First, let me say that I am a retired teacher and in North Carolina, when I signed my first contract, it had a moral clause in it. That disappeared over the years. I still do contract work from time to time and I am shocked at the behaviors of a segment of our profession. With that said, let me caution parents and grandparents to investigate the backgrounds of the teachers who will be working with your children. In small towns where everyone knows everyone, it may not be important but if you watch many of these investigative programs, you find that some of the worse were loved by everyone and shocked when events came to light. Kim Komando noted this on her facebook entry today and I want to share and add a little.
- Google the teacher's name
- Go to your State Department of Education site and check under licensees. My state: www.NC.gov.
- Check for criminal activity www.criminalsearches.com
- Search Facebook.com You would be surprised at the photos people post!
- Always check sex offenders list.
I taught in an out of state school years ago that the schools gave a male teacher the option to resign and move on or face arrest. He moved on...never was charged with anything during the four years I was there and parents didn't want their child drug through a court battle. I would not suggest that you accuse anyone if you find information because of the accuracy of any data or the confusion of a name but it would open a door to discussion with school officials. Many states now run background checks and teachers are fingerprinted. Is yours one of them? At one time, teachers were role models and most still are but you do have to be careful...these are YOUR children.
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