I have to object to the headline stating a “teacher” was charged with sexual assault on a minor, only to read after opening the article that this was a “substitute teacher.”
As one who has taught in tiny and remote public schools like Lowell’s, I know that substitutes very rarely meet the rigorous requirements of a genuine, state-licensed teacher. Often they are community members looking for some quick and relatively easy money.
That isn’t meant to disparage all subs, but they aren’t teachers, and often not even close. So let’s stop the headline grabbers like “teacher charged with sexually assaulting student.”
It would be wonderful if every Vermont village school had a pool of qualified and readily available people willing to step into a classroom on an hour’s notice. But this is the real world and many, many substitute “teachers” are not teachers any more than the fellow who’s been given a gun and badge is a cop.
Diane Alberts
Rutland