A reader in Los Angeles sent this reflection on LAUSD’s demand for Rafe Esquith’s personal financial history.
“This whole thing getting really wacko.
“Can an employee—under threat of being fired—be compelled by his employer to turn over private
information such as this—i.e. 15 years of tax returns, loan documents, monthly bank statements?
“I mean, why stop there? Why not demand all your private diaries or journals? All your computers with all the personal data, internet activity, emails etc.? How about your
medical records? Your private written correspondence?
“This is especially ridiculous in this case, as the employer refuses to divulge the foundation for such a demand, or the suspicions, or the
testimony/evidence that warrant this demand to give up one’s privacy?
“And again, THESE INVESTIGATORS ARE NOT AGENTS OF ACTUAL LAW ENFORCEMENT!!! They’re
retired LAPD detectives working as bureaucrats in a public school district!!! WHO THE HELL DO THESE GUYS THINK THEY ARE???!!!
“In your own life, if a past employer — New York University? or whomever? — sicced two investigatorson you who demanded this of you, what
would you have done?
“I would have been left utterly speechless. Could this even be possible in the U.S.?
“Whatever happened to the Constitutional right to privacy?
“This is as at least as bad as quid-pro-quo sexual harassment—i.e. “have sex with me or you’re fired”—in its enabling of the employer to use the threat of losing one’s job, livelihood, income, etc. as a way to take away one’s basic civil liberties and innate human dignity.
“This is way bigger than Rafe’s case.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
LAUSD has been lawless for a decade, People are just beginning to see it now, because the MEDIA IS THEIR TOOL. http://www.perdaily.com/2014/03/have-reporters-become-poli-ticks–the-media-parasites-of-the-body-politic.html
This could not happen if Americans who are teachers had not lost their sixth amendment rights to SEE EVIDENCE and see truth prevail.
http://www.perdaily.com/2015/07/targeted-union-teachers-finally-target-corrupt-nyc-public-schools–might-this-proactive-model-work-a.html
Two decades of allowing the school administrations to say and do anything the want to teachers without a shred of accountability has led to this moment
The civil rights of teachers across the nation have been utterly destroyed because the administrators at the top discovered that the unions were allowing the contractual grievance processes to deteriorate.
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/01/lausd-et-al-a-national-scandal-of-enormous-proportions-by-susan-lee-schwartz-part-1.html
IN LAUSD outright lies about teachers became the go-to process when the unions turned a blind eye.
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/07/former-ctc-attorney-kathleen-carroll-lays-out-unholy-alliance-between-union-and-public-education-pri.html
No accountability for any tactics against Americans who are teachers allowed this to happen
http://www.perdaily.com/2010/02/yesterday-i-was-removed-from-class-in-handcuffs.html to someone who blew the whistle on social promotion
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/07/between-dishonest-social-promotion-of.html
Lenny is suing, but it eats up his life and his savings and his career is over
http://www.perdaily.com/2013/11/lausd-gives-me-a-chance-to-be-a-hero-for-student-teachers-and-families.html
In NYC Francesco Portelos has been fighting for years as they tried to end his career.
Now is an ATR hanging on, but look what the union allows them to do to teachers who refuse to give in to false allegations.
http://protectportelos.org/does-workplace-bullying-continues-my-33-hrs-behind-bars/
http://protectportelos.org/allegations-against-me/
http://www.endteacherabuse.org/Portelos.html
http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/2013/08/dear-arbitrator-wittenberg-doe-evidence.html
And those of you who know who I am, and how at the top of my career,
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
when they came after me with lies, took me from my famous practice and threw me into their teacher jail, never even bothering to inform me of allegations, never putting our charges and allowing a district superintendent o write a letter saying I had been found guilty of corporal punishment.
NYC has its gotcha squad.
http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2009/03/gotcha-squad-and-new-york-city-rubber.html
What it does not have is a place for teachers to fight back, because the ‘hearings’ are kangaroo courts.
NYC is the largest school district in America.
LAUSD is the second.
For every teacher they sack and replace with a novice, they save 60 to 80k a year in benefits.
BREAKING!
LAUSD is now focusing on the Hobart Shakespeareans non-profit that funds the field trips, musical instruments, extra arts/dance teachers, etc. for Rafe’s kids. LAUSD investigators are doing so with ZERO proof of any wrong-doing, mind you. They’re just on a fishing expedition in the hopes of finding some incriminating smoking gun to justify firing Rafe.
With that in mind, it’s important to consider the words of Sarah Scherger, the supplemental dance teacher choreographer that has worked in Rafe’s class for over a decade—again, funded by the Hobart Shakespeareans non-profit.
This morning, she has decided to weigh in on this whole fiasco … posted on the Hobart Shakespeareans Facebook page:
————————————————————————–
————————————————————————-
“Here is a beautiful letter from the Hobart Shakespeareans’ much loved and appreciated choreographer.
“Thank you, Sarah!”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
SARA SCHERGER:
“To Whom it may concern,
“For the past 9 years, I have been the Hobart Shakespeareans dance choreographer. Of all of the professional titles I have held, this one holds the most honor and importance to my heart. I have stood next to Rafe Esquith almost every Wednesday for the last 9 years, and I am shocked and disgusted that he has been removed from his classroom.
“I am not only writing this letter in support of reinstating Rafe, but I am writing this letter in support of every child in Rafe’s class, past, present and future. This school, this district, this city and this nation need more teachers like Rafe Esquith, a man who has sacrificed so much in the best interest of these children.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you what an amazing teacher he is. I shouldn’t have to point out the years of dedication he has given you and his students. I shouldn’t have to explain the distance he goes, the creativity and care he exudes in the name of education. He is nothing short of remarkable. I am sure all his former and present students have already attested to that.
“So, what I will tell you about is his integrity and dedication in all he does. He is an exceptional human being; one whom I am honored to work with. Never have I met someone so dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of kids. He is the envy of teachers on an INTERNATIONAL scale, the moral and professional barometer to which other educators hold their own standards accountable.
“I have not once in the last decade ever heard or witnessed any words or actions by Rafe that would be considered inappropriate. There is a reason why I call Hobart and room 56 my “happy place”. Rafe creates an environment that is safe, an environment that is loving, an environment that is fun. He treats every student with respect and demands a high level personal integrity from each of them. The level of trust that I have experienced from the Hobart Shakespeareans is like nothing I have experienced in my 25 years of teaching children. It takes no large measure of wisdom to accredit this to the leadership of Rafe Esquith and his tireless crusade on behalf of his students.
