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J. Clarke[_2_]

In article ,
says...

DGDevin wrote:

Or because there are complaints against them which might or might not
mean they are incompetent to teach and they are benched while their
case crawls through the system. The ones who are incompetent should
be dismissed IMO, the unions need to be backed off of their position
on that issue one way or another. But even union members are
entitled to a fair hearing to determine if they really did something
wrong or just ****ed off some kids and their parents say by enforcing
discipline.

And just why are they "entitled" to a fair hearing? My state is an
"employment at will" state which means a private employer may dismiss any
employee for any (or no) reason. In the case of teachers, if they can quit
without a "fair hearing" why should the school district not be entitled to
the same discretion?

While an employer may dismiss any employee for any reason by _law_ that
does not mean that he can dismiss a union employee "for any reason" by
_contract_. Understand, there are four parties in a union firing--the
employee, the employer, the union, and the state. And the union can
ruin an employer's day just as thoroughly as the state can, in some
cases more so.

Or do you think teachers who discipline disruptive
students should just be fired if the parents file a complaint?

That's a tough call.

On the one hand, "It's my school and if I want to whip a student, it's my
right to do so!"

On the other hand, parents generally have no choice as to which school they
can send their kids - the government school is the only one available.
Further, the law mandates school attendance.

The call is really "did the teacher act according to the disciplinary
rules that he or she has been provided by her employer". If so and if
the rules do not require an unlawful act or one that might constitutie
"cruel and unusual punishment", then the teacher shouldn't be fired for
following the rules no matter how much the parent objects.

"It's my school and I can do what I want to" would apply only to a
private school that is actually owned by the teacher, in which case
firing is not an option--you can't make someone fire themselves as far
as I know, however litigation or criminal charges might be depending on
the specific act.