The Cupertino Courier

Letters & Opinions

Students deserve decisions devoid of politics

By Carol Bogart

Hard to know, isn't it, who's really in the wrong at Monta Vista High School?

On the one hand, there's the popular teacher who feels forced out. On the other, a dad who says the teacher, some years back, wrongly accused his daughter of cheating.

If the teacher, before he got a little experience under his belt, misinterpreted what the girl was doing or, worse, was just in the mood to throw his classroom weight around, that's bad. Any parent would come to the defense of a child in such a situation, knowing what a black mark being accused of cheating leaves on a child's permanent academic record.

Conversely, if the dad--now president of the school board--and mom, a guidance counselor at the high school, used their combined clout to get a rightful cheating demerit overturned, then that was wrong. Whether you're a teacher with a captive classroom of vulnerable students or a board member with the pull to stand in the way of a talented teacher's desired promotion, misusing your authority is unethical and unfair. When it's a child who's hurt, it is also cruel.

So who's at fault here? That the teacher in question went on to become a hero of sorts to students he mentored is obvious from the outpouring of support he received from student leaders who brought their complaint to the board, and to the Courier.

The dad/board president insists the cheating allegation had nothing to do with the teacher not getting the job he wanted. The teacher just wasn't qualified, he said.

It seems the teacher wanted to work in the counseling office, alongside the mom of the girl accused of cheating.

That he had a way with students is evident from the anguish expressed by those unhappy he's gone. A guidance counselor's job is bigger, though, than lending a sympathetic ear. There are all those fall class schedules to keep straight, for one thing.

So, as thoroughly steeped in confidentiality as student and personnel records are, it's not possible to know whether, seven years ago, the administration was leaned on to reject the cheating charge.

If there was zero smoke to that old fire and the teacher in question is one who accuses a child of cheating without being certain that it's so, why was he still teaching?

Or was he just trying to hold all students to the same standard and for that got burned? Either way, the district should proceed with an investigation, to determine whether all teachers and all students are treated as fairly as the truth allows.

Carol Bogart is the new editor of the Cupertino Courier. Contact her at cbogart@community-newspapers.com or call 408.200.1055.