“I ask on behalf of every student who has had, or will have, the great fortune to be under the watchful eye of Rafe as their teacher, as their mentor, and as their role model, to reinstate him. These. Children. Need. Him. This. School. Needs. Him.
“Should the need arise, I would be more than happy to answer any questions about my weekly interactions and lesson plans with Rafe and the Hobart Shakespeareans.
“There are few things in life I have experienced that have brought me such joy, and inspiration. My marriage, my beautiful daughter, and the wonderful journey of working with Rafe and the Hobart Shakespeareans are easily among the top three.
“Thank you for your time, and thank you for your consideration in reinstating an amazing educator to his rightful place in leading these children to a better education, a better self esteem, and a much better life.
“Sincerely,
“Sarah Scherger”
LAUSD looks for success, and then seeks to destroy it.
Can any of them really say, “We are trying to fix education?”
Rafe made real education happen.
Suits are idiots.
How sad. Utter devastation.
Oh and here’s Fox News’ 21-minute piece on Rafe and his class:
(BTW, isn’t YouTUBE great!)
“have sex with me or your fired” is the partial basis of the lawsuit pressed against Supt. Cortines by his own allegedly desired sex partner, the Director of Real Estate for LAUSD, whom he wooed to join the district in 2001 (for a 6 figure salary), and who was fired as soon as this man filed his lawsuit on sexual harassment charges against Cortines.
As to Rafe Esquith, the Esquith ‘auto de fe’ is the worst sort of abuse of process I have seen. It smacks of not only a desire to get rid of an older teacher to save money on his salary and perks, and to defame and demean him, but in the scope of this rigged and expanded investigation, there seems to be also be jealousy of his prominence, and directed attention to his being Jewish (is there an element of anti-Semitism?).
How can Cortines keep expanding this witch hunt and keep promising to expose more dirt when there is nothing to show for the taxpayer money he has already spent on this phony case?
Why has the BoE allowed this, colluded in this, and not made Cortines step down for his own moral turpitude?
What is this new intrusion into Esquith;s privacy going to cost taxpayers now that Cortines has hired even more lawyers and investigators to find anything they can by peering under every rug in the nation?
This is clear abuse of process designed to cost Esquith all his life savings in defending himself against phantom charges by this corrupt district…thus to keep the pressure building until he either dies or resigns. These thugs deserve deep investigation into their own leadership at LAUSD.
All this for using the word “naked” in a 5th grade classroom when quoting Mark Twain!!!
Yep, way bigger than Esquith’s case. As I said in a previous post, this type of activity by LAUSD should be investigated and prosecuted under the RICO act. There is prove that these activities were planned ahead and involved widespread criminal denial of teacher’s civil rights. LAUSD and some of its wealthiest contributors and contractors, devising a scheme to rid them of high priced, older, veteran teachers all the while seriously crippling the ineffective union who they knew had cancelled its legal insurance without the consent or knowledge of its membership. Sounds like a case to me.
Agree Paula, that RICO statutes should be applied so much that goes on at LAUSD, from iPad collusions to jailing innocent teachers.
I do need to add here, that I commend the LA Times, Howard Blume, Karin Klein, for the piece on today’s editorial page re “Voting, with a hint of bribery”…glad they are finally listening, and that they reported on the winner of the $25 K bribe, and comment on why this a poor way to run an election.
The possibility of applying RICO on LAPD came up in association with the Rampart investigation if I remember correctly. Given the economic damages, there may be a case here wrt LAUSD.
Disturbing that a district would treat teachers this way. If they are doing this to a nationally known teacher like Esquith, what has happened when less famous teachers have come under a misguided charge?
Many are still in teacher jail, Stiles…some have lost their homes and their ability to earn a living…some have had nervous breakdowns…and a few have killed themselves.
There are about 476 in LAUSD teacher jail now…and there were thousands more affected by their unfair incarceration over the years that Cortines instituted this policy that has gone national over the past 13 years. Nationwide, there must be huge numbers fading into oblivian on unproven charges that wear teachers down until they give up and flee the gulag.
Here’s my full comment:
Here’s the latest from Jay Mathews and
keep in mind that Jay Mathews knows
Rafe personally, and is in contact
with Rafe’s legal team, so I’d believe this
latest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/la-district-continues-to-persecute-one-of-the-nations-best-teachers/2015/07/19/56ec5c60-2b43-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html
NEWEST DETAILS —
JAY MATHEWS: “Esquith is being
treated like a Wall Street cheat. On July 8,
the district’s investigators asked him for all
of his tax returns, loan and bank records
since 2000, giving no reason.”
————————
WTF???!!! Why on earth would
investigators want or need to view
this man’s last 15 years of tax returns,
bank statements, loan documents
(home, car, etc.. .. I presume)?
These investigators are not law
enforcement, so apparently,
they don’t have to get a judge to
issue subpoenas for these
things. They’re former LAPD detectives
who are LAUSD employees who can
ask whatever they want whenever
they want, and when asked for any
foundation for doing so, can simply
refuse to answer because… well…
because they don’t have to tell you why.
Thus far, no one has complained about
anything pertaining to Rafe’s finances—
specifically as his finances relate to the
non-profit that funds his class field trips,
music instruments, etc. … and that
non-profit is a totally separate entity from
LAUSD, so how and why do LAUSD
investigators claim standing to appoint
themselves as the watchdogs to
investigate it or Rafe for any possible
malfeasance?
This is just weird.
In fact, Rafe’s lawyer mentioned that
Rafe takes no salary from the non-profit,
and in fact donates to it when that’s
needed to cover shortfalls… and that’s
exactly what the board members of the
non-profit told the LAUSD investigators.
If and when Rafe (or any teacher)
refuses their requests, I suppose they
can claim that he’s not cooperating with
the investigation, and then Human
Resources can then use this
non-cooperation as justification for firing
him.
If they were duly authorized law
enforcement, they would need some kind
of proof or testimony as foundation for
requesting a judge’s subpoena to compel
Rafe to turn this stuff over. But they’re not.
As LAUSD Human Resources
pseudo-police, they apparently don’t
need any such foundation. According to
Jay Mathews, when asked why they were
requesting this, the investigators wouldn’t
answer.
This is like something out of Kafka or
Arthur Koestler, with LAUSD investigators
acting like the East German Stasi
Secret Police.
So what if Rafe and/or his lawyer says,
“No, we’re not showing you
my/Rafe’s last 15 years of tax returns, bank
statements, loan
documents, etc.”?
