Fired Shawnee Mission Science Teacher Fighting Back - WDAF

justathought wrote:

Yes, as a matter of fact I have two children in the district.
No I will not say what the other remarks were because they were directed at specific students and I would not want to embarrass them. But I have no reason to believe that my child would lie to me about what was said in the classroom. And no, I am not the one who filed the complaint but I am beginning to think I should have!
Everyone just needs to accept the fact that not everyone likes Mr. Haraughty or thinks that the board made a bad decision.
I think his Facebook quotation sums things up:
"You Spell It H-A-R NAUGHTY without the n"

You have two children in Shawnee Mission School District and you live in Independence, Missouri? Interesting. I have three kids who have gone through Mission Valley. Not the district, but this same school, and one, a daughter, who had Mr. Haraughty as a teacher. He is one of the excellent teachers in the district. There are teachers who deserve to be fired, like the ones who focus all their attention on the kids of famous, well to do parents with clout and ignore the kids whose parents are not famous and do not have money. That happens a lot in the schools feeding into Shawnee Mission East. Fire THOSE teachers, not teachers like Mr. Haraughty who are there to teach. Mr. Haraughty's father was a respected science teacher at Shawnee Mission East for many years. Ryan Haraughty followed in his father's footsteps and was also an excellent teacher. Middle school is a hard time for most kids and to have someone the kids can feel comfortable with and relate to and feel is on their side is a great thing. I'm all for getting rid of bad teachers, but Mr. Haraughty is one of the good ones.

As a former student of his, I understand that such an incident was really no big deal, BUT that doesn't mean sexual jokes are okay in a classroom environment. Being a high school student, I am well aware of the fact that children in middle school and high school may make a sexual joke now or then, but as a teacher, he should know better and realize that he overstepped a boundary that is there for a reason and that he must now seek forgiveness if he wants any opportunity to teach minors in the future. Since he is an adult, he must accept responsibility for his own actions and not point the finger of blame at the school administrators for his faulty judgment. That all being said, I believe that he does deserve a second chance to prove he is responsible enough to teach not only my young peers, but your children. As I said earlier, I am a former student of his who attended Mission Valley Middle School and I have full confidence that he would, if given the chance, make a better teacher AND adult for our students as long as both parties would be willing to move on and learn from this incident.

Sam wrote:

<quoted text>
You have two children in Shawnee Mission School District and you live in Independence, Missouri? Interesting. I have three kids who have gone through Mission Valley. Not the district, but this same school, and one, a daughter, who had Mr. Haraughty as a teacher. He is one of the excellent teachers in the district. There are teachers who deserve to be fired, like the ones who focus all their attention on the kids of famous, well to do parents with clout and ignore the kids whose parents are not famous and do not have money. That happens a lot in the schools feeding into Shawnee Mission East. Fire THOSE teachers, not teachers like Mr. Haraughty who are there to teach. Mr. Haraughty's father was a respected science teacher at Shawnee Mission East for many years. Ryan Haraughty followed in his father's footsteps and was also an excellent teacher. Middle school is a hard time for most kids and to have someone the kids can feel comfortable with and relate to and feel is on their side is a great thing. I'm all for getting rid of bad teachers, but Mr. Haraughty is one of the good ones.

This person from "the district" also believes everything there kids say is the truth! we love our kids but the all will make a little fib now and then for attention or to hide

SMSD has a leadership crisis in its principal core... most are not nice people who have worked their way up in the ranks by being rude, pushy and greedy for the salary....a few are good, but most care little about good education and good teachers....they tend to see themselves as corporate types whose job is to run schools like the DMV or IRS...so sad... because this style of management will drive students toward online degrees and push schools as we know them out of business.

Brenda, are you SERIOUSLY saying that this man, who made jokes that may have been a little less than appropriate is a PEDOPHILE? Seriously? Dear Lord, if you have kids, are they locked in a room all day w/ no tv, internet, books, ect? because if not...I'm guessing they've heard far worse in the media...and if you're telling kids that if anyone slips up with a few inappropriate jokes that they might be a pedophile...your kids are gonna be really messed up when they hit high school and their friends are giving oral sex in the back of the bus - believe me, it happens.

