Lynn Lang, TN’s State Board of Education and What We are Teaching Our Kids
Posted by: Blue Collar Muse in Education, Individual Responsibility, Sports, Tennesee TipsEducation is supposed to be about learning and knowledge. Today’s education seems to be about far more than that, however. From participating in the “Who gets a seat in the Lifeboat?” scenario to curricula dealing with homosexuality, moral issues are taking up more time in schools. Unfortunately, educators often come down on the wrong side of the matter. How refreshing, then, to read about coaches shunned by the schools for their part in what became a criminal case. It would be if that had been what happened!
Lynn Lang and Milton Kirk were football coaches in Memphis, TN. An outstanding player of theirs was being recruited by top flight NCAA programs around the country. In 1999 and 2000 Lang received $150,000 in cash from Logan Young, a University of Alabama booster, to steer him to Alabama. Milton Kirk was to get a cut. When he didn’t he blew the whistle on Lang.
Milton Kirk pled guilty; was permanently banned from coaching and suspended from teaching for three years. He is currently teaching again.
Logan Young was convicted of money laundering and racketeering, sentenced to 6 months in prison and 6 months of house arrest and fined almost $100,000. Free on appeal, he was found beaten to death in his home in 2006.
But Lynn Lang’s story is the most intriguing. He initially disputed the charges before finally pleading guilty. He, too, was banned from coaching for life and had his teaching license revoked. Despite facing decades in jail, Lang was ultimately sentenced to time served (all of about a day), two years probation, Community Service and a $2,500 fine. He did not have to repay the money he received from Young although the IRS says he owes them $60,000 on the income while Lang swears he has no money left having given much of it to the player’s family.
If the story ended here we’d use it to teach kids right from wrong. But Tennessee’s State Board of Education has a different lesson plan in mind. After revoking his license to teach following his conviction, the State Board denied a November, 2005 request from Lang for license reinstatement. The Board meeting notes for that decision read
The Subcommittee found that Lynn Dexter Lang, License No. 174249, had been convicted of a felony, conspiracy to Travel and Utilize Facilities in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Racketeering. Additionally, the Subcommittee found the Respondent committed deceit in securing or attempting to secure a certificate or license and had obtained a license by deceit by marking “no” on the licensure application to the question that asked, “Have you been convicted, pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a felony as defined by federal or state law.” The Subcommittee revoked License No. 174249 and denied pending applications for licensure filed by the Respondent. It was the decision of the Commission’s Hearing Subcommittee that the Respondent may petition for reinstatement after the Respondent has completed the probation period imposed by the criminal conviction.
At the same meeting, a request for reinstatement from another man, Mr. Lott, was denied
… based on Mr. Lott’s failure to present evidence that was satisfactory to the Commission of his good character, good mental, emotional and physical health and Mr. Lott’s failure to establish his rehabilitation and fitness to perform the duties authorized by the educator license.
In Lang’s case, however, as soon as his probation was finished, as the Board allowed, he applied again for reinstatement of his license. Unlike the unfortunate Mr. Lott, Lang was found to have established his “rehabilitation” and to be fit “to perform the duties authorized by the educator license.” Of the 10 members who comprise the board, one was absent and one abstained. The other 8 voted to reinstate Lang.
Lang seems to like teaching. So much so, after he was charged with a felony in Tennessee, he moved to Michigan and took a position in education there. However, on his application there he neglected to mention his legal troubles here. That’s the reference to “obtaining a license by deceit” in the November, 2005 denial of his reinstatement application. Whether he was fired or resigned in Michigan depends on how you parse the matter. No one disputes he lied.
Lynn Lang should not be licensed to teach. Tennessee educators gave him a pass simply because a period of time had passed. Despite a felony conviction and deceiving Michigan’s Board, Tennessee says Lang is fit to teach in Tennessee. I’m still trying to find out if he is. Even if he’s not, the fact he could be is outrageous. He was banned from coaching for life. His ban from teaching should be the same. But as I said, education can be more about morality than math and science and educators often come down on the wrong side of the matter. What are we teaching our kids these days?