If that was me, I’d tell them to go f— off,
and if and when they fired me for refusing
this asinine request, I’d sue the ever-lovin’
sh– out of them. (Sorry about the profanity…
I’m trying to make a point about how angry
this makes me.)
————————
More from Jay Mathews:
JAY MATHEWS: “This is an investigation
gone rogue. If it continues, the Los
Angeles school district — previously
devoted to helping its students — is at
risk of not only losing an exceptional
teacher, but also its very soul.”
Indeed, this whole thing getting really wacko.
Can an employee—under threat of being
fired—be compelled by his employer to
turn over private information such as
this—i.e. 15 years of tax returns,
loan documents, monthly bank statements?
I mean, heck, LAUSD why stop there?
Why not demand all your private
diaries or journals?
All your computers with all the personal data,
internet activity, emails etc.?
How about your medical records while
you’re at it?
Your private written correspondence?
This is especially ridiculous in this case, as
the employer refuses to divulge the foundation
for such a demand, or the suspicions, or the
testimony/evidence that warrant this demand
to give up one’s privacy?
And again, THESE INVESTIGATORS ARE
NOT AGENTS OF ACTUAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT!!! They’re retired LAPD
detectives working as bureaucrats
in a public school district!!! WHO THE HELL
DO THESE GUYS THINK THEY ARE???!!!
Dr. Ravitch… if you’re reading this…
in your own life, if a past employer — New
York University? or whomever? — sicced
two investigators on you who, and they
demanded this of you, what
would you have done?
I would have been left utterly speechless.
Could this even be possible in the U.S.?
Whatever happened to the Constitutional
right to privacy?
This is as at least as bad as quid-pro-quo
sexual harassment—i.e. “have sex with me
or you’re fired”— in its enabling of the the
employer to use the threat of losing one’s
job, livelihood, income, etc. as a way to
take away one’s basic civil liberties
and innate human dignity.
This whole thing, and its implications, is way
bigger than Rafe’s case.
“Esquith is being treated like a Wall Street cheat.”
If only he were that lucky. Wall Street cheats get to take home big bonuses and/or get appointed to high-ranking government positions. Or start lucrative charter schools.
And the investigators are not former LAPD investigators, but rather a motley crew of pick up wannabe detectives. One worked for a cemetery. Another is a house cop. They used strong arm, lawless, techinques when badgering Rafe’s 10 and 11 year old students to try to get them to say he abused them…and some were so shaken by this invasion, without parents present, that they had to have medical attention. This is like the LAUSD Gestapo.
Yes…where is Alex Caputo-Pearl and UTLA? Why are they not saying a word? Where is the BoE? Why are they not saying a word. All are culpable for abuse of process.
Dienne: what you said.
At this point, it looks like Rafe Esquith will be an example of that old saying:
“Let no good deed go unpunished.”
This from the same rheephorm educrats that were all in for massive long-term waste of public monies and trust over iPads and MISIS and such.
😡
Can’t he just say he doesn’t have his tax returns saved? I don’t think the IRS gives copies on request.
Wow Diane, you have become quite animated in your response to this case. Can you please extend your anger to expose, or at the very least open a discussion about the destructive authoritarian leadership that has demoralized teachers, and allowed the for- profit industry to proliferate in order to save their own jobs. If all these fraudulent positions were replaced by a support system culled from the senior staff on a rotating basis, they can’t develop an adversarial relationship, and teachers would once again be in full control of the educational process. We could effectively eliminate Charter Schools, Common Core, VAM evaluations and all the other negative factors that are destroying public education, including the unfair techniques that are so obvious in the Esquith case. You are still the best advocate that teachers have, and if you don’t begin this debate, it probably won’t happen.
Guess you have not read the multitude of posts here over that last three years which address exactly what you slap-down Diane for not doing. She has opened up all this reformer disaster to the world for the first time and has given educators a fulcrum for interaction to the end of saving public ed.
This teacher, Rafe Esquith, is an exemplar of the vast number of teachers unfairly jailed…and is one of the few who has captured the attention of the media through his outstanding skills and successes.
Thank you Diane for all that you do and have done, to save public education, and to stand up for teachers.
I applaud your admiration for Dianne, but what has been happening in education over the past decades is probably going to take more than the leadership that Diane has provided. We may not talk much about the other players in the Civil Rights movement, but MLK did not and could not do it all on his own. I don’t know if you have noticed, but Dianne is very good at listening to the voices of those around her. She doesn’t claim to know it all and has continued to learn from and listen to those who are also in this fight. She has helped us become a national community and has provided a national voice to the thoughts, the experiences, and the feelings of so many who would remain anonymous otherwise.
To Ian Kay:
Life is very simple. We do not need to show anger because the universal law of KARMA will take care of all revenges sooner or later through the consequences = sufferance within the life of people who cause, and the lives of their children, grandchildren.
Yes, it is absolute truth in the old saying: “”good deed returns good deed, evil follows evil.””
Teacher Rafe Esquith has taught more than 3 decades and he has had more than enough successful stories of uncountable students to sue LAUSD effectively.
I cannot wait to see Teacher Rafe Esquith’s Law firm take a firm action on LAUSD’s evil intention. Back2basic
Hi “Guru” m4potw,
“We do not need to show anger…”
For anger does not “feed” the spirit. Only one thing is indispensable for anything we do; the spirit.
Some will feel the “right” to be angry, when their self-importance
is not validated by the very system that “implied” their importance
existed, based on their rank, their “degree”. A debilitating farce.
Staying wedded to the “mythical” importance, concocted by the
concocted authorities continues the blindness. Professing the
fundamental correctness of the “system” is negated by poverty,
eludes the reality that the existing social relations (poverty) IS a
product of the system.
The afflicitions of the system will not be cured by the system that
produced them. The problems won’t be solved by
the level of thinking that created them… AE
Linking “self esteem” to mythical self-importance is debilitating.
A broken or injured spirit is NOT beneficial to family, friends, loved
ones, or host.
Back2basic might be learning, you take yourself too seriously.
You are too important in your own mind. You are SO important
(as per the sort and separate) that you feel justified in your anger.
Who would ever guess the greatest obstacle to a free spirit
lies between the ears…
As noted in “Exhibits” portion of Rafe Esquith’s lawsuit filed by Mark Geragos and Ben Meseilus…
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2111957-la-school-report-21-pra-response-w-docs-2.html
… the two LAUSD investigators hounding Rafe are retired LAPD detectives Virgil County and Ray Johnson… part of LAUSD’s newly-formed “Student Safety Investigative Team” (SSIT), whose jobs at the SSIT are reportedly netting them a six-figure salary … on top of their police pension (not too shabby). They’re doing all of his under direct orders from Superintendent Ray Cortines, and LAUSD’s top counsel, David Holmquist.
