Randy Turner was suspended not for his Huffington Post article but for his book. This is why teachers need tenure: Academic freedom.
He sent this comment:
“Thanks for the kind words from everyone. My suspension coming at almost exactly the same time as my Huffington Post blog was a coincidence. Basically, it happened because I wrote a novel, No Child Left Alive, criticizing many of the practices in education today, particularly those done by overambitious administrators. I just finished posting the charges against me on my blog: http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-joplin-school-districts-charges.html
Diane Ravitch's blog 
MEXICO TEACHERS GO ON RAMPAGE OVER EDUCATION REFORMS !!!
this is what we need to do in this country!!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/10017455/Mexico-teachers-riot-over-education-reforms.html
LikeLike
Holy cow! Teachers in this country won’t even go on a picket line. What would teachers in Mexico do if they go treated like Randy Turner?
LikeLike
¡Viva la lucha!
LikeLike
Thank you, Communist Teacher! I had seen something about this going on earlier and forgot to send it to Diane. Incredible! And, DeeDee, I love your comment below, as well. All too true. Yesterday, we had an outdoor pension rally, information about which had been widely circulated. Out of all the active & retired teachers in the surrounding area, only 75 showed up. No one was forced to speak, and no one could have gotten into any kind of trouble for coming (it was in the evening, after school). Even the weather was decent.
Since this blog is so widely read–I have to say it–each and EVERY one of us needs to get together and march on Washington, D.C.–not just the 1,000, the 3,000 (whatever the first S.O.S. March was)–not 10,000 or 30,000–100,000. No–one MILLION. That’s right–the MILLION Man, Woman and Children for Public Education March. In the meantime, do it in your cities, in your states. Numbers cannot be ignored.
LikeLike
Due to those persecuting Randy Turner, now there will be a great deal of attention paid to his blog and his book. I don’t think this is what they had in mind. Oops.
LikeLike
Perhaps that is what HE had in mind…
LikeLike
Diane, … Please give us your take… Does the fact that is was not the Huff Post essay change your mind here? I personally am confused… He certainly has pushed the boundaries of what a Middle School teacher should do with his students…. Personally, I am not comfortable with the sex in the book being so close to find for 12 year olds…. I was drawn to this story by the initial Huuf Post link, but on closer, further reading, … there are some creepy angles…
LikeLike
This guy doesn’t understand he has no rights at all as a public school teacher. Once you are the target of an administrator, that administrator will get rid of you, even if you “win” a rigged hearing.
LikeLike
I think that teachers have the same First Amendment rights as non-teachers.
LikeLike
If you google Randy Turner and his No Child Left Alive, you will find several links that will perhaps be informative.
LikeLike
have not read the book but seems in any other industry even if its
fiction if you write a book whaling on your system or your ” company” you are not treated kindly as a rule. often treated as mutiny which we all know the punishment for from literature, whether your story is an accurate portrayal of how things are or not. second point if there is sex of any kind in this fiction and it is being promoted to young children of 12 by their teacher it crosses a line which should be obvious to someone in charge of kids. And if it is not obvious as creepy or inappropriate, then this is the atitude display which lacks a proper boundary and makes parents uncomfortable leaving their children in this teachers care all day. Common sence and field awareness are important and lack there of exhibited by an authority figure where children are concerned is cause for suspicion by parents and administrators who both would bear the brunt of a potential injury or lawsuit. this opinion is from a business owner and parent, take it or leave it.
LikeLike
Right on! And I did read it. Attempted rape in the school hallway. School shootings. Obvious similarities between the characters in the book and those who work for that district.
LikeLike
Not to play a sematic game. but K-12 teachers do NOT have “tenure”; they only have the same civil service protections as other public employees like police officers and fire personnel. They only have a right to a bogus hearing rigged heavily in a school district’s favor. They do NOT have “academic freedom”–that and real tenure is the province of postsecondary teachers. They do not have the right to a lifetime job, which is what tenure actually is after a long, arduous process in colleges and universities and is determined by a committee.
I know K-12 teachers like to believe they are the same as those in colleges and universities, but their circumstances are not identical, not even close.
I know from personal experience how easy it is to get fired in K-12–administrators can literally make garbage up about a teacher and railroad them out of their jobs. They usually take a severance deal–called a “settlement” and a “resignation”–rather than go through the sham hearings.
If this guy isn’t sacked, he will be. Once you are targeted by a school district, it is almost impossible to salvage one’s career.
LikeLike
Susan, I want to agree and disagree with your points:
I agree that teachers do not have tenure, in the sense that college teachers do. What teachers have is due process, similar to what other government employees have. Once they get “permanent status” they cannot be easily dismissed, but neither can the city librarian or police officer. I also agree that many teachers are “encouraged” to resign when pushed to do so by administrators.
However, I disagree that it is “easy” for a K-12 teacher to get fired. During my 42 years of teaching I saw many instances of administrators who tried to make life miserable for teachers, but when the teachers fought back, they almost always won, provided they didn’t do anything illegal (like committing a felony). In fact my own mantra was “Two can play the game.” By that I meant a teacher can make life miserable for administrators as well and many teachers did. The trick was to complain to agencies outside of the district, to file grievances or to organize parents or teachers to take a stand against the administrator. Believe me, I saw more administrators fired than teachers.
