Throughout history, the world has been full of hypocrites---kings, queens, emperors, dictators, and plain old common folks who said one thing and did another. I just love it when the ones who talk the talk are exposed for not walking the walk. The truth always comes out and usually bites the liar in the butt. What's that old saying--"God will get you for that!"?
In the past, for example, there's been Jimmy Swaggart, the popular preacher who made a wonderful living off the church by telling everyone how to live their lives, collecting huge "spiritual" donations --my own cousin gave Jimmy's ministry many thousands of dollars, thinking it was for a good cause---and all the while, good ole Jimmy was hornswoggling his flock and cavorting with prostitutes.
And then there was Jim Baker, who, with his family, lived a lavish, magnificent lifestyle until he was exposed and sent to prison for defrauding his church family and other crimes. Jim Baker ruined his own reputation and life, as well as the life of his loving wife, Tammy Faye Baker, who just recently passed away, and the lives of his innocent children.
More recently, there has been a big batch of local and national folks who have been regarded as leaders--some from religious venues, some not--who claimed high morals and values, but, in reality, were not at all what they claimed. The political world is full of these fallen heroes. Along with many religious figures, Senator Larry Craig, of Idaho, a long-time Republican who publicly took an especially strong stand for conservative morals and values, is one of the most recent to be exposed as espousing what he was most against--another example of not practicing what you preach.
The best example of a hypocrite was good ole Newt Gingrich, the politician--another upright Republican protector of family values in public---who led the controversial impeachment of President Bill Clinton for having a little side-fling while in office... while he, Newt, also in high public office--had been carrying on a three-year affair with his sexy little aide while wife number two --or was it wife number three?--waited patiently at home. Reminds me of my mother's saying that he who protests the most and the loudest is usually the most guilty.
Long ago, these types of hypocrites--in reality, nothing more than old-fashioned con artists --- were typified by the man selling snake oil as a cure-all from his horse-drawn wagon, with his fingers crossed behind his back.
As a substitute teacher for almost seven years, I was asked many times why did I not become a regular teacher--- that I would be a great full-time regular-not-substitute teacher, and that it paid much, much more money than being a substitute teacher. My answer was always that, by law, a "regular" teacher had to be "certified" by the state of Texas to teach the subjects they were teaching, that one had to attend college for additional training to achieve the status of "certified teacher" of those subjects, and that it took a lot of money as well as a lot of time to achieve the goal of being a regular "real" teacher--all of which is true. Teacher certification is not given to you; rather, teacher certification is earned.
So, imagine my amazement and dismay when I found out that, if I had been in the right spot at the right time --namely, at the Cranfills Gap, Texas, Independent School District for the last few years--- I could have been that full-time "regular" real teacher, drawing the big bucks, even if I did not have certification to teach! To prove my point, let me tell you about Cranfills Gap teacher Laura Rose, a teacher for many years of Home Economics and recently a teacher of Special Education at Cranfills Gap ISD. Apparently, Laura Rose had been teaching Special Education for at least the last three years without ever being certified to teach Special Education!
You might say that Special Education is my "specialty", as I have spent a great amount of time as a substitute teacher working with Special Education classes-- which, by the way, many substitute teachers refuse to do, as there are sometimes special problems in those classes, and it can sometimes be very depressing, boring, and unchallenging to work in that environment--thus many substitute teachers choose not to.
However, if I had been employed by the Cranfills Gap School District, I could have been the "regular" full-time teacher making the big bucks. And when I say big bucks, I mean big bucks as compared to the measly forty or so dollars a day that a substitute teacher would have been paid. I would guess the salary for a teacher of Special Education would be at least forty or forty-five thousand dollars a year. If you taught for several years, you would be making hundreds of thousands of dollars. That humongous amount of money would definitely beat what you are paid for substitute teaching.
As long as the school superintendent knows about you not having a teaching certificate and is okay with it, are you really breaking the law? What harm are you doing, besides not notifying parents that their child's class does not have a certified teacher? Is teaching a class without being a cerified teacher really in the best interests of the children, your students? The law says No, it is not in the best interests of students to have a teacher that is not certified to teach that subject in that classroom. The law insists upon a certified teacher being in the classroom.
