• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Teacher loses First Amendment rights

Dittohead not!

Dittohead not!

master political analyst
DP Veteran
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
52,009
Reaction score
33,943
Location
The Golden State
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District

A first-grade teacher in Washington was placed on administrative leave after urging people on Facebook to report suspected undocumented residents, school district officials said.
Cheriese Rhode, 29, allegedly posted a message last week encouraging citizens to inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of those believed to be in the country without proper documentation.
Click to expand...

We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
 
If they fire this teacher I believe that they'll lose the court battle.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District



We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
Click to expand...

I kind of hate social media in general, but both private and public there seems to be a lot of blow back from what people post in their off hours affecting their jobs. Mostly I feel that it's a bit too much. For sure, I think there are cases in that what one posts online in their own time has connection to an employer and legitimate concern for a company. But some times it just seems like it's an excuse to butt into someone's private life.

In the end, I think that yes people should be wary of what they write online, but that also what they post outside of work, on not-company profiles or company equipment, etc. should be their private life.
 
Sad to think she is a teacher. This would have a negative impact on her job as a public educator. They have a right to suspend her for this behavior.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District



We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
Click to expand...

Why? The First has been breeched a few times.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District



We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
Click to expand...
This just in: Just like the MSM is the propaganda arm of the DNC, the teachers union is the indoctrination arm of the DNC. This teacher said something that wasn't part of the child programming on her own time outside of any official capacity and is being disciplined for it.
 
reinoe said:
This just in: Just like the MSM is the propaganda arm of the DNC, the teachers union is the indoctrination arm of the DNC. This teacher said something that wasn't part of the child programming on her own time outside of any official capacity and is being disciplined for it.
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with indoctrination, the DNC or teacher unions. This surely can have a negative impact on her students.
 
reinoe said:
This just in: Just like the MSM is the propaganda arm of the DNC, the teachers union is the indoctrination arm of the DNC. This teacher said something that wasn't part of the child programming on her own time outside of any official capacity and is being disciplined for it.
Click to expand...

Did you actually read the article to see why the teacher was placed on leave or just jump into conspiracy mode right away?
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
This has nothing to do with indoctrination, the DNC or teacher unions. This surely can have a negative impact on her students.
Click to expand...

What did I miss? Why would this have a negative impact her students?
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District



We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
Click to expand...

Seems a bit overreaching to me. Teachers should have a right to opine without losing their job.
 
calamity said:
Seems a bit overreaching to me. Teachers should have a right to opine without losing their job.
Click to expand...

I agree, she has a right to opine, but what she is doing is not writing an opinion piece. She is urging anyone that suspects someone is illegal to report it to state/federal authorities.
 
calamity said:
Seems a bit overreaching to me. Teachers should have a right to opine without losing their job.
Click to expand...

I oppose social media policies precisely because they have a chilling effect on the first amendment and employers should not have the right to regulate the private lives of their employees under threat of termination. Relinquishing your civil rights should not be a condition of employment in this country.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.
Click to expand...
Is it? I'm not so sure.

Like it or not, employers do keep an eye on social media activity. Employees are no longer just individuals; their employers can (and in this case, apparently are) be held accountable by the public for the private activities of employees.

Her comments also suggest that she might call ICE on her own students or their parents, which can certainly be an issue for the school, and may violate school policies, or local or state laws.

The district ought to have a social media policy in place, and it ought to be applied equally. If her comments run afoul of that policy, then she should be suspended. If it didn't, that is a potential issue of improper enforcement of the policy.

This is also not new. People have been held accountable by employers for social media posts for years now. This case dates back to 2010:
Brooklyn Teacher Who Talked Out of School Can Keep Her Job - The New York Times
 
I don't like the idea of the administration disciplining this teacher for her political views, even if she did communicate them in an inflammatory manner.
 
RickJames3000 said:
I don't like the idea of the administration disciplining this teacher for her political views, even if she did communicate them in an inflammatory manner.
Click to expand...

They step over the line of simply views. She wants them to take action.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Teachers aren't allowed to use their classrooms as a podium for preaching political or religious viewpoints, and rightly so. Anyway, they aren't supposed to do so, even though no doubt some do get away with it.

But this is not a case of using the classroom, but of a post made on social media.

This is wrong. Regardless of whether you or I agree with her or not, the school district is just wrong.

First-Grade Teacher Suspended Over 'Illegal Aliens' Post: School District


We've already started chipping away at the fourth and fifth amendments. Now, it appears that the first is also under attack. Will the citizenry stand up, or will we just ignore the situation until none of us have any rights left?
Click to expand...

On her own page she should be able to say anything she wants as long as it doesn't violate the ToS or promote illegal activity.
 
American said:
On her own page she should be able to say anything she wants as long as it doesn't violate the ToS or promote illegal activity.
Click to expand...

There is a federal law which protects students from the harassment/blame and/or being targeted called Title VI.
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
There is a federal law which protects students from the harassment/blame and/or being targeted called Title VI.
Click to expand...

And where did she harass/blame/target students?
 
Napoleon said:
I oppose social media policies precisely because they have a chilling effect on the first amendment and employers should not have the right to regulate the private lives of their employees under threat of termination. Relinquishing your civil rights should not be a condition of employment in this country.
Click to expand...

Especially when the employer is the state.
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
There is a federal law which protects students from the harassment/blame and/or being targeted called Title VI.
Click to expand...

There is also a law that protects people from harassment due to the opinions that they express, whether online or in otherwise. It's called the First Amendment, and it's been around for a long time. How much longer it will be around remains to be seen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom