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Teacher Suspended For Telling The Truth

Lewis

Member
This teacher was suspended for telling the truth, because many of these kids today are bad kids and some of the parents allow them to be that way. I think this teacher spoke her mind. And should not been suspended for it. I think that she was well within her rights to speak the truth. So what do you all think ?

Paterson Teacher Suspended Over a Post on Facebook


A first-grade teacher in Paterson, N.J., was suspended on Thursday after she posted on her Facebook page that she felt like a warden overseeing future criminals, district officials said.
The teacher, who has not been publicly identified, was suspended with pay from her position at School 21 after parents complained to the school and asked that their children be removed from her class, district officials told The Record of North Jersey.
Terry Corallo, a spokeswoman for the Paterson district, e-mailed a statement on Friday confirming that the teacher was on paid administrative leave, adding that “this matter is a personnel issue that is under investigation.â€
On Friday, the teacher declined through her lawyer, Nancy Oxfeld, to comment.
Ms. Oxfeld said any comments that the teacher had made on Facebook were done on her own time and to her friends.
“My feeling is that if you’re concerned about children, you’re concerned about what goes on in the classroom, not about policing your employee’s private comments to others,†Ms. Oxfeld said.
Ms. Oxfeld, who was contacted through the New Jersey Education Association, declined to give her client’s name.
Word of the Facebook comment spread across Paterson and beyond, and spurred e-mail exchanges, water-cooler gossip and more postings on Facebook.
Irene Sterling, president of the Paterson Education Fund, a nonprofit group that supports the local school community, said parents were angry about the teacher’s comments because anyone, including her own students, could have read the negative characterizations. She said it highlighted a lack of commitment by some teachers. “It’s horrible,†she said. “And unfortunately, I don’t think she’s the only teacher in Paterson who thinks that way.â€
The Paterson district, with 28,000 students and 2,425 teachers, has long been one of New Jersey’s most troubled school systems; it was taken over by the state in 1991 because of fiscal mismanagement and poor academic performance.
In a similar episode, a high school English teacher in Doylestown, Pa., was suspended recently after she called students “disengaged, lazy whiners†on her blog.
Jonathan Zimmerman, a New York University history professor who has written about education, said teachers, like other professionals, had responsibilities. He compared the episodes to a doctor talking loudly about cases on a crowded train. “It seems to me with professional responsibility comes a duty to exercise discretion,†he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/nyregion/02facebook.html?_r=1&ref=technology
 
I was a teacher for 27 years.

I would never in a million years post something like that on FB even if it were true. I see people all of the time slandering their employers, employees, co-workers, family members, exes, and more. It's crazy.

She should have been suspended.

She called them "future criminals". I've taught some of those "future criminals" myself. Many of them in the two Christians schools that I taught in. Yet, I would never publicize my opinions about any child I taught or adult that I worked with on FB or any other public venue. I may vent like a volcano to my boss or to a parent or two or to a trusted co-worker, but not in a place the the public at large could see my ranting. :onfire

I understand her frustration. I've been there. You really have to watch what you say in public about people.

I try to always remember - "Loose lips sink ships". :lol

A lot of corporations fire employees for posting company business, good news and bad news, on public sites like Facebook.

 
I was a teacher for 27 years.

I would never in a million years post something like that on FB even if it were true. I see people all of the time slandering their employers, employees, co-workers, family members, exes, and more. It's crazy.

She should have been suspended.

She called them "future criminals". I've taught some of those "future criminals" myself. Many of them in the two Christians schools that I taught in. Yet, I would never publicize my opinions about any child I taught or adult that I worked with on FB or any other public venue. I may vent like a volcano to my boss or to a parent or two or to a trusted co-worker, but not in a place the the public at large could see my ranting. :onfire

I understand her frustration. I've been there. You really have to watch what you say in public about people.

I try to always remember - "Loose lips sink ships". :lol

A lot of corporations fire employees for posting company business, good news and bad news, on public sites like Facebook.
I understand what you are saying, but isn't she protected under the freedom of speech act. I mean shouldn't she be able to say what is in her heart and not be a phony about it ?
 
I understand what you are saying, but isn't she protected under the freedom of speech act. I mean shouldn't she be able to say what is in her heart and not be a phony about it ?
no, the first amendment doesnt work here , other wise i as ssg united states army could call our president a buffoon and not face ucmj action.
 
Sure the teacher should have the right to say 'these kids are brats'

Sure the boss should have the right to say 'Your fired"


I wouldn't want my kids taught by someone who doesn't have enough sense to know when to be quiet.



EDITED :

Because i replied with out reading the statements made. :oops

There should be discussion about the behavior of kids in school. It should have some proper channels. And the warnings of teachers should be heard.
 
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The Paterson district, with 28,000 students and 2,425 teachers, has long been one of New Jersey’s most troubled school systems; it was taken over by the state in 1991 because of fiscal mismanagement and poor academic performance.
For the life of me, I just can't see why they are so upset I mean, read the quote above. I don't think that she should have got in trouble for telling the truth. Do you think that Jesus would have kept quiet about it ? No He would have told the truth and exposed it.
 
