Monday, February 28, 2011
Response to Natalie Munroe Case
Natalie Munroe set up a blogging website for her students to be a part of. The purpose of the blog was to extend her curriculum outside of the classroom. The blog allowed for the school community and families of students to be a part of the education that goes on inside of her classroom. Therefore, it was her responsibility to be respectful and open-minded towards her students' responses on the blog. There is no excuse for her condesending language and negative comments towards her students. She has rights to the Frist Ammendment as a citizen to the United States but this does not cancel out her responsibility as a teacher to be a good role model to her students. If these students are exposed to their teacher being immature and disrespectful, they will think it is okay to act this way towards other people in society. She should not take her role as an educator lightly because the words and actions that students see their teachers model should not be taken lightly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think you made a very good point. As a teacher, she is one of the constant role models in the students' lives. It is here responsibilty then, to demonstrate to the students how to properly act and respond. I do not think that the First Amendment, as you said, should cancel out her role as a teacher or that it should be used as a defense in this situation where a teacher is not acting appropriately.
ReplyDeleteI don't think she intended for her blog to be seen by students and/or their parents. Does this make any difference?
ReplyDeleteI think it does Terry, it changes the issue quite a bit. If Monroe was intentionally targeting students in front of other students and parents, it becomes a huge ethical issue with obvious professional implications. If she instead was blogging anonymously about her experiences in the classroom, it's still an ethical issue, but it becomes one of more questionable outcomes. Did she really do anything to physically, mentally or socially hurt her students? or is this simply a case of bad professional practices?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to agree with Jake to a certain extent. I think intent does increase the severity of any crime despite the size. Intent entails a certain heightened degree of responsibility for the agent. I think her practices were inappropriate however you look at it considering blogs are public forums and must immediately be respected as such.
ReplyDelete