Fingerprinting teachers may be
              the 'final straw'



             BY BARBARA FRANKLIN
              Times Record Contributor 




Being a self-described private person who is truly uncomfortable 
addressing the public in any form other than through music, composing 
this column is certainly not my style. My present state of mind seems to 
override all of these feelings, however. As a 28-year veteran teacher (22 
of those in Maine), I find my valued privacy, my personal integrity, my 
professional honor, and what I believe are my civil rights, all under attack. 
My past record in the public schools of three different states seems to 
count for nothing. Simply because I teach, the state of Maine has 
deemed me suitable for fingerprinting and a criminal record check.  


I am overwhelmed. I cannot do it, and it would seem that my only 
recourse is to leave my chosen profession. Earlier than the age of 10 I 
knew that I wanted to teach, and I have dedicated a huge portion of my 
life to that end. I like to think that I have found success in the classroom, 
always believing that a quality teacher addresses not only the intellectual 
side of a student, but also, and perhaps more so, the spiritual and the 
physical. Protecting a child from any sort of emotional and/or physical 
harm is, of course, part of the job, and certainly not something that I take 
lightly. I grew up near Detroit in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and I know that our 
society is a frightening and dangerous place for young people. It was 
then, and it is now.  


I fail to see, however, how fingerprinting a 51-year old music teacher (who 
has never even received a traffic citation), at a considerable cost to 
someone, is going to do anything other than waste money and place me 
in a situation that I find degrading, demeaning, and horribly unacceptable. 
This will not ensure safety for students in the schools. It will only direct 
one more insult to the teaching professionals in our state. Ironically, 
these are often the very same people who stand on the front lines in the 
fight against child abuse in our society.  


As each teacher in Maine faces their own recertification process 
sometime during the next few years, this fingerprinting law may prove to 
be the "final straw" for many of our finest educators. It has been difficult 
enough to remain positive on the job while witnessing the lack of respect 
for educators that seems to exist at the legislative level. The record of 
state support for education is dismal over the past decade. In the early 
1990s, educators witnessed raids on our retirement system, followed by 
repeated reductions in teacher retirement benefits. Teachers have had to 
meet the challenge of maintaining upbeat, quality classroom 
environments through years of frozen state aid to schools, decaying 
equipment and facilities, and declining salaries (Maine has dropped from 
31st to 36th nationally while the economy has been "booming".) Maine's 
educators already have reason to be discouraged and frustrated, and now 
they are required to make yet one more sacrifice. For many, it is a lot to 
ask. For me, it is too much to ask, and I know that I am not alone. 


Mainers need to think long and hard about this issue. There are so many 
questions to be asked. Will the fingerprinting of a specific, selected 
group of individuals truly protect the children? To be really safe, should 
every citizen in the state, adolescents through seniors, be included? Can 
discreet, but satisfactory background checks be accomplished without 
the fingerprinting procedure? (Interestingly enough, Maine does not 
require fingerprinting to obtain a concealed weapons permit.) Do we dare 
risk the loss of the experienced, dedicated teachers who will not submit 
to this procedure? As our entire country faces a serious and imminent 
teacher shortage, does this sort of legislation from our state government 
make any sense? Is this the direction in which we, as a society, choose 
to be heading?  


Maine is presently investigating the constitutionality of this law. Whatever 
the outcome, one question remains. Just because you can 
(constitutionally) do something to someone, should you? Often with the 
best of intentions, bad laws are made. If one B. Franklin may quote 
another, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little 
temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."  


As we attempt to protect children, we must also consider what we are 
teaching them. I have no doubt about my own answers to all of the above 
questions, and, as a teacher, I know that I must stand by my beliefs and 
set an example for my students. They know how I feel as much as I 
know that there must be a better way. After all, isn't Maine filled with 
creative, intelligent people?  


BARBARA FRANKLIN, Music Department

Mt. Ararat High School