NC teacher suspended over remarks on her Facebook page

[jmowreader]

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=84112

Melissa Hussain, an eighth-grade science teacher in Apex (a town close to Raleigh), was treated to the standard RW "Christian" love for people who they perceive are not quite as Christian as they: according to the longer story in the Fayettenam paper, the children had left pictures of Jesus and Bibles on her desk, broke out their Bibles and started reading them when the teacher assigned in-class work, and started asking Creationism questions during lectures on religion. (Apex is in Wake County, which is supposed to be the LIBERAL part of this state.) Well...the teacher finally snapped and wrote a comment on her page about the war they started. And she got suspended for it, and will probably get fired.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Think her last name had something to do with it?

Just a hunch.

[jmowreader]

3. It probably had everything to do with it

[KittyWampus]

29. No, posting about her students did.

[Warren DeMontague]

38. Right. Way to deliberately misinterpret the situation. What about the "Christian" proseltyzing and

harassment that preceded the FB post---

Or did you maybe forget about that part?

[Green_Lantern]

54. how were they harassing her?

Its harassment for non-Christians to even see a Bible?

[Warren DeMontague]

56. Give Me A Mother Fucking Break.

the children had left pictures of Jesus and Bibles on her desk, broke out their Bibles and started reading them when the teacher assigned in-class work, and started asking Creationism questions during lectures on religion.

[Green_Lantern]

58. that's not harassment...

Asking the teacher questions is what students do...

Seeing a picture of Jesus isn't harassment unless she's a vampire.

Feeling harassed by people reading a Bible suggests her intolerance of Christians.

[samsingh]

60. you don't believe in vampires do you?

[Warren DeMontague]

63. Vampires are really "in" with the fundy, abstinence only crowd these days.

That, and singing vegetables.



I guess the ideal is to have no genitalia, or not be allowed to use them. :shrug:

[Green_Lantern]

80. if I'm a fundie than that word...

Has a very broad meaning.

[Warren DeMontague]

84. Some words have lots of meanings, It helps if you spell them right, though.

I think you mean "then".

[Green_Lantern]

87. I spelled it correctly...

Just used the wrong homonym.

[Warren DeMontague]

62. In school during school time the kids are obligated to follow the class outline.

Unless it's specifically "pick whatever book you want and read it" time, it doesn't sound like the kids are following the rules.

Furthermore, if they're disrupting the class with inane questions about 'creationism', again, they're being disruptive.

[KittyWampus]

70. that's when a teacher breaks out the extra assignments.

[Warren DeMontague]

71. That's right. A 5 page analysis of the fecal matter of bovine males

and how it correlates to the output of, say, the Discovery Institute.

[KittyWampus]

72. double spaced.

[Green_Lantern]

75. give them detention then...

You don't shame them as she said.

[Warren DeMontague]

85. She posted something about them on her personal facebook page, off campus.

No one forced them to read it.

[Green_Lantern]

88. posting on FB is like yelling something in a public square...

She chose to open her comments up for anyone to see. She needs to take responsibility. Do you think a teacher should be fired for anything they post? What about racist statements?

[Warren DeMontague]

91. I think the people who should be taking responsibility are the kids who disrupted class

so they could proselytize a teacher whose last name they didn't like.

[Green_Lantern]

95. I agree, so give them detention....

Don't trash talk them.

[Winterblues]

100. Is yelling something in a public square now not allowed?

And why is posting the same as "yelling"?

[Green_Lantern]

110. forget yelling, it's like putting an ad in the newspaper...

It's legally allowed but if you say certain things pertaining to your job you can get fired. You can't claim privacy.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

90. Depending on the laws of the state...

Every state has privacy standards and teachers are not allowed to discuss classroom performance outside of the parents and the school administration.

Depending on the state law and what the teacher specifically posted, she have have violated those standards.

In any case, a group of unruly students should be dealt with in the classroom and not on Facebook.

[Warren DeMontague]

92. As I understood it, she didn't name names.

So I think it's debatable whether anyone's privacy was compromised.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

94. I don't know one way or the other....

But it shows some pretty poor judgment to do something like that. It would suggest to me that she can't handle her classroom.

