Academia, Constitutional Law, Courts, Society

Teacher Suspended For Writing Critical Comments on Her Personal Blog

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

111 thoughts on “Teacher Suspended For Writing Critical Comments on Her Personal Blog”

  2. I prefer teaching adults because they have the desire to be there. They want to get an education. I am a very logic person and don’t have a lot of patience for students that don’t try. I know that they all have different levels of skills and everyone has baggage. I don’t feel that I could teach students because I don’t want to feel that my work would be for nothing. Public schools are disappointing some students and not fully preparing them for the global workforce, but not for a lack of desire on the part of the teachers.
    The issue that I take is the lack of desire that is found in some students, not all of them, they just seem as though other things are more important. Being a teenager is a hard thing, especially today. I can speak from experience that you teach because you want to make a difference. After all, private service would prove more lucrative.
    The truth most likely lies somewhere in that she was referring to certain students, but knew that she would get in trouble for making that public. She is frustrated and not sure how to deal with students that have not been trained to her level of education.
    As you know it is really a team of people including teachers, students, parents, and school administrators that make a good education for our youth. I have seen such a decline in parents’ interest in their children’s education. This is for various reasons.
    My issue is that why is this an issue. Why would she perceive that her students are rude, lazy, and dis-engaged? There has to be a reason for the way she believes this whether it is the truth or not. These kids a high school students and are old enough to have a sense of personal responsibility.

  3. Reggie,

    Are the students that Munroe has been teaching truly “rude, lazy, disengaged whiners”…”rat like” “street walkers”–or is that Munroe’s perception of them?

    I was one of “these people” who didn’t earn a huge salary for being a dedicated and conscientious teacher. Still, I found my job rewarding–and I LOVED working with kids. If you’re the type of teacher who thinks all children are going to come to school without some kind of baggage or special needs and aren’t ready for the challenge of coming up with different approaches and methods for engaging and inspiring your students…then maybe teaching isn’t the profession for you.

  4. Education is the process of making our society able to effectivly communicate, able to compete in global markets, and able to be overall good citizens. America is spending billions of dollars on education and this is what we get “rude, lazy, disengaged whiners” from our money. If my son was classified as a rude, lazy, disengaged whiner that I am not doing my job as a parent. If this is the high expectation that we expect from our students, then we should stop spending money so that our people can be “rat like” “street walkers” because with out a good education that is what we will be. We have to remember what these people have to go through to get paid crap for having to deal with srewups.

  5. Elaine:

    I’m thinking you might be right, especially since she is 30 years old. I had the impression she was young (using Facebook). Then I went back and reread the story again and saw her age. That is not good.

    My son had a teacher who was just awful. I complained. Nothing happened. I was at school all the time volunteering for positions SHE made available to parents. This was to protect my son and to keep tabs on things.

    At the end of the school year (after a 9 months of my supplications to her) in private she told me she never knew why she went into education in the first place. Well, it was her word against mine and at least she admitted it to me, but there was nothing her admission could do.

    I could have felt vindicated by her statement, but instead I was sickened by it. They kept her on but there was nothing I could do since she said it to me in private.

  6. Tootie,

    I actually think Ms. Munroe may not have the temperament one needs if one is going to be a teacher. There are lots of frustrations one experiences in the profession–often on a daily basis. One needs to learn how to deal with them in a more appropriate way than she did.

  7. Elaine:

    Oh. Very interesting. Thank you. Hopefully their parents stay involved. I hope the problem can be solved outside of court. I don’t want to see her lose her job either. But if she takes it to court and wins, I think the kids who were referenced have every right to point out her flaws.

  9. Woosty:

    Look, the kids are defenseless. This woman might win in court. I wouldn’t be opposed to that.

    I’m not asking the kids to lie. The things I said are the truth as far as I can tell.

    And as much as I wouldn’t let my kids respond like that about a teacher, the pagans and infidels among us might like to send a message to her and people like her. And I was just suggesting how.

  10. Seems to me that she needs another line of work. I don’t like some of my customers but I still kiss their ass and I don’t write about how stupid they are, I would certainly love to. But a roof over your head is more important than venting your spleen in a “public” journal.

    Get a dog and a bottle of scotch and take out your frustrations on the ice cubes and talk to the dog. They are usually very good listeners, especially if you have a leash on them.

    The children are the teachers “customers” and she needs to figure out how to serve them.

  11. friggen WTF.

    Tootie:

    what is going on? That is some mighty harsh language. Are things OK? I am wodering if something has happened, you are really getting very close to the line.

    And I usually find your rants pretty funny and sometimes educational, there is more venom in them now. Are you OK?

  12. Tootie 1, February 16, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    I’m for the kids.
    ********************************************
    Dis for you Tootie
    You gots ta understan Trick luv da kids

  14. Tootie,

    Students have already set up a Facebook group.

    From philly.com (2/10/2011):

    Excerpt:
    Administrators learned of the blog earlier this week as students discovered it and quickly began passing it around. One even created a Facebook group under the title “Join if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by Natalie Munroe.”

    http://WWW.PHILLY.COM/PHILLY/NEWS/BREAKING/20110210_BUCKS_TEACHERS_BLOG_COMMENTS_LAND_HER_IN_TROUBLE.HTML?JCOUNT=2

  15. oh Tootie,

    for all your eye for an eye drecht, aren’t you blind yet????

    oh, my bad……………

  16. I’m for the kids.

    They could teach this woman a lesson: go after her on their Facebook pages and see how she likes it.

    Call her a nitwit (teachers are among the least educated college students). Demand she post her SAT scores. Call her a mindless statist pig towing the government line who probably would have trouble getting work, let alone honest work, elsewhere. Call her a slimy commie who, like the murderous commie Marxists of old, promoted unions.

    That might give abusive teachers second thoughts about criticizing their students in public.

    What a witch, these kids are FORCED to be in school. SHE IS NOT.

    She betrayed them.

    One of my all-time favorite movies and song:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aSFoY3W3NM&w=480&h=390]

    Also:

  17. Blouise,

    I was both a teacher and a parent. I know how hard most of the teachers at my school worked. Of course, I had a few teaching colleagues who were lazy, couldn’t keep control of their students, or who were incompetent. Most of those teachers didn’t last long. I brought my daughter to my elementary school and she got a wonderful, enriching education.

    My daughter did have a few doozies in middle school and high school. Only one of those teachers warranted my speaking to the principal about her classroom behavior. That teacher was a disgrace to the profession. She was cruel to some of her students. She made insulting remarks about them in class. IMO, the teaching profession should have no place for educators that like.

    BTW, when I read Munroe’s blog comments, that teacher came to mind.

  18. Elaine M.
    1, February 16, 2011 at 12:34 am
    Blouise,

    Teachers need an outlet for expressing their opinions and for venting their frustrations. A public blog, however, is not the place where a teacher should be making derogatory comments about her students, their parents, other teachers, and her administrators–especially if she is using profane or vulgar language. Something didn’t sit well with me with this story from the beginning. When I read more articles on the subject of this teacher and her blog, I was appalled by some of the things she had written.

    =======================================================

    In a matter such as this it is always prudent to dig a little deeper which is what you did. I followed your lead and found that I agreed with your assessment 100%.

    I have had many interactions with teachers over the years concerning my own two children and then two of my grandchildren who lived with me. On the whole I can say that there were only two teachers with whom I disagreed to the point that I had discussions with Principals. That means there were literally dozens who, in my opinion, did a good job and at least 8 who did a superlative job. I can’t imagine any of them doing as Munroe did.

    All the children under my care received an excellent education and I wish that the school system in my town could be replicated across the country.

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