...And That Rhymes With "P" and that Stands for Pool!
"Mr. Wales, it seems we must take back that job offer we extended last week."
"Why?"
"We've had a policy change since that time." The lady digs through a stack of papers, looking for something.
"A policy change?"
"Yes. It's your criminal record, Mr. Wales."
"What criminal record?"
"It seems you have had a speeding ticket."
And with that, the Katy ISD is now closed to me. What job was I denied? School bus driver? Handicapped bus driver? Riding mower operator? No. I wanted to work as a substitute teacher.
I am a civil defense attorney and have had time on my hands lately due to tort reform. And with two children in the Katy ISD, I thought I might educate myself about the district from the inside.
And it's not as if I were unprepared for the classroom. Before law school I spent an entire year substitute teaching in a Houston-area school district. Then I became a full-time teacher and taught 12th-grade English for seven years in another local district. In addition to Who's Who books for college and graduate students, my name is listed in Who's Who Among Teachers for three different years. I know something about education. I've published works in various scholarly journals, and know something about research and writing. Further, I have coached various UIL activities and worked extensively with youth and parents in several churches. I have always had a good rapport with teenagers and thought it might be fun to get back into the classroom for a while. I would enjoy making teachers' absences something more than a total loss. And, though it may seem otherwise, students appreciate a good substitute. But, darn that life of crime.
Of course, there is only one ticket on my record, after driving over 40,000 miles this year. Nor is a speeding ticket proof of guilt; it's merely an allegation. I'll soon take defensive driving and even the allegation will disappear. But it makes no difference to Katy ISD.
What if I had applied to teach in a full-time capacity? The policy applies to teaching applicants as well. But why? Is the district tired of being inundated by qualified job applicants? Do they just hope to shrink the pool? Or do they actually consider a minor traffic violation proof of some sort of moral insufficiency? I have seen a student body buzz with discussion of two teachers living together. And then there was the newly-divorced teacher who seduced the spouse of another teacher, and the administrator who left his wife for the volleyball coach. Were any of these faculty members even questioned? No, but then--such things, regardless of their potential impact on students, are legal. I broke the law--or rather, it is alleged that I broke it.
But in my defense, I'm a Sunday school teacher and a deacon. I've been with the same lovely lady for 20 years. I am a certified teacher, a licensed attorney, a parent and Katy tax payer (see my bill for $1,500 this month!). I have never been arrested or charged with anything worse than speeding, not even as a minor. In fact, I am such a "straight arrow" all my friends make fun of me. But to the bureaucratic eyes of Katy I.S.D. (insiders had told me it was going downhill fast) I am already guilty. If the district had complained about a DWI--now that, I could understand. But I don't even drink. Yet, I am not qualified to work in the district because of a speeding ticket.
And people wonder why Johnny Can't Read.
Please post any comments here.
"Why?"
"We've had a policy change since that time." The lady digs through a stack of papers, looking for something.
"A policy change?"
"Yes. It's your criminal record, Mr. Wales."
"What criminal record?"
"It seems you have had a speeding ticket."
And with that, the Katy ISD is now closed to me. What job was I denied? School bus driver? Handicapped bus driver? Riding mower operator? No. I wanted to work as a substitute teacher.
I am a civil defense attorney and have had time on my hands lately due to tort reform. And with two children in the Katy ISD, I thought I might educate myself about the district from the inside.
And it's not as if I were unprepared for the classroom. Before law school I spent an entire year substitute teaching in a Houston-area school district. Then I became a full-time teacher and taught 12th-grade English for seven years in another local district. In addition to Who's Who books for college and graduate students, my name is listed in Who's Who Among Teachers for three different years. I know something about education. I've published works in various scholarly journals, and know something about research and writing. Further, I have coached various UIL activities and worked extensively with youth and parents in several churches. I have always had a good rapport with teenagers and thought it might be fun to get back into the classroom for a while. I would enjoy making teachers' absences something more than a total loss. And, though it may seem otherwise, students appreciate a good substitute. But, darn that life of crime.
Of course, there is only one ticket on my record, after driving over 40,000 miles this year. Nor is a speeding ticket proof of guilt; it's merely an allegation. I'll soon take defensive driving and even the allegation will disappear. But it makes no difference to Katy ISD.
What if I had applied to teach in a full-time capacity? The policy applies to teaching applicants as well. But why? Is the district tired of being inundated by qualified job applicants? Do they just hope to shrink the pool? Or do they actually consider a minor traffic violation proof of some sort of moral insufficiency? I have seen a student body buzz with discussion of two teachers living together. And then there was the newly-divorced teacher who seduced the spouse of another teacher, and the administrator who left his wife for the volleyball coach. Were any of these faculty members even questioned? No, but then--such things, regardless of their potential impact on students, are legal. I broke the law--or rather, it is alleged that I broke it.
But in my defense, I'm a Sunday school teacher and a deacon. I've been with the same lovely lady for 20 years. I am a certified teacher, a licensed attorney, a parent and Katy tax payer (see my bill for $1,500 this month!). I have never been arrested or charged with anything worse than speeding, not even as a minor. In fact, I am such a "straight arrow" all my friends make fun of me. But to the bureaucratic eyes of Katy I.S.D. (insiders had told me it was going downhill fast) I am already guilty. If the district had complained about a DWI--now that, I could understand. But I don't even drink. Yet, I am not qualified to work in the district because of a speeding ticket.
And people wonder why Johnny Can't Read.
Please post any comments here.
posted by S. at
5:32 PM
4 Comments:
Just a note to say, after I insisted the Katy ISD provide me "a written copy of the language putting this policy into effect," (this was merely research before sending the post above to the Houston Chronicle and etc.) my application was reconsidered and I was asked to come back and fill-in the 'New Hire' paper work. They said I was given wrong information....
By
S., at 10:54 PM, December 15, 2005
'Turns out, the whole thing was part of a temporary "crack-down" in response to the well-publicized arrest of a coach found lurking (peeping) outside the bedroom of one of his female students.
By
S., at 10:18 PM, December 18, 2005
I am glad to see that you were given the appropriate reconsideration. I was your student in honors English in high school and can personally attest to your character and ability to inspire as a teacher. I considered the profession myself for a brief while and was very disheartened by all of the 'red tape' I would have to wade through (and no doubt continue to contend with as a teacher).
I also understand this is a rather old post, so are you teaching now? (I would feel tremendously better about having my own kids and keeping them in Katy ISD if I knew they stood a chance of having you as their educator, even if for a single class.)
By
Anonymous, at 6:39 AM, June 17, 2008
Wow, Lauren. What a nice comment. (I know who you are, :-) but your last name will be our little secret.)
I haven't looked at this post in two years--I'd completely forgotten the whole thing. But it's great to hear from you. Lately I've been thinking of changing this blog so that it would be entirely anonymous. But then I would miss the ocassional visit from people like you.
Send me an e-mail and I'll answer the other questions: stevendwales@gmail.com
By
S., at 9:27 AM, June 17, 2008
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