And what if you had taught Home Economics as well, for many, many years without a teaching certificate, or had originally had a teaching certificate for that subject, but had let it lapse and not renewed it? Would that also be breaking the law? The state law of Texas states that there must be a certified teacher in the classroom; if not, parents must be notified that the classroom teacher is not certified to teach those classes. Parents would then have the option to move that child to a school with certified teachers for that subject. So, YES! YES! YES!--- it would be breaking the law.
But if the school superintendent says nothing, and even the school board says nothing--maybe the board doesn't know you are not a certified teacher any longer or that you never were a certified teacher---or they do know, and they just don't care whether you are certified or not---why should you 'fess up to the truth? That would mean you would have to admit you had been breaking the law by teaching without certification-- a crime-- and either get yourself certified and be able to teach lawfully, or not get yourself certified and lose all that big money. So you say nothing,even though you are aregular at church and considered honest, reliable, and a pillar of the community.
And here's another twist---your hubby gets elected to the school board! Does he, Jeff Rose, your husband-- also considered an upright, outstanding citizen in the community-- know that you are not certified to be teaching? If he does know, isn't it it his legal obligation as a school board member to now speak out and try to correct the situation-- even though it would mean possibly losing a large portion of your and his joint income?
And what would be the fallout, when your friends and neighbors in the small community and in your church family found out that one or both of you had known this--and had also known or should have known that it was breaking the law, but you and/or your husband did not divulge it and correct it?
And Jeff Rose, your husband, that beacon of values and morals, has stood up in the Cranfills Gap school board meetings many times as a school board member to publicly chastize and criticize other board members for what he considered unethical actions. Now, Jeff, isn't that being just a tad hypocritical? Is the saying, "Do as I say do, not as I do", what you hypocrites live by?
You know, Jeff, you have seemed like a reasonable man the few times I have met you. Last May,if at that time I had known who you were, I would have asked you for a job as an uncertified teacher, like your wife, Laura Rose, when I was standing next to you and talking to you at the 2007 Cranfills Gap High School Graduation. You do remember that ceremony, don't you, Jeff? The ceremony that you, the Cranfills Gap school board, and Superintendent Carla Sigler banned my niece, Kaitlan Head, the 2007 Valedictorian of Cranfills Gap High School, from attending?
You don't know this, Jeff, but I had just asked my sister, Sue Lee, who is that nice-looking young man, when, lo-and-behold, you walked up beside me at the refreshment table. Luckily for you, my sister did not have time to tell me who you were, or I would have asked you for a job as an uncertifed teacher right then and there!
You and I did speak, Jeff, though very briefly. I made the comment that, even though she could not participate in the ceremony, at least the valedictorian was listed on the graduation program, and you immediately said you did not have anything to do with that! "Me thinks thou dost protest too much!"---To quote a little Shakespeare. I would like to think that someone who appeared as nice as you seemed to be, might have been feeling a little bit bad for Kaitlan and her family, or perhaps even having at least a twinge of a quilty conscience. Truly, if I had known who you were, we might have had a much more interesting conversation, and I might have gotten a job!
Now let's add another twist to this tale---Laura, your brother, David Witte, is the Mayor of Cranfill's Gap, the Fire Chief of the Cranfills Gap Volunteer Fire Department, a community leader, all-around good and respected citizen, and pillar of the town. David is married to Kathie Witte, your sister-in-law, who is also on the Cranfills Gap school board.
Now there are TWO of your close family members on the Cranfills Gap school board --your own husband, Jeff Rose, and your sister-in-law, Kathie Witte---who may or may not be aware that you, Laura Rose, school teacher and outstanding member of the church and the community, are breaking the law. If they are aware, what do they do about it? Say nothing and let you keep drawing that big yearly salary? To tell the truth would mean causing possible financial harm not only to you and Jeff, but to your children--who are Kathie's family as well-- to say nothing of how many reputations would be tarnished and possibly ruined in small town gossip.
