"Regnef" stuff...

I blogged about Fenger High School (on my blog) last Saturday. About a teacher who blogged about the happenings at Fenger where he taught. Needing people to read his blog he told some people and things went down hill from there. So today I check out the blog that watches the Chicago Public Schools and I see a link to a Tribune column by Dawn Rice Turner.

Basically this teacher was referred to in this column as Mr. So & So. He helped some students who he taught in a government and economics class prepare for a mock trial. They have to do this for a real live judge. He really helped those kids out a lot and the theme of this column was to prove this teacher's assertions wrong. These kids who were supposedly dealing drugs in the halls and having sex in the staircases went out to prove their teacher wrong.

She definitely didn't like what the teacher said about the sudents. She didn't address what the teacher said about his colleagues. But there is no denial that Fenger isn't without it's problems. But consider what Turner writes about...

The competition, which has been around for more than two decades, isn't designed for students who get the best grades or show the most promise. It's geared toward those kids who haven't excelled and who may be easily overlooked and just as easily cast aside. The teacher seemed to get why this was important.

...Among the students I met, one 17-year-old has a child. Another 17-year-old has a brother in prison for murder. Another is all too familiar with the topicof this year's trial case, which involves shaken baby syndrome, because his young cousin died after being shaken.

Here's something else to look at with these kids according to another coordinator who has since taken over their class...

"This is huge at a school that has attendance problems," said Katie Thaden, who had worked in collaboration with Mr. So-and-so. "These students have shown up on time, and they've been eager to participate from the beginning."

This teacher should be proud. He may not have handled his disgust very well but this teacher did truly care about his students it seems. Hopefully in the future any teacher who chooses to start a blog with regards to their job should be a lot smarter about it.

Cross posted at It's My Mind!!!