Tiffany Shepherd, Port St. Lucie, FL Biology Teacher Fired for Wearing a Bikini

You've heard about Tiffany Shepherd, biology teacher at Port Saint Lucie, FL schools being fired? Perhaps you've read the conflicting reports about why; the school officials say that it was because she missed too many days of school. The general public believes that Tiffany was fired for wearing a bikini in public as a part of her job as with Smoke 'Em Charter Fishing Services.

The school board's excuse that Tiffany Shepherd missed too much time in school will not hold water. Teachers contractually have a certain amount of personal time coming to them. Very few teachers that I know of even use up all of their personal time. If Tiffany used too many sick days, then the school officials should have taken other measures besides firing.

Either way, Ms. Shepherd has been tributed by several former students in online blogs as a very capable, interesting Biology teacher. Students claimed that while most of them hate biology, Ms. Shepherd made the class fun and interesting. She was obviously able to retain students and help them learn. Tiffany is a single mother with three children to support as well. One perceptive student added that Tiffany probably had to take the second job to be able to make ends meet. That's a sad commentary on how much we little value our teachers. We expect them to care for our children, pay exhorbitant amounts of money to continue their education, hold Master's Degrees but then refuse to pay them enough to care for their own families.

And shame on our culture for rewarding women for looking good in a bikini, but not rewarding that same woman for being a great biology teacher. I can tell you that there were quite a few of us in college who waited tables or tended bar in slinky skirts and low cut blouses at night so we could afford our college courses during the day. University education is expensive, in more ways than one. And I can also tell you about women who make more in one evening of dancing topless in a bar, than I do in a week of teaching. When you have kids to care for, sometimes your morals can be too expensive to affford both.