If they’re reading this, I would appeal to Virgil and Ray Johnson, as Rafe’s fellow civil servants, to renounce both their salary and their unfortunate roles in this McCarthy-ist madness in which they are embroiled and implicated. They should try to consider that both they and Rafe are soldiers fighting on different fronts of the same war—the war to create a safe, just, and healthy society (and a healthy economy, for all you utilitarians out there 😉 ):
1) teachers do this by helping develop children into moral, law-abiding citizens, who are skilled and productive adult members of the community whose skills also contribute to a healthy economy;
2) police are at the other end of this, when the efforts of teachers and parents fail to develop those children into moral law abiding citizens… in deterring those adults from becoming criminals, or, if worse comes to worst, arresting them when they do choose to violate laws.
Virgil, a marathon-running enthusiast, even had a program—run by the Los Angeles Police Department for at-risk youth to participate in marathon running as a way to build those students’ self-esteem, deter them from the criminal path, and keep them on the straight and narrow…. (“Sergeant Virgil County” is the last name listed of the police supervising this program)
http://www.lapdonline.org/june_2000/news_view/28986
Why this program of “Sergeant County’s” is just like…. (WAIT FOR IT)
… what Rafe Esquith does with does with his Shakespeare drama program.
How ironic can you get?
Indeed, the supreme irony of that last bit is that Mr. County is doing the same thing with athletics that Mr. Esquith does with drama and music— use it put kids on the right path, and help them reach their potential. Also like Mr. Esquith, Mr. County donates his time for free.
Therefore, you’d think Mr. County would be in sync with a fellow civil like servant like Mr. Esquith who’s also out to do right by at-risk youth, but based on what happened during the interview, there was no such appreciation of Mr. Esquith’s work by Mr. County.
Perhaps it was the other LAUSD investigator, Ray Johnson, who was asking the tougher questions. Are the LAUSD investigators allowed to behave differently, or ask questions differently than those serving in actual law enforcement… as Mr. Esquith’s lawyer was utterly shocked by what occurred before and during the interview?
So to Virgil and Ray Johnson, please take some time and think about what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. The “We-were-only-following-(Cortines’/Holmquist’s)-orders” defense didn’t work for the Nazis at Nuremberg, and it won’t work for you now that your roles in this McCarthy-ist fiasco has been made public.
Thanks Drew. Nice work. I’ll be bookmarking that stuff about investigator Virgil County. However, I think you’re missing one of the key players here:
LAUSD’s “Student Safety Investigative Team” leader Jose Cantu—a former LAUSD principal with ZERO background in criminal or workplace investigation. (But hey, don’t let that get in the way of him being hired for that purpose!)
Here’s the article about Cantu and the SSIT’s formation: (a year after it was formed)
http://laschoolreport.com/lausd-unit-investigating-sexual-abuse-allegations-hits-1-year-mark/
Here’s yesterday’s (Monday, July 20, 2015) article about how Cortines just doubled Cantu’s SSIT in size:
Finally, here’s the SSIT’s biggest public relations debacle (prior to the Esquith situation, that is)—the wrongful prosecution of Jason Duchan:
http://laschoolreport.com/teacher-says-lewd-facebook-page-by-lausd-student-cost-him-job-health/
Finally, here’s the discussion on this blog about the Jason Duchan debacle:
Oh, and here’s the sympathetic TV coverage of the Duchan debacle: (quite a black eye for Duchan, the SSIT, and LAUSD management in general)
http://abc7.com/news/teacher-suspended-for-inappropriate-fb-posts-says-he-was-framed/521790/
I forgot the link to yesterday’s article about the doubling of the SSIT:
http://laschoolreport.com/to-speed-up-probes-lausd-has-doubled-investigation-team/
I assume the teacher is a union member. If so, where is the union in this outrage?
I was a witness for an alleged assault case against a teacher by a student in my H.S. The investigators were retired NYC police detectives. The student alleged she was sprayed by cleaning fluid by the teacher who was trying to break up a fight between this student and another. The teacher had a spray glass-cleaner bottle in his hand. While he was trying to keep the students separated he made a motion with the bottle towards one of the students who started yelling that he sprayed her. I was standing about 1 to 2 feet away and saw it all. No fluid was sprayed. After the detectives finished their investigation they stated that only my testimony was accepted. I testified clearly and forcefully that no fluid was sprayed. Nevertheless the teacher was forced to pay a $7,000 fine for preventing the two girls from having a brawl with potentially for more severe physical injuries than had a bit of cleaning fluid been sprayed on them. Punished for doing a good deed. Incredible!
Seems to me (from afar) that this is the predictable outcome of CA politics, wherein the status of the state employee (ed, now [others later?]) is subjugated to the whims of the State. Have ed unions had any power at all since 1978 (passage of proposition 13, which resulted in a 57% reduction in CA property taxes)? Here in NJ in the ’90’s, I had a neighbor transplanted from CA who ponied up excessive amounts to send her kids to a private sch despite our ultra-hi taxes supporting an excellent sch sys. Asked her why, she replied it was ingrained in her CA generation to go private; public schools were for the poor.
Since the passage of Prop 13 we’ve seen the once-best-in-nation free CA public colleges slip to mediocre tuition institutions.
You get what you pay for! CA for decades has viewed public schools as a drag on the state economy serving the poor/ immigrant. Small wonder they target the few well-paid longtime servants of what’s left of their p.s.system.
He spoke out against standardized testing. Just thinking that thought is punishable as a level 1 thoughtcrime. But he actually said that testing was bad in front of a national audience. It’s immortalized on YouTube. He will never teach again. I do think that he will avoid prison time and possible execution in lieu of his thirty years of service as a teacher. They will probably just take away his teacher license and ban him from teaching or speaking out again. He will get off lightly and will be warned to stop his criticism in the future. How dare he speak out! No one is above standardized testing. How dare he!
They aren’t going to take his credential and I think he will go back to his classroom.
I highly doubt he will return to the classroom. I’m actually quite confident.
Dear Know-the-Facts-First,
You sound like you’re an insider with LAUSD, which, if true, is quite fascinating that they would monitor internet chats. (This one gets 1 million hits per month, by the way… tens of thousands every day… so to some degree, it molds public opinion.)
