After just posting the story of a tenth-grade student suspended for a posting on Facebook, this story appeared of yet another teacher suspended for her own postings on a blog. Natalie Munroe taught at the Central Bucks East High School near Philadelphia as an English teacher — until students discovered a comment on a February 8th blog.
On the blog, Munroe complained that her students were “rude, lazy, disengaged whiners” and admitted that she dreamed of giving parents an honest appraisal of their children. Some of the alternative “canned comments” were pretty funny and were clearly not meant for the students to read. They included “rat-like,” “dresses like a streetwalker,” “frightfully dim,” and “whiny, simpering grade-grubber with an unrealistically high perception of own ability level.”
Superintendent N. Robert Laws said last week that the blogged complaints were “very egregious” and “certainly could result in termination.” I certainly agree that this matter raised very egregious conduct, but of the school not the teacher. Teachers have free speech and have a right to vent about their profession.
Instead, Munroe was escorted from the school and suspended on the day the blog was revealed to school officials.
Munroe, 30, has both a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a master’s degree in education.
She joined a growing list of teachers punished for conduct or statements made after-hours and in their private lives (here and here and here and here and here and here).
The story below discusses how teachers are now shutting down their blogs and taking other steps to avoid punishments for any statements that they make in their private lives. It is a classic example of a chilling effect on speech and Munroe would do her profession a great service by challenging this abusive action.
Since the high school calls itself “the Patriots,” they might want to start with what the original Patriots fought for and fought against — starting with free speech and censorship.
Source: PhillyBurbs found on Reddit
Jonathan Turley
wonder what her teachers would have blogged about her. there is that whole “glass houses” thing.
She should very quickly resign. Her animosity will be returning to her very loudly if she returns to that school….
From The Republic (2/10/2011)
Teacher suspended for remarks about students in her blog
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/CPT-TEACHER-BLOG_4393939/CPT-TEACHER-BLOG_4393939/
PHILADELPHIA — She wished in her personal blog that she could call students “ratlike,” “frightfully dim” or “dunderheads” on their report cards.
But administrators at Central Bucks High School East wish she had never said anything at all.
Principal Abram Lucabaugh assured students at an assembly Thursday that the blog posts English teacher Natalie Munroe made did not reflect the attitude of the school’s faculty.
“The sentiments are in no way representative of how we feel about our students or how the teachers and faculty feel about them,” he said. “This is a representation from one individual.”
Munroe’s blog — especially her posting wishing she could leave report card comments that more accurately reflected her negative opinions of students — circulated this week among students at the Doylestown high school.
Administrators suspended her Wednesday, and they continue to investigate her writings and whether she used district time or equipment to craft them.
“My students are out of control,” she said in one post dated Oct. 27, 2009. “They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners.”
Munroe, who has taught at the high school since 2006, could not be reached for comment Thursday. District officials said she did not deny writing the posts.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association also declined to comment on Munroe’s case, saying the group might be called to intervene.
However, a spokesman pointed to the organization’s website, which advises teachers to think carefully before sending any Web posting.
“Make sure you would gladly show it to the following people: Your mother. Your students. Your superintendent,” the site says.
Munroe’s blog, which was taken down Wednesday, reflected on her work at the school in between musings about television chefs, muffins and her New Year’s resolutions.
Although she frequently criticized students in general, she never mentioned any specific teenager in any of the posts reviewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Lucabaugh, however, described the tenor of her comments as unacceptable and possible grounds for firing.
In one sketch posted on the blog, an image of a bus tagged “Short Bus” appears under the slogan, “I don’t care if you lick windows, take the special bus or occasionally pee on yourself, you hang in there Sunshine, you’re … special.”
*****
Did you get that last paragraph? Do you know which children are transported to school on the “short bus?” Special needs students.
“…highly trained and willing to work for very little to rectify these social issues.”
