| Miss Rusty revisited |
From Graham Barker
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Having heard the Radio 5 interview with Miss Rusty and Travis (and thanks Hebweb for flagging it up), I’m now at more of a loss than before to understand why she was even suspended, let alone sacked. The matter has been handled by a governing body about as forthcoming as Chinese bureaucracy, so unless the Freedom of Information Act can be invoked it seems unlikely that we’ll ever know how so many people could agree to such a draconian decision.
Two observations though (of many more that could be made). First, it’s beyond argument that Miss Rusty is widely regarded as an outstanding teacher. Why then has there been no official recognition of this? Common decency surely demands it, if only to partially sugar a very bitter pill. Has the governing body lost all sense of humanity?
Second, the message will now go out that if you aspire to be an inspirational, innovative teacher prepared to go that extra mile for difficult pupils, stay away from Calder High School if you value your career.
From Christopher Reason
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
I'd like to endorse everything that Graham Barker has said. I've two kids at Calder High. Everyday I ask them about their lessons. 'Boring', 'average', 'dull' are the adjectives that come up with alarming regularity.
This never applied to Miss Rusty's lessons. She was one of the few teachers they respected and were absolutely positive about.
When this first blew up I emailed these points both to the Head and the individual members of the board of governors. I have never received so much as an acknowledgement.
What a spineless crew. How are we ever to respect them again?
From Aleena Wilson 8XD
Friday, 31 July 2009
I think it was the right thing to do... We was only protesting for the teacher that we all loved!!! She only wrote a book and got suspended.. We want Mrs Rusty back!!!!!
See also
Hebweb News: Miss Rusty tells her story for the first time (July 09)
Radio Five Interview - Listen Again now
Hebweb News: SUSPENDED: Leonora Rustamova and Steve Cann - two popular Calder High School teachers
Hebweb Forum: Teachers suspended from Calder High - over 50 messages, February-April 2009
BBC News - Racy novel teacher defends book: A teacher suspended over a racy novel written about her pupils said it was intended to encourage a challenging class of teenage boys to read. (Tuesday, 7 July 2009)