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Teacher fired for bumper stickers

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by bretaz, Feb 15, 2011.

  1. mojo

    mojo Senior Member

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    According to Airport Kids article she was fired for one sticker,not because her car was plastered with stickers.
    "Have you drugged your kid today" is the issue.
    A teacher who questions Ritalin is fired.
    I question Ritalin.
    Its very like giving cocaine to kids.


     
  2. seatown7

    seatown7 Northwest Prius Dork

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    We are no more a "free" country than we are a "Christian" nation.
     
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  3. Trebuchet

    Trebuchet Senior Member

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    How would you feel if you were a patent with a ADHD child who had to look at that bumper sticker everyday you brought your child to school and whose only hope was to take those meds in order to learn? She may have had a point that some are being over medicated or unnecessarily medicated but I'm betting there's plenty of children who are being helped or have no other choice.

    Personally, I don't think she even exhibit the same level of maturity as her students.
     
  4. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    I thought she was cute! :cool:
     
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Teachers, like other individuals in this country, have a right to protected free speech. While the constitution protects free speech, it does not provide protection against consequences of that free speech. As an example, if you own a store and decide to fly a Nazi flag outside the store, you will get no help from the constitution when customers no longer shop at your store. Likewise with most jobs, especially those involving public service.

    Like it or not, a teacher represents the community in which he teaches, and is expected to refrain from public displays that might embarrass the district. The teacher has the right to go against that expectation, but the district retains the right to terminate employment.

    Moral: Your working relationship with your employer is not the same as your constitutionally protected relationship with our government.

    Tom
     
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  6. PaulJenkins

    PaulJenkins New Member

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    Haha, thanks for these. Some of them are pretty insightful. I think firing someone over this is absolutely absurd!
     
  7. bretaz

    bretaz Member

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    If bumper stickers really affect this parent that much, then they probably need some medicine of their own. We are surrounded by thousands and thousands of different messages every day. If it bothers someone that much they should stay home, never leave the house, never open an magazine, never turn on the radio, never turn on the t.v., and certainly never talk to another human being.

    And yeah, I do think that many kids are over medicated. But then again, much easier to just give your kid a pill instead of actually being a parent.
     
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  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Those are not bumper stickers since they are everywhere on that Prius.
     
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I agree with this entirely. As a school board president, I would never want to dismiss a teacher over something like this. These situations are excellent opportunities to teach tolerance and discuss differing views. My earlier post was addressing the letter of the law, not the merits of this dismissal.

    Tom
     
  10. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

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    I would guess (hope) there's a lot more than just this sticker that led to the dismissal.
     
  11. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    When I was in school, teachers were required to talk about the dangers of drugs. Now it seems that they are required to push them.

    This teacher obviously has observed drug abuse in her classroom. The drug merchants have responded by censoring her.
     
  12. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Me too. That is usually the case with issues like this. We get a little sound bite on the news, and never hear all of the details.

    I often find that I am involved with issues where the details cannot be made public due to privacy laws. It often makes the school board and administration look like a bunch of hard-asses, when if the details were known, it would make sense to the public.

    Tom
     
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  13. priuscritter

    priuscritter I am the Stig.

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    I am not saying she should be fired, but she has gone out of her way to make her car a spectacle and a billboard for her beliefs that she parks in front of kids every day. Notice that she never said anything like "I keep my politics out of the classroom." She danced around that with statements like, "I am a good teacher" and "the car doesn't affect my teaching." I don't believe for one minute that she has NEVER introduced politics in the classroom.

    I'm waiting to hear the school's argument to see what the problem was and why they fired her.
     
  14. priuscritter

    priuscritter I am the Stig.

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    This was said very well. She should either drive another car to work or take off the stickers. You can't be a rolling billboard for the far left (or right if that were the case) and claim neutrality in the classroom.
     
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    [shooting my mouth off, again]
     
  16. bretaz

    bretaz Member

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    Not sure I agree. Apparently she only had to remove one sticker. That sticker, in my opinion was not political. Her other option was to park of campus. If the problem were in the classroom, they would not have given her these options, as it would have had no impact in the classroom.


    I don't see any correlation between having stickers on your car and maintaining neutrality in the classroom.
     
  17. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    "Don't believe everything you think"

    HAHA
     
  18. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    That's one of my favorites. As a student of meditation, I find that a significant percentage of the "thoughts" that wander through my mindscape are erroneous.

    Not everyone has figured that out yet.
     
  19. airportkid

    airportkid Will Fly For Food

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    I'm quite sure everyone here who thinks action against the schoolteacher is justified (whether firing, suspension, loss of pay, etc.) would not be so sanguine if they themselves were abruptly given a pink slip or other employment sanction as a result of their postings here in PriusChat. There isn't any difference between voicing your opinions on your bumper or on the internet (other than internet dissemination is probably a lot wider and far reaching). So give some thought to what you so casually clot these threads up with - it may be an unpleasant surprise to find out who's looking at them.
     
  20. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Sage advice. Rights and responsibilities are always closely linked. Along with freedom of speech comes the responsibility to be accountable for what you say. We might think we're anonymous and untouchable, sitting at our own computers, but it would not surprise me in the least to learn that every keystroke can be traced right back to its source, and perhaps even our current location can be tracked. Communication works both ways, especially if it's by computer.