Portfolio Two: Understanding Teacher’s Rights and Responsibilities 1

Portfolio Two: Understanding Teacher’s Rights and Responsibilities

Giovanni Morabito

College of Southern Nevada

Portfolio Two: Understanding Teacher’s Rights and Responsibilities 2

Ann Griffin is a white tenured teacher that teaches at a high school with mostly black

students and teachers. As word had it, she got into a debate with the Principal Freddie Watts and

the Assistant Principal Jimmy Brothers. After the debate, it was said that Ann Griffin said she

“Hated all black folks.” during their conversation. Her statement had then caused negative talk

from all of her colleagues. Because of this, Freddie Watts has recommended they terminate Ann

Griffin due to her possible inability to teach students equally and fairly. They believe her

judgements may also affect her competency as a teacher.

If Ann Griffin were to bring this situation to court, the court could take the side of the

school administration based on the Loeffelman v. Board of Education of the Crystal City School

district. To summarize this case, Jendra Loeffelman was terminated after her statement regarding

interracial couples and biracial children, saying that “Mixed children were dirty.” So while

Loeffelman is entitled to her strong opinion, the issues comes in is where it interfered with the

classroom environment. For one, she had shared this information during class, taking up time to

focus on this subject rather than the lesson at hand; it is possible Griffin could fall into this

situation as well regarding her opinions of black people. After Loeffelman shared her opinion in

the class, her students had started to feel inferior because of her statement; even if Griffin shares

her opinion of black people in the classroom or not, the rumor has been going around anyways

and may reach students, affecting how comfortable they feel in the classroom. The court may

look back on this case and decide that Ann Griffin should be terminated because it can affect

how students can feel in the classroom as well as how her fellow educators could feel around her.
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If brought to the court, they may look at the Brown v. Board of Education and decide to

support the termination of Ann Griffin. Arguable the most famous court case out there, the

Brown v. Board of Education case determined that the “Separate but Equal” set by Plessy v..

Ferguson did not have any place in the school environment. Her general attitude towards a

specific minority. It can be argued that her attitudes perpetuate the old stigma that the Plessy v.

Ferguson had. Some students, after hearing that, could possibly follow her mentality as students

learn from their educators. With that, it’s also possible that she her attitudes towards her students

could be subtly different and shine through. If she holds negative feelings towards black people,

then her black students may suffering in how she may react to their questions, how she may

teach them, or how she may grade them. She could treat her students in an unnecessarily

different manner because of their race and that can be a detrimental effect to her teaching

method. Because of these factors, the court may take the the side of the administration in order to

protect the education of the students.

While it seems easy for the court to take the principal’s side, it’s possible for the court to

take Griffin’s side if they took at look at the Tinker v. Des Moines School District case. In short,

students were suspended from school because they were wearing black armbands in order to

protest against the actions occurring in Vietnam. The important thing to note here is Griffin is

entitled to her opinion despite how questionable it is. Much like Griffin, the students with the

black armbands are entitled to have and express their opinions. Another thing to note is that the

court ruled in the student’s favor because the black armbands did not interfere with their

learning, with the teacher’s teaching, or the school environment in any major way. As long as
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Griffin’s teaching of black students does not change or differ from her students of different races,

then she shouldn’t be terminated for her opinions. Because of this certain case, the court may

rule in Griffin’s favor.

Another case the court can look at to take Griffin’s side is the Cleveland Board of

Education v. Loudermill case. To sum it up, this case involved a security guard was dismissed

immediately because he might’ve had a felony without any sort of opportunity to respond to the

charge. If Griffin is to be terminated, her tenure has to be taken into effect and she should be

given due process. If she didn’t get her due process, the court could easily take her side and

dismiss the administration’s dismissal of her and compensate Griffin. Also, the main issue with

the guard’s dismissal is that, not only was it sudden, but it's also possible that it is false. It’s

definitely not out of the question that Griffin’s statement is something she may not have said and

is something made-up to defame her. After all, it was claimed by she said that by the same

person that is seeking to terminate her. Doing deeper investigation, the court could look towards

Griffin side with great favor.

In conclusion, taking all these court cases into account, it is likely the court will take the

side of the administration and terminate Griffin. Even if she was given her due process and

despite the minimal evidence against her, keeping her a part of the district would be too much of

a burden. Her rumor of hating black people could spread and would not sit easy with the students

and cause a stir. Even if she may not teach them differently, the environment caused by her
Portfolio Two: Understanding Teacher’s Rights and Responsibilities 2

possible words would be tarnished, leaving her only as a liability. The stakes are against her in

this situation and the court would favor her termination from the school district
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References

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 503 (1969)

Loeffelman v. Board of Education of the Crystal City School District, 134 S.W. 3d 637 (2004)

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)

Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)​.