[jmowreader]

73. The Bible reading part was more a "fuck you" instead of an expression of the students' faith

The teacher would give assignments, and the students would break out their Bibles instead of doing the assignments.

[annabanana]

77. And I'll bet they thought the whole thing up all by themselves. .

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[cayanne]

123. Christians are becomming bullies

Where does it say in the Bible that Christianity has to be forced on someone? Many people are not Christians and never will be so
Christians need to get over it and leave the rest of us alone.

[Hannah Bell]

124. what a bunch of shit. organized bible-reading during class time, contra the teacher's

instructions, = harrassment.

[Green_Lantern]

125. students ignoring a teacher should get detention...

It isn't harassment.

[20score]

2. Damn! I am really sick of these Neanderthals!

[jmowreader]

4. Yeah, I hear ya...

The lack of snow here is a piss-poor tradeoff for the Christian extremism, continual refighting of the Civil War, and low pay in this place.

[MercutioATC]

5. Posting on Facebook is like having an op-ed published.

Only an idiot would post that she was going to punish students for leaving a Bible on her desk.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. That really pisses me off

That poor teacher. I hope she is able to find work at a school where she can be respected.

[Versailles]

7. As a former teacher,

I understand the frustrations of having religion forced upon you...regardless of your affiliations. I was forced to open every morning with a prayer at a private school I worked at (long story short, I was hired when the school was one "that actively accepted and promoted all faiths" and it changed to an aggressively Christian one). I also understand the frustrations of teaching middle school - I personally hated it. Middle schoolers are unbelievably adept at finding and pushing buttons. The frustrations of being a teacher are many and it seems that teachers are continually forced to act under the same scrutiny that they did in the 1800s. I was chastised by a parent for going to the bar with an out of town friend for a beer. Teachers are expected to live these sheltered perfect lives without any possible mistake or action that might possible upset a single member of their class. It just isn't possible to live like that and teacher need an outlet just like any other folk. To fire or suspend a teacher for venting her frustrations is ludicrous, in my opinion. Should this teacher have her facebook page private? Absolutely. But unless she acted upon those rantings and outlet of emotion, she should not be punished for letting her frustrations and emotions known.

If we are really going to go the route of punishing those for their emotional hyperbolic speech, then we need to start arresting those who have been "so angry they could kill" a person. Welcome to 1984...don't worry, really, the thought police know when you are just being hyperbolic....

[Green_Lantern]

9. she did act on her emotions...

She even said she shamed the children. Teachers who are frustrated can't take it out on their students.

[Versailles]

17. Where did it say that?

I must have missed that in the article. It was my understanding that she was venting on Facebook and that was the reason that she was suspended. I did not see that she had actually acted on her emotions.

[Supersedeas]

36. well said

[Green_Lantern]

8. she's not the victim..

We don't know what she actually said on FB.

She posted remarks about her students on Facebook, saying the Bible on her desk was a "hate crime" and she "was able to shame her kids" over it. Comments from her friends talked about "ignorant southern rednecks."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/02/17/1252159/another-so-called-adult-didnt.html


I'm assuming she took her aggravation out on the Christian students. She should be fired in that case.

[Maru Kitteh]

10. The Observer is a total right-wing rag, and that's an opinion column

in the right-wing rag.

[Green_Lantern]

13. another source...

Hussain wrote on the social-networking site that it was a "hate crime" that students anonymously left a Bible on her desk, and she told how she "was able to shame" her students over the incident. Her Facebook page included comments from friends about "ignorant Southern rednecks," and one commenter suggested Hussain retaliate by bringing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster to class with a swastika drawn on the NASCAR driver's forehead.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/02/15/article/teacher_may_lose_job_after_derogatory_comments_about_her_students_on_face

[Maru Kitteh]

22. A fail to see a direct and complete quote of hers that merits anything more

than a warning.

[cherokeeprogressive]

42. Any "Teacher" who actively attempts to shame students and then brags about it

needs to be fired post haste.

