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There are many constraints on teachers. Years ago the contract in many Texas ISD stipulated that a teacher could not be seen in a place where alcohol was served.
Until a lawsuit was filed a couple years ago people wanting to teach in a Texas public school had to sign a contract that stipulated they would never support any organization that advocated for boycotting Israel.
There is no such thing as privacy anymore. It does not exist.
This was a PRIVATE conversation, not for public viewing. I get this indicates that some of these teachers are probably not appropriate for teaching in a school that is 94% minority (54% Hispanic, 40% black) but I honestly don’t see how it can be legal to fire teachers over a private conversation where all, with perhaps the exception of the teacher who idiotically allowed students to use her phone, had an expectation of privacy. Their superintendent, of course, disagrees with me.
This is a school that has a 97% free lunch/2% reduced lunch population, in other words only 1% of their students do not live in poverty. What is more, only 8% of the students score proficient in Math with 9% scoring proficient in Reading/Language Arts. I sure this is very difficult school to teach at regardless, and these were 8th graders which can be one of most challenging grades under the best of circumstances, so I don’t doubt they were frustrated as the kids were probably also engaging in end-of-the-year hijinks.
Reason #6754 why teachers should never, ever lend their phones to students…. and this idiot did it so they could make a ticktock video, of all things.
But, bottom line, if the teachers fight it they will get their jobs back, despite one or two who probably should look elsewhere for a job.
I think most of us would not have jobs if our private conversation aired in public. I for one would love to tell my old boss what I thought to his face, but I was taught to stay humble. In any case, even the congress n politicians get upset when caught with their pants down. A Private conversation is protected by freedom of speech.
The kid invaded that, and her mom should have admonished her, n talk privately to the teacher. But it’s a trend now to be anti teacher.
Well, I think that it indicates that the teachers involved are probably not suited for the teaching profession; and I honestly don't think that once the messages were released, that any parent would feel comfortable having their child's teacher think so little of the the child and their parent(s).
And, btw, I was a teaching assistant from 2000-04 in a working-class neighborhood (I would estimate about 80% white and 20% non-white), and I never heard even one vulgar word about ANY student or parent -- although I remember that there was kindergartner (white, btw) who I think all the teachers agreed was a "handful". (Yes, even at five or six years old, he had quite a "rep", and his teacher would regularly send him to the special ed teachers' classroom for a time-out. The kids were all mainstreamed, but they would be sent to the classroom where two special ed teachers and I worked for one-on-one teaching.)
But I think that perhaps some teachers today need to learn some "discretion" and respect, and not just the kids -- and this is not a "slam" on most teachers. I think most teachers deserve a LOT of respect and earn every cent of their salaries.
While I value privacy, once something like this becomes public, the administration certainly has to wonder if the teachers are fit to teach at this school, denigrating the students as they did.
There have been what I believe are constitutional violations in firing, like teachers who put on Facebook, "build the wall," got fired. That happened to one in my own county back in 2016.
You know what’s wrong with that school? It has a 99% free/reduced lunch rate, a 9% reading proficiency rate, and probably an astronomical teacher turnover rate.
Teachers should have a right to vent, they had probably spent a year building trust with each other to express their feelings, and expressing those feelings gets it off their chest which allows them to better deal with what are probably very difficult students.
Again, if tenured those teachers can fight whatever disciplinary actions that superintendent thinks she can take and they will win, with perhaps the exception of th3 teacher whose phone they used. The other five had an expectation of privacy.
100% agree. Teaching in some schools is not only difficult but actually dangerous for the teachers. Kids today are so disrespectful and violent. All of these are chair quarterbacks have NO IDEA what it is like today on the front lines with these kids. It really is a battlefield. It is truly unbelievable what they put up with. Most teachers in the rough schools burn out quickly and leave. Probably time for some of these teachers to move on as well. It’s sad, because kids need stability but the teachers receive zero support from the parents.
It would be fun if people would remember, as we all used to be able to do, how to keep those thoughts in our heads and not tumbling out our mouths or fingers.
Curious about something….. let’s say someone looks on whatever device you use to post on here and matches up your user name and real identity. That person decides to doxx you. You (like every other poster on here so I’m not picking on you) have written things that might be considered offensive/inappropriate were you a teacher. Should you be able to be fired for what you have written on here? I know you wrote with the expectation of privacy but……
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
Curious about something….. let’s say someone looks on whatever device you use to post on here and matches up your user name and real identity. That person decides to doxx you. You (like every other poster on here so I’m not picking on you) have written things that might be considered offensive/inappropriate were you a teacher. Should you be able to be fired for what you have written on here? I know you wrote with the expectation of privacy but……
Depends on your job.
For me certainly I'd be subject to fines and potentially losing my license. Publishing it anonymously on the Internet is no different than publishing it my real name when you get right down to it. I have a requirement to maintain confidentiality and neutrality and publishing all the juicy deets and my personal opinions about how much someone is a lying sack of excrement is not in keeping with my duties. First offense is usually some chatty cathy type at a bar gossipping to the wrong ears and a complaint gets made. That's usually a $10,000 fine and six months of probation but they let you keep working with the slap on the wrist. Most people, even the chatty cathy types, aren't stupid enough to publish it in writing on the internet.
For me certainly I'd be subject to fines and potentially losing my license. Publishing it anonymously on the Internet is no different than publishing it my real name when you get right down to it. I have a requirement to maintain confidentiality and neutrality and publishing all the juicy deets and my personal opinions about how much someone is a lying sack of excrement is not in keeping with my duties. First offense is usually some chatty cathy type at a bar gossipping to the wrong ears and a complaint gets made. That's usually a $10,000 fine and six months of probation but they let you keep working with the slap on the wrist. Most people, even the chatty cathy types, aren't stupid enough to publish it in writing on the internet.
Definitely agree with this.
Yes, freedom of speech is a right I defend more than any other, I think, but I also think that if, for example, someone has been hired to as a speechwriter or aide to a politician, and then has been discovered make posts online that either make fun of that politician and that his ideas are ridiculous, that the politician would have every right to fire that person.
100% agree. Teaching in some schools is not only difficult but actually dangerous for the teachers. Kids today are so disrespectful and violent. All of these are chair quarterbacks have NO IDEA what it is like today on the front lines with these kids. It really is a battlefield. It is truly unbelievable what they put up with. Most teachers in the rough schools burn out quickly and leave. Probably time for some of these teachers to move on as well. It’s sad, because kids need stability but the teachers receive zero support from the parents.
I subbed in one school where I has to be escorted to the classroom and then wait to be escorted back to the teacher lounge.
This was the roughest school I had ever been in and even the police had a permanent office and presence on campus.
Needless to say after 3 days there I removed myself from that school's sub list.
I feared for my physical safety at that school.
It stopped being private when the teacher handed over the phone. If they weren’t texting during school hours they wouldn’t have been caught either. We are all responsible for what we put out there
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