Letters

Tulsa, Okla.

I read with interest and utter disgust your article about the tribulations of Roderick Crochiere, the teacher accused of improperly touching a student. He is a victim of circumstances whose only crime is that he cared too much. And what a price to pay! I'm a former elementary school teacher, and I had wanted to return to the classroom, but your article has prompted me to reconsider. Students like Alexis, her mother, and the school principal involved could kill the desire of many who aspire to teaching. I hope Crochiere wins all his litigation.

Elseah Chea

Bronx, N.Y.

I was amazed by the similarities between Crochiere's case and the case I am now fighting against the Conroe (Texas) Board of Education. When I found it necessary to punish one of my students for a truancy from my class, he went before the principal of our high school where I had taught theater arts for eight years with a story that turned into a real "witch hunt.'' The details of the case are too involved to go into in this letter, but suffice it to say that after 26 hours of hearings and six hours of deliberation, the board voted to terminate me. An appeals hearing is scheduled before the Texas Education Agency in Austin, Texas.

Ronald Wurthmann

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