Teacher suspended for blog post about students

[Dags90]

There were able to trace it to her, so no, she did not post anon.

His question was "why?" and I think the answer is that she's simple in the head. The multiple spelling errors in her blog are somewhat :/ knowing she's an English teacher.

 

[Penguinness]

There should be no problem in venting, especially since no names were mentioned.. hell people do that on facebook all the time. I imagine someone mustve dug a little deep to find her blog too. Personally I would've tried to remain as anonymous as possible when slagging off could come back to me though, but I don't see anything wrong with her doing this.

This reminds me of the time my brother made a website and got in trouble for it at school because people were going on it in class time. Head of ICT had it in for him ever since.. and then me for being his brother.

 

[ultrachicken]

I think she absolutely should be fired, because it's going to be impossible for her to teach her students now that they know she said those things about them. What she said has impacted her ability to do her job, therefore she should be fired.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

I think that what people say outside of work should not affect their job. IF your feelings get hurt over what someone said then too bad. She doesn't get paid after hours so why should she act like she's still in work?

This, totally this.

The First Amendment just seems like empty words these days. Instead of people have the right to say what they want, it is people have the right to say what they want as long as it doesn't hurt the precious and fragile minds of the people she is talking about. Boo-hoo-hoo.

I understand with a place like the Escapist where if you say something bad about someone on here you will get suspended or banned because by being a part of this site we agree on a code of conduct, and that is perfectly fine.

But what happened to her would be like if I went to some other site forum unrelated to the Escapist and said something bad about someone here, there, or said said bad thing about someone here to a friend of mine, then got suspended or banned here because someone found out about it. It wouldn't be right because it was outside the bounds of this site.

Though she said those things in public, it was outside the school on her own time. It is called a private life. Yes she said the stuff in a public place, but I believe there is also something called a private public life.

This really should be a lesson to the people she bad mouthed. If they don't want to be bad mouthed in way that tells me this woman was telling the truth, then maybe they should change their ways.

If the people she works with have such fragile egos that they can't take criticism that they hear has been said behind their backs outside of school, then maybe they should be evaluated on whether they are mentally capable of doing their jobs, because being a teacher entails being able to take criticism.

 

[NeuroticDogDad]

This trope is older than dirt.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article238644.ece

2007 article on basically the same thing. I'd criticise the Americans right about now for never getting news from outside their own country but that would be MASSIVELY hypocritical of me as I only know about this because it was at my school.

But yeah, you kinda turned up to the party pretty late on this kind of scandal.

COOKIES to anyone who can get another very similar story that pre-dates my example so I can win Hypocrite of the Century.

 

[Chrysocollus]

Should she be sacked because she ranted online? Absolutely not.

Perhaps because she's a sub-par teacher? Possibly. Getting annoyed at questions from a student, as long as they are germane to the subject she's teacher, is unacceptable.

 

[parks_86]

It's definitely treading a wafer-thin line. It all depends on whether or not those she's speaking about can be identified through what she's said. Yes there is a level of professionalism that needs to be respected, which is the same of any job no matter how piss-weak and measly, but if she covered her arse and kept everything she said fairly ambiguous in regards to workplace, coworkers and students then there is very little chance she will be sacked. The suspension sounds like any typical knee-jerk reaction when the media gets wind of a situation, same way cops or defense force workers are suspended from duty if a situation they're involved in starts getting aired and dragged through the mud.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

There were able to trace it to her, so no, she did not post anon.

His question was "why?" and I think the answer is that she's simple in the head. The multiple spelling errors in her blog are somewhat :/ knowing she's an English teacher.

The problem is English teachers aren't paragons of perfect English, and they never will be.

Every English teacher I have encountered even at the college level has that stance. Spellcheck isn't going to catch everything. Besides it was done in her off hours, it was private-public writing.

Normal people aren't going to be there best with writing when they know it isn't for some kind of work.

I graduated with a four year English degree. I make errors all the time. It is a large and complicated language, unless I am a genius that has the brain capacity to remember every detail, I'm not going to be perfect.

Heck, many times when I make large posts such as this, I sometimes make several mistakes. Sometimes I go back and correct them, sometimes I say, "Bah, I don't have the time".

I think she absolutely should be fired, because it's going to be impossible for her to teach her students now that they know she said those things about them. What she said has impacted her ability to do her job, therefore she should be fired.

No, she hasn't done anything to effect her job. If she still knows how to teach, remembering what she learned in becoming a teacher, and can still hand out assignments, then everything is fine.

What she said should have absolutely no bearing on her job.

As soon as she set foot off of school property, she can say and do whatever the heck she wants, as long as:

A.) It isn't illegal.

B.) She doesn't walk up to her coworkers and students and beats them up physically. See A.

There is a thing called the First Amendment and it protects everything she can say and has said. It doesn't matter if what she said made someone angry or go boo-hoo.

There are things called private and private-public(being personal things that can become public) lives. If people can't do what they want in their personal non-work hours, then that means that they are at work 24/7 and that is not the case. What people do outside of work should effect squat at work. Yes, people might be mad at what other people do outside of work, but it should never mean that a person gets suspended or fired.

If this is going to be the new norm with having a job, then I hope I can get a job where people I work with are strong and understand personal and work lives, and are not a bunch of oversensitive nut-balls.

 

[Kortney]

I seriously believe she should be fired for that. You don't say those things in your professional life, let alone about children you teach. Get rid of her.

 

[siahsargus]

She seriosuly complained that the students where asking questions? When she was teaching them? That seems a little odd. I mean most teachers love when a kid gets into a subject and starts asking more questions. (Notable exeption: Freshman Spanish "What's the spanish word for orgasm?" "How do I say 'Is a fag' in spanish?" "I realized that I can add "con queso" to the end of every sentence, and it still makes sense" etc...) But insulting kids for dressing like streetwalkers? If they are dressing in plain and clear gang colors, reaport them, if they are breaking school dress code, report them, if they are just dressing like everybody else (or not dressing like anybody else), let them be, their clothing is protected under the first ammendment.