"Teachers" shouldn't be in the business of "shaming" students, any time, for any reason. Ever.

It seems pretty cut and dried to me.

As with other respondents to the OP, I'm of the opinion that once you post something on a social networking site, your feelings are no longer private.

[Zomby Woof]

47. See?

You are a typical right-of-center apologist. The "progressive" in your name fools no one. Why am I not surprised you'd carry water for those little chrustian (sic) toads?

[cherokeeprogressive]

53. So you think there are circumstances wherein the shaming of students by teachers is allowed.

If I'm "carrying water" for anyone, it's students in general.

Far too many students have been bullied by teachers, to the point of said bullying changing who the student might have been. I've seen it and I'm sure you've seen it as well.

The progressive in my name identifies me as a person who doesn't believe there is ANY reason for ANY adult, much less a "teacher" to bully or shame a child. I see that you don't believe in that ideal though, and it's evident in the way you wear your disdain for people of faith on your sleeve (see "chrustian").

I think there may have been other ways for the teacher to handle this. In fact, I'm sure of it. Certainly you would agree that posting about it on Facebook wasn't the way.

[Maru Kitteh]

81. Produce a direct quote from the teacher in context

Otherwise all of this is speculation based on an opinion piece with it's own agenda.

[Maru Kitteh]

23. Same source. Big Surprise.

http://www.mcclatchy.com/

[LanternWaste]

111. Not tough to shame someone if they did something shameful...

Not tough to shame someone if they did something shameful. All one needs to do is state what happened, and voila! Shame.

[jmowreader]

20. There was a long news article in the Fayettenam Observer

They charge for access so I don't post anything from there, but there was a long non-opinion piece in the printed newspaper today. It seems the Fristian children really fucked with this woman for a long time before she finally snapped.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

27. Snapping certainly seems to have been a mistake.

[Mudoria]

104. Sorry... the Observer is hardly a "rw rag"

Not very often they support Republicans in elections or during the rest of the year.

[deaniac21]

11. Wow, an adult persecuted by 14 year olds. What can we do

to prevent this?

[Maru Kitteh]

15. Those kids were little sock-puppets for their parents.

And the administration should have backed the teacher up against the little shits, and their hillbilly bible-thumpin' parents too.

[Green_Lantern]

16. teachers can't act like 13 year olds...

And get revenge on kids. She was wrong.

[Versailles]

21. She didn't act like a 13 year old....

Again from what I read, she didn't act like a 13 year old. She may have THOUGHT like a 13 year old on her Facebook page, but from what I read, she didn't act upon those thoughts.

I am so sick of this blame the teacher first attitude that has developed. It is reason number 1 I left the profession. It wasn't the student's fault they failed a test, it was the teacher's fault because teacher didn't like the student. It wasn't the student's fault that they got caught smoking crack in the bathroom, why was the teacher out of the classroom? And people wonder why society is becoming less and less responsible...

[Green_Lantern]

28. I agree with you that teachers do get blamed for everything..

But that doesn't mean they are never at fault. I've had teachers who've flipped out for silly reasons.

[Dogtown]

46. Everyone blaming the teacher

has a proven DU track record of being a Christian apologist.

Just something we have to live with.

:hi: Versailles!

[Green_Lantern]

49. And those defending the teacher....

Have at track record of despising Christians.

[Maru Kitteh]

82. That is not an entirely accurate statement.

[LanternWaste]

115. Not in my case...

Not in my case.

[Tsiyu]

122. Suppose this classroom behavior took place

in a "Pagan' stronghold, maybe Asheville, and the teacher was a Christian, forced to listen to her students chant and hold drum circles while she lectured. And during religion class, they asked her lots of questions about the Fertility Goddess or the Flying Spagheti Monster.

Just to piss her off because she's a Christian.

Would that be enough for an expression of disgust on MyFace? Would those students need a good dose of shame?