However, even if it’s not true and you’re an outsider just chiming in, I’m kind of curious on where you stand certain aspects of this whole situation:
(in the past on this board, you seem to shut up, and run away when anyone asks you a question, so this may prove futile… what the heck, here goes)
1) Do you think an employer’s Human Resource Dept. investigators—in the context of an investigation— can demand that an employee under investigation turn over his last 15 years of tax returns, bank statements, loan documents (home, car, etc.. .. I presume)—under penalty of… “if you refuse, we’re going to fire you for not cooperating with this investigation”?
2) Do you think that school Human Resource Dept. investigators—in the context of an investigation—should be allowed to remove minor children from a classroom, seclude them in a private room, put them in uneven two adults-on-one-child setting… doing so without getting the prior permission, or without even informing those kids’ parents before or after the fact…. and so doing so without any adult observer present whose role would be to look out for the well-being of those kids while they were being questioned? Is that OK with you?
3) After 2) happens, and parents claim the that what happened was a harrowing interrogation, one that they claim constitutes child abuse, in that the parents alleged that the damage suffered caused their children to need and seek mental health services, should those same parents have the right to sue those investigators, and sue the school district in general for the damages their children allegedly suffered?
Should those investigators be immune from any civil lawsuit or consequences? Should they be able to claim, “We were just following the orders of our superiors at LAUSD… and have that be justification for letting them off the hook?
4) Do you think an employer can demand that an employee under investigation provide the names of every person that employee dated in college (over 40 years ago)—under penalty of… “if you refuse, we’re going to fire you for not cooperating with this investigation”?
Or to put it more simply, do employees have any Constitutional right to privacy when his/her employer’s Human Resource Dept. is investigating him/her?
5) Also, if an employee under investigation is also connected to a private non-profit organization that is totally separate from, and has ZERO ties to his/her employer, should the employer’s Human Resource investigators—in the context of investigating that employee—have the right to demand that separate and private non-profit’s Board of Directors provide private documents related that non-profits finances and operations… especially when the employer’s Human Resource investigators refuse to provide the reason, evidence, testimony, or any foundation for such a demand?
Or put simply, can a company or public entity’s Human Resource investigators be allowed to conduct any type of totally open-ended and unfocused fishing expedition outside of that company or public entity (i.e. LAUSD), and demand private documents from that totally separate company or public entity’s whenever those investigators demands it of them?
6) Should there be any limits on what a company or public entity can do in investigating its employees? If so, what are those limits?
I’ve got more questions, but that will get us started.
Check out my latest two articles at http://www.perdaily.com. They specifically address themselves to what you are talking about.
I hope Esquith did not turn anything over….
The latest is that the accuser, Marc Bennett, is recanting his 40 year-old accusations against Esquith.
First, here’s some background.
In the vast majority of teacher investigations in LAUSD, the teacher chooses to be represented by someone from the union, UTLA, in the context of the LAUSD/UTLA management contract’s quasi-judicial process. In this realm, witnesses are never sworn in—i.e. under penalty of perjury— and the accused teacher cannot face or cross examine his accuser(s), or any witness(es) supporting the allegations. No one is ever put under oath… unless and until a lawsuit is filed.
That’s what’s maddening about this. If you don’t have the available funds to file a lawsuit, anyone can say anything, telling whatever lied they want to tell whenever they want to tell it, and you have no way to counter it.
What happened in this case is that Marc Bennett—the accuser making allegations of something improper—was told by the LAUSD folks who are targeting Rafe that all you have do to is just make a written and/or verbal statement, and then your involvement is over. That’s the way it usually works when the case is handled in the realm of the union contract’s due process.
The problem here is that Rafe both hired and lawyer—a powerful and prominent one at that, Marc Geragos—and filed a lawsuit, which means that the accuser, Marc Bennett would have had to go under oath in this case. It’s likely that Bennett will also also face a six-figure or seven-figure defamation lawsuit where Bennett, once again, will have to give sworn testimony, which if disproven or recanted later, opens Mr. Bennett up to federal perjury charges, as the case gets kicked up into federal court.
That’s probably why they dropped the 40 year-old accusations like a hot potato, and the accuser Marc Bennett folded like a cheap umbrella. “Hey, wait. You guys said this would never go to court, and I’d never be questioned under oath. I didn’t sign up for that. Who’s gonna pay my legal bills if I lie for you guys, and then I’m tried for perjury? I’m outta here!”
Bye, Bye, Mr. Bennett.
The two investigators now working for L.A. Counsel David Holmquist—retired LAPD detectives Mr. Virgil County, and Mr. Ray Johnson—will also have be put on the stand. If the trial is videotaped, these two will have to go on Court TV (or whatever it’s called these days), and explain how and why they took children out of classrooms, and under whose authority (who signed off on this)… without the consent of parents, or without even informing those parents before or after, and then County and Johnson proceeded to grill individual students two-on-one or two-adults-on-one-child, and with no one protective of those children’s rights or well-being present during this interrogation.
Those children will also go on the stand—perhaps on TV—and tell of this harrowing experience (as detailed in the lawsuit filing BELOW) which they suffered while being interrogated by Mr. County and Mr. Johnson. Holmquist, Superintendent Cortines, Mike Voigt, et al will all be deposed and subpoenaed as well.
Again, here’s the lawsuit:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2111957-la-school-report-21-pra-response-w-docs-2.html
Mr. Esquith’s lawyer, in the court filings, expresses himself eloquently on all of this:
(PAGES 8-9 of the filing)
Mark Geragos, Esq. : “A despicable and shocking investigation took place. Parents of students in Room 56 (Mr. Esquith’s class) confirm that these students were pulled from class, without parental consent, and grilled by adult-male investigators who made derogatory comments about Mr. Esquith.
” … students actually felt threatened by these LAUSD investigators. Parents of those students collectively complained to LAUSD about the harassing conduct at the hands of these LAUSD investigators. Parents complained that their children were removed from the classroom without parental consent. Parents feared for the health and safety of their children based on the investigators’ tactics.
“At least one student’s mental health was seriously, and medically compromised, by the conduct of these LAUSD investigators. The LAUSD investigators asked students, who had never complained about Mr. Esquith, loaded questions such as whether Mr. Esquith had ever done anything ‘bad,’ or anything that the ‘did not like.’ ”
Regarding the treatment and questions asked of Mr. Esquith, Geragos was equally scathing:
(PAGES 11-14)
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2111957-la-school-report-21-pra-response-w-docs-2.html
Mark Geragos, Esq. : “The May 18th Geragos letter also questioned why Mr. Esquith was being directly contacted by LAUSD on substantive matters when Mr. Esquith was known to be represented by attorneys.
