"He that will have his son have a respect for him and his orders, must himself have a great reverence for his son."

— John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, 1693

Respect is based on acceptance, not on assumption.

We’ve run letters the last few weeks from Voorheesville residents commenting on the suspension of long-time coach and teacher Robert Crandall. The school district sought to have him dismissed because of a series of comments and actions it considered inappropriate. Because Crandall was a tenured teacher, state law required a hearing — a process that dragged on for over two years, and was far too long and too costly.

The hearing officer, Ronald Kowalski, found Crandall guilty of four charges of misconduct and inappropriate behavior. But he did not rule that Crandall could be fired; rather, he required a 60-day unpaid suspension.
Kowalski cited Crandall’s "long and largely successful teaching career with the district" and stated that "the nature of the misconduct" did not make dismissal appropriate.
He further stated that Crandall "must learn that certain remarks and behavior are inappropriate with students" and he should be "aware of the severity of his misconduct and hopefully recognize that, if such misconduct occurs again, it will likely lead to his dismissal from service."

Most of those who have written or called us in the last few weeks — predominantly students and their parents — have expressed their support for Crandall. They have noted some of the many good things he has done as a teacher and a coach over the years.

Certainly, the hearing officer’s decision should be respected. As a society, we have set up a legal system to allow for a hearing, and the verdict must be upheld. The hearing officer has put Crandall on notice, that repetition of inappropriate behavior will likely lead to dismissal.

What has troubled us is the overtone of some remarks and one of our published letters towards a student who testified about an inappropriate comment made by Crandall. We worry that this student has been targeted because her mother spoke publicly to the school board this month about her concerns over Crandall’s return to the high school at the end of January.

The students who testified deserve our respect. It is not easy for a young woman, a girl, really, to report on inappropriate comments made by her teacher.
Papers from the hearing show that, in March of 2004, Crandall, while updating his records, asked a female ninth-grade student for her address. She questioned why he needed it, and he replied, "So I can follow you home and come to your house and murder you in your sleep."
Our letter-writer termed the student’s query "rude" and said "the smart alek kid" should have been taken to the principal’s office and disciplined. The "tempest" would have been avoided, she wrote, if the student "had been taught some manners at home and a healthy dose of respect for others."

We talked at length to the girl’s mother this week and learned that her father is a retired Albany police officer. The family’s address and phone number are not listed in the phone book and the children have been raised to not give out their address in order to protect the family.

The mother, describing why this was necessary, told of one incident where the family was shopping at a local grocery store when the father was approached by a man he had arrested who was convicted of armed robbery. The man had just been released after nine years in prison. The father stepped between the felon and his family.
"That’s why my daughter asked why he needed our address. She was raised on that — from day one," said the mother. "She was not being rude or copping an attitude....She is a respectful child. She’s a senior now and, in all her years of school, she’s never had a teacher say she was rude."

The mother also said her daughter testified that she realized Crandall was sarcastic but believed he had no right to speak to her in that way.

So, please, we ask our community not to make assumptions that will re-victimize a victim.
It was not a single complaint that brought about the hearing; it was a series of complaints stretching over more than a decade. Papers filed with the State Education Department show that Crandall was first counseled in 1994 for walking out on a conference. He was counseled again in 2001 "for slapping students on their bottoms," the papers say. He was then issued a letter of reprimand in 2003 for allowing a basketball team to swim in the pool before it was open, and has been counseled both verbally and in writing concerning inappropriate comments made to students, the papers say.

We must respect the process that is returning Crandall to school. It would be wrong to vilify him. It is equally wrong, though, to vilify any of those students who reported on his inappropriate behavior.

The hallmark of good teaching is respect that runs both ways. Certainly, everyone expects a student to respect his teacher. But it is equally, and perhaps more, important for a teacher to respect his students.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer, editor