The long and short of it is that we have a Constitution that guarantees freedom to believe whatever one desires, without discrimination or harassment. This teacher's right to believe what she wishes was mocked and she was tormented by her own students for her belief. ( As a non Christian, I can say that the behavior these students exhibited would cause me extreme distress. The Bobble is for church or personal time, and it offends me greatly to hear certain parts of it read. In any case, it does not belong in a PUBLIC school classroom, as I assume this was.)

The other students in the classroom NOT taking part in this harassment were having their right to an education compromised by these RightWing spawn. And how do you think NON-CHRISTIAN students in that classroom felt, seeing their teacher treated this way, knowing they might be the next targets of these snotty Christian brats? The brats DESERVED to be shamed.

The parents of these kids are teaching their kids to discriminate against others for their religious (or non-religious) beliefs. But these parents will be the first to claim "persecution" when the local flea market advertises a "Holiday Sale" rather than a "Christmas Sale" come December.

[deaniac21]

66. and the teacher is a thin skinned dumbass.

[Progressive_In_NC]

97. Apex is not hilly billy

It is right by the Research Triangle Park and near Cary and Raleigh, NC. There are more Progressives, Phd's and Master's degrees here than in a lot of places in this country that are considered "progressive".

My office mate has two kids at that school, and he says there is a lot more there than meets the eye. Who knows really, I wasn't there so I have no idea.

[OneGrassRoot]

108. I live literally two minutes from the school....

While what you say is true about the general population of the area -- specifically Cary, Apex, RTP -- I'm amazed how many bible thumpers live here...I'm talking Palin mob type of bible thumpers: aggressive, proselytizing. I know from personal experience.

Many of those kids go to that school. I was called every nasty name in the book during the elections because I had an Obama sign in my yard, told I was going to hell, as was my daughter, etc.

I'm not the least bit surprised that the kids would refuse to do work in a science class and openly rebel, leave bibles on her desk, etc. I also absolutely believe the parents encouraged it.

Finally, I believe Ms. Hussain handled it poorly with regard to not having her FB account private. Everyone should know to do that by now, especially teachers.

[Maru Kitteh]

12. I lived in Willow Springs for 6 years. Apex bore no resemblence to Raleigh. It was like a time-warp

So color me not surprised.

[BlooInBloo]

14. With the possible exception of the RTP area, "liberal" would only be a *relative* term down there.

[OneGrassRoot]

109. True statement.

To me, Chapel Hill is one of two liberal sanctuaries in NC, the other being Asheville.

:hi:

[JVS]

18. The only things you should post about work on the internet are...

1) How awesome it is.
2) How very busy you are.
3) How great all the people you do it with are.

[proteus_lives]

19. +1

[Lisa0825]

24. Yeah, I agree.

I am in HR, and have had a very difficult time the past 18 months, with a hurricane, layoff, interim job, finally rehired at old job, etc.... through it all, I was DYING to post more details than I did to my FB friends, but I mostly kept my posts vague, and communicated by messages or emails instead. It's an easy trap to fall into.

[vadawg]

34. +1000 but people are dumb asses

[TalkingDog]

25. If she had the same conversation in a public restaurant

while the kids or their parents were at the next table.....

A public declaration in a public forum invites public response.

I've had this discussion with a number of people on FB when they post stupid crap and for some reason get wracked out of the frame when they get called out for it.

She had every opportunity to block, prevent or disallow viewers, she could have even used a pseudonym to shift attention away from her public identity. I personally have 2 FB pages for that very reason. My public face for social conversations and my private face where I share with my friends. Just like real life.

I don't assume that strangers or social acquaintances have any interest in my silly drivel, in jokes and odd sense of humor, so I keep it to myself. I'm an adult that way.

And being a non-Christian in an area of NC that is very similar to the time warp of Apex, it helps to grow a thick skin.

Is she being harassed for being different? Probably. But guess what, so are a lot of other people. Grow a pair, learn to deal and save the outrage for something a little more serious than childish bullshit.

[frylock]

26. i would have just thrown the bible in the trash can..

where it belongs.

[Green_Lantern]

31. yeah destroying a religious text...

Would definitely get her fired.