“Indeed, directly contacting a represented party on especially significant matters such as this is highly improper, unethical, and anathema to the law. LAUSD was intentionally avoiding proper legal processes.
“… the questions (that were) asked (of) Mr. Esquith followed no interviewing protocol, or any appropriate or logical line of questioning. Counsel for Mr. Esquith took diligent notes of the questions being asked, which included:
“Do you know of any teachers who might not like you? If so, who are they?”
“List the women you dated when you were in college.”
“Were you ever counseled for pushing someone when you were a camp counselor at the JCC Jewish Center Summer Camp you worked at when you were a teenager 40 years ago?”
“Why might teacher X or teacher Y not like your teaching style?”
“Did you ever buy a student a hamburger off school grounds without first getting permission of the student’s parent? Do you know buying students food is against school policy?”
“Why don’t you have a backup plan for someone else for someone else to put on the annual Shakespeare performance, in case, for example, you have a heart attack, so it doesn’t have to be cancelled again like it was last year?”
“The questions, all of which would have been objectionable and completely out-of-line in any legitimate legal process, made clear that there was no clear or defined scope, or any legitimate purpose behind the LAUSD investigation. Nor did investigators reveal the scope or proffer any foundation for the questioning.
“It was patently obvious that LAUSD had used the initial allegations — which had proved meritless — as a pretext to conduct an open-ended investigation, and engage in scurrilous character assassination of Mr. Esquith, and appointed two full-time investigators for this purpose. This experience is shared by hundreds and thousands of other teachers whom LAUSD wanted to (and have) force(d) out under Superintendent Cortines’ regime.
“During the May 27, 2015 hearing, investigators conceded that the ‘initial investigation’ was based on Ms. Hayden’s report. However, the investigators did not state what the current purpose was. When Mr. Esquith responded to questions about teachers who ‘might not like him’, by stating that he is ‘generally supported by tens of millions of teachers throughout the world,’ the investigators responded, ‘the purpose of what we do is to find people who do not like you, not talk to your supporters.’ “
————————————————–
If all of this ever comes to a trial broadcast on TV, that should make for interesting TV viewing.
Thanks Allie for putting this into perspective. This case might even create some black letter law.
Wow. Words fail me. I think I–finally–fully understand the expression “no good deed goes unpunished.”
For further confirmation of this, watch this video trailer / highlights of the longer HOBART SHAKESPEAREANS documentary (directed by Mel Stuart, who also directed WILLY WONKA, the good version with Gene Wilder, not the Johnny Depp atrocity.).
This includes the segment where Rafe teaches and reads aloud from HUCKLEBERRY FINN, specifically the moment where Huck rejects what society and religion (back then) had been compelling him to do… turn in his best friend, the escaped slave Jim:
(go to… 02:44 – 05:50 …
the HUCK FINN read aloud starts at 04:02
the kids tear up at… 04:20… or so)
When you watch this, contrast it with the idiot Barbara Hayden, one of Rafe’s fellow teachers who overheard then reported Rafe quoting another passage in HUCKLEBERRY FIN that included a mention of nudity… and thereby put this whole McCarthy-ist madness in motion. (She’s since emailed Rafe with good wishes, and hopes for his return, but still… )
Or contrast it with the actions of LAUSD “Student Safety Investigative Team” investigators Virgil County and Ray Johnson, who grilled these same kids (well years later, DIFFERENT kids from the ones in the video, but ones from the same class / w/same teacher) in a private room, two adults-on-one-child… without getting the prior permission, or without even informing those kids’ parents before or after the fact…. and without any adult observer present who could look out for the well-being of those kids… and causing some of them to seek mental health counseling as a result of this harrowing interrogation.
Again, this is all in the lawsuit:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2111957-la-school-report-21-pra-response-w-docs-2.html
Mr. Esquith’s lawyer, in the court filings, expresses himself eloquently on all of this:
(PAGES 8-9 of the filing)
Mark Geragos, Esq. : “A despicable and shocking investigation took place. Parents of students in Room 56 (Mr. Esquith’s class) confirm that these students were pulled from class, without parental consent, and grilled by adult-male investigators who made derogatory comments about Mr. Esquith.
” … students actually felt threatened by these LAUSD investigators. Parents of those students collectively complained to LAUSD about the harassing conduct at the hands of these LAUSD investigators. Parents complained that their children were removed from the classroom without parental consent. Parents feared for the health and safety of their children based on the investigators’ tactics.
“At least one student’s mental health was seriously, and medically compromised, by the conduct of these LAUSD investigators. The LAUSD investigators asked students, who had never complained about Mr. Esquith, loaded questions such as whether Mr. Esquith had ever done anything ‘bad,’ or anything that the ‘did not like.’ ”
Regarding the treatment and questions asked of Mr. Esquith, Geragos was equally scathing:
(PAGES 11-14)
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2111957-la-school-report-21-pra-response-w-docs-2.html
Mark Geragos, Esq. : “The May 18th Geragos letter also questioned why Mr. Esquith was being directly contacted by LAUSD on substantive matters when Mr. Esquith was known to be represented by attorneys.
“Indeed, directly contacting a represented party on especially significant matters such as this is highly improper, unethical, and anathema to the law. LAUSD was intentionally avoiding proper legal processes.
“… the questions (that were) asked (of) Mr. Esquith followed no interviewing protocol, or any appropriate or logical line of questioning. Counsel for Mr. Esquith took diligent notes of the questions being asked, which included:
“ ‘Do you know of any teachers who might not like you? If so, who are they?’
“ ‘List the women you dated when you were in college.’ (over 40 years ago!!!)
“ ‘Were you ever counseled for pushing someone when you were a camp counselor at the JCC Jewish Center Summer Camp you worked at when you were a teenager 40 years ago?’
“ ‘Why might teacher X or teacher Y not like your teaching style?’
“ ‘Did you ever buy a student a hamburger off school grounds without first getting permission of the student’s parent? Do you know buying students food is against school policy?’
“ ‘Why don’t you have a backup plan for someone else for someone else to put on the annual Shakespeare performance, in case, for example, you have a heart attack, so it doesn’t have to be cancelled again like it was last year?’
“The questions, all of which would have been objectionable and completely out-of-line in any legitimate legal process, made clear that there was no clear or defined scope, or any legitimate purpose behind the LAUSD investigation. Nor did investigators reveal the scope or proffer any foundation for the questioning.