...and another note...if the kids in the room in the got the joke...they had an understanding of why it was funny. So it's not like he said anything new.

Mr. Haraughty was the best teacher i had at mission valley and i think that they are making this a bigger deal than what it really was he is funny and has a great personality i think that no matter what people take things the wrong way yet i also think that you will hear worse things being said but what can you do about that i think this is unfair and they shouldnt give him this punishment he was made to teach and like he said he did connect with the students he always pushed me to do better and he has faith in people soo GOOD LUCK MR HARAUGHTY!!!!:)

It would seem that the ones creating the "sexually hostile" environment, are the school board and the principal.

I too ran into the same type of trouble as Mr. Haraughty with Shawnee Mission. I was trying to help out a former student who was sexually active with her boyfriend. I offered advice, in an email to the student, about being sure to use protection and was fired for it because the parent threatened to sue the district. The parent said I was "counseling without a license".
I was told by my lawyer to not even try to appeal because the mediator, for the district, is very conservative. It took me two years to find another job.

In the years I was with Shawnee Mission, I had nothing but exemplary evaluations. Interestly enough, I worked with a teacher who came in drunk, and another time did not pick up her students from specials. After a 30 minute period of looking for her, she was found passed out in her car. She still works for the district.

SM teacher in despair wrote:

SMSD has a leadership crisis in its principal core... most are not nice people who have worked their way up in the ranks by being rude, pushy and greedy for the salary....a few are good, but most care little about good education and good teachers....they tend to see themselves as corporate types whose job is to run schools like the DMV or IRS...so sad... because this style of management will drive students toward online degrees and push schools as we know them out of business.

Unfortunately, I agree with you. Sad.

Paul G wrote:

Justathought - you have stated, "I know he has made several. And he has been making them for years." Mr. H is a professional! Maybe not in this venue, but perhaps here, you could be so bold and give us specifics about other comments. Nowhere in the record is there any reference to other comments. If there are other inappropriate comments now is the time to step up to the plate. It is basic human nature that if there are other inappropriate comments that someone would say something. Nothing else has been said, so please tell us.

Paul is right. NO where else were any references made to any other alleged incidents or complaints. The firing was bases solely on this incident.

Former teacher
maybe you shouldn't have been drunk on the job and you wouldn't have been fired.

I have to say that yes this school district has an amazing reputation, and has always had a standard for excellence, I myself am a product of Mission Valley and the SMSD. But they also have very few teachers left whom have the passion that his man possessed. I went to school under Susie Ostmeyer she doesn't care about teaching or about students learning, it's about her reputation and creating a name for herself, and unfortunately that happens. I don't believe that a teacher should be fired over one parents outrage to a comment made in class, and if you don't think one parent can get a teacher fired you don't know the parents in that area. He should be allowed to teach again, and I think that more teachers should look to this man and the support from fellow teachers, parents, former and current students, for inspiration to become such an influence not only in the lives of students but in the community as well. It's been nine years and there are few teachers I can honestly say that I learned from and enjoyed (especially science) and he is definitely one of them.

Please don't bring God into your immorality.You aren't paid to be friends with your students.Be a responsible teacher and realize the boundaries. You have over stepped yours and your firing is justified.Schools keep failing us with all these illegal and immoral relations between teachers and students something we thought would never happen but is steadily on the increase.Parents get some backbone and tell your children to get in school and quit protesting and if they defy your authority then there should be consequences.Give your kids give these teachers give these sickos in our society an inch and they will take a mile.Keep things professional and you won't have to be one way one day and another way another day.

