N.B. A complete history of our coverage can be found here.
First of all, thanks to everyone for following this story. I'm glad the issue has been treated as serious enough to merit the level of attention it has received. I believe the subject really is that serious - which only intensifies the importance of treating the story with care and getting it right. This story is still developing, but here's what we know now.
I'm going to start with what we know. Next, I'll talk about what's less clear. From there, I'll give you my take on all this and talk about the work being done to look into this story and get it right.
-- What We Know --
Trent's recent post may have given the impression that the story as a whole stands on shaky ground. That impression would be wrong. The out of state material he talked about was a mistake. The Maine situation itself, however, is documented by local news sources. Here are some relevant excerpts:
"In a related matter, WABI reports that the National Guard instructed soldiers to meet with school personnel prior to deploying to inform them of the deployment and let them know that the children of soldiers may have some special emotional issues to deal with as a result. In response, according to the report, [some] school personnel were less than cooperative, telling the soldiers, in effect, "That's your problem." (Worldnet Daily, Feb. 26, 2003)Not much room for misinterpretation there. WABI-TV5, who broke the story, says this today:
"We know of several teachers who've been deployed and are going overseas. So of course, we're not saying that all teachers are like this so that this is even endemic to the school system. What we are saying is that there have been some incidents and those incidents need to be addressed."Recall this quote from our Friday update:"The Guard says there have been three more reports of harassment that have surfaced since the story first aired. That brings the total to 15, from 15 different schools across the state.
The National Guard is walking a tight rope on this issue. They don't want to castigate the entire school system for the complaints they're hearing from army parents. But they also don't want the problem to be swept under the rug." (WABI-TV5, March 3, 2003)
"Far from being anecdotal evidence, [General] Tinkham says the Guard has names, dates and locations related to the incidents, but up until now has chosen not to release that information because the guard did not want to point fingers."Their position was reiterated in a Saturday Maine Morning Herald article:
"[Guard spokesperson Maj. Peter Rogers] said although the Guard has not talked to any of the teachers accused, family members have provided enough information for him to conclude that the incidents were "pretty extreme. These aren't rumors that haven't been looked into," he said. "They are facts."In fairness, we also know that more than a few teachers are horrified at the thought of such behaviour:
"Like many Mainers, [Jim] Verge and his fellow teachers in Eastport are hoping that war can be avoided. But he says any teacher who would fight for peace by harming their pupils should find a new job." (WABI-TV5, Feb. 27, 2003)That's a pretty clear statement. When you sit down to compose your letters, please remember these teachers, too.
…CTD
CTD…
-- What's Less Clear --
The exact composition and nature of each incident. Armed Liberal's post today asks questions that deserve to be asked.
This is something the Guard has not publicly released, for understandable reasons. A few local newspaper articles have focused on this ambiguity, and they've also heard from teachers who were pretty upset at being stereotyped for the potential actions of a few. Here's the key ambiguity:
In the Washington Times article, Maj. Peter Rogers, the Guard's spokesman at Camp Keyes, was quoted as saying that children of Guard members were "coming home upset, depressed, crying. This was based on some incidents that were happening in school, both in the classroom and on the playground." (Washington Times, Feb. 27, 2003)
The distinction matters. Obviously, schoolyard taunts are not the same thing as a teacher venting their political beliefs in a way that hurts the kids in their care. In this follow-up report, the issue remains unclear:
"[Maine National Guard spokesperson Maj. Peter] Rogers said he didn't know the particulars of the complaints, such as how many stemmed from comments from teachers, other school personnel or other students, or how many took place in the classroom, elsewhere in the school or on buses." (Maine Press Herald, Feb. 28, 2003)I'm not surprised. If the Guard is not releasing that information publicly, Maj. Rogers as their spokesperson has no need to know. Which means he won't know, until and unless his superiors re-evalute his need to know it. Even though he's the guy answering media questions. Welcome to military life.
We may see some re-evaluation, however, as state legislator Maine State Rep. Michael Vaughan (R-Durham) gets involved. He set up his own e-mail address at repmavaughan@hotmail.com for parents and others to contact, and is vowing to pursue this issue locally.
I've also just come off the phone with WABI-TV5's Assistant News Director. They're still covering this closely, and he tells me they believe the Guard may be securing permissions to release more details. I've asked him to keep me posted, and he has agreed. We'll continue to work with journalists and with others to try and get the stories out... and like Rep. Vaughan, we have our own clearinghouse email address for out of incidents beyond Maine: standup -at- windsofchange.net.
If clarity can be had on this issue, we'll get it.
-- Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think… --
ly, I'm not surprised to hear that people aren't especially eager to come forward. Even if your child was being mistreated, would you as a parent be eager to expose them to what could be a national media circus? To expose yourself to that? Not likely, especially with one parent already away. I've already had sources tell me directly that their sources dried up as soon as this thing went national. Consider, too, that more than a few reservists are civil servants. Would you want to go head to head against the powerful NEA in the media, then return to a public service job at the state level? I doubt it.
