Story leaves out teacher's side on racial accusations
Letters to the EditorPublished July 14, 2005
Re: Teacher accused of bias, July 7 Times:
If we wonder why our schools are losing qualified teachers, look no further than this article. As if low pay is not enough, teachers also are subjected to one-sided reporting of unsubstantiated allegations. Who would want to be a teacher if your name and reputation can be sullied so easily in the court of public opinion?
Deborah St. John has been teaching for 20 years. She is a well-respected and passionate teacher. She goes well beyond the call of duty to ensure her students receive the best education possible. To have the unsubstantiated and untrue allegations against her be portrayed as fact is devastating.
Ms. St. John has not made racist comments to students. She respects all races and cultures and tries to instill this respect in her students. Yes, she did ask all her students, not just her African-American students, to read a book by a "black author." It was during Black History Month and the assignment was given to broaden the students' exposure to literature from African-Americans. Encouraging a student to read Maya Angelou during Black History Month does not demonstrate racial bias.
What is missing from the article is the background surrounding the allegations against Ms. St. John. The allegations were made by two students who were friends and were failing Ms. St. John's class. She allegedly had caught the students cheating several times and, because of this, separated them. One of the students also wanted to read Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews for a book report. Ms. St. John did not feel the book was appropriate (the book includes an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister and is about a grandmother who locks her grandchildren in an attic) and would not allow the student to read it for the report.
Ms. St. John is a tough teacher, but only wants what is best for her students. She expects her students to perform to the best of their abilities. Some of the students resent the work they are required to do. They resort to attacks on the teacher, especially when they know that the school's policy is to allow transfers only in extreme situations.
In another incident, Ms. St. John asked the students to write letters to three colleges. This was a lesson she had adopted from her mentor when she was a beginning teacher. Her mentor was an African-American woman. Ms. St. John has taught this lesson for 20 years without any complaints. She asked the African-American students to write one of the letters to a "black college" and she asked the female students to write one of the letters to a women's college. Ms. St. John was showing the students all of their options and was in no way motivated by any racial bias.
One student was upset at Ms. St. John's using the term "black" rather than "African-American." Ms. St. John acknowledged that she may be out of date with her terminology and agreed to use "African-American" if the student preferred. Rather than showing racial bias, Ms. St. John's reaction demonstrates her racial sensitivity.
It is impossible in the limited space of this letter to thoroughly dispute all of the allegations referred to in the article, but the allegations are not true. Ms. St. John is well aware of the demeaning nature of racial and cultural bias. While teaching at Hernando High School, Ms. St. John spent many hours helping Kurdish teachers who were having difficulties with biased and disrespectful students. Having witnessed the effects of prejudice, she would never participate in such behavior herself.
Many outside the teaching arena are unaware of the process teachers must endure to rebut allegations such as the ones in the article. Ms. St. John would have been out of work without pay for months in order to contest the allegations. She could not afford such an endeavor. To end the matter and return to the job she loves, she entered into the last chance agreement.
Had she known that the Times would write about these allegations, maybe her decision would have been otherwise.
-- Jennifer S. Blohm, attorney for Deborah St. John, Tallahassee
Demand, not Realtor, controls housing prices
Re: It's high time hot air left the housing market, July 12 letter to the editor:
Real estate professionals do not control the cost of housing or those who wish to invest in real estate for resale. Realtors assist sellers of real estate by estimating the fair market value of the seller's property, then marketing the property to maximize exposure to the buying public.
Realtors assist buyers of real estate by searching for property that best suits the buyer's wants, needs and financial constraints. For their hard work and marketing expertise, Realtors earn a commission. I have 28 years of experience as a licensed real estate professional in Florida and I can say with certainty, successful Realtors are not greedy, arrogant or self-absorbed.
The cost of housing is controlled predominantly by the economic principle of supply and demand. As more and more people move to Hernando County and the demand for housing increases, the cost of housing will continue to rise. An unfortunate consequence of this increase in prices is the unavailability of affordable housing for those on fixed or moderate incomes. When and where prices will stabilize is open to speculation.
Investors who "flip" houses hope to profit from the rapidly increasing cost of housing. It is arguable whether they affect the cost of housing or contribute to inflated prices. Is the practice unethical? Investors invest in the stock market because they hope the value of their stocks will increase. Few would say stock market trading is unethical.
In closing, it is unfortunate Ron Roth had unpleasant experiences with local Realtors. The Realtors I know in Hernando County are highly professional and treat their clients with dignity and respect.
-- Virginia G. Garnett, Brooksville