Student suspended for facebook slam against teacher

[srmom]

Originally Posted by naraht

The aerodynamics allows for the paddle to swing faster and also distributes the swat over a smaller area. A properly designed paddle can allow a typing teacher to swat like a PE teacher with a non-holed padded and a PE teacher to raise welts...

You speak as if you have experience with this. Were you the swatter or the swattee?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by naraht

The aerodynamics allows for the paddle to swing faster and also distributes the swat over a smaller area. A properly designed paddle can allow a typing teacher to swat like a PE teacher with a non-holed padded and a PE teacher to raise welts...

Originally Posted by srmom

You speak as if you have experience with this. Were you the swatter or the swattee?

[UGAalum94]

I think schools are probably better off ignoring "Mr. So and So is an idiot" facebook comments or pages unless the comments made on them rise to the level of slander or libel or if it would meet an off-campus real world standard for threatening behavior.

Just as it would be counter productive to invest a lot of time monitoring lunch and hallway conversations or even the occasional in class comment for non-threatening negative comments about teachers, it doesn't make sense to schools to get into trying to monitor the web, even if the 1st amendment issues could be cleared up.

Sure, it hurts your feelings to have a hate group made about you, but you look like a bigger idiot when you get all wrapped up what's being said about you by 16 year-olds on facebook.

If, for some reason, the comment actually does create an on campus disruption, then deal with the disruption as a disruption, not the comments themselves.

And any school system that isn't blocking facebook on campus pretty effectively for at least the non-tech-geek students is probably missing the boat, if only to avoid having to deal with the bs that eighth grade girls are going to post about each other.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I think schools are probably better off ignoring "Mr. So and So is an idiot" facebook comments or pages unless the comments made on them rise to the level of slander or libel or if it would meet an off-campus real world standard for threatening behavior.

Just as it would be counter productive to invest a lot of time monitoring lunch and hallway conversations or even the occasional in class comment for non-threatening negative comments about teachers, it doesn't make sense to schools to get into trying to monitor the web, even if the 1st amendment issues could be cleared up.

Sure, it hurts your feelings to have a hate group made about you, but you look like a bigger idiot when you get all wrapped up what's being said about you by 16 year-olds on facebook.

If, for some reason, the comment actually does create an on campus disruption, then deal with the disruption as a disruption, not the comments themselves.

And any school system that isn't blocking facebook on campus pretty effectively for at least the non-tech-geek students is probably missing the boat, if only to avoid having to deal with the bs that eighth grade girls are going to post about each other.

Sis, you and I *rarely* agree, so mark the calendar. I agree completely.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Sis, you and I *rarely* agree, so mark the calendar. I agree completely.

I like to think that we probably agree on most things that actually matter in life. We just differ on how we'd politically get there, (probably mainly because of my dark view of human nature)

[naraht]

Originally Posted by srmom

You speak as if you have experience with this. Were you the swatter or the swattee?

Actually came from a discussion with someone trying to sell an Alpha Phi Omega paddle on eBay with a description that made it clear that his primary audience in trying to sell in was to the BDSM crowd.

What I found out later in trying to find out how I could make this unlikely to occur again is that due to advancements in the technology of paddles, the only time the obvious fraternity paddles are used in the BDSM community is if the person's particular kink is pretending to be in a hazing situation. This is almost exclusively gay BDSM since co-ed fraternities are relatively rare and didn't become more common until the use of paddles started to decline and sorority hazing as a kink is as far as I can tell is less likely to use paddles. So, the easiest way to get old Alpha Phi Omega paddles less likely to be sold that way is to point out that we are currently co-ed.


Also, I honestly feel that I have learned *more than enough* about this topic.

[DrPhil]

Wise school officials address issues at the front-end rather than after the consequences of the issues take form. That is also why teachers K-12 and collegiate are advised to notify the proper officials if they receive questionable correspondence or are aware of something on or off the Internet that MIGHT be inappropriate. It is much easier to punish and teach lessons now, just in case, than to try to calm a school disruption. No one can predict school disruptions and control whether there will be any substantive harm caused.

