doretha.edgecomb@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Jennifer.falliero@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Jack.lamb@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Carol.kurdell@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Susan.valdes@sdhc.k12.fl.us; April.griffin@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Candy.olson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Dan.Valdez@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Lewis.Brinson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Gretchen.Saunders@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Wynne.Tye@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Cathy.Valdes@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Connie/Milito@sdhc.k12.fl.us; David.Steele@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Gwen.Luney@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Stephen.Hegarty@sdhc.k12.fl.us; cmitseas@verizon.net; TerryHamiltonWollin@gmail.com; BobbW8@aol.com; Angie Manteiga; genesiudut@lagacetanewspaper.com; StevenStancil@hccfl.edu; steveotto@tampatrib.com; paultash@sptimes.com; EHStein; mbrown@tampatrib.com; lstein@sptimes.com; Jean.Clements@floridaea.org; Yvonne Lyons
Subject: Re: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on Oh, Yeah? You Just Try it, Bud!.
On Nov 26, 2008, at 9:54 AM, lee de cesare wrote:
that the administration is not so awful as to treat a teacher in such a despicable way and that the board will not let it happen. Yes, the administration is as awful as can be imagined. And, yes, the board will look the other way.
Lee,
I am sick of hearing about teachers being mistreated in this district. It is disgusting, and I tried to get the board to act upon this issue ever since my case, but I feel like I have been talking to a brick wall.
An example was when I sent the Library Journal feature on me as a Mover and Shaker to each board member. Candy Olson called me up to congratulate me and set the record straight that I am confused about the two different sets of email that were in question and to tell me how wrong I was. I told her that I believe both sets of emails were intertwined and very much related and connected to each other and told her why and gave her information that she did not know. Suddenly, she wanted to get off the phone as quick as possible. She was as sweet as can be calling me to "congratulate" me when she thought she had the upper hand and could set me straight and put me in my place. As soon as she lost that upper hand after hearing my side of things, she hurried off the phone pronto and wanted to hear no more. This is how it goes apparently.
As you know I have attempted to get the board to investigate Professional Standards and at the very least put a "Know Your Rights" brochure in place for any teacher going into that unprofessional office called Professional Standards, so that they have a chance to avoid being lied to by Linda Kipley which was my experience, and I would say this in a court of law and with my hand on a stack of Bibles and with a lie detector machine strapped to me. Where is this brochure after all this time? It could have been written in a week and published in another and put on Kipley's desk to hand out.
I now believe that the board and the district do not want to protect teachers or help them whatsoever, when there is a problem. I had to ask for a letter that Kipley owed me repeatedly, and even though the previous Chair Faliero asked the district to get the letter to me, and they did, it was not a nice letter. They knew what type of letter I wanted, and they refused to give me the letter despite the board wanting me to get a letter that was supposed to make peace with me. Instead, it had a snide underlying feeling to it, so it was a bitter victory to say the least. I was tired of begging for a letter that was rightfully mine and just accepted the letter even though it was not what I wanted.
Nobody would want their own child to be treated the way I was or the way the district is now treating Goader. What is wrong with these people? How can they look themselves in the face in the mirror when they wake up in the morning knowing that they are taking a man's livelihood away. From what I can tell, Goader was left alone with mentally disabled children without proper training and in an attempt to keep watch over all of them and keep them safe, he hooked the harness of one child onto a chair. Now that might be something that district may want to talk to him about and warn him, but it should not result in termination, especially when the police report labels the child abuse report "unfounded." The BIG question is: Are the parents of this child complaining? Are they angry? I bet they are not. So if the parents are not mad, it should be dropped. Otherwise, this seems like a witch hunt against Goader.
Anyone who stands by and allows a witch hunt to occur without saying something better not dare walk into a church for the rest of his/her life, because as far as I am concerned that is an evil person. YOU DO NOT TAKE SOMEONE'S LIVELIHOOD AWAY FROM HIM UNLESS HE IS A MURDERER OR CHILD MOLESTOR. That is the bottom line of ethics and the bottom line of humanity and decency.
I repeat: Anyone who takes part in or ignores a man losing his job for practically nothing has no right to ever walk into a church or hold her/his head up high in this world. That is simply disgusting behavior and I am ashamed of any human being who does such a thing either on purpose or by inaction.
I am asking all board members to step in concerning this matter. I know very well that a certain board member was willing to step in and get someone a job because her parents did work on the board member's South Tampa house. So I know that board members step in when they feel the desire. I am asking all of you to do the DECENT thing this time and step in for an IMPORTANT, DECENT, and HUMANE action, not just to do someone a favor that you like. Ethical behavior means that you step in and do the RIGHT thing even if you don't like the person. I told Ronda Storms I would protect her right to have Bibles on display in public libraries. But those are my ethics. I believe everyone's rights should be upheld.
This is the holiday season, for God's sake! We need to treat others the way we want to be treated. Termination should be a last resort in the district when the person has done something so terrible that he deserves it. Goader's police report says it is "unfounded." Even the police do not think he did anything wrong.
So look into your hearts and do the ethical and decent thing.
Bart Birdsall
-----Original Message-----
From: EsKay [mailto:goader@es-kay.net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:20 PM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [EsKay] New Comment On: The Etiology of Workplace Retaliation
There is a new comment on the post "The Etiology of Workplace Retaliation".
http://es-kay.net/?p=823
Author: Suzie Creamcheese
Comment:
11 days!?
I have worked for principal's that have missed more than that during ONE semester! They stayed on the payroll.
What happens to a student for extended illness? We provide the assignments, makeup work, etc.
Sounds like selective enforcement, empathy, sympathy, support, understanding, security, "learning community development", acceptance of diversity, etc.
Silly me. Sounds like business as usual at HCPS.
See all comments on this post here:
http://es-kay.net/?p=823#comments
To manage your subscriptions or to block all notifications from this site, click the link below:
http://es-kay.net/?wp-subscription-manager=1&email=tdecesar%40tampabay.rr.com&key=6075d0374d3b673848ee6d71b833ce51
=
From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:05 PM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on The Police Report Has Arrived.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Police Report Has Arrived":
email follows district pattern:
ron.smiley@sdhc.k12.fl.us
do NOT use a school district account
set up a special FREE account at any of the big providers.
LET GOADER ALONE!
(Dammit)
Publish this comment.
Reject this comment.
Moderate comments for this blog.
Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 9:04 AM
From: deepcover [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:00 PM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on The Police Report Has Arrived.
deepcover has left a new comment on your post "The Police Report Has Arrived":
Ron is the Area 5 ESE specialist, someone who should know and understand the entire situation. Someone who should be speaking OUT against what happened to goader. He should know about these things.
Being in the office with the big wigs blinds the man to the front lines. There is however NO excuse for his behavior.
Publish this comment.
Reject this comment.
Moderate comments for this blog.
Posted by deepcover to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 9:00 AM
1 comment:
ESE - Exceptional Student Education
Post a Comment