Spokane7
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September 23, 2010 in City
Shadle Park teacher to return
District disciplines Read for lying about classroom practices
A Shadle Park High School teacher put on leave for handing out the lyrics of a rap song with off-color language will return to the classroom on Monday.
But Brad Read, an English teacher, will be docked 19 days’ pay and he has signed a “last chance” agreement that will remain in place for the rest of his career with Spokane Public Schools.
“I regret any disruption this has caused,” Read said when contacted at home by phone. “I look forward to getting back into the classroom.”
The district’s investigation revealed that not only did Read distribute the lyrics to “Commencement Day,” which contained profane terms for sexual intercourse and defecation, but the teacher also lied about a profanity-filled George Carlin video he played for the class, according to a district document.
According to the Suspension Without Pay and Last Chance Agreement document, Read initially lied about fast-forwarding through “a majority” of the profanity in Carlin’s “American Dream” video.
Read, a veteran teacher, eventually admitted to officials he was lying and said he was trying to “engage” his students’ “reality” and make school interesting, according to the documents.
District investigators determined that the teacher’s actions, along with issues that arose last year when he used his district e-mail to work in support of the Envision Spokane Community Bill of Rights initiative that failed, could justify his termination.
However, “you admitted your lies … offered to make an apology to any parent who reported a concern … demonstrated an extreme and genuine remorse with regard to offending individuals in the school community” and “offered to provide daily lesson plans to your principal listing any supplemental materials you might use,” the documents state.
Among the 10 items listed in the “last chance” agreement, Read must admit his wrongdoing, never lie during any district investigation and always have supplemental materials approved. Failure to follow the terms of the agreement can result in termination, officials said.
“Mr. Read’s response to the allegations and the district’s reasoning behind the discipline imposed are both clearly outlined in the discipline letter that Mr. Read received,” wrote Assistant Superintendent Staci Vesneske in an e-mail. “Both parties believe that it is a fair resolution given the circumstances as a whole.”
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eagleproducer on September 23 at 9:16 a.m.
Where is the Spokane Education Association on this issue? Or any union members? We are FORCED to pay for membership and it appears we’ll get little in return except our monies being used to fun political campaigns that most of us don’t agree with. Then when we need the union they hide like the cowards they are instead of making the district honor their contract with this teacher.
They can’t create special conditions for him to work under. Either fire him or leave him alone and let the chips fall where they may. I can’t believe Brad agreed to this stipulation. It opens the door for any student/parent to complain about anything, and he’s out the door.
Those running the good ship Mayflower win again. Loosen the buckles on those shoes, Pilgrims.
eagleproducer on September 23 at 9:23 a.m.
I hope the parent who complained about this feels vindicated. You just cost a father thousands of dollars that would’ve gone towards responsibly raising his children while teaching them that words, no matter their social acceptance, gain meaning within the context they are used.
misjustice on September 23 at 9:31 a.m.
This will be permanent mark on his record? In place for the rest of the time that he works in the district? Wow! Talk about harsh.
I can only imagine what the district would have done if he’d actually done something wrong.
Itsgodswill on September 23 at 1:02 p.m.
2 “strikes” and he’s out? What happened to the 3rd strike?! I wouldn’t even consider this a strike, so I think they went a little overboard with the punishment. I have a feeling that the public outcry had something to do with this. Unfortunately, it seems that he didn’t have much of a choice but to return with the stipulations.
Anyways, I suppose we should be happy that he’s being allowed to return. But it’s a shame that he’s probably going to be closely monitored, at least for a while.
eagleproducer on September 23 at 1:44 p.m.
godswill: I would assume his self-monitoring will be what causes a further disservice to his students.
Funny that his “leave” was only 19 days. Once a substitute reaches twenty straight days in the same assignment the district has to pay them as if they were on contract, complete with benefits. So not only do they screw the teacher out of promised pay they screw the substitute out of thousands of dollars as well by ending the “leave” once day prior to being eligible for full pay.
