Franklin Letter to MEAF
Two weeks ago my wife Barbara was one of 47 teachers and educational
support staff who committed themselves to making the State of Maine
remove them from their jobs before they would suffer the needless and
unwarranted indignity of being fingerprinted for an FBI criminal
background check. These were some of the most experienced and
talented people in Maine's education system, with over 800 combined
years of dedicated service.
Much has been written about the need for protecting our children, and
about the concerns of the educators who felt impelled to object to the
fingerprinting law. I won't repeat those reasons here. I did recently hear
some people remark that the teachers should stop their whining and just
go along with the program. It has also been said that perhaps they
have something to hide if they refuse to be fingerprinted.
As someone who lives with one of the Maine educators who signed, I
thought I should make it very clear what she is doing and who she is
doing it for. What possible reason would she and the others have for
doing this? She has no criminal record, and nothing to hide. She and I
will be losing half of our income if she is forced to leave. She is one of
the most respected and loved teachers at Mt. Ararat High School, is a 28
year veteran teacher, and because of her years with the Brunswick and
SAD 75 systems, and the size of her music classes, she has probably
taught or influenced, at least indirectly, most of of the members of our
community. She has changed so many lives for the better that I can't
even begin to talk about the good she has done for this community and
its children.
She knows first-hand about abused children because she has to deal
with the results of it when children arrive in her classroom knowing the
school is the only place they are free of fear, and she and other caring
teachers are often the only ones they can turn to for help. She loves her
job, she wants to teach for many more years, and she can't even talk
about leaving without tears in her eyes. So why would she do this?
It is no accident that you see so many educators on the list with 20 or 25
years of experience. They are old enough to see a longer view of society
and trends, and to know when a pattern of erosion of personal and
community rights is developing. They have spent their careers and lives
doing their very best to give our country good citizens, teaching by word
and example that personal responsibility, courage, integrity, and moral
leadership are among the most valuable things their students must
develop. So what is the answer to the question of why would they do this
at such great personal, financial and emotional cost? It is because if
they are to remain true to everything their lives have meant up to this
point, they have no choice, and the State of Maine has put them in this
position. It is because they know that this law is a bad one, that it will
not accomplish what it is intended to do, and that in the long run it is
another loss of liberty and privacy which their students will have to live
with as adults. They know that you can't miss what you have never had,
and they don't want children growing up thinking this is how the world
works, and that things have never been different. They are doing it for
them, and for us.
I feel the citizens of Maine should pay attention when people of this
moral caliber and experience risk so much personally for them. They are
warning us of an illness which may be greater than the one this law is
attempting to address. I am proud of Barbara, I fully support her
decision, and we will live with the results of it. I have heard many people
express support for the stand these educators are making, but the real
way to support them is to let our elected representatives know that you
agree with what they are doing and that the current law should be
repealed, and a more workable plan to protect our children adopted.
Ron Franklin
Bowdoin, Maine