[Warren DeMontague]

57. If they leave it on her desk as an unasked for "Gift", it becomes her property.

So why can't she do with it as she damn well pleases?

Or, maybe she's under some obligation to humor their need to spread the "good news", eh?

[Green_Lantern]

59. no but as a public school teacher..

She couldn't do something that offensive to any religious viewpoint as a govt. employee. Government employees can't go off on someone's religious views on the job, it's discrimination.

[Warren DeMontague]

61. So they can leave it on her desk as an obvious proseltyzation, but...

then she's under some obligation to-- do what? Read it?

Bullshit. They leave it on her desk without asking, that's basically littering.

[Green_Lantern]

76. is this teacher a 2 year old?

If your students screw with you and it riles you up it shows them you are no match for them.

[Warren DeMontague]

83. Are you still trying to assert that she's under some special obligation with regards to crap left

on her desk, unasked for?

If your kids can't behave in class and insist on leaving garbage on the teacher's desk, they should be reprimanded until they learn how to behave properly.

[Green_Lantern]

89. I agree and there are appropriate ways of reprimanding them...

Through detention or suspension, not trash talk online and as she put it "shaming them."

[Warren DeMontague]

93. Agreed. She could have handled it better.

If it were me, I would have given them detention, and disposed of the garbage left on my desk as I would any other classroom litter.

[Green_Lantern]

96. I personally wouldn't throw a Bible in the trash...

But as long as it wasn't in front of class who would know.

[Warren DeMontague]

99. I don't get the feeling you're the target market for the unwanted proseltyzation brigade.

The real issue here isn't teachers making bad Facebook judgments, it's a trend in many American schools where fundamentalist students, egged on no doubt by their parents, feel entitled to enforce a religious orthodoxy that doesn't belong.

[Green_Lantern]

103. I'm catholic so fundies may think I'm unsaved but...

She played right into their scheme if that's the case.

[Raineyb]

101. No she's the recipient of unwanted material. She's entitled to dispose of it as she sees fit.

If that means it ends up in the trash, so be it.

[Lyric]

74. Throwing away an unwanted and deliberately offensive "gift" is not discrimination.

If a Pagan student leaves a pentacle on a Christian teacher's desk as a deliberate provocation, I assure you, she can throw it away. She can't go off on a tirade against Paganism while she does it, but she can definitely dispose of it.

[Green_Lantern]

78. how about a realistic example...

If a Muslim student put a Koran on a teacher's desk and she tossed it in the trash in front of everyone people on DU would flip out.

[Warren DeMontague]

98. "everyone"? Not me.

Like I said. Leaving unwanted crap on a teacher's desk is essentially littering. And once the 'gift' is proffered, it's up to the recipient to decide what to be done with it.

[Green_Lantern]

105. well nowadays govt. employees can't just destroy religious....

Symbols without being fired. It has nothing to do with property rights but not offending an entire religion.

[Warren DeMontague]

116. Er.... I think you're quite wrong.

Are you trying to tell me that if some numbnuts dumped a ton of Jack Chick tracts on the front lawn of any High School in America, they wouldn't be allowed to throw them out? That's ridiculous. What if a follower of some cartoon version of Satanism left a Goat's head with a red candle in the middle of the desk? What if a student worships Larry Flynt? Can he or she leave a penthouse on the teacher's desk, and demand it not be destroyed? Because, you know, it might offend an "entire" religion.

For bonus points, you can tell me the specific Constitutional difference between "real" religions with "legitimate" religious materials and, say, anything else.

[Green_Lantern]

117. I wasn't talking about any law...

I was making the point that the govt. nowadays is pretty sensitive about offending mainstream religious sensibilities, that doesn't include far out things like leaving bloody goat's heads in public.

I think she'd be suspended if she ripped a Bible up in front of class.

[conscious evolution]

32. That is so wrong on so many levels

It should have been thrown into the recycle bin.

