Canning Ms. Rusty: English Teacher Fired For Writing Racy Fictional Novel

Another teacher has been fired for activities outside of school. Leonora Rustamova, 39, (known as Ms. Rusty) taught English at Calder High School in England and was a successful teacher until she wrote a book that the school found a bit too racy. “Stop! Don’t Read This” is a fictional story about students at the school but includes sex and drug references as well as the name of headmaster Stephen Ball.

Frankly, I am surprised by the use of the real names, which raise legal questions of false light and other claims. If she used the names of real students in the internet publication, I find that troubling. However, the named students do not appear to be objecting and it does not appear that that is the reason for the termination — at least according to her supporters. There are protests over not just her termination but another teacher at the school, here.

Rustamova, however, insists that this was merely an effort to get the kids to read and the students and parents have protested her termination.

She is now considering an appeal.

My concern is that this is part of a broader trend toward punishing students and teachers for actions outside of school. Indeed, one of my criticisms of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is her role in one of the most controversial such cases.

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