| Andering REDDSON |
02-23-2010 12:41 AM |
Just a sampling of related comments:
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First Amendment or not, she broke Facebook's ToS by creating a group targeting a particular person or group. Not only is the group subject to removal by Facebook, but so is the girl's account.
"Note: groups that attack a specific person or group of people (e.g. racist, sexist, or other hate groups) will not be tolerated. Creating such a group will result in the immediate termination of your Facebook account."
- Facebook Group creation page
Her suspension is another matter, but I've seen schools suspend kids for doing less than inciting hatred. Then again, I've seen schools do nothing about the physical and verbal abuse of other students.
She'll need to do a lot of growing up, however, if one lousy person is enough to push her into the mess she's created. There are crappy people out there, girl, including some very crappy teachers and professors. Get over it. less
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What I find disturbing here are the large numbers of posts that seem unconcerned with cyberbullying and harrassment, which should not be tolerated whether initiated by a student or an adult. This seems to be one of the regrettable legacies of the social networking mentality.
The First Amendment has never been carte blanc. Speech can injure, and in such cases, courts can issue penalties. If the teacher in this case could show damage resulting from the Facebook postings (demotion, loss of future employment opportunities, different treatment by students or peers, doctor-quantified proof of emotional duress) she could possibly win a libel lawsuit. And when an individual acts with malice--as appears to have been the case with this vengeful student--the courts are more likely to favor the plaintiff.
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I'm pretty sure that if this was the other way around--if the teacher had created a webpage criticizing the student--it would NOT have been protected as "free speech."
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fyi... The First Amendment is a limitation on Congress, it is not a gaurantee of that citizens will not face reprecussions of slanderous speech or a prohibition against liable and slander prosecutions. Read it for yourself:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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This sound like another case of cyberbullying. The difference is that that young girl directed it towards an adult and not a classmate. She was soliciting hate. " "To those select students who have had the displeasure of having Ms. Sarah Phelps, or simply knowing her and her insane antics: Here is the place to express your feelings of hatred." I bellieve the school system and the teacher in particular had a right to be concerned. Now she probably is going to try to sue the school when it all started with her ignorance and irresponsibility. Although Miss Evans has a right to free speech she also has to understand that what comes out of her mouth can come with consequences and that the teacher has a right to defend herself against malicious postings like these whether they are true or false. There are two sides to every story and there is no mention of what exactly the teacher did to deserve this type of bashing.
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FrustratedMI If that didnt qualify as "bullying" - that spells bad news to other kids who are getting bullied on facebook, which is simply an extension of the school.
However, this is going to be interesting to see how the courts decide when it comes to people getting fired for saying something as simple as "my job sucked today"...if thats not free speech that should be protected, i dont know what is!
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if she did this to another student it would be labeled bullying and have a lot of consequences, i dont think it should be any different for a teacher. It was a little over the top to take her out of AP classes, but she is totally deserving of some kind of punishment. i think her suspension should stay on her record, as an "honor student" she certainly showed a lack of honor.
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A teacher also has the right to carry out his/her profession without being cyberbullied. While I won't defend the principal's reaction, I can't believe that Ms. Evans' creation of the facebook page isn't drawing much criticism. As a culture, we seem to let children do almost anything as long as their actions are non-violent. We excuse so much behavior that shouldn't be accepted...
Also, there's an unspoken mentality that teachers are naturally supposed to submit themselves to the mockery and ridicule of children because 'it's their job'. OK, kids make fun of teachers, but there need to be limits. For me personally, cyberbullying goes beyond the limits of what is acceptable. We've all had lousy teachers, we've also all had at least one great teacher who possbily helped us grow more than our own parents at some point in our youth. If as a culture we have lost respect for the profession of teaching as well as the professionals who teach, let's at least grant teachers enough civility and leave them alone so that they can do their jobs.
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Does someone have to die or be intimidated for it to be called cyberbullying? No. It's the intent on causing emotional/mental or physical harm that matters.
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Yes, her blog falls under freedom of speech, but just because you CAN say something doesnt mean you SHOULD say something. Her parents should be embarrassed, if you can even call them parents. There is a time and a place for everything and this girl will find out the hard way I am sure. I hope the teacher starts a blog about her, the worst student and most disrespectful person ever!!!
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I can promise you this, if I were that teacher, once I found out about the blog, I would have sued her and her parents for defamation of character. Then she would have to prove in court that I am the worst teacher ever. Maybe if you start holding people accountable for their freedom of speech, they will learn that just because you can speak freely, doenst always mean you should.
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She made a facebook page saying she hated her teacher, but I thought the courts stand was hate is illegal, guess that only applies to gay agenda's.
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Some of the sentiments were repeated more than once, especially the idea that had the instructor presented her opinions in the same fashion, she would have been fired on the spot. I was not aware that Facebook prohibited such activity (first comment, btw), but the general gist is, “It’s her own fault she got suspended for this. Learn from it and move on.” |