Especially if current levels of external media coverage give you good odds of getting satisfaction from school administrators who might normally stonewall you, but now see cooperation as their way out of the spotlight too.
So, the bad news is that I think things will remain a bit murky. Which is why I also think we need to keep our perspective, neither dismissing the incidents nor engaging in loose accusations or blanket abuse.
It's important to remember that the specific incidents in Maine involve only a few teachers. Even if all of the 15 incidents the Guard has on file involved teachers and administrators (an unlikely assumption), as a percentage of Maine classrooms that isn't even a rounding error. I'm also very pleased to hear that many responsible teachers are horrified by the idea of such conduct.
Having said all that, one incident is too many - and it's high time this sort of behaviour brought some consequences.
As I've pointed out in an earlier article, the Maine incidents may be extreme but we've all seen similar instances elsewhere. From the NEA after 9/11, to Ontario teachers unions' issue briefs for educators whose topic, less than 2 months after 9/11, is "Why America is Hated". We've seen it all school levels via "peace education" programs in the 1980s and 90s, notable mostly for one-sided, anti-American dishonesty and blatant political advocacy. Emily described her experiences (albeit not recent) on her blog.
You want a perfect, recent out of state example of massively inappropriate use of a primary schoolteacher's authority for political ends? Misha has the goods today. Documented and crystal clear. People aren't wrong to be sensitiive to this trend, and to want to it stopped. It isn't imaginary.
When I went to high school in Toronto, our school was affiliated with a university Faculty of Education. I had a chance to see some of them up close, and to observe meetings their extra-curricular groups held after school. Most of these folks just wanted to teach. I can say unequivocally, however, that some of them had another agenda, openly stated - one that saw indoctrination of their pupils as not only permissible, but a primary mission. The system does not weed these people out, and public frustration is rising. Hence the firestorm over these reports from Maine, especially at a time of tension when people's lives are on the line.
What needs to stop is not just the behaviours reported in Maine, therefore (though that definitely needs to stop), but the classroom politicization and attitudes that give rise and license to similar travesties.
Having said that, the very firestorm of outrage that offers hope of eventual relief on this front also makes it imperative for us to be measured, honest, and to convey the truth as best we can tell it.
That's why Rep. Michael Vaughan's initiative cheers me. So does WABI-TV5's determination to keep covering the story. We'll keep covering it, too. Some details will always remain obscured under these circumstances, but I'm confident we'll have a better picture of what's really going on before all is said and done.
I'll leave the last word to Chaplain (Maj.) Gibson:
Major Andrew Gibson, a national guard chaplain says, "I think the most important thing here is that we know that the troops are supported. We know that the soldiers that are going away from their homes and who are going to be separated from families are going to be supported while they're away. And I think the outpouring from the entire country reflects the kind of love and caring that the people do have for their soldiers."Least we can do, Chaplain; least we can do. We have obligations to America's soldiers. And to fairness. And to the civility we're working to preserve. And to the truth. I will do my level best to deliver on all of them.
I'm following this for my few readers. Thanks for the updates.
*An AP story has the goods too.*
And this is just harassment the parents are getting.
I note these "educational" bureaucrats have no trouble striking like lightning with severe punishments when it comes to an administrator saying the word "niggardly," or using their ghastly "zero tolerance" policies to suspend kids for pointing their fingers and saying "bang" or giving another kid a cough drop.
But let it be THEIR ox getting gored, and boy, howdy, how the wagons circle!
I already gave my peace of mind in a previous e-mail how I feel about these teachers, but I have one more thing to say: As punishment these teachers should have to teach at schools on military basis. Ever so often get moved along with the soldiers to another base, and then again, and again including overseas to see of the hardship these military kids go through like our kids who went to 13 different schools and we moved 27 times in the 25 yrs of my husband's career. I don't know about now, we are retired, but back then kids had to be pulled out in the middle of a school year when the parent got orders. The civilian community has no idea what this is like, and many civilian people told us "we could never do that". All we military and retired military people are asking for is give us and our kids the respect we deserve, and if teachers are so prejudice toward the military and can't do that then I suggest they move to another country for no matter where you live in the U.S. sooner or later you come across a child whose parents were in the military. The "free speech" stops right here when it comes to hurting children emotionally.
This is from a contact of mine from the ACLU on the conduct of the Maine education establishment:
"Harassment suits have started over similar patterns on gender or sexual orientation. School officials have to maintain a safe environment for all kids or they'll hear from the courts. There's plenty "school officials could do" according to case law in a number of states. Maybe most of the Maine schools aren't doing this but there's always a few school bureaucrats who would benefit from a little disciplining."