Blue
NOTE: Welcome to our guests from Human Events! Feel free to explore the site and we’d love to have you comment on what you find. If Tennessee issues interest you, please also visit The Tennessee ConserVOLiance for statewide coverage. Thanks for stopping by!
Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: Coaches exploiting student atheletes, Logan Young, Lynn Lang, Milton Kirk, TN State Board of Education
Entries (RSS)
April 4th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Are you sure you really want to know?
In Lang’s case, as a high school football coach / teacher, he’s probably in the Social Studies department. That’s reassuring, isn’t it?
April 4th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
[…] The rest of the story here after the jump Social Bookmarking […]
April 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Is there a public database for teacher discipline issues? Seems to me Florida did something with this. I guess I should go read my blog archives and dig that up. Regardless, we do need some eyes on the State BOE and their activities.
::sigh::Too much government, not enough independently wealthy citizens to monitor them all.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:25 am
[…] Tennessee […]
April 8th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Lang needs to get out of the lifeboat.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:11 am
And they wonder why we do not want to just keep on throwing money into our failing schools. With fools like this on the loose in the school systems, no wonder our children are not learning ethics.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:21 am
[…] on over to the Blue Collar Muse and read the whole sordid tale. Bookmark this story to your favorite […]
April 8th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
[…] Yep, sounds like the American public education system alright. […]
April 8th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
[…] school choice is such a good idea, and its partly because, occasionally, your school board will reinstate the teaching certificate of someone who took $150K in bribes from the University of Alabama and served time for it. These […]
April 9th, 2008 at 7:52 am
[…] this piece from TN blogger Ken Marrero to see exactly how they handled this situation in his home […]
April 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Wow, the Benton Harbor school board actually accepted his resignation? How did the Michigan Education Association let that happen?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:38 am
[…] College football is serious business in Alabama. So serious that a University of Alabama recruiter paid Lynn Lang, a Memphis high school teacher and coach, $150,000 …. After an assistant coach, who first tried to get a cut, blew the whistle, Mr. Lang denied the […]
February 4th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Lynn lang is now the HEAD PRINCIPAL at port gibson high school located in port gibson mississippi… this is a disgrace… what a role model….
February 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
lynn Lang is now a head principal at port gibson high school in port gibson.he back stab Mr.Barnyard to get his position as principal. MR. lang don’t know how to treat the children and he picks on the teachers.he pick on the childern.one child he used .theirs one child he picked on and they knew it.I’M SPEAKING FOR ONE OF THE PARENT.HE PICKED ON HER CHILD.THEY WANT EVEN LET HIM MARCH WITH HIS CLASS FOR GRADUATION.ALL BECAUSE THEY FOUND A LITTLE POCKET KNIFE HE DIDN’T KNOW WAS IN HIS POCKET THAT’S WHY HE LET THEM CHECK HIM.THEY HAVE FOUND SOME CHILDREN WITH DRUGS AND THEY SWAPT IT UNDER THE RUG.IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HERI WILLTELL YOU.WE ALWAYS GET THE REJECTS.THE STATE NEED TO COME WITHOUT THEM KNOWING.SHE HAS A LAWYER.THEY WAITING TO SEE THE OUTCOME OF HIS GRADUATION .THEY GOING BE ON THE NEW WITH MR.LANG.THE SCHOOL OF REJECTS.
March 6th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Two Thirds of Tennessee Schoolchildren attend “Paddling District Schools” and receive Physical (Corporal) Punishment (Paddling with weapons/wooden boards to deliberately inflict physical pain and suffering as punishment) for minor infractions such as not turning in homework, violating school dress codes or chewing gum. Tennessee Legislature allows school employees to administer Physical Punishment without parental consent or notification with legal impunity. In the middle school that two of my children attend, students receive paddlings in the hallway just outside of class within earshot of other students and all the other students know who is receiving physical punishment, they can hear the blows when teachers instruct students to “Bend over and grab your ankles”.
