Cruel and Unusual Punishment on Teachers

In Tuesday, May 16, 2006 I was reading in The San Juan Star (page 6) that the Department of Education in Puerto Rico and some other states were about to loose some millions in federal government money if they were not able to prove that they have highly qualified teachers.

I thought: too bad. The Department of Education in Puerto Rico is always collecting so much information about anybody and everybody, but the people who work there never know what they have at hand. It seems that they have large wastebaskets where they throw all this information once they collect it.

I never expected the strategy that they would use to gather this information. A friend of mine, who works as a teacher, told me that the teachers at her school have been threatened by the Department of Education (D.E.).
(Actually the threat came from the principal of the school).

The principal at No-Name Public School told the teachers that the D.E. is sending letters in which they tell them that failing to prove that they
are "highly qualified teachers" will mean loosing the job.

I already think that this is the worst government that Puerto Rico will ever have. But I never expected that they would use "scare tactics" to gather the information that they need.

If they are successful at gathering this information, the people in high places at the government will be very happy, and their friends in large businesses will be happy too (lots of money for them).

What I object here is the psychological torture they apply to the teachers.
Governments are not mafia nor bullies to force people do what they want
just to cover the failures and irresponsibility of the government.

The constant abuses of this government suggest that worse things are yet to come.

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P.S. I have collected more information on this topic and I have a copy of the letter sent by the D.E. and the letter is not really threatening anyone. The threat came through the principal of the school. But now the panorama becomes sinister.

1) The D.E. has managed to loose information from the senior teachers at No-Name Public School, yet they have all the info they want from the junior teachers.

2) At least two principals are refusing to sign the papers that certify that their teachers are highly qualified, even after the teachers have gathered all the information needed to prove that they are indeed highly qualified.

3) It seems that the D.E. will not raise the salaries of teachers unless they receive an annual approval and certification from the principal at the school they may be working.

4) The D.E. is blaming on the teachers the possible loss of federal funding.

The teachers are definitely not happy about this entire situation.