Now, add one more figure to the mix-----new to the Cranfills Gap Independent School District, Superintendent Carla Sigler, fresh from the Juneau area of Alaska. The new superintendent becomes best friends with your sister-in-law and school board member, Kathie Witte.
Superintendent Carla Sigler has to renew your contract, Laura, to rehire you to teach at Cranfills Gap another year. Superintendent Sigler, by law, must know or should know that you, current teacherLaura Rose, have or do not have the lawful and proper certification to teach, as should have the other Cranfills Gap superintendents who preceeded Sigler. The other superintendents have okayed you teaching without certification, apparently lying about it to the school board, as most members of the board are not aware you have not been and currently are not properly certified to teach Home Economics and do not have any certification at all to be teaching Special Education.
So, Carla Sigler not only lies that you, Laura Rose, have proper teacher certification, but she also says that she, Carla Sigler, is lawfully trained and certified to evaluate teachers, when that is also a bald-faced lie, and Sigler knows it is a lie.
So, Laura Rose, respected teacher and citizen, what a situation you are in! Do you tell the truth and rock the boat, or just let sleeping dogs lie? Now that is a true dilemma for a supposedly spiritual person who supposedly attends church regularly and supposedly hears, studies,and reads the Word of God in the Good Book, the Bible, on a regular basis.
SO, Laura Rose, a supposedly better person for being spiritual and God-fearing, what decision do you make? Are you thinking it has been okayed for years by higher-ups, and only a few know I am breaking the law? Is that the best way to handle it? Do you have any little pricks of conscience for breaking the law and not doing the right, the moral, and the ethical thing?
And then one day, another teacher inadvertently finds out that you, Laura Rose, are not certified to teach the subjects you have been teaching all those years and for which you have been drawing a big salary. That teacher, high school Science teacher, Michelle Dubay, approaches you and point-blank asks if you are certified. You will not answer that question. You tell her to go speak to Superintendent Carla Sigler about the matter. Sigler is out of the building when Dubay asks to see her.
When Sigler returns, she tells teacher Dubay that she, Superintendent Sigler, is too ANGRY to speak to her, teacher Michelle Dubay, at that time. By the end of the day, teacher Michelle Dubay has been suspended with pay and told to have all her things out of the school by the end of that very day. Snap your fingers, whoosh, and Dubay is gone!
And what happens to the teacher--you, Laura Rose-- the teacher without certification? Nothing, not one thing! You are still in place, teaching without certification and breaking the law and still drawing the big bucks. But the teacher who had the nerve to inquire about your certification is gone? SAY WHAT??????!!!!!!!!!!
Whoa, wait a minute--run that by me again. The inadvertent whistle-blower, teacher Michelle Dubay, who asked you, Laura Rose, if you were certified--- trying to ascertain the truth of the matter---but you would not answer that question--- who then, at your request tried to speak to Superintendent Sigler --is the one OUT!??? And you, Laura Rose, the one breaking the law, are IN--- still there--with no repercussions, no consequences at all?!!!!! Now that just does not make sense.
The story gets even better, as Superintendent Carla Sigler apparently tries to protect her best friend's husband's sister (Kathie Witte is Laura Rose's sister-in-law) by trying to fire Michelle Dubay for a perceived threat to Laura Rose.
Superintendent Carla Sigler leaves an ugly, threatening message on Dubay's answering machine. Basically, Sigler's message tells Dubay that she, Dubay, had better resign or charges of having alcohol on campus will be made against Dubay, and that she, Carla Sigler, will see that Michelle Dubay NEVER EVER teaches again.
Obviously, Superintendent Sigler was lying about charges of having alcohol on campus..if that had been the case, Superintendent Sigler would have suspended Dubay WITHOUT pay--- immediately and on the spot, right then and there--- as the law requires. So that was a trumped-up charge, as Dubay had been suspended WITH pay. Sigler's message was just an out -and -out harassing, downright threat, meant to intimidate Dubay into resigning and leaving town.
