Case in point: Here in central Florida, Randolph Ray and Megan Caldwell are learning that you shouldn't try to pick up a prostitute when you also happen to be assistant principals. Randolph is the assistant principal at University High School and Megan is an assistant principal at Pinewood Elementary. According to police, Randolph offered an undercover officer posing as a prostitute $10 for a blowjob, and Meagan offered $20 to watch.
If these people were, say, a gas station clerk and a waitress, you'd never hear about them. Instead they've been on the news for two days straight. This surprises people? They're assistant principals. All they do is punish people all day. You can't tell me there's not some lingering S&M fantasy going on.
The Story is Here
Ironically, they could have probably have found someone on a personals website to do this for them for free and just have stayed out of trouble. Or could they? Because by being in education, I'm sure there would still be moral outrage if someone found out that two assistant principals were surfing the web for sex. It doesn't matter that what they actually did--although illegal--had nothing to do with students. Just the fact that they interact with kids freaks people out and warrants news coverage. Because teachers are supposed to be, you know, not kinky. In fact, I don't think we're supposed to have sex at all. It's in the contract.
Just living up to that moral standing made me paranoid when I was teaching middle school. I'd come home to parties thrown by roommates and there would be drunk 16 year-olds present. My roomies didn't not get my concern, were probably relieved when I moved out, but I could not get this headline out of my head: LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER HAS DRUNKEN BASH WITH STUDENTS. It didn't matter that they weren't my students. It didn't matter that I hadn't given them the alcohol. I am a teacher, therefore responsible.
I can't tell you what a relief it is to be out of the public school system and be able to say whatever I want. Except that, even now, as I'm typing this, I'm thinking "man, I hope none of my former students find this site. I could probably get in trouble for that, too."
There are so many problems in education, so many problems that should make the news: discipline and saftey and staffing and funding and racism and, I don't know, teachers that babysit their kids with Disney films every day. But they don't. What makes the news are two assistant principals trying to get some.
Randolph, Meagan, you screwed up. You should know better than to pick up a prostitute. You spent all that time suspending students and now you're suspended. Without pay. Sorry, couldn't resist.
I just wish the media would pay a bit more attention to the schools instead of to people's private lives, and, right now, I bet Randolph and Meagan do, too.