________________________________
IMHO this IS a social issue.the compensation for teachers and other highly trained professionals has been stagnant for so long you could make a VERY GOOD argument that the decay of social behaviors is probably directly related to the underpayment and over-utilization state of these professionals.
Here in Florida it was mandated by a vote that class-room size meet set levels. That MANDATE was never implemented…and now under Gov. Scott…not only will the teachers take further cuts in the form of even MORE kids shunted into already overcrowded schools but they are being forced to teach even MORE class periods. This all contributes to the decay in the system. Meanwhile, Corporations will be getting more incentives and less oversight….I might start callin a few names pretty soon….
rafflaw,
You’re a lawyer. Do you think anything would happen to you if you wrote derogatory comments about the courts, judges, fellow lawyers, and clients you were hired to represent (without naming names) on a personal blog?
Addiction Analyst,
Do you think Ms. Munroe provided a good example of how a teaching professional should address the issue of some problem students? Do you think what she wrote about her students on her blog was appropriate? If she was so upset with the way things were at her school, she should have had the courage to speak up about it and have worked toward improving the situation–instead of bitching about it on her blog.
How do you know that Munroe was a competent teacher? Maybe she had poor classroom discipline. Maybe she was an ineffective instructor. Maybe she was part of the problem. It certainly seems that she had a negative attitude about her students.
I think the teaching profession should have high expectations for its classroom practitioners and hold them to high standards.
We have gotten into the pattern of blaming the wrong parties in so many of out institutional problems. It appears as though the message that the “company” is always right has carried over to school systems as well. Too bad that the school district can’t use his message to be an alert of what is a pervasive problem amongst kids today, but instead, taking away the free speech of a person that is highly trained and willing to work for very little to rectify these social issues.
Elaine,
Thanks for the video and links. If she was blogging at work the district might have a better case against her if they aren’t supposed to use a computer during their lunch break or free time. Other than that, just because she is stupid, does not take away her free speech rights. Do the students through their parents have a defamation case against the teacher, possibly.
So whats the cause of action….believe it or not….teachers sign a contract that they will not bring any disrespect to the district in which they are employees…
Not that I know anything…I once was an employee of NEA…but hey…I do agree that they have a right to a social life…
Woosty,
You got that right!
More from Ms. Munroe:
From NBC Philadelphia (2/9/2011)
Teacher Suspended for Blog Posts About Students
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Teacher-Suspended-for-Blog-Posts-About-Students-115655164.html
Excerpt:
Then she lists the comments she’s really like to send to parents:
• Seems smarter than she actually is.
• Has a massive chip on her shoulder
• A complete and utter jerk in all ways. Although academically ok, your child has no other redeeming qualities.
• Lazy asshole.
• Two words come to mind: brown AND nose.
• Weirdest kid I’ve ever met.
Kids do not learn well from people who have such disdain for them.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGAzIWFQdt8&w=480&h=390]
From AOL News (2/10/2011)
Natalie Munroe Suspended: Worst Insults the Teacher Made About Her Students
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/10/natalie-munroe-suspended-the-worst-insults-the-teacher-made-abo/
Excerpts:
Maybe online etiquette should be part of the curriculum — for teachers.
Bucks County, Pa., high school English teacher Natalie Munroe has been suspended after writing insulting comments about students, parents and other teachers on her public blog.
*****
In January Munroe wrote a long post describing the comments she wished she could enter on her students’ evaluations, noting at the outset that she was “being a renegade” and blogging at work.
Among the 39 barbs she listed:
• “I hear the trash company is hiring.”
• “I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son.”
• “Rude, beligerent [sic], argumentative f**k.”
• “Just as bad as his sibling. Don’t you know how to raise kids?”
• “Asked too many questions and took too long to ask them. The bell means it’s time to leave!”
• “Nowhere near as good as her sibling. Are you sure they’re related?”
• “Shy isn’t cute in 11th grade; it’s annoying. Must learn to advocate for himself instead of having Mommy do it.”