Frankly I agree with the descision of the Central Bucks East high school, the high school that can't decide whether it is in the middle or further to the east, for supending her, but not firing her. They warn her about libel laws, but otherwise only humiliate her. It's not like she can seek employment anywhere else.

No names were mentioned, but the OP states that most people knew who she was talking about when she was complaining about them, so I think it still counts as libel. Moral of the story kids: file complaints privately. If you don't feel like they are not a big deal, don't complain at all!

 

[sheic99]

There were able to trace it to her, so no, she did not post anon.

His question was "why?" and I think the answer is that she's simple in the head. The multiple spelling errors in her blog are somewhat :/ knowing she's an English teacher.

The problem is English teachers aren't paragons of perfect English, and they never will be.

Every English teacher I have encountered even at the college level has that stance. Spellcheck isn't going to catch everything. Besides it was done in her off hours, it was private-public writing.

Normal people aren't going to be there best with writing when they know it isn't for some kind of work.

I graduated with a four year English degree. I make errors all the time. It is a large and complicated language, unless I am a genius that has the brain capacity to remember every detail, I'm not going to be perfect.

Heck, many times when I make large posts such as this, I sometimes make several mistakes. Sometimes I go back and correct them, sometimes I say, "Bah, I don't have the time".

I think she absolutely should be fired, because it's going to be impossible for her to teach her students now that they know she said those things about them. What she said has impacted her ability to do her job, therefore she should be fired.

No, she hasn't done anything to effect her job. If she still knows how to teach, remembering what she learned in becoming a teacher, and can still hand out assignments, then everything is fine.

What she said should have absolutely no bearing on her job.

As soon as she set foot off of school property, she can say and do whatever the heck she wants, as long as:

A.) It isn't illegal.

B.) She doesn't walk up to her coworkers and students and beats them up physically. See A.

There is a thing called the First Amendment and it protects everything she can say and has said. It doesn't matter if what she said made someone angry or go boo-hoo.

There are things called private and private-public(being personal things that can become public) lives. If people can't do what they want in their personal non-work hours, then that means that they are at work 24/7 and that is not the case. What people do outside of work should effect squat at work. Yes, people might be mad at what other people do outside of work, but it should never mean that a person gets suspended or fired.

If this is going to be the new norm with having a job, then I hope I can get a job where people I work with are strong and understand personal and work lives, and are not a bunch of oversensitive nut-balls.

This may get muddled because it is a public school, but the first amendment has never applied to businesses. People have been and can be fired for things they say, away from their work. Hell, it's legal to fire a person because they smoke.

 

[Dags90]

No, she hasn't done anything to effect[sic] her job. If she still knows how to teach, remembering what she learned in becoming a teacher, and can still hand out assignments, then everything is fine.

What she said should have absolutely no bearing on her job.

As soon as she set foot off of school property, she can say and do whatever the heck she wants, as long as:

A.) It isn't illegal.

B.) She doesn't walk up to her coworkers and students and beats them up physically. See A.

There is a thing called the First Amendment and it protects everything she can say and has said. It doesn't matter if what she said made someone angry or go boo-hoo.

The courts, in their wisdom, disagree. [http://dockets.justia.com/docket/connecticut/ctdce/3:2008cv00954/81992/] At least in Connecticut anyway. Many employment contracts come with vague "morality clause"s and other things policing your personal life. Contracts are a *****.

 

[UltraParanoia]

I think she absolutely should be fired, because it's going to be impossible for her to teach her students now that they know she said those things about them. What she said has impacted her ability to do her job, therefore she should be fired.

Ridiculous, the teachers opinion of her students has no relevance to her job performance. Those students don't give two fucks what that morons opinion is, if they did they wouldn't have acted the way they did and piss her off in the first place.

 

[Saint of M]

When I was in school, it was part of my IEP (individual Education Plan, they give this to students with learning disabilities to help them out) to have a tape recorder to tap my classes. That said, nearly every teacher I did that with pliped out when I took it out because they were afraid they would say something that could be used against them. To them, brining out a tap recorder was like pulling out a loaded uzi.

The Teacher should have known better with the politically correct climate we live in.

 

[Deleted]

I think that what people say outside of work should not affect their job. IF your feelings get hurt over what someone said then too bad. She doesn't get paid after hours so why should she act like she's still in work?

I see your point, but I'm conflicted on this one. I mean, as a parent, wouldn't you question her commitment to give each kid her best when she flat out says, "I hate your kid"? I mean, what if your doctor said his patients were all slutty idiots who complain too much? My feelings wouldn't be hurt, but I'm not so sure doc really gives a shit what happens to me. I'm not trying to challenge you here, I'm just using your point to springboard mine off of. Plus, you're the most reasonable of the 'what's the big deal' crowd. ;p

Well the relationship between a doctor and patient is not like teacher-student. Teachers and students need to work together for the student to benefit. To assume that all kids are angels who must be cherished is silly. Patients don't need to do anything besides take the medication/change their diet/change their life according to the doctors suggestions. They don't HAVE to do what the doctor says,. Plus, there is confidentiality so its actually illegal I think to talk about patients problems in public. Thanks for responding with more discussion though, seems to be rare of this forum.

 

[ApeShapeDeity]

Let off the hook? I think not.

If this teacher sees fit to publicly berate her students... what does she expect? Plus, "asking too many questions" is hardly a fault in a student. One might also point out that she's supposedly the adult in this situation.