[frylock]

35. my mistake

:rofl:

[invictus]

55. +1

[CBR]

30. Don't post crap about your job on Facebook.... Good Grief. nt

[frogmarch]

33. Ignorant evolutionary throwbacks!

I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to try to teach science to the offspring of bible-thumping morons.

[Spike89]

37. Plenty of fault to go around

Hopefully the parents are ashamed that their children acted in such an unchristian manner, but I pretty much doubt they are. I'd hope even more that the principal, other teachers, and administration that let this woman down recognize and regret their failures. I'd also hope the teacher learns that there are more appropriate ways to deal with frustration than to post about the kids on facebook. Finally, I hope the students learn a little tolerance.

Geez, this sounds like one of those rare stories where just about everyone involved failed and missed any opportunity to turn this into a learning moment.

[tammywammy]

64. +1 n/t

[CraftyGal]

39. I am probably going to get flamed for this....

be that as it may, though, teachers are held to a higher standard. Yes it is difficult to deal with children of this age as they still tend to follow what their parents teach until the hit mid teens. However this is about Facebook. People seem to think that they can post anything on it or make groups or pages that actually contravene Facebook policies. I have been in the process of shutting down groups that condone violence against women or just violence in general. The admins have even been couched the topics in humor (this a joke and some people just don't get it).

One thing I have learned is that Facebook is not private, unless you set it o the highest private setting, where only your friends can see you.

You should treat Facebook like any other public social arena, communication is key. I am sure she would have been careful about how she spoke of her job when in public. I ams ure whe wouldn't have said those words in public where others could have heard her.

In this day and age it is so much harder to keep "private" matter "private". I have friends, who work for the City and some who are Police Officers. They are also friends of mine on Facebook, so the lines have become blurred as to what is "personal" and "professional". Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter have helped to develop relatioships with people that you otherwise would never have known. However this is a two edged sword, that needs to be monitored. It is not like when you are face to face with a freind. THings can be taken out of context when things are posted. Obviously look as to how people are responding to what this teacher said.

CraftyGal (yes I am Facebook and Twitter and love both networks)

[Green_Lantern]

40. +1

good points

[CraftyGal]

41. Thank you

[BigErnMcCracken]

50. This

sums it up rather nicely. The teacher has the responsibility to place herself above the fray as it is. There are proper channels for voicing her concerns, and they don't start with any comments on facebook that are followed up with other comments from the outside. It's not the proper forum for airing your dirty laundry. If I had an issue with my coworkers, no matter how large or small, and posted about it on a social media site (which by the way I abhor for this very reason) I should be called to task for it by the people that I work for.

No matter if she was wronged by her students, and to be honest there is no proof that the events she claims went down as she claimed unless she reported it immediately to the administrators at her school, there are proper channels. Facebook is not one of them. Defend her actions all you like, but she's not being fired for not being Christian if that's the case. She's being fired for acting like one of the children that she teaches and posting about it on the interwebz.

[mmonk]

43. Yes, still awaiting a decision.

The News & Observer in Raleigh published the story and most responses published in its print edition supported the teacher.

[apocalypsehow]

44. Where, oh where, is the DU "this isn't about free speech" squad? Shoes on other feet, and all that.

[BigErnMcCracken]

51. She absolutely has a right to her free speech

But the school also has a right to discipline her as they see fit for airing those issues about CHILDREN on the internet and inviting comment from others. What she said wasn't the problem, it was that she chose that forum to discuss issues publicly that should have been handled in private. To paint this issue as a free speech issue is patently ridiculous.

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. Did she mention any of the kids by name?

If not this is not a privacy violation.

[Raineyb]

102. It is too bad the school didn't take a similar attitude as far as disciplining the brats who

clearly decided to gang up and heap abuse on this teacher for the sin of not being the same religion as they are. Then the teacher's frustration wouldn't have ended up on Facebook anyway. Not that what she posted to her friends is any of their business to begin with but that's another debate altogether.

[Green_Lantern]

106. she didn't just post to her friends...

She had her account set so everyone could see her posts. Are you saying if a teacher posted racist garbage on FB they shouldn't be fired?