Of course, what I have just said only applies to teachers with permanent status. Teachers in general are very kind people and most do not want to fight, even when they are attacked. But when they do fight, they often win.
LikeLike
LJ,
I am glad that your experience has been different than Susan’s as mine is more in line with hers. I’ve seen a number of teachers railroaded out, not at my current district but at my former, with myself being one. Lies, false charges, impossible demands like telling the teacher that they had to speak with a parent every time a student didn’t have an assignment complete (talking about secondary where the teacher had over 120 beginning algebra students, nah they never miss having completed an assignment) so that they could be considered insubordinate. I left when the principal tried to have an assistant file false sexual harassment charges against me (fortunately she resisted, she’s the only administrator I’ve dealt with that I truly trust).
But I won’t leave voluntarily again without a knock-down drag out fight.
LikeLike
Duane, I also so many teachers pushed out. My point was that these teachers did not fight back. For the most part, the teachers who fought back prevailed. One teacher at my school was almost fired on trumped-up charges but one of the teachers intervened by reporting the abuse to the board of education. The teacher kept her job and the principal was dismissed because she lied in order to get rid of the teacher.
LikeLike
I’m contacting Randy, I will gladly pay for an autographed copy of his book.
LikeLike
It is only available on kindle and amazon as a digital book.
LikeLike
probably should have researched Turner before first commenting, however i was not disappointed after doing so. while teacher rights seem to be the priority of most comments here , there seems to be a bit of a window open here for parents. Mr Turner is a 14 year newspaper journalist prior to teaching and has maintained an outside career of writing books and writing for Huffpo among perhaps others. ( reference another recent post here about (NPR) complicit journalists in political pockets and funded by educrats)looking over his copy at Huffpo and his stereotypical Right bashing and Dear Mr. president letters his political fervor and past vitae suggest his opinion is rather narrow and it is obvious to me why he has gotten so much joy out of teaching. especially those in the zone of proximal development who can be influenced easily by a super cool teacher, who writes hipster books, with salty scenes.
this is the divorce from reality of some teachers that i see coming through this blog with comments that seem to or wish to eradicate parents for control of their children. Like they are entitled, like Melissa Harris Perry’s lean forward msnbc spot. you think this is paranoid? there are plenty of teachers who are horrified by these boundry crossings and atitudes. moral relativism. and for every parent that takes a hard look at the common core scene on display, reads up on the ed history, looks at the players and then goes to talk to the school there is another voice against this political highjacking of our children, by opinionated journalists cum teachers, influenced in college by ayers types pushing radical transformational education in secret, the frankfurt school rainbow pushers. shhhhh, dont let parents know, shhhh, don’t show parents tests….. sorry, no sympathy. nobody should get a free pass for life.
LikeLike
WOW. If he was fired for being “immoral” the we should probably get rid of almost all poiticians for what they say and do.
LikeLike
Nobody wants to know about their children’s teachers sexlife, fantasy, reality,literary, whatever because it crosses the creepy line. I don,t want any adult sharing anything sexual with my child, directly or indirectly. His writing is public and like it or not it reveals private details about him that people are uncomfortable with regarding his presence with children. His choice to have a duel career, one expressing his thoughts and creations in public for judgement. Just like politicians who voluntarily join the public sphere, ya get bricks thrown at you. society does hold sacred its children this means their bodies and their minds, like it or not. Fortunatly politicians are not alone in a room full of children 5 days a week and we can vote them out.
LikeLike
“Toward the top of page two, the charges say, “The book, No Child Left Alive, written by Mr. Turner, contains the following sexually explicit and violent passages;” I do not intend to repeat those. I have never said there is not sex in the book. It was never intended for young readers, which is why it is the only book I have written under my real name, instead of Randy, the name I go by.”
This is from Mr. turner’s blog. The whole issue is on a blog he created for his students and former students to have discussions contained a link to an article where he asked his readers to download and discuss this book. His students are only 12-14 years old.
Do you want your child’s teacher to introduce adult material to them without the knowledge or approval of the school or you? (I don’t think the link was intentional and the guy hasn’t been fired and he will be able to state his side at a hearing. The district isn’t running some sort of power trip here.)
LikeLike
@Joplin and francescawood
If feel as though you are commenting as a right wing conservative who wants to get rid of great teachers such as Turner. Or Joplin possibly operating as a wing of the Joplin Schools administration. Currently, I am on a Joplin R-8 owned school computer, and have access to the Turner Report. The Turner Report was never meant to be a discussion piece with students, it utilizes the skills of Turner and his years of reporting in the area. It must be part of the district “blowing smoke” if it is as bad as they say, they would have it blocked much like they do local TV news (what a joke.) My point here is I have access to much worse than the Turner Report on district computers, and their are no repercussions. I agree with Diane in the fact that Turner has the protected right to be able to publish a book like No Child Left Alive, and the district has no business in how it is written or distributed.
LikeLike