Comments on: Teen sues after suspension for Facebook-hating teacher

A recent high school graduate is suing her former principal after he suspended her for posting negative comments about a teacher on Facebook.

[GlennAllen]

(1) The term "cyberbullying" is an oxymoron (a physical impossibility--when having an opinion and expressing it becomes "bullying" then individualism becomes a crime... suspending a student for expressing an opinion in "cyberspace"? now that's bullying). (2) Since when did high school students EVER have civil rights (among them freedom of speech)?

The teacher may or may not have been "the worst", but the principal certainly is (and no "pal" to any student).

[dwchristison]

How did the school find out she made the comment on facebook?! Facebook was made for teenagers NOT adults! Teachers don't need to be surfing facebook trying to find approval ratings on themselves or fellow staff members.

[adasha76]

"Facebook was made for teenagers NOT adults!"

The Internet was made for adults, not teenagers.

[CoffeeZombie]

adasha76 FTW!

[faboumen]

"The Internet was made for adults, not teenagers."

And yet adults on the Internet act like teenagers. Wait, I'm confused.

[sullivanjc]

Facebook was initially made for Harvard students, many of whom are not teenagers and most of whom are 18 or older. It was then expanded to other colleges and universities and *then* to high school age before being opened to all over 13. It was not "made for teenagers".

That said, unless there were physical, terroristic threats made or there were errors of *fact* that involved the school (grounds for libel), the school had no right to make any issue of it. If the student was merely expressing an opinion, I certainly hope the courts will render a very public "spanking" to the school.

[Dalkorian]

Directly from the article ...

"When she put her comments on Facebook, Evans invited other classmates to join in the dislikefest."

I assumed that's how the teacher (and subsequently the "school", or it's principal more accurately) heard about it. Notice though there was a lot left out of this article, like what was posted that was so bad to deserve suspension. I doubt if it was just a "worst teacher" comment, kids get more emotional than that.

[nolegirl]

What happened was that after she posted it she invited some of our classmates, and former classmates. Some Alumni from the class of '07 and some from our class (i think 3 all together) weren't happy with Katie because they really liked Mrs. Phelps. They either emailed or called Mr. Bayer, and thats how it happened.

[rcardona2k]

Probably an upstanding student reported it to Administration. Students need to focus on learning and that goes from bad teachers to excellent ones.

[adasha76]

This article needs the word OPINION in big letters at the top. Regardless of which side you take it certainly is not being reported as 'news' as the category suggests

[MSSlayer]

This is a blog, and by definition an opinion piece.

[tacit]

*shrug* Seems straightforward to me. She expressed a legally protected opinion in a way guaranteed to the citizens of this country, and a person in a position of authority who disagreed with her opinion retaliated. If we actually value a society that promotes free expression, rather than just mouthing nice-sounding words about how we like freedom, then the sort of behavior that the principal took needs to be addressed.

One common tendency of human beings is that we invent little stories in our heads to explain the motivations of other people. This is a very human trait; it's one of the ways that we make sense of the world. Your comments about her ego needing a little win are a great example of that; you don't agree with the lawsuit, so you invented a little story in your head to explain her motivations in a way that casts her in a bad light and affirms your distaste for her actions. You don't know her motivations, and neither do I; from the sound of the article, you've never met nor spoken to her.

Maybe her ego is smarting. Maybe it's not. Doesn't matter; what matters is that she was unreasonably disciplined for expressing a legally protected opinion, and she's taking a stand against that. Good for her.

[faboumen]

What would have happened had she been overheard saying it aloud in the hallway at the school? Why should that be any different than posting it online?

[T543212345]

"Her lawyers say her aim is to get the suspension removed from her academic record, as a potential future employer might not look kindly on cyberbullying...."

Like any potential employer would pour over someone's high school academic record...I can't imagine their even having access to it....

[protagonistic]

It would seem to me to be a very small step from being suspended for posting a negative comment on Facebook to being suspended for being overheard making that same comment in a mall or any other public place.

As one who has served in the military and been through one war defending the right of people to a dissenting opinion I have to side with the student on this one. The student is entitled to express her opinion of the teacher, especially when not even on school grounds, without fear of reprisal. From the article it does not appear that the remarks were even all that bad. The teacher and the principal need to grow up and start acting like adults here.

[[RR]Macavity]

I have one thing to say about this whole mess:

FACEPALM.JPG

[man_w_balls]

This case is a clear overstepping of boundaries. Facebook is private and public, but both are outside jurisdiction of that principal. The student is standing up for her Constitutional rights, and I applaud. Too many sheeple these days are content to let people in power wipe their feces on the Bill of Rights.

[Heebee Jeebies]

You go girl, they have no right to stop on your rights of free speech. If they teacher is horrible then maybe some poking in the side by students will help with get her in gear and doing better or off to a job more suited to her like McDonalds. Go girl!

Robert

[CBattery]

She's just looking for a little fame, just like every immature college kid and 'Joe The Plumber' wanna-be her age. She was never taught simple etiquette or manners, got spanked for it, and now years later is looking for some pub which she's obviously getting right here. Same story, different actors. Until there's a law against being an immature, loudmouthed idiot this kind of stuff will just go on and on and on.

[DaveB1980]

Well, on one hand, she has the right to not like a teacher; hell, I had plenty of teachers I really didn't care for. She also has the right to express herself on her own Facebook page. However filing a lawsuit to get her suspension struck from her academic record is childish. Is her resume really so poor that she's afraid a tiny blemish on something that doesn't matter -- a HIGH SCHOOL record -- is going to tank her career aspirations? If that were the case, I'm sure a lot of the most successful professionals in America today didn't have pristine high school records.

...of course that isn't to say I think she'll be a successful professional. But of course that's my opinion; is she going to read this comment and sue *me* now?

[0dd1]

Not-for-nothing, I agree with the person who said it's the same as if she said it to someone while IN school and said it IN PERSON AND VERBALLY EXPRESSING IT or if she wrote it on a piece of paper and passed it to someone.

For example, I was once talking to a person in my class about how my math teacher was seriously the worst ever and didn't actually teach. I didn't realize until I turned around that she was right behind me. She seemed generally unfazed--she was at another table (this was in the school library) and it didn't look like she was about to get up and come to me and give me a beating--I mean, suspend me. And I was never punished for "bullying" this teacher either!! I'm such a bad boy!!

[3rdalbum]

People really need to be more careful about what they say online. The people who you're talking about could very well be reading, and if this happens it WILL come back to haunt you.

I should know. I now have to heavily censor myself when writing things online, and I suggest everyone else do the same.

[SpiritMatter]

I am reminded of Big Brother's favorite saying taught him by his Big Mother after a successful mouth and brain washing....."If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."