At what age do constitutional rights begin? How young is too young to be entitled to express your opinion? Should classroom teachers have to sign an oath of secrecy before they can interact with students? Can the right to free speech in America ever go too far?
A California sophomore was suspended from his high school recently for calling his biology teacher a “fat a** who should stop eating fast food.” He was mad about receiving a big homework assignment. The ACLU has come to his defense, arguing that the kid’s Facebook post was protected under the constitution.
A Pennsylvania teacher was suspended for blogging about kids in her class. The “lazy whiners” are “out of control” and “disengaged,” she wrote in her blog, which she called “Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?” Fellow teachers hailed her as a hero. “Finally a teacher has spoken up,” said one, “she should be praised.” Another said, “Teachers don’t forfeit their rights.”
Most of the parents weren’t as supportive. Though Munroe didn’t name the student she called “Dunderhead” or described as a “simpering grade-grubber with an unrealistically high perception of [her] own ability level,” that didn’t seem to lessen the offense taken.
Fortunately, the teachers here in Lake Highlands who’ve used Facebook to interact with current and/or former students have chosen to remain positive. Senior English teacher David Wood suggests poetry and classic rock to his students via Facebook (he shared this appropriate James Joyce piece during the recent snowy school holiday), and he uses the medium to appeal directly to the kids to sign up for the more challenging Advanced Placement courses to prepare them for college. Forest Meadow’s choir director, Kari Gilbertson, spreads a little love with Facebook well-wishes and birthday greetings for LHHS graduates far from home.
But if your child’s teacher said something ugly about students in a public blog, how would you feel? And if the school called to say your child had posted an insulting or profane comment about a teacher online, how would you handle it? That’s the great thing about raising kids – we learn to see even black and white issues in a lovely shade of gray.
