Teacher Reminds Students of Their Rights, Gets Disciplined

[XLFD]

Last week, Lois Lerner, the IRS Director of Exempt Organizations, used her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions relating to what could be criminal activities conducted in her public service involving specifically targeting 'conservative/libertarian-organizations'.  As of yet, she has incurred no disciplinary procedures.

A social study teacher advises his kids that they have the right against self-incrimination in admitting to drug and/or alcohol use on a survey with their names on them, and is immediately disciplined for unprofessional conduct. 

 

John Dryden

The usually quiet Illinois suburb west of Chicago known as Batavia, is the center of some controversy following a well-intentioned warning a social studies/civics teacher gave to his students.  In a nutshell, teacher John Dryden found a survey in his inbox that the administrators of his school sent to him asking, among other things, about alcohol and drug use.  The surveys had the student's names preprinted on it, meaning that their own personal alcohol use, drug use, and other private information could be directly linked to them individually.  Dryden had orders to distribute the surveys that very day.

 

Mindful that he had just covered a unit on the Bill of Rights, mindful that his school employed a police officer, and mindful that the survey's confidentiality was not guaranteed, John Dryden did what any social studies teacher should have done, and warned them of their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination before the students were handed the surveys.  He now has been sternly warned by the school's administration and  faces disciplinary procedures for doing so: he was given a "letter of remedy" over alleged unprofessional conduct.

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The public school district has declined FOIA requests to let the blank surveys be seen publicly, saying lamely that the survey is "proprietary business information."  They did provide the script the teachers were to read to students, which never said taking the survey was optional or mandatory.  The surveys have already been used by the school to determine whether school staff should intervene to help some students (the purported purpose of the survey)-- those supposedly who did not heed or receive Mr. Dryden's warning.   

 

A former student of Dryden's that graduated in 2002, impressed then and now with Dryden's integrity, has started a petition to show support for this embattled teacher.  If you feel the same way about this hands-on instructor practicing what he teaches please sign:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/927/122/050/defend-and-support-educa...

 

 

Here's the original story from Chicago's Daily Herald:  http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130525/news/705259921/

[XLFD]

UPDATE:  "The Batavia school board Tuesday disciplined high school teacher John Dryden, saying he had "mischaracterized" the intentions of teachers and administrators when he advised students they had the right not to incriminate themselves, before administering a survey about risky behavior.

Only one board member, Jon Gaspar, voted "no." He declined to specify why he voted that way, other than to say it was due to his "feelings."

 Dryden will receive a letter of remedy, which outlines certain actions he must do or face more consequences. Superintendent Jack Barshinger declined to specify what the remedies are, asking instead that reporters request the document via Freedom of Information Act requests...

Barshinger said there was no Fifth Amendment issue, for several reasons. Once students' names were on them, he said, they would have become student records and subject to student privacy laws. And students cannot incriminate themselves because, even if the district shared the information with police, police can't prosecute based on that, he said. They are only allowed to arrest students if they are harming other students, such as in a fight, or if the student is in possession of drugs or alcohol, Barshinger said.

Board president Cathy Dremel, speaking on behalf of the board, said Dryden "mischaracterized" the efforts of fellow teachers and administrators, some of who had worked on a committee for a year to find a survey instrument that would assess students' risky behavior.

"The board will not support any employees giving students false impressions about those who come here every day" to work for their best interests, she said.

Dryden met with the board in closed session for at least an hour. He was not there when the board voted."

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130529/news/705299912/

This is why good teachers throw in the towel.  Brain-dead school boards who have no clue as to what are the rights of their students and their teachers, putting all that education money into surveys and 'intervention' efforts, to infringe on parent's rights as well.  If I was in Batavia, I would be getting my kids out of that school ASAP.

[Willy]

Even though I agree with Mr. Dryden it wasn't his place to tell the students what to do. He should have contacted the parents who then would make that decision as to what their kids should do.

[XLFD]

That may be a good cause, but Mr. Dryden only saw that the survey was being administered that day with student's names attached.  He noted that normally he would have brought this to the attention of the administration and/or parents, but this was kind of snuck in on him at the last minute.  it looks as if there were communication problems between all parties in this fiasco.