Teachers: Free Natalie Monroe!

What's the proper fate for a teacher who complains anonymously about her students online -- and gets caught?  Should she be chastized or even fired, or held up as a truth-teller?  Her name's Natalie Munroe and she described some of her kids as lazy whiners, among other things -- without naming names.  But the kids figured it out, she's been suspended, and her case has aroused both derision and praise. Maybe teachers should be banned from using social media altogether?  Or limited to happy talk?  You be the judge. Where does free speech and useful feedback end and where do code of conduct violations begin?  Via the CSM.  

Comments

[pam]

You go Natalie!
Just wait until you are having to hire from this vast pool of
"I Want it now because I DESERVE IT, and My Self Esteem does not allow me to be disappointed and the world owes me everything and I have no conception of personal accountabilty!"
When I was a teen, the saying was not to trust anyone over 30, I do not trust anyone under 30!

[DJ]

I feel for Natalie! But thank her for speaking for SO many educators. I too like the majority of my kids and their families- but then you get just the few that make your life MISERABLE. And so many of the kids do not come to school ready to learn. They do nothing outside of school. Parents don't do anything. All the places where "real reform" have occurred only have done so with the support of parents and the community.

I live in Texas. It is NOT the NEA who controls anything here- there is really no power in the unions, no collective bargaining. Republicans control the government, appoint the state board of education, the textbook committee and set the standards- so how do they explain the problem with Texas education?

Lastly- why are teachers held to such high standards yet looked down upon? We can be fired here under the "moral perpetuity" law. That means a DUI or other offense which has nothing to do with your job or job performance, god forbid your gay and anyone finds out and of course the double standard- people don't get fired for cheating otheir wives or divorce.

You go Natalie, I am glad you are brave enough to speak for those of us who cannot afford to for so many reasons

[DJ]

I feel for Natalie! But thank her for speaking for SO many educators. I too like the majority of my kids and their families- but then you get just the few that make your life MISERABLE. And so many of the kids do not come to school ready to learn. They do nothing outside of school. Parents don't do anything. All the places where "real reform" have occurred only have done so with the support of parents and the community.

I live in Texas. It is NOT the NEA who controls anything here- there is really no power in the unions, no collective bargaining. Republicans control the government, appoint the state board of education, the textbook committee and set the standards- so how do they explain the problem with Texas education?

Lastly- why are teachers held to such high standards yet looked down upon? We can be fired here under the "moral perpetuity" law. That means a DUI or other offense which has nothing to do with your job or job performance, god forbid your gay and anyone finds out and of course the double standard- people don't get fired for cheating otheir wives or divorce.

You go Natalie, I am glad you are brave enough to speak for those of us who cannot afford to for so many reasons

[TeachingMoment]

Want to read a real teacher's blog? Then enjoy this one, A Dixie Diary, at www.adixiediary.com

Actually published last week, this unique teacher's journal shows a different look at what happens in the schoolhouse ... by a rookie teacher who loves his work and his students, but he expresses his thoughts and observations in a hugely different way than Mrs. Munroe. Sure, there are some intense moments, even some good cussing, too … but mostly it's world-class hilarious, heartwarming ... like reading a good book. It’s the teacher’s blog we’ve been waiting for. It's simply mesmerizing.

[Jeff]

This is a personal post on her personal time and if she has not directly named the students and they can identify themselves as the lazy whiners than the shoe probably fits and rather than come after the teacher, the parents should sit down and speak to their kids about their behavior and attitudes. If she de-identified her posting, than there is no cause for suspension or termination as she has a right to engage in social networking just like everyone else. I sincerely hope that she survives the storm.

[Jeff]

This is a personal post on her personal time and if she has not directly named the students and they can identify themselves as the lazy whiners than the shoe probably fits and rather than come after the teacher, the parents should sit down and speak to their kids about their behavior and attitudes. If she de-identified her posting, than there is no cause for suspension or termination as she has a right to engage in social networking just like everyone else. I sincerely hope that she survives the storm.

