Public Education in 2007

Here are two stories that indicate the strength of "education associations" and the weakness of the modern judicial system.

"Zero Tolerance" Is Just for the Kids: One Alabama teacher, already fired but awaiting trial on a charge of raping a student, has not only received his regular paychecks for nearly two years, and will continue to until the trial is over, but has also been awarded two routine raises, based on a 2004 state law boosting teachers' rights (according to an August Associated Press review of records). [Mobile Register-AP, 8-12-07]

While I am all for continuing pay and reserving judgement until the facts are revealed and a trial is provided, how many years should it take to present the case?

The second story is from Canada;

The largest school district in Montreal, Quebec, was ordered by an arbitrator to rehire a teacher whom it had fired in 2004 for illegally failing to disclose a conviction for killing his wife. The arbitrator ruled the firing improper, in that homicide is unrelated to the teacher's classroom work. [Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 8-16-07]

Yep, if your morality and beliefs do not matter then it must be o.k. to hire a man to teach your children who has been convicted of killing his wife. After all, that is such a personal matter.