Educators and administrators who hit children with weapons/wooden boards powerfully model physical assault/violence as the acceptable means for our children to solve problems. Type “Corporal Punishment” or “Paddling” into any internet search engine and Pornographic Websites will appear. Schools that purchase paddles may be supporting the Pornography Industry. Schools and educators that are in possession of weapons/wooden boards used as paddles are in direct conflict/violation of Zero Tolerance of Weapons in Schools Policies.
Educators who hit schoolchildren with paddles are in direct conflict/violation of the very trust placed in them to care for and educate schoolchildren.
29 state legislatures have abolished Corporal Punishment in Schools. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has proposed a school paddling ban tied to education funding, if approved, Ohio will be the 30th State to make Corporal Punishment of Children in Schools ILLEGAL.
The Cost to eliminate educators’ right to assault and batter schoolchildren is $0.
Currently, investigations are taking place in the Chicago Public School system regarding HUNDREDS of reported cases of child abuse at school and in Decatur Co., GA a 9-year old boy suffered deep bruising injuries by being paddled with a wooden board 3 TIMES IN ONE DAY by the elementary school assistant principal. The local paper published a graphic color photo of the boy’s injuries sparking PUBLIC OUTRAGE and DEMAND for punitive action for all involved. The investigations are ongoing.
Animals are protected from physical abuse in our nation, don’t ALL children deserve the same protection in school? If an individual hit their neighbor or even their neighbor’s dog with a wooden board, they would be arrested for assault and battery.
Please contact your government representatives to DEMAND Immediate Action to Abolish Corporal Punishment in ALL schools in ALL states in America, ensuring ALL Schoolchildren equal Civil Rights/Access to safe, healthy and supportive learning environments as provided by your tax dollars. American Government must establish and enforce Nationwide Uniform Standard Policies regarding School Safety and Student Discipline. NO ONE DESERVES TO BE HIT!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I agree with Slush….. I to have a child at Port Gibson High School and Mr. Lang makes a habit of singling him out. We’ve had DC meeing and every time the Board backs Mr. Langs every word and they justify his actions even when he’s wrong. The Assistant Principle Mr. Flemings isn’t any better. Now my child has been placed in alternative school, and the fude is still ongoing……. I don’t have an Attorney but that’s going to be my next step…. When will the school system take responsibility for the actions of their employee’s instead of turning it all on the children?
April 7th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
If you are going to post something criticizing an educator, you might want to learn how to use proper English first. It is my hope that the school you speak of is giving your children a better education than you received. As an educator, I can tell you that our job is NOT easy whatsoever, especially when illiterate parents who don’t discipline their children, teach them any respect, or ensure their children are participating in class and doing their work, only show up to the school to point out what they believe “educators” are doing “wrong”. The American public education system has many flaws, and I’d be the first to stand up and say that changes HAVE to be made if our children are going to truly get the education they need, but parents aren’t helping teachers. I spend most of my day dealing with children who are in high school and have the maturity level of five year olds, and the reading level of third graders. Something is WRONG with that picture! Parents expect me to teach their children high school material and prepare them for college when they aren’t even able to do work on a high school level. I realize that I undertook an immense responsibility when I decided to become a teacher, and I welcome the challenge, but in fifty minutes a day I can only do so much with what I’ve got to work with. I am not Jesus, I cannot perform miracles, therefore I cannot be expected to perform them. I do my very best to teach them what they need to know based on the state curriculum framework, and at the same time, pray I can improve what they missed before they reached me. Parents have to uphold high standards at home when it comes to discipline, respect, and education, otherwise teachers are going to be in the same boat for many days to come. (I am not saying this man in particular deserves to go without punishment, but he did something wrong (we all do), was punished for it as a court saw fit, and put his life back together. How many times have you been given a second chance? Just something to think about.)
April 7th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
@ English Lesson Anyone? -
Ummm, please help me out here - you suggested I might want to learn to use proper English before criticizing an educator. But you never corrected my English mistake. What, pray tell, did I do that was so outrageous and glaring that it invalidated my point? I can only assume it was something horrific - you know - like failing to break my post up into proper paragraphs or something …