The type of puritanism that got Mr. Haraughty fired has no place in this century. If you want to protect your children from the world -great - there are many Christian (among other) home-school programs.
I prefer to blend my children into the real world, the one they will inherit, and explain things as they come up. I take my job as a parent very seriously and I don't mind spending time with my kids giving my opinions on what happens in the world. I expect them to see and hear both good and bad, it's my job to help them interpret it and understand it. My kids have heard off-color jokes,(starts off with bathroom humor), starting in first grade on the school bus for Shawnee Mission schools.
Children are but the arrows that we send out into the world from our loving bows. Rather than crucify every person who says or does something that one person or another finds inappropriate, help the kids understand it. You'll end up with happy, well-adjusted kids.
If Mr. H really had previous problems within the district, that actually hold water, why wait until something extremely minor comes up to fire him? I believe this was just used as an excuse for a biased principal to recommend he be fired.
Sad that the district thinks we are not capable of understanding what the other 'issues' were.

The BEST way for students to protest and to beat these education fakes, that is, the School Board, Principal, and administrators is to purposely bomb the state assessment test when it is given. That is all these phony educators care about. Hit them where it hurts. There is NOTHING they could do about it this free will protest. See how they like it when someone make THEM feel powerless. Send a message that students and teachers are what make a school, not mean spirited leaders and crack pot parents.

Why do people spout off without having all the facts?

Do you really think the district would fire him without a well-documented file of violations? Do you really think the first disciplinary action would be firing?

Protect our kids, I say!

I don't understand why some people are trying to make this a religious or political thing. I am Republican and I am Christian and I totally disagree with Mr. Haraughty being fired. I haven't heard that the parent that complained was Christian or Republican. Maybe they were, but if so they definitely do not represent all Christians and/or Republicans. I have seen plenty of SMSD teachers who should be fired (not because of sexual banter, but because they don't care about the kids), but Mr. Haraughty is not one of them.

Erik Wynn wrote:

My name is Erik Wynn and I was a paraprofessional at Mission Valley Middle School from 1-18-06 to 9-4-07. I knew and worked with Haraughty and I can tell you that in my opinion he got what he deserved. I always got the feeling that he was 'off' somehow. while somewhat popular with students he was lacking as a teacher. Off color remarks were common and I got the impression that he wanted to be liked as a peer amongst students. He was not a special ed teacher and therefore had few paras in his class, however he and I supervised a baseball game between students during an in-school field day and I observed some inapropriate behavior. Nothing bad enough to report but certainly questionable. The school board made the right decision.

So you hardly knew the guy- didn't have any kids in his class, but spent one basketball game around him and now you're an expert on his behavior and worth as a teacher? Get a clue, strangely enough, hundreds of students who actually were in his class and their parents disagree, and support his reinstatement to the district.

Erik - there's a reason why you're a para. Take it from a real teacher - this man was exemplary. He was an outstanding teacher with an amazing reputation for teaching the subject with style. I have 4 children who had him. I visited his classroom and saw great things. I studied with my kids for hours on his tests. I watched my daughter ace biology and head to medical school - encouraged by Ryan Haraughty. And just so the rest of the community knows, there is WIDE speculation that it was acutally a para that made the situation seem worse and "tattled" on Ryan Haraughty. While most paras are wonderful people, it is believed that the principal placed one in his class to spy, just waiting for the next insignificant comment. Get a life Erik. How many kids have YOU sent off to med school?

Proud Msn Valley Parent wrote:

The type of puritanism that got Mr. Haraughty fired has no place in this century. If you want to protect your children from the world -great - there are many Christian (among other) home-school programs.
I prefer to blend my children into the real world, the one they will inherit, and explain things as they come up. I take my job as a parent very seriously and I don't mind spending time with my kids giving my opinions on what happens in the world. I expect them to see and hear both good and bad, it's my job to help them interpret it and understand it. My kids have heard off-color jokes,(starts off with bathroom humor), starting in first grade on the school bus for Shawnee Mission schools.
Children are but the arrows that we send out into the world from our loving bows. Rather than crucify every person who says or does something that one person or another finds inappropriate, help the kids understand it. You'll end up with happy, well-adjusted kids.
If Mr. H really had previous problems within the district, that actually hold water, why wait until something extremely minor comes up to fire him? I believe this was just used as an excuse for a biased principal to recommend he be fired.
Sad that the district thinks we are not capable of understanding what the other 'issues' were.

I loved your comments! I agree 100%- you hit the nail on the head. If you want to put your kids in a bubble, homeschool them!