These are the unintended consequences of firing a Seattle teacher

The ripple effect caused from the punishment of a Seattle teacher may already be visible.

Students at Stevens Elementary almost didn’t get their annual field trip to the San Juan Islands because teachers were refusing to go. Part of the reason for that is believed to be because of the decision to fire Garfield High School choir teacher Carol Burton last year for breaking district rules on a field trip — allowing boys and girls to visit each other in hotel rooms, leading to accusations of groping.

Though Burton returned to the district Monday, acting President of the Seattle teachers union Phyllis Campano told The Seattle Times teachers were concerned about student behavior and wanted more chaperones.

KIRO Radio’s John Curley says it “unearths the fact” that parents and teachers don’t want to chaperone because “they can never win.”

Tom Tangney: These are some of the unattended consequences of the actions against Carol Burton.

Curley: What teacher wants to spend their summer like that. The school year is over. They’re done. You want to be hanging out with those kids any longer than you have to? Especially overnight? The kids are taking medicines and one is allergic to peanuts and one has a rash on his back. Nobody wants to be involved.

As it turns out, a few don’t mind staying involved. Stevens Principal Kelley Archer and another staff member and former teacher volunteered to go with the students. However, the Times points out that even some parents are having second thoughts about the field trip. One chaperone said that while she is going, she wonders if there is something going on she doesn’t know about.

The Times reports that while Archer and the schools assistant principal sent a letter saying the field trip was canceled because of incomplete paperwork, teachers argue that isn’t true, Campano said.

Curley: Why are students celebrating fifth-grade graduation anyway? It’s not graduation, just move on.

Tom: You’ve been there for years! It’s a big deal!

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