Teachers talk back to critics
Guard hubbub persists
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA — Maine Army National Guard officials said Friday they've heard no complaints about students with military parents being harassed by teachers since the Department of Education commissioner issued a statement abhorring such treatment earlier this week.
"Hopefully," said Public Affairs Director Maj. Peter Rogers, "this issue has been put to bed."
According to Maine's school officials, however, the issue is far from being asleep.
Some educators said they are angry about the way Maine's teachers have been castigated as unpatriotic by conservative talk-show hosts since the incident made national news Thursday.
Other public school officials said they were shocked by the thought of teachers criticizing students because of their parents' military affiliation.
Some of them question the validity of the Guard's allegations.
"It seems an awful lot is being made of this without any specifics," said School Administrative District 11 Superintendent Jack Mara. "Usually, (superintendents) hear about these things very quickly, and I haven't heard of anything specific ... To me, that's suspicious."
The Maine Army National Guard said Thursday it has received a dozen reports of teachers making offensive anti-war comments to elementary and middle school students after Guard members were called to active duty.
The incidents were reported at family assistance meetings in Portland, Bangor and Augusta. Guard officials went public with the complaints a day after Education Commissioner J. Duke Albanese sent a memorandum to superintendents and principals across the state, urging them to be more sensitive to children of military families.
Rogers said the Guard will not release the names of the teachers accused of making inappropriate statements to students because it does not want children caught in the middle of a political debate among adults.
He 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."
Rogers said the families involved have told him they prefer to handle the situation on their own.
"(The National Guard is) not interested in pointing fingers and getting anyone in to trouble," he said. "We wanted the (harassment) stopped, and it looks like that has happened."
Keith Harvie, spokesman for the Maine Education Association, said some of the incidents resulting in complaints did not involve direct student-teacher interaction.
Harvie said he's heard that some of the complaints have originated from debates between students in social studies classes.
"What I'm hearing anecdotally," he said, "is that there are a variety of complaints about fellow students."
Mara said from Gardiner that the reason teachers receive the blame for offensive or out-of-control debates in their classroom — rather than the students instigating them — is that educators "have a responsibility to to make sure classroom debate is appropriate, and that kids are respectful of each other's opinions."
He said that even if some of the allegations are true, teachers throughout the state should not be held accountable for the actions of a few.
"It's kind of unfair to see (teachers) characterized in a way that may not be accurate," he said. "It's very easy to jump on a bandwagon that might not be well-founded."
School Administrative District 47 Superintendent James Morse said he had a conversation Friday with a teacher who was "astounded" that negative comments about military personnel were made by a Maine educator.
"It is not even within the realm of our imagination," he said.
Morse said he thinks it's unfair that Maine's teachers have been characterized as "unpatriotic" since the incident made national news this week.
"If a small, small minority of teachers are saying anything inappropriate, it hardly represents the whole set of teachers," Morse said. "This is one of the most patriotic states in the union.
"Rush (Limbaugh) doesn't know what he's talking about when he's talking about Maine."
Morse, whose son is a lieutenant in the Army, said he has not received any complaints about teachers "taking pot shots" at children of military families or National Guard members.
Any complaint would result in an investigation into the context in which the alleged inflammatory statement was made, he said.
Other superintendents agreed.
"I would have to conduct an investigation and sit down with the teacher and have them explain the context of the statement," Mara said.
Most superintendents said although they're upset about the storm of criticism that has followed the allegations, they don't think the Guard meant to criticize the state's teachers when it publicized the complaints.
"I was pleased to see a high-ranking Guard member say on the news that this was not indicative of teachers in this state," said Waterville Superintendent of Schools Eric L. Haley.
Rogers said the Guard never meant to call the level of patriotism of Maine's educators into question when it originally voiced its concerns.
"We have nothing but respect for the teachers," he said. "We have many Guard members in the education field."
uf shirtNlbert Aull-623-3811 ext. 433
eaull@centralmaine.com