PORTFOLIO ARTIFACT #2

ONLINE EDU 210

JESSICA M. GONZALEZ
 Ms. Griffin is a white tenured teacher having a conversation with two black

administrators, principal Watts and assistant principal Brothers. The reason for their

conversation is not stated. The location of their meeting is also not stated. It is not

stated what the conversation between the three is all about. The scenario does not

mention whether there are students or other people around them while they are having

this "heated" conversation. However, the conversation between the teacher and the

administrators must of been so outrageous that the teacher made the comment about

"hating all black folks". The scenario states that word leaked about the teacher's

comments and that this caused negative reactions between both black and white

colleagues at the school. It is hard to detemine what actually happened since we do

not know the nature of the conversation, the location of where the conversation took

place, and who was actually around when the argument took place. Could this be an

issue of black vs. white, racism, or was it just a negative comment that was made in

the heat of the moment by this teacher.

Minnesota teacher Timothy Olmsted made derogatory comments and made

sexual remarks to students in his classes. However, in St. Paul Public School District

vs. Timothy Olmsted, Heights Community School parents filed a lawsuit against the

teacher because he made discriminatory remarks against black students. He belittled

black students by calling them names, having black students sit in back of the classroom

or by having black students sit facing the wall instead of facing the front of the class.

Olmsted eventually resigned. However, parents were outraged because during the

investigation Olmsted was put on administrative leave with pay. He always denied all

charges. Throughout the years disciplinary actions were made against the teacher for
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several reasons. But in this case the school district was not able to punish him because

he had already resigned.

A middle school student was suspended after being found guilty in J.S. vs.

Bethlehem Area School District. He was found guilty of making derogatory comments

regarding his algebra teacher and the school principal on a web site that he created.

He also made death threats against his algebra teacher. The student's site featured a

picture of his teacher's head dripping with blood, it also showed an image of her

head turning into Hitler, and comments were made about hiring a hitman to kill her. He

would eventually be found guilty because the court proved that he disrupted activities in

his school.

In Pickering vs. Board of Education, a high school science teacher wrote to the

editor of a community newspaper criticizing how the board of education used funds

between academics and athletics. The school board terminated the teacher because

they accused him of making false statements against the school system. The teacher in

return sued the board and claimed that his First Amendment rights of freedom of speech

were being violated. School officials were found guilty by the court. The court came to

the conclusion that school officials did violate the teacher's First Amendment rights

because he was only speaking about matters of public concern.

In Leary vs. Daeschner, two elementary school teachers sued the Superintendent

of the Jefferson County Board of Education, alleging that their First Amendment rights

were violated. These teachers publicly criticized a new plan that the superintendent had
announced that would help improve student performance. The principal of their school

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felt that these teachers were not "team players" and that they would not follow the

proposed changes. Therefore, the school district reassigned both teachers into new

positions. No hearing was provided. But this case is a little bit different because it

actually gives a pro and a con when it comes to the decision that was made by the court

for this particular case. The defendant was not found guilty of violating the First

Amendment rights of the two teachers. Proof was submitted to the court showing that

in several instances, the teachers were not "team players" when new ideas were trying

to be implemented in their school. However, the court did find the defendant guilty of

not giving the plaintiff's enough time or notice about their newly assigned positions.

First of all, I believe that no matter what situation we are faced with, we should

always be careful with the comments that we make. We never know who may be

listening or what consequences our comments may bring. That being said, I do not

believe that the "white teacher" should be dismissed for making such a comment. If she

is being fired for saying that she "hates all black folks", whether she meant it or not, the

two administrators should also be reprimanded. These are two black people that work

in a "black school", firing a white teacher. Are they being racist? Were they the ones that

made others aware of what this teacher said? Are they responsible for the outrage

between the white and black faculty? Who knows what was said during the conversation

between the two administrators and the teacher. Did they make their conversation with

this teacher so intolerable that the teacher felt she had to use such language? The

language the teacher used is not an excuse to speak the way that she did. But her first
amendment rights were violated in this case. She has the right to her opinion, even if it

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was a racist comment. This in no way makes her an incompetent teacher or makes her

seem like she would treat students unfairly.

Even though I do believe that her First Amendment rights were violated and she

should not be found guilty by the court. I think that she will be found guilty if the case

went trial because there was an outrage between the black and white faculty because

of the teacher's comment. The moment that others were aware that this teacher said

she "hates black folks", it became of public concern. It is now a reason for the court to

find her guilty and a reason for the school district to fire her.
REFERENCES:

1. Underwood, Julie and Webb, L. Dean (2006), School Law for Teachers: Concepts and
Applications, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

2. St. Paul Public School District vs. Timothy Olmsted

3. Pickering vs. Board of Education (1968)

4. Leary vs. Daeschner

5. J. S. vs. Bethlehem Area School District