John 8:7 But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.
 
Well, first of all, although in theory what you post on FB on your own time should be your own business (opinion), the truth is that employers do snoop and will fire a person if they don't like what they read and don't fit their cookie-cutter personality profile. You have to keep in mind that the generation in power today were once senseless rebels themselves (hippy generation) and now that they are in power, they are worse than the establishment they rebelled against. Besides these hypocrites acting like that, they also do not believe in the theological concept of "sin" and while a kid may very well be headed for the penitentiary, instead of calling it "sin" they rather call it some euphemistic term like "social developmental disability".

That all being said, the teacher should not have been so tacky, either. The teacher should have used the same vocabulary these liberals use and state it in such an eloquent way so as to tick them off and yet cannot do anything legally. The parents might not have been so quick to judge the teacher, either, coming across eloquently at least would sound more intelligent (and they would probably be too idiotic to know what the teacher was saying anyway). In other words, there's nice and intelligent ways of saying one's kid is a derelict and still get it off one's chest.
 
keep in mind that the generation in power today were once senseless rebels themselves (hippy generation) and now that they are in power, they are worse than the establishment they rebelled against.
Wow I was a hardcore hippy, but anyway that was a very good post Tim. Yes I guess she could have said it better, but she did tell the truth. The establishment wants you to be like as Paul put it, talking to people with itching ears. Some people don't want to hear the truth.
 
What truth did she tell? Sounds to me more like she spoke her mind and gave her opinion.

I think I have to side with Kimberly on this one. The first amendment or any freedom guaranteed by the bill of rights are only guaranteed so long as one does not infringe on another person's rights. In this case to refer to the students as "future criminals" is clearly a defamation of character and free speech does not protect one in this case. Does this teacher have the ability to foretell the future and know that these children are destined to be criminals? How can she accuse them without having the proof to back up her statements? Perhaps she would be better off dedicating her energy toward teaching this children how not to fulfill the destiny she has for them. She's already started in the hole by not having faith in their abilities and in her own ability to reach these children.

I am no expert in these matters and therefore this is purely my opinion and nothing more, for what it's worth.
 
I,m sure she was not talking about every last child.But it seems to me like she is going off of experience of what she has seen in the past. Some kids you can just tell which way they are going.
 
Consider my own history. When my dad was in his 20's he owned a pretty fast car. He really liked to hotrod with that car. So much so that at one point I recall him telling a story about how he had tried to outrun the police once. He said the speedometer needle was completely buried past the 120mph mark and he was still accelerating. They eventually caught him and the court impounded his car and took away his driving privileges among other things.

I remember another incident when I was in my early teens. He got caught doing 65mph in a 30mph zone through a small town.

Seems we have a repeat offender here and because my dad had a history of speeding can one conclude that I too should not be allowed to have a driver's license because I would be a future speeder?

Even if she did have experience with previous children she is still unable to predict that Johnny, sitting in the front row of her class today, is also going to be a criminal when he grows up. In my opinion, her attitude does not belong in the classroom. I think she needs to take a step back, take a deep breathe, collect herself, and re-evaluate her priorities. Hopefully, this time out period will give her the opportunity to do just that.

That's not to say that I don't understand her frustration. What she has been saying is purely speculation and opinion without any basis in fact. This is one of the reasons we also have the protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Otherwise, 99% of us could be profiled as future criminals based on our family, ethnic, or environmental history.
 
It is sad when adults have lost hope in children by age 6 and 7 and already proclaimed a cursed future upon them.
Please read the following verses, many parents today have gotten away from raising children the way the Bible says to raise them. I got my butt kicked when I was coming up. I was taught right from wrong. And I did stray in my hippie years and beyond, but the Word of God says Train up a child and when he is old he will not depart from it. And I did return to what I was taught by my grand parents and mother and father. Now many of these kids today are not being taught or corrected about anything. So what this teacher is seeing is correct. And to Wip I ran from the cops on a high speed chase twice.

Proverbs 20:11 KJV
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

Proverbs 20:15 KJV
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13 KJV
Withhold not correction from the child;for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Proverbs 29:15 KJV The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
 
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Please read the following verses, many parents today have gotten away from raising children the way the Bible says to raise them. I got my butt kicked when I was coming up. I was taught right from wrong. And I did stray in my hippie years and beyond, but the Word of God says Train up a child and when he is old he will not depart from it. And I did return to what I was taught by my grand parents and mother and father. Now many of these kids today are not being taught or corrected about anything. So what this teacher is seeing is correct. And to Wip I ran from the cops on a high speed chase twice.


I know the verses and what the Bible says. I am not ignorant of it. When an adult has given up on a child by age 6, and pronounced curses upon their future, then the adult has effectively ceased in "training up" the child as well. It is only those who keep the hope for the future who make the effort. If my child's teacher had the attitude of the one in the article, I would not want my child in that class either, because a teacher with that attitude has ceased from being a teacher. "Prison warden's" don't teach. I prefer to actually have someone who takes an interest in my child's future. You speak of what the Bible says, yet nowhere in those verses does it say to give up on a child by age 6. That teacher you defend has given up on these young children. Her words are a reflection of her own attitudes and behaviors-- not of the parents of the children. If the parents did not care, and had given up on their children, then there would not have been 20+ parents going to the school and demanding to have their child removed from that class.
 
