BLOTTO PRINCIPAL TEACHES STUDENTS TO NEVER TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Whatever happened to the "morals clause" in service and employment contracts?  How is it that a high school principal can get sloshed, climb behind the wheel of car, get arrested for drunken driving, then convicted for the same, and still keep his job?  Indeed, how is it that the man is perversely lauded for providing his students with a "teachable moment"?

What Jon Gregory, principal of Forest Hills Northern High School, taught his students this week is that a bad act may have consequences, but one of those consequences doesn't have to be taking personal responsibility for it.  The police may arrest you, the media may report what you did, and the judge may fine you or lock you up, but you certainly don't have to resign from your public office.  Others may have the power to make you account for what you did, but you don't have to make yourself pay for your malfeasance.

This is the substance of Gregory's "teachable moment" after he was arrested last November for drunken driving and pled guilty to it on Tuesday in Rockford District Court.  He has been hailed for his honesty in revealing his arrest to the Forest Hills school board last year and his impending trial to Northern's staff and students last Friday.  Well, I'm not sure how much virtue there is in being honest about a matter that is public knowledge.  I do know, however, that the integrity of making yourself personally accountable for your misdeeds is virtuous.  I do know that such integrity probably demands that you resign your office for violating an important public trust -- i.e., setting an example of character for our children -- because it is simply not enough to roll the dice on whether anyone else will hold you accountable.

The bottom line is that the students of Forest Hills Northern have learned this from Gregory:  Have no shame for your bad acts.  It is enough to be honest and declare mistakes were made, but let's not drag integrity into this mess.  If outside forces make you pay, sobeit.  But you don't have to make yourself pay.  Why should you?  If what you did wasn't too heinous, possibly no one will make you pay much for what you did.  So why make certain you will pay through your own actions?

We do not ask too much of a high school principal to have the shame to resign for drunken driving, especially when that dangerous behavior is one far too many high school students indulge in.  If Gregory hasn't either the decency or the commonsense to know that by holding onto to his office, he is clearly communicating to his charges that drunken driving really isn't that serious of a thing, then the Forest Hills school board should supply that decency and commonsense.  Unfortunately, while none of this is too much to ask, it is too much to expect these days of public servants.

Comments

[John Noonan]

It's good to see you back.

I enjoy your blog and have been hopeful you'd return.

I'm a Kentwood resident and have been attending City Commission meetings for te past several months.

It's been an eye opener!

[The Executive Director]

Hi, John.

Thanks for the kind words.

I agree with you that it's worthwhile to see how the sausage gets made at city hall -- at least as much of the process they'll let us watch.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.

[M. Williams]

I once asked a friend at Bailliol College (Oxford) what constituted gross moral turpitude at his place (which is about the only thing that could get you fired from there). He stroked his chin a moment and then responded, "Ah yes. We define it as on the quad, at noon, with a goat, twice." Perhaps the Forest Hills schools have a similar standard?

[Dee W.]

This situation is a prime example of the liberalization of America.

There is no God.

There are no rules.

Just do what feels good and screw the consequences. It's about being progressive.

The fact this principal does not willing leave by choice shows how selfish and narcissistic he is. Anyone with a conscience and decent morals would understand a boundary has been crossed, a line of decency broken and do the right thing. Leave. This man cares only about his paycheck, his benefits and himself. An apology is important, but staying around and pretending that he is a learning experience for the students is a joke. Sometimes a wrong must be called out for what it is. A major wrong! The world has lost the meaning and importance of a good spanking these days. I'd give this principal a sound thrashing in broad daylight if I could and tell the ACLU to get lost in the process.

How can we expect our kids to be smart, wise and decent when the adults around them aren't?

How do you protect the kids when the adults around them are part of the danger?

Glad you covered this story. You did a nice job calling this man out as he should be exposed for what he did (drove drunk and broke the law)and what he has yet to do (resign from the school district as his moral and ethical authority has been broken for good).

[Darrin]

Last time I checked there was no law stating a person must resign from their position if arrested for drunk driving. That's not to say I condone drunk driving because I certainly do not but the man is paying for his crime as defined by the law.

People make mistakes (in this case a big one) but should they be forever chastised for their poor judgement? If we followed the group think that seems to exist on this thread (on this board for that matter) then the man should never be allowed to work in education again. Wow! What would you have him do instead with his years of education and immersion in a field he must obviously treasure?

George Bush got popped for a DUI yet I'm willing to bet most on the so-called right voted him into his presidency. Dick Cheney got popped twice.

[T. J. Griffith]

Bush and Cheney should not have abused any substances, but may have. They may have made mistakes in the past, but they clearly no longer indulge in youthful indiscretions. Most importantly, Bush and Cheney weren't out driving the company limo drunk as a skunk while in office and running the free world.

Darrin's argument is weak trying to create a moral equivalency between the Pres/VP and this principal. Especially where one does not exist. Trying to make excuses for why this type of rule breaking is wrong, but understandable is flawed.

The principal in this story got wasted, drove drunk, got caught and was censored under the law. He did this while he was an acting principal of hundreds to thousands of school children. He is the current role model, rule maker and authority figure on a daily basis for teachers, parents, the board, the community and above all, the students under him. You don't do this type of behavior and make this kind of error on the taxpayers dime or time.

Abuse of alcohol is a no-no. Period. Driving drunk is a no-no. Period. Some situations call out for the one strike rule. One mistake and you are out. No extra chances should be given. In some important positions, if you act out, get caught and are in a position of serious authority, you deserve to pay a moral price not just a legal price.

This principal can stay in the education field if he chooses, he simply should not be allowed to be in a manangerial or authority position. He has lost that right. He has lost our respect. He has lost his credibility.

At least that's how I see it from this mother's point of view.

[The Executive Director]

Welcome to L.A.W., M., Dee, Darrin, and T.J. Thanks for your comments.

Darrin, I'm largely in agreement that we do not keep punishing a person for his misdeeds once he has paid for them. However, that principle is not applicable to Gregory, because his "payment" has not been tendered yet.

Moreover, the point of my article is that we should expect personal integrity from our public servants. That means if the payment for a misdeed imposed by the authorities is insufficient, then a public servant should have the integrity to impose the balance of that payment upon himself.

In Gregory's case that means resigning his office as principal of Forest Hills Northern, even if no one else demands it of him. After all, if he actually cares about his charges, then he knows that carrying on as usual after a DUI conviction sets a terrible example.

I'd have more to say about this, Darrin, but I think T.J.'s remarks do that job well.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.