Is Your Child's Teacher Trash?

From the comments on yesterday's article concerning Jason Lyn Gasque, it is apparent that many are still unfamiliar with the term "Pass the Trash." This phrase has been used in many contexts and even as the appellation of a poker game, yet to those in the hallowed halls of academe it means passing a bad teacher off on an unsuspecting new school.

How can parents be aware of bad teachers in Alabama, especially sexual predators? While there is a national database of teachers who have been reprimanded, it includes such "crimes" as failure to make payments on student loans. There are currently over 500 names of sanctioned teachers in the Alabama data base.

For those parents who wish to investigate only those infractions of a sexual nature, this data base is almost useless. There are web sites that report exclusively on sexual crimes involving teachers, among them Teacher Crime and Bad, Bad Teacher. The latter has just added Jason Gasque to its list: http://badbadteacher.com/jason-gasque/

Unfortunately, Alabama schools are required to check only state records when performing a background check on prospective educators. One local woman is now working to correct this oversight, and we will be reporting on her quest later this year.

As for Coach Gasque, a University of North Alabama employee has reported that he was hired against the wishes of Colbert County High School's principal and athletic director. If this is true, it is even more disturbing that A.D. Steve Mask would attempt to quell the reports of Gasque's infractions while at the high school.

If you are the parent of a school-age child, no matter how young or old, take the time to discuss these issues with him or her. Predatory teachers are not a product of the 21st century--they have always been with us. It's time we faced the problem and eradicated it.


What's up with this: Sources report that financing problems have halted construction on the new Rick's Barbecue at Elgin. Here's hoping Mr. Lanning will be able to resolve these issues and be open by Spring.