“It was patently obvious that LAUSD had used the initial allegations — which had proved meritless — as a pretext to conduct an open-ended investigation, and engage in scurrilous character assassination of Mr. Esquith, and appointed two full-time investigators for this purpose. This experience is shared by hundreds and thousands of other teachers whom LAUSD wanted to (and have) force(d) out under Superintendent Cortines’ regime.
“During the May 27, 2015 hearing, investigators conceded that the ‘initial investigation’ was based on Ms. Hayden’s report. However, the investigators did not state what the current purpose was.
“When Mr. Esquith responded to questions about teachers who ‘might not like him’, by stating that he is ‘generally supported by tens of millions of teachers throughout the world,’ the investigators responded,
” ‘The purpose of what we do is to find people who do not like you, not talk to your supporters.’ “
————————————————–
If all of this ever comes to a trial broadcast on TV, Mark Geragos’s cross examination of LAUSD investigators Virgil County and Ray Johnson should make for interesting TV viewing—as these men were not acting in any law enforcement capacity, but were merely bureaucrats from LAUSD’s Human Resource Division.
The same goes for the spectacle of Superintendent Ray Cortines, or LAUSD’s top counsel David Holmquist being put on the stand.
“Cortines the Filler” –with apologies to Neil Young
(“Filler” as in “fill-in/interim superintendent)
He came dancing across the water
With the “Inquest” of the day
Looking for some new dirt
In the District of LA
In the “jail” lay many teachers
With their “trials” and travails
In his halls he often wandered
With the secrets of the mails
His subjects gathered ’round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry Gods to see
The “charges” oft were nebulous
And too-often they were wrong
They offered Rafe in sacrifice
Cuz he wouldn’t go along
Hate was not uncommon
Spite was not unknown
Officials worked together
And they turned o’er every stone
And they whispered to the LA Times
And they spied along the way
And they built up teacher files
That we still can’t see today
He came dancing across the water
Cortines, Cortines
What a filler
Yeah dancing across the water
Cortines, Cortines
What a filler, a filler
He came dancing across the water
Cortines, Cortines
What a filler
I like and respect Rafe Esquith. Why? His tireless and selfless devotion to children. Nothing less than that. I am troubled by what the monster is doing to him. The monster? It is big government. With big government comes Big Bureaucracy and gestapo-like powers.
It is very telling that educational administrative people, who sound the trumpet, “Kids are getting jobbed,” will attempt to execute the greatest teacher we have seen.
Why is this?
Power.
The joke in any prosecutor’s office, among the field of deputies, was “You haven’t proven yourself until you’ve convicted an innocent man.”
This is what big, bureaucratic chieftans in education believe. If you can get a guy like Rafe, then you’ve become powerful. You need to be powerful to make sweeping changes, so it doesn’t matter who the casualties of war are. The end is power by any means. Of course, the fact that the perpetrators are lying hypocrites–people who don’t care about children–never gets the attention it deserves. In the end, who will be with a job? The teachers or the too highly paid managers of education? The managers are only in it for the money, not for children. Don’t ever forget that.
So, where is the government? Why isn’t it protecting individual rights and privacy?
Look around you. This isn’t your father’s government any longer. This isn’t a constitutional republic anymore. We’ve asked for big brother and now we’ve got him. He’s a hungry animal and he eats personal freedoms for his meals.
Yes, we created him.
To NoBrick:
Thank you for your sarcasm.
Here is my reply to your last paragraph;
[start quote]
Linking “self esteem” to mythical self-importance is debilitating.
A broken or injured spirit is NOT beneficial to family, friends, loved
ones, or host.
Back2basic might be learning, you take yourself too seriously.
You are too important in your own mind. You are SO important
(as per the sort and separate) that you feel justified in your anger.
Who would ever guess the greatest obstacle to a free spirit
lies between the ears…
[end quote]
In my own experience and my belief background (Buddhism = Karma), I need to come up with a solution in order to console my own spirit. Yes, I would curse and dam to whoever intentionally abuses his/her power to harm innocent population.
The deep meaning in Karma could not be obviously explained to human naked eyes because we are not capable to read the past in order to acknowledge the ANGER and to define the term of INNOCENCE between the ORIGINAL CHAIN OF causes and effects.
This leads to the theory of FORGIVENESS and the universal law of KARMA.
Although we honor our belief in forgiveness, the old saying of “”good deed return good deed, evil follows evil”” will be true with or without our curse.
Nobody will understand the consequence of his/her bad deed except herself/himself before the DEATH comes to him/her.
As a result the majority of IGNORANT people who love to have a laughter = live in the lap of luxury at the expense of others’ sufferance, will FACE the severe consequence within this life or any upcoming re-incarnated lives.
Your term of “”Free Spirit”” lies between the people’s IGNORANT ears and within their own delusions.
The absolute free spirit ONLY happens within people who have their INNER PEACE.
We might be in catch 22 within the language, but within action and experience, body – mind – spirit will be shown without any doubt.
It is easily said than done to NOT show our anger for any injustice that is inflicted on us, our family members, good friends and community. If we are wise enough, we need to take any PEACEFUL/WISE action to counter and to get justice be done.
Anger will become cancer that kills us slowly. Worst of all, anger can cause heart attack and stroke. Therefore, we do our best to cultivate our heart and mind with breathing technique and detachment of our emotional turmoil.
I have been there and done that. Yes, I have a lot of anger and I had a stroke. Amen. Back2baics
i hear you!
you are very special.
you SEE THROUGH!
SO DO I
I really love you, Susan.
We are the testimonial in this 21st century.
My own example and experience can only be understood by wise people who have endured the injustice.
Even being smart, intelligent,versatile, strong, powerful, and most of all compassionate, people still go through injustice that is thwarted at them in the course of their lives.
Sometimes, I must admit that people need to reflect on sufferance in order to detach easily from impermanent trivialities in life like greed, ego, and lust. May.
HEE, HEE. If sufferance is required than it should be easy for me to detach form trivialities.
Compassionate people do suffer from injustice, because it is so hard for them to comprehend.
Be well, spirit-sister.
I offer a “solution” and you call it sarcasm…
What is the basis of anger, if not the perception of the feedback,
being out of sync, or invalidating , ones perception of self- importance?
My “point” was, ANGER, fueled by a perception of invalidation, harms
the spirit. No more, no less.
By “free spirit” I meant one that is NOT chained to illusions.
Thank you for your clarification, NoBrick.
