I saw a story on the news this morning about a teacher recently fired who was filing suit against her district for wrongful termination. Her claim? She was being fired for voicing her opinion on her personal blog, what she calls her "diary." She voiced unflattering opinions about her students, and claims that those opinions led to her termination, which in turn violates her freedom of speech.
What freedom of speech?
This teacher (I am so tempted to use quotation marks around the word) criticized her students on an internet forum. She referred to them as "disengaged, lazy whiners" and "frightfully dim." Another post, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying." While she did not identify herself using her surname, nor did she use the names of the school, the district, or even the students, "Natalie M." identified herself with a picture on her blog. Yet she expects privacy. Can I say again, she identified herself with a picture on her blog.
So the question is this: What rights do teachers have?
First of all, I firmly believe that this teacher crossed the line. If your students are disengaged, I believe it is time for you to examine your own pedagogy. If they are "frightfully dim," then what are you doing to close the gap between where you want them to be and where they are when they enter your room in August? Obviously if students are talking back, cursing, and discussing inappropriate topics in your classroom, then YOU THE TEACHER NEED TO EXAMINE YOUR OWN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.
What rights do teachers have to vent? We do have the right to vent. We vent to spouses, to a journal (of the paper and pencil kind), even to other colleagues and supervisors behind the sanctity of closed doors. We pound it out on the treadmill. We take yoga classes. We frequent happy hours. We do have these rights.
And while we may have the right to blog out our frustrations, it is inappropriate to take to the internet to criticize the children we teach. It is inappropriate to publicly vilify the parents raising these children, whether we feel they are doing a good job or not. If I called a parent and said some of these things about his/her child, I would fully expect to be reprimanded, transferred, or all out let go. If it isn't appropriate to say it to the parent's face, then it is inappropriate to broadcast over the internet. Because, you see, Natalie M., the internet never goes away. It is there forever. In my heart of hearts, I know that what goes on my blog needs to pass the same test I give my students: I need to be able to say it to my MeMaw. I would not call my students "rat-like" to MeMaw. She would be disappointed in me.