[Don]

Let's see, the kids complained to get her in trouble and succeeded, she told the truth without naming any individuals and the school district wants to fire her because she didn't paint the same "rosy picture" the administrators are always trying to sell the public about excellence in their school system, and the parents are upset to hear an unflattering evaluation of some of their children. Sounds like a typical day in public education to me. Does anyone really wonder why our schools are failing? The truth, no matter how painful, should never be grounds for termination. Would you prefer a profession full of liars who pass kids who don't turn in work merely to keep their jobs and prevent society's feelings from being hurt? Well guess what? You've got it! Teachers who tell the truth get railroaded out of the profession. So who does that leave behind?

I've been a rank and file classroom teacher for over 20 years and I teach in the far West. Natalie Monroe told the truth and what she said goes far beyond the Philadelphia area. It's a nationwide problem. Every single teacher in my school who read the newspaper article about her in our teacher's lounge agreed she was honestly revealing what we deal with every single day on the job. It's important to remember here that she wasn't speaking about every kid in her class. We are, however, seeing an increasingly larger number of kids who do nothing more than take up space, refuse to turn in work, and drain our limited resources with each passing year. This is the group to which she was referring.

The lady told the truth and now her students and the public wants blood. That says it all about the larger society we serve. Does anyone reading this care to take her place in the classroom? I hear there's soon to be a vacancy in her school district.

[Don]

DJ in Texas, you hit the nail right on the head with your comments on the double standard to which society holds its teachers. We are expected to live a lifestyle more chaste than Christ himself when the public wants to criticize us, yet knuckle under to every unreasonable request demanded of us like some common prostitute. A Christlike whore? Good luck filling that job description. Besides, real whores get paid better. What is average teacher salary in the U.S. today, $47,000 per year?

As one of my excellent mentoring teachers once told me when I was a young student teacher, "The basic problem with public education today is everyone wants tougher standards and discipline for everybody's kid but their own. For their particular kid, you have to make special exceptions. Schools simply can't work well well once you start catering to that." No truer words have ever been spoken.

I also like your comment on the NEA. One can't turn on the television today without hearing a constant diatribe about bad teachers and union power. You wouldn't think there's a decent teacher anywhere in America today based upon the way the debate is being framed. Does the union defend bad teachers? Yes, of course it does. It also defends good teachers against incompetent administrators who will sacrifice anyone, good or bad, to keep their phones from ringing and having to deal with unhappy parents. The public nevers hears about the backdoor Richard Nixon-style politics some self-serving administrators try to employ against a good teacher that refuses to be part of the social promotion problem that is so prevalent in our profession today. Such administrators are every bit as common within the profession as the occasional "bad" teacher we hear so much about today. It's a two-way street on that issue.

As for the myth regarding union power and the apparent impossibility of a school district being able to terminate a teacher regardless of the circumstances, if that were a hard and fast fact in reality, Natalie Monroe's school district wouldn't even be thinking of firing her. They would have simply placed a letter of reprimand in her personnel file, thrown up their hands, and told the public, "That's all we can do. The union has our hands tied around our testicles." This they didn't do. So much for real union power.

Hang in there, pal. You're not alone on this one.

[W]

fuck this bitch

[Urella]

So, when is it free speech when you call someone awful slurs like "rat-like" or "lazy whiner". What enlighted and articulate speech from an "educated" person. We're standing up for someone that wants to call 13 yr olds "rats" and "frightfully dim?"

Secondly, last year I graduated from high school(I'm in college now) and one of my senior year teachers called me a faggot in front of my peers. He felt justified in being a prejudiced awful prick because he also announced that I was smart in front of my peers.

Now, if Natalie Monroe wrote in a blog that she thought that one of her students was a homosexual(like thats even a bad thing anyway) would it be appaulded? Should she keep doing this shit? Oh wait she already made sexual remarks about her students looking like "nightwalkers" Sick. Sick. Sick.

Free-speech is important, yes, and I do not believe she should lose her job. Wait, opps thats right we can't fire teachers anymore thanks to those fucking unions that will fight tooth and nail for every pedo out there.

Natalie Monroe looks like a fucking brain-dead airhead squeeky voiced bitch, who should be working at a fucking whorehouse-not as someone with a degree in English telling everyone in the PA that their parenting skills suck.

I mean, when does a degree in English qualify someone else to call a 13 year old rat-like. FUck You Natalie, fuck you in the mouth you slack-jawed whore.

SO many of these teachers sexually molest and terrorize students and nothing is fucking done about it. Not even war-veterans have as much job security and benefits as these lazy brain dead teachers.