This is what I call CATCH 22 within the implication of a language, such as illusion versus reality; or perception versus principle
I would agree with you if YOUR word of “”perception”” would be replaced by MY understanding of “”the principle in humanity.””
It is simply that I would not ever be bothered to have an anger towards whatever or whoever has different perception to mine.
However, I would be angry at whatever or whoever claims to be NOBLE human being, but without consideration or respect for humanity.
For example, sugar has bad reputation for diabetes = reality, but sugar is a source of ENERGY for people = illusion. That is perception.
On the other hand, any well known publicists/ educators/ DOE or BOE authorities who enforce HARMFUL/invalid TESTING SCHEME, invade “”the principle of humanity”” BECAUSE THEY INTENTIONALLY DESTROY children’s JOY of learning by cultivating FEAR and causing stress in learning environment.
In short, I thought that you are sarcasm in your expression in
‘””You are too important in your own mind. You are SO important
(as per the sort and separate) that you feel justified in your anger.””
We, both, try to offer “”a solution”’ from our own experience in our way of expression which has language’s implication. This causes my misunderstanding of your expression. Please accept my apology. Back2basic.
m4potw,
OK
“You Should Not Believe Anything Without Thinking
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it AGREES with your own reason and your own common sense.”
“Buddhism maintains that it is not up to others to make us meditate or study. We are responsible for creating our own suffering, and it is solely up to us to create the circumstances for our release.”
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.”
“Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind.”
(My expression: perception)
“Buddhism believes that our external situation is created by our internal minds. This is equally true for our health and the state of our bodies.”
“Interconnectedness is the Nature of Reality.
Buddhism teaches that in an interconnected world, all actions have consequences (karma).”
“good deed return good deed, evil follows evil”
There is NO right way to do the wrong thing. There is no noble way
to sort and separate. It matters NOT, who does it.
Titles, credentials, sort and separate, seek to IGNORE the
interconnectedness.
I have seen the divisions and the damage done. Every divider
is like the setting sun…
Thank you for sharing you wisdom with us. Too bad so many people do not grasp ow this works… and they do hang on to their ‘beliefs’ no matter what evidence to the contrary presents it self, and furthermore, they endeavor to destroy any evidence that contradicts them, and to humiliate , demean and worse, those who refuse to accept their version of observable reality…ie. the truth…. and since the own the media, their nonsense proliferates and the truth is hidden.
Love you, May
What this is REALLY all about…
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/07/17/why-great-teachers-are-fleeing-the-profession/
RAFE ESQUITH (two years ago in the WALL STREET JOURNAL):
(Jul 17, 2013)
“If the system is driving creative teachers to unparalleled levels of frustration, imagine what it’s like for young students getting up in the morning, knowing they face an endless day of rote learning. Many of them now hate school, victims of the tragedy that occurs when real learning is removed from the curriculum.
“But there is hope. Amazing teachers quietly rebel against the current trends of standardization and uniformity. The schools are filled with quiet heroes who superficially play by the rules but insert their best lessons under the radar.
“In my own situation, I will not let the latest Stalinesque five-year plan destroy 30 years of Shakespeare productions with my wonderful fifth graders; you won’t find it in the Core Curriculum, but my students write me letters for decades after they’ve left the school, telling me how important those days in our classroom were in launching them into careers in law, scientific research, education, and the arts. The best teachers will find a way to keep their provocative poetry, challenging research projects, and reading of banned books part of a curriculum that believes such activities irrelevant.
“First-rate educators have areas of expertise and a passion to share them. They have spent decades honing their craft to make lessons exciting. Good teachers get energized fighting the very System that seeks to suck the life out of learning, but imagine if the energy spent steeling their resolve was used to inspire their kids?
“Even students rarely understand what a terrific instructor can mean to a young life at the crossroads of mediocrity and excellence. But it’s possible that a fine teacher will inspire a student to grow to such heights that he will be in power one day and change the very system that threatens great teaching with extinction. Our best teachers entered the profession to help young people find the best in themselves. These heroes are needed by students now more than ever.”
Thank you very much for your advice, NoBrick.
I have learned and absorbed the four principles from Buddha for the past 60 years.
Like the little girl in a video clip re: Teacher Rafe Esquith, she said that it took Rafe to explain 5 times about Shakespeare in order for her to understand and to act properly.
It takes me 60 years to practically live in Buddha’s four principles. I guess that I did not easily to believe in whatever people say, except that I become momentarily and temporarily gullible once in a while in believing in certain person who I deeply adore.
Here are my favorite Buddha’s four principles:
DO NOT quickly believe in the saying from:
1. People with authority, scientific knowledge, and wealth (due to THEIR OWN gain)
2. People with old age, claimed to be a Wise-man (due to HIS LUST for control and power)
3. Any written old testaments (due to it is possibly fake)
4. Any mystery, unfounded truth, and lack of proof of science (due to rumor or legendary).
And my own principle to guide my judgment, as follows:
Don’t we pause a second and think over certain golden rule in certain sector in our society? For example:
1) In the business world, “show me the money” (= DO NOT believe in business people who talk about CARING, for example.)
2) In all professional trades, “show me your experiences”
3) In an academic world, “show me your degree, credential…”
4) In any marriage or partnership, “show me honesty, respect, humor and care”
Back2basic
Dearest my spirit-sister Susie:
It is worth to repeat your expression as follows:
“”…furthermore, they endeavor to DESTROY any evidence that contradicts them, and to HUMILIATE , DEMEAN and worse, those who refuse to accept their version of observable reality…ie. the truth…. and since the own the media, their nonsense proliferates and THE TRUTH IS HIDDEN.”””
However, my spirit-sister, thanks to God’s bless that all conscientious human beings’ brain is the absolute DIAMOND’s character that definitely pierces through all vicious minds.
I can sum up in one simple sentence: “”all true, courageous, and conscientious educators will NEVER be fooled or intimidated by devilish actions or policy.””
I hope that it is not too late to say thanks for your generosity to accept me as your spirit- sister in this life. We must have known each other from other previous lives on earth.
I believe in FREE SPIRIT that always floats in the air and it pulls and binds all similar minds together. That is how all 23 millions of viewers from different backgrounds are attracted to Dr. Ravitch’s PRINCIPLE in promoting, preserving, and fighting for the quality of Public Education = the spirit of true DEMOCRACY = mutual understanding = mutual appreciation of differences = mutual respect = giving a helping hand to one another re: wisdom, knowledge, and experience without monetary involvement. I always admire your courage and sufferance from the injustice = I ADMIRE YOUR WISDOM. Love. May.