One of the worst things in the world is when something happens and people reflect and say "well, he did create that fan page a few weeks ago....." Duhhhhh...does someone have to urine in your drinking glass for you to acknowledge that urine is an undesirable beverage?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Wise school officials address issues at the front-end rather than after the consequences of the issues take form. That is also why teachers K-12 and collegiate are advised to notify the proper officials if they receive questionable correspondence or are aware of something on or off the Internet that MIGHT be inappropriate. It is much easier to punish and teach lessons now, just in case, than to try to calm a school disruption. No one can predict school disruptions and control whether there will be any substantive harm caused.

One of the worst things in the world is when something happens and people reflect and say "well, he did create that fan page a few weeks ago....." Duhhhhh...does someone have to urine in your drinking glass for you to acknowledge that urine is an undesirable beverage?

Yep, but there's a lot of overreaction too. Sometimes kids just wants to verbalize their dissatisfaction, but there's absolutely no implied threat.

In cases in which the kids is unstable inter-personally as well as making comments online, you're in a whole different area, but I think many of us can tell the difference in the majority of cases.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Yep, but there's a lot of overreaction too. Sometimes kids just wants to verbalize their dissatisfaction, but there's absolution no implied threat.

Lesson learned: Think before you speak. Either shut up about it or express it in a more discreet manner. That also applies to college students who think it is wise to blast professors on the Internet. Discretion and appropriate behavior are things that should be learned long before they go through GLO recruitment.

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

In cases in which the kids is unstable inter-personally as well as making comments online, you're in a whole different area, but I think many of us can tell the difference in the majority of cases.

Treat ALL students who exhibit certain behaviors the same from the start as to avoid profiling particular "types" of students. No one can tell the "difference." That's the point.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Lesson learned: Think before you speak. Either shut up about it or express it in a more discreet manner. That also applies to college students who think it is wise to blast professors on the Internet. Discretion and appropriate behavior are things that should be learned long before they go through GLO recruitment.



Treat ALL students who exhibit certain behaviors the same from the start as to avoid profiling particular "types" of students. No one can tell the "difference." That's the point.

I agree that it's not about profiling types of students. It's about recognizing types of behavior and acting on that behavior.

But it doesn't make sense to treat a kid who has never demonstrated scary behavior before saying "that teacher is the worst teacher I've ever had" online as if she in fact threatened the teacher or as if she said it to the teacher's face in class (as happened in a previous facebook case).

I don't have a problem with schools simply talking some students for the reasons that you suggest, but trying to discipline students for non-threatening, non-disruptive comments that they made online away from campus is probably counterproductive.

Since they are teenagers, sometimes no reaction, or at least no reaction that they know of, is actually the best way to make a behavior go away.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Since they are teenagers, sometimes no reaction, or at least no reaction that they know of, is actually the best way to make a behavior go away.

The success of that is 50-50, which is why I deal with any unacceptable behavior from teenagers the way that I feel adults should deal with children:
You let them know what the rules and expectations are right away so you can spend less time repeating yourself and trying to reestablish the respect and conformity that you let slip away because you were busy "not reacting."

You'll have plenty of time to let kids' behaviors roll off your back. Everytime isnt the right time.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Yep, but there's a lot of overreaction too. Sometimes kids just wants to verbalize their dissatisfaction, but there's absolution no implied threat.

In cases in which the kids is unstable inter-personally as well as making comments online, you're in a whole different area, but I think many of us can tell the difference in the majority of cases.

When I think of some of the things we said about our teachers...it was completely just blowing off steam. And it's not like making a facebook page is hard. If someone said this kid was obsessed with weapons or fire though, that might give me pause.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by 33girl

When I think of some of the things we said about our teachers...it was completely just blowing off steam.

And if you had found a very public way to blow off your steam, you would've created a formal record of your steam that would be worthy of parental and/or school punishment.

Originally Posted by 33girl

If someone said this kid was obsessed with weapons or fire though, that might give me pause.

Why? Can't this kid be obsessed with whatever he wants in the comfort of his own home? Not everyone who is obsessed with weapons or fire is dangerous---the National Rifle Association and National Fire Association have the data to prove that. Why don't we wait until the kid kills the entire school before we begin to pause?