BLOGS OF INTEREST

BLOGS OF NOTE

Upstream did an excellent series of posts on the saga of Ralph Tortorici. The posts are worth the time and underline the problems our justice system has in dealing with people who are clearly insane but do not meet the current standard of legal insanity.

Part 1;

Part 2;

Part 3;

There's also a post on Ms. Coleman, the prosecutor.

The posts are worth a look.

Luckily, the closest we've come to a Tortorici is John Romano, another sad case.

WITCH HUNT

The witch hunt is on! It looks like the authorities are coming down hard on Doyle Middle School English teacher Brian Switzer. Switzer was arrested for engaging in on-line conversations with a 14 year-old student. He is charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Minor.

In a time when teachers are the subject of great criticism, do we really need to arrest the good ones? How many teachers are dedicated enough to use their own private time to get to know their students? It looks like Switzer really wanted to get to know his students, so much so that he even inquires about sexual preferences, puberty and personal hygiene. That's dedication and that's why Switzer wins our Teacher of the Year Award!

The victim's mother also gets a thumbs up. So many parents fail to get involved with their teenager's lives. Not this one. Not only did the mother know her daughter was 'chatting' on-line with Switzer, once the story broke, she swung into action and decided to find out what they were chatting about. That's called "pro-active" parenting and it's damn refreshing.