When the local newspaper man heard the threatening message that Superintendent Sigler had left for Dubay, Sigler repeatedly denied it was her on Dubay's answering machine. Finally, though, she did admit that it was she, Carla Sigler, who had leftthe threatening message for Dubay.
Superintendent Carla Sigler also sent teacher Michelle Dubay a letter, supposedly from the school attorney telling Dubay that in a meeting the Cranfills Gap school board had fired Dubay; however, Dubay had been present at that particular meeting and knew for a fact that her contract had not even been discussed, as Superintendent Sigler continually refused to put Dubay's contract on the agenda as required by law, so--until the contract was on the agenda, it legally could be not even be discussed.
This was just another lie among many lies told by Superintendent Carla Sigler, who lied when the truth would have sounded better, as all pathological liars do. Sigler then said the school attorney told her to send the letter firing Dubay--again, another lie!
Superintendent Carla Sigler then tried to get the school board to come up with false charges--Anything-- Just make something up! ---against Dubay for the purpose of being able to fire her. And some members of the school board--you can probably guess which ones--were all for it!
As Dubay had filed a lawsuit against the school, the school attorney, present at that same meeting, advised a settlement with Dubay ---rather than making up false charges against her--- that a settlement would be less time-consuming and less costly than a battle in court. The settlement amount and additional costs (for attorney fees, substitute teacher wages, and continuation of Dubay's salary for the months that she was suspended with pay) are estimated to have cost Cranfills Gap ISD about $30,000 total.
What would it have cost Cranfills Gap ISD if Laura Rose and Superintendent Sigler had gone to TEA from the get-go, and said --hey, we have a problem...we need this fixed-- and gotten it fixed---which was the logical and proper thing to do? It certainly would not have cost CGISD anywhere near $30,000. But that is not what happened until much later. Eventually, that did happen, and its cost was nothing compared to the cost of Superintendent Carla Sigler's retaliatory actions. So why not do that logical and proper action in the first place?
Ah, but you don't know Carla Sigler and her friends on the school board. You don't know their outrage and thirst for retaliation for any perceived possible harm that might be caused to their beloved Laura Rose. No one knew to what ends Carla Sigler and her friends would go, or what underhanded means they would take to protect Laura Rose, pillar of the community.
As I have said before about former Cranfills Gap Texas Superintendent Carla Sigler: I have known two people like Carla Sigler--- one is in prison for life without parole, and the other one was murdered.
Another old saying, "What a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive", really does apply to these events. This sounds more like an episode of "The Young and the Restless" than real life. Would that it were a pretend soap opera on the telly; then so many real-life folks would not have been harmed--some greatly-- by Sigler and her friends.
Nepotism also seems to be alive and well at Cranfills Gap ISD. You would be surprised to learn of the many "I'm employed here because I'm kin to so-and-so!" connections at that little school, rather than employment based on merit, which could be one of the myriad reasons for the drastic drop in academic rating for Cranfills Gap ISD in the one lousy year that Carla Sigler was superintendent.
In my opinion, it appears that many of the self-proclaimed leaders, like Kathie Witte-- the movers and shakers of the town---the ones who want to run the town and would be allowed to do so, if they did things for the common good of the town and all the citizens, rather than for their own selfish interests---- are in reality nothing but hypocrites who are willing to break, bend, or twist the law whenever it suits their purposes.
And to think, not one of these hypocrites told me about the great job opportunity I could have had at Cranfills Gap ISD as a regular teacher, and not a substitute teacher! No one told me that, apparently at Cranfills Gap ISD, a teacher certificate was not really necessary, though it is required by law--The motto at Cranfills Gap ISD seemed to be, "Guess what! We'll look the other way, so you can make those big bucks, Darlin', even though you are breaking the law!" And I could have really used that big money, as subbing is such a low paying job compared to a real teaching position.
Oh, wait a minute! I bet the reason they did not tell me about this great job opportunity was that I AM NOT KIN TO ANY OF THEM, AND FOR THAT, I AM SO GRATEFUL!
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