• “Too smart for her own good and refuses to play the school ‘game’ such that she’ll never live up to her true potential here.”
• “Am concerned that your kid is going to come in one day and open fire on the school. (Wish I was kidding.)”
Munroe concluded: “These comments, I think, would serve me well when filling out the cards. Only, I don’t think parents want to hear these truths. Thus, the old addage [sic] … if you don’t have anything nice to say … say ‘cooperative in class.’ “
Askheidi,
those codes set out expectations of reasonable standards of behaviour but do not in any way limit a teacher’s right to a private and public life. Privacy policies, fair enough, but there’s no need to bring the Beck out.
Oddly enough even my beloved Young Turks had it wrong on this one, I think. They’d have the teacher dismissed immediately… I’m glad to hear some saner voices here.
James,
I should have written “earn” her students respect.
I’m of the irreverent variety myself–and always appreciated students who had a bit of the devil in them. I found having a sense of humor was invaluable to me as a teacher.
Regarding respect: It’s a two-way street. I always treated my students with respect and they usually returned the favor in kind. Some kids are less resilient than others. Some students who come to school have miserable home lives. Some are verbally abused; some are physically or sexually abused; some are ignored and neglected. Those students, in particular, need to feel safe and secure in their classrooms–need to be able to trust that their teachers have their best interests at heart.
askHeidi,
In Illinois the public school teachers are usually employed by school districts that are separate taxing bodies from the county and state. They would still be public employees. I do not know of any teachers around here that have signed any professional conduct agreements. Their is state law, I believe, about being arrested, but nothing about limitations on speech outside of the job. It could be contracted, but I would submit that the district would have to pay a lot of money or benefits to the teachers in order to compensate them for the loss or restriction of their freedom of speech of the job.
Elaine M., I actually don’t have a problem with her complaining about her students. At least she was honest, and I will take that any day, particularly as an object-lesson for kids that some truths are unpleasant, and yet remain, stubbornly, the truth.
As if her kids didn’t know it…
Elaine,
The teacher was “blogging” about her students. Any free speech on her own time, no matter how stupid the discussion may be, should be protected by the First Amendment. Teachers should not have to limit what they talk about on their own free time. Unfortunately, the First Amendment cannot protect her from her own stupidity.
rafflaw,
I’m not claiming it was “on the job speech.” It certainly was “about the students” speech.
IMO, I believe teachers SHOULD have “on the job” speech rights. My colleagues and I often had to complain to administration and file grievances about a number of things–including unhealthful working/learning conditions. There were many times when we spoke out for our own welfare and the welfare of our students.
I don’t want teachers not to be able to blog on their personal computers on their own personal time. Munroe wasn’t punished because she was blogging. She was suspended because of the negative things she wrote about her students. Would you want your children/grandchildren to have a teacher who wrote negative things about them? I certainly wouldn’t.
I know a number of teachers who blog. They blog about children’s literature. They blog about writing and creative activities they do in their classrooms. They share ideas for educational projects. They post their students writing and artwork. They write about educational conferences they attend. I doubt those teachers would ever be suspended for what they post on their blogs. They are true professionals.
Elaine M., I’m not convinced she lost universal respect. Nor do I think any teacher has to “command respect” to teach anything. As a student, I made it my business to be, how does one say, Highly Irreverent. The teachers who reached me did away with notions of false authority, and spoke to what could be demonstrated, by me, should the teacher unfortunately expire in the next breath. I felt it was the only way to be responsible for what I know, and, ultimately, teach others.
Kids are far more resilient in these matters than we think, and they will always respond merrily to the consistent truth in the most unvarnished form possible for the wee audiences. When adults are inconsistent and loose with the truth, kids will always know it, usually first.
We are also no longer in the Age of The Mimeograph, and so we have to understand kids are going to find it out anyway. Again, usually first.
Some truths are that teachers have first amendment rights. I see nothing wrong with being able to teach how they are expressed, even if that expression is determined (by some) to be objectionable.