Fuck Natalie Monroe.

[Urella]

So, when is it free speech when you call someone awful slurs like "rat-like" or "lazy whiner". What enlighted and articulate speech from an "educated" person. We're standing up for someone that wants to call 13 yr olds "rats" and "frightfully dim?"

Secondly, last year I graduated from high school(I'm in college now) and one of my senior year teachers called me a faggot in front of my peers. He felt justified in being a prejudiced awful prick because he also announced that I was smart in front of my peers.

Now, if Natalie Monroe wrote in a blog that she thought that one of her students was a homosexual(like thats even a bad thing anyway) would it be appaulded? Should she keep doing this shit? Oh wait she already made sexual remarks about her students looking like "nightwalkers" Sick. Sick. Sick.

Free-speech is important, yes, and I do not believe she should lose her job. Wait, opps thats right we can't fire teachers anymore thanks to those fucking unions that will fight tooth and nail for every pedo out there.

Natalie Monroe looks like a fucking brain-dead airhead squeeky voiced bitch, who should be working at a fucking whorehouse-not as someone with a degree in English telling everyone in the PA that their parenting skills suck.

I mean, when does a degree in English qualify someone else to call a 13 year old rat-like. FUck You Natalie, fuck you in the mouth you slack-jawed whore.

SO many of these teachers sexually molest and terrorize students and nothing is fucking done about it. Not even war-veterans have as much job security and benefits as these lazy brain dead teachers.

Fuck Natalie Monroe.

[Urella]

Don, Fuck you.

When are people going to realize that you can't teach some students because they are not biologically cut out to be engineers. However they still need supervision and some training for future employment. I'm so sick of teachers treating 13 year olds like they're some sort of vile "rat-like" thing. They go home, do work that they are mentally capable of, sit in school for 10 hours and thats it.

Not every student is a star academic. Not everyone is. However a student does not need to read about a teacher lambast them to complete strangers.

Monroe has not helped anyone all she did was bad-mouth people. There was nothing enlightening and nothing worth defending about her.

I respect her rights to free speech but nothing else about her situation is worth defending.

[Urella]

Don, Fuck you.

When are people going to realize that you can't teach some students because they are not biologically cut out to be engineers. However they still need supervision and some training for future employment. I'm so sick of teachers treating 13 year olds like they're some sort of vile "rat-like" thing. They go home, do work that they are mentally capable of, sit in school for 10 hours and thats it.

Not every student is a star academic. Not everyone is. However a student does not need to read about a teacher lambast them to complete strangers.

Monroe has not helped anyone all she did was bad-mouth people. There was nothing enlightening and nothing worth defending about her.

I respect her rights to free speech but nothing else about her situation is worth defending.

[Don]

Urella,
I'm a veteran of the U.S. Army, a classroom teacher of 23 years, I'm licensed in three different subject areas on the high school level, and I have two university degrees. Unlike you, I do know what I'm talking about. You claim you graduated high school last year and are now in college. You tell me to go commit an un-natural act with myself because you disagree with my opinion which is based upon more experience teaching than you have living. It's your right to offer an ignorant opinion if you like, just as it's Natalie Monroe's right to offer her opinions but before you start telling people to go fuck themselves, maybe you ought tell us all what great contributions you've made to our society and what service you've given our republic.
I went to school on the G.I Bill and still serve this republic every day when I go to work. What do you do? Who is writing the check for your tuition? Mommy and Daddy? When you've put in the same service I have in the military and in the classroom, you can then offer an intelligent opinion based upon actual experience. It's people like you that Natalie Monroe is complaining about. I suspect that's why people are really upset with Ms. Monroe. They can't handle the truth about themselves or some of their kids. We're a "feelgood" society in denial about ourselves. You'd have to actually teach to truely see that.
Since you mention my fellow veterans, there was a saying in the Army 30 years ago. It went like this, "Opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one and they usually stink." As for your defense of the First Amendment, it's half-assed at best. You claim you support it while demanding Ms. Monroe be fired. What you really mean is you only support freedom of speech that agrees with your own opinion which we've already established is based upon no actual experience in the classroom other that that of a student. You've got a lot to learn. Fortunately, there are teachers to help you if you're willing to let them.

[Don]

than*

[Don]

truly*