[Jkid]

45. Right Wing "Christian" love. More liek Right Wing "Christian" Harassment, amirite?

What the teacher has subjected to was harassment, plain and simple. If she reported it to the school administration and the school district administration first and if they did nothing, it would have been justifiable to vent on Facebook. If she did not, then the suspension is justifiable.

But still, isn't group harassment on a basis of religion is a criminal offense. The last time I checked, it is.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Green_Lantern]

52. no, the teacher...

Is just a nervous breakdown away from the crazy house.

[SidDithers]

67. +1...nt

Sid

[LeftyMom]

68. The bible offers two potential punishments for disrespectful children.

I'm not sure how plentiful she-bears are in that part of North Carolina, but surely you have no shortage of rocks.

Or do the good Christians of Apex believe enough to encourage their brats to drive a woman from her job for believing differently, but not enough to punish said disrespectful brats in a suitably Christian manner?

[Green_Lantern]

79. yeah that goes a bit too far....

Even in jest.

[etherealtruth]

69. she vented on Facebook about her frustrations dealing with kids in her class

Probably not the wisest move ... but, if she didn't name names .... or give information or details that identified the children in her class ... why is this really news? Haul her into the office ... "read her the riot act" ... give her an "official" warning ... and have someone else come and talk to the children in her class about how their behavior could be deemed offensive and why it won't be tolerated.

Other than that ....move on .... nothing really going on here.

[proud2BlibKansan]

86. I would never put anything about my students on my FB page

No I don't think this woman was treated fairly, but she did do a stupid thing.

[Mudoria]

107. It was a stupid thing to do by all parties..

The children should be disciplined and the teacher deserves her suspension (but not a firing). It was a situation that should have been handled much better than it has by all concerned.

[LanternWaste]

112. May I bring up what I think to be a relevant point...?

May I bring up what I think to be a relevant point...? Many posters here are stating in so many words that the teacher received a just disciplinary action because she shamed the students.

We do not know precisely how this was done. One valid way of shaming a person is by doing nothing more than stating publicly what that person did if that action warrants shame in and of itself.

For example, if I as a student used the word "nigger" over and over again for fun and kicks, and was called on it, I would be shamed, yes? The teacher could quite easily shame my by doing nothing more than reporting my actions. No call for discipline for the teacher in that specific case, yes?

[Green_Lantern]

113. removed by poster

NT

[Gold Metal Flake]

114. The fundies are in a war to destroy public education.

They are fighting a multi-generational war started decades ago and they are winning. They have taken over school boards, textbook review boards, school administration and are moving into the teaching positions. They are not being challenged in an organized, national, passionate manner. There is no opposition equal to the fundi "Christian" invasion.

This teacher was unprepared for a tactic used in this war. Why not? Where is the opposition? Fractured, unorganized. The non-religiously insane minority left in our public schools and those who support them better get organized or public education in the country will be destroyed and all of the tax-dollar-created infrastructure will be absorbed by corporate for-profit and hyper-conservative religious organizations.

[Green_Lantern]

118. she did exactly what the students wanted...

Pushed her over the edge. She seems very unstable or just weak.

[Gold Metal Flake]

119. Thank you for your long-distance phychological diagnosis.

You're like a little junior Bill Frist!

[Green_Lantern]

120. I wasn't making a medical diagnosis...

Just saying she seems to have a thin skin if this is how she handles annoying kids.

[Gold Metal Flake]

121. Now now, don't disown all of the other comments you made about the teacher up-thread.

Get down with your bad trash-talking self!

:rofl:

[Green_Lantern]

126. I'm not...she sounds like an idiot...

People should know by now that if you put things on a public forum people will see it and potentially fire you.

[NoodleyAppendage]

127. Apex is NOT LIBERAL. You need to move NE to Chapel Hill or Carrboro for the liberal haven.

Apex is an urban flight zone, like Cary, for whites fleeing Raleigh. Most of the Apex and Cary folks I know are low-to-mid income pseudo-WASP-types, who hide behind "black problem" or religious boogeymen to make themselves feel better about their own crappy circumstances.

J