I know the verses and what the Bible says. I am not ignorant of it. When an adult has given up on a child by age 6, and pronounced curses upon their future, then the adult has effectively ceased in "training up" the child as well. It is only those who keep the hope for the future who make the effort. If my child's teacher had the attitude of the one in the article, I would not want my child in that class either, because a teacher with that attitude has ceased from being a teacher. "Prison warden's" don't teach. I prefer to actually have someone who takes an interest in my child's future. You speak of what the Bible says, yet nowhere in those verses does it say to give up on a child by age 6. That teacher you defend has given up on these young children. Her words are a reflection of her own attitudes and behaviors-- not of the parents of the children. If the parents did not care, and had given up on their children, then there would not have been 20+ parents going to the school and demanding to have their child removed from that class.
Well I can certainly tell that you don't live in the ghetto. There is a place here in Philly called Kingsington and in that section of Philly you got some bad kids it is a section of the city that is black and white it is the most integrated part of the city and they are all tight down there with each other and it is some very bad kids down there. Many parents on drugs and the kids just run wild. Now were you offended or something in my last post because it sure seemed like it, I did not call you ignorant. I did not say anything about giving up on a child at all. And also she has a right to call it like she sees it. Where I live we have some great kids and we also have many that are headed straight to the penitentiary. No you should not give up on a child, but many don't want your help and many parents don't want you telling their child what to do ether. I am a realist I also will call it like I see it. I am not going to stand up here and give the popular answer, I am going to call it the way I see it, also in this situation. Because I have lived in such places as where she teaches, I know what she is talking about. I live in the Germantown section of Philly and we have our share of cussing kids, shootings done by kids, stealing and beating up old people by kids. Kids who don't give a darn about school, and kids with a low outlook on God people or anybody else. And then you have some great kids. I am tired of people who has not experienced this kind of environment telling us the deal about it. We live and work here and we know. I am a person of color and I am calling it like I see it down here. We have kids here in Philly who meet on Facebook then they gather downtown and beat people up in the streets, so now the Philadelphia cops keep a eye on Facebook to head them off. And the last time that they did it, the cops were waiting for them. We have kids here going into other schools and beating up kids. Do you know that on Chelten Avenue here in Philly some of the store owners close down their stores when the kids get out of school, because they break the store windows and come in the stores and steal. The kids last year ganged up on a cop and threw him through the store window. And don't even mention the kids in Camden New Jersey. We live this stuff so there is nothing that outside people can tell us, why because we live in it. And like I said on the other hand, we have some very, very good kids. My son is in jail now for killing a man when he was 16, he is doing 21 years and he has about 3 and a half years left. He shot and killed this man holding up a bar him and 2 others. He strayed away from what he was taught and look what happened to him, my first born son who has been in jail for about 18 years. When your children go to jail they take you with them. That's right because they are in jail you are in jail.so I know what is going on in these schools, my son started acting up in school, to keep up with the other bad kids in school, and me and his mother had a time with him. Now look he is in jail, and he is blessed that he did not get life. So until people know what they are talking about they should not come in here telling us about what we know first hand. Now that is my 2 cents. I have been here almost 6 years and I have never talked about my son, but this was a good time to do it. If it sounds like I got a little testy in the end, well I did and I am sorry. But please read the below article.

Everybody needs to read this. And please look at the first video and listen to the teacher talk about being assaulted by 2nd and 3rd graders. Well really check out all the videos. They are all disturbing especially what is said in that last video. These teachers are in trouble.
To read the whole story click on the link below. But 690 teachers has been victims of violence. 4.000 all together in Philadelphia.
During the 2009-10 school year, 690 teachers were assaulted. Over five years, from 2005-06 to 2009-10, more than 4,000 teacher assaults were reported, a yearlong Inquirer investigation has found.

Violence Targets Teachers, Staff

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/school-violence/118885059.html
 
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Wow I was a hardcore hippy, but anyway that was a very good post Tim. Yes I guess she could have said it better, but she did tell the truth. The establishment wants you to be like as Paul put it, talking to people with itching ears. Some people don't want to hear the truth.

I'm from that generation,too, Lewis albeit the tail end. I'm a baby-boomer and yes I was speaking against my own generation. Although I always joked that I was "the hippy's kid brother". I think even though we were in the same generation, we "kid brothers and sisters" saw some of the foibles in the older baby-boomers.

Rebellion, per se does not bother me, as long as one is not a hypocrite about it. But they rejected everything moral and then found a vacuum because they rejected all the standards. So... they made their own and what I call "pseudo-puritanical" and are worse than their parents they rebelled against. That's the hypocrisy part IMO. You can identify them when they use catch-phrases like "politically correct", "zero tolerance" and the like which show a narrow mindset even though they are deluded, er, I mean believing they are enlightened and educated and open-minded..
 
Lewis, I can not view any of the videos on that page.

I have been attacked by students, had students with emotional and behavioral problems, etc. And I refuse to give up on a child.
 
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