Ed Byrnes on September 23 at 3:19 p.m.
So our schools are agencies of social control rather than of education and critical thinking.
If my tone suggests disgust with the district that is because I am disgusted. I don’t one or two uptight parents limiting what my children can be exposed to, especially when it leads them to think independently, which is what I want them to do given the plethora of decisions they will be faced with in school and in life beyond school. Those offended parents can do what I do and actually engage their kids in conversations, which is what I must regularly do when my sons ask to discuss much of the fundamentalist nonsense that passes for ideas around here. Of course I am assuming those parents capacity for dialogue rather than diatribe.
H.L. Mencken was right when he said governments are against liberty.
ghslaw1201 on September 23 at 4:34 p.m.
I would tend to agree that those are harsh consequences; trusting that he was attempting to impart wisdom or invoke thought. I tend to think that there may be more behind this than possibly meets the eye…
misjustice on September 23 at 6:55 p.m.
Read the linked pdf document, Michaela, and you’ll get the gist of what this is really about…
eagleproducer on September 26 at 8:57 a.m.
I didn’t read the .pdf attached to this story. It’s unfortunate Brad wasn’t forthcoming from the start in this situation and felt the need to not reveal the entire truth. This sets a bad example for his students. They must learn that if you decide to make a stand that might cause a controversy, but you do it anyway because it is the right thing to do, be prepared for the consequences and defend your actions with truthful representations of what happened. If you lie about it the appearance is you don’t even think it was appropriate.
I’m very disappointed with Brad, not because of his decision to challenge his students, but for lying about it when confronted by district officials. His apologies should also be extended to his fellow educators.
The_Spovangelist on November 25 at 8:09 p.m.
Since Brad Read has effectively and unfairly been muzzled for the rest of his teaching career, I will say freely what I think of this appalling situation.
The linked .pdf wreaks of a power playing administrator working out a personal agenda against Mr. Read. What could have been said in two pages is stretched out into five. The administrator takes every opportunity to cast their actions in a favorable editorial light. It reads like a letter steeped in vendetta and office politics, not a document written to clarify legitimate concerns with quality of instruction. Using Brad’s name in the last paragraph, as if the letter hadn’t already been addressed to him at the beginning, was a particularly snarky and unprofessional touch on the part of the assistant superintendent.
Situations like this dissuade intelligent, capable people from pursuing careers in education. Who wants to be on constant watch by the personality police? The punishment here is WAY out of proportion to the offense. Nowhere does this letter explain what is supposedly so horrific about a few profane words, or why it is absolute doctrine to go through a lengthy and bureaucratic approval process with supplemental materials.
It is also outrageous that this article AND the district admit their intention to politically shame Mr. Read and engage in character assassination for his involvement with Envision Spokane, a campaign that the Cowles Company contributed significantly against. What is the nature of this email use? It could be as innocuous as someone sending campaign mail to the wrong account and a response to use the correct account in the future. They won’t spell it out because it sounds much more incriminating to state that he was generally found to have engaged in the activity.
What this newspaper doesn’t tell us is that the email investigation was brought on by paid opponents to the Envision Spokane campaign in their efforts to find any possible external ammunition they could use against the organizers. It was a blatant intimidation tactic and now the school district is complicit in this as well.
I have to admit, I waited over a month to comment on this article because it makes me so angry. To me this censorship epitomizes all that is wrong with our modern public education system. Schools have become all about appearances and test scores - no substance. It creates a socially surreal atmosphere in which students are often personally cruel to each other. There are strict hierarchies between students teachers and administration. People cease to have genuine relationships and instead are focused on competition and surviving the routine.
People like to crow a lot about free speech and how important it is to us as Americans. Well, under current law you can kiss your free speech goodbye as soon as you set foot in the workplace, or if you happen to live under the reign of a family paper with significant business interests in the area.
In the words of Saul Alinsky, “Conflict is the essential core of a free and open society. If one were to protect the democratic way of life in the form of a musical score, its major theme would be the harmony of dissonance.”