Student suspended for Facebook post

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Cristiano

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This is amazing!:mad:

A girl posts on Facebook about wishing for her teacher to die. Obviously she gets caught and suspended for three days. Now she is on CNN with mommy complaining on how people should not judge her because they do not know her and that the parents of some ex-friends are meanies for saying that she is a bad example. In the meantime the mom puts the blame on the principal. Guess from whom the girl learned her sense of lack of accountability for her actions? By the way she went to school well after her suspension and she did not answer to the question why she waited so long to go back.

cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2011/05/20/drew.facebook.suspension.hln?hpt=C2

Next in the news, a school district gets sued for millions because they were unfair to a poor little mama’s girl. 😃
 
ESMDHokie77 said:
why is a 13y.o. on facebook… :confused:
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I have “friends” on FaceBook as young as five - although in those cases, I think their parents have simply opened accounts in their names, since their status updates are amazingly well-written, for five year olds. (Either that, or I just happen to walk among geniuses … 😃 )
 
It’s an over dramatic 13 y/o girl… why is this even a big deal. It’s not like it’s some pimply white male bipolar goth boy who gets beat up. I want to know what the teacher is like, because I’ve been through some awful things at 14 because of staff at schools not interceding for me when I was troubled and bullied.

The girl is hurt, she’s being called a murderer for goodness sake.
 
Folks young and old need to remember - private thoughts and the Interwebs do not mix. This is true for everybody, but it’s especially true for the emotionally immature those lacking a mental filter.

Children who harbor ill-will against their teachers aren’t a rarity, and if middle school teachers got a nickel every time one of their students wished a pox on their houses, they could retire at 30 to mansions on St. Lucia. Children who grumble amongst themselves in the cafeteria or pass nasty notes back and forth in homeroom are different from the ones who end up on CNN in that the former have learned the difference between private conversations and public discourse.

Last year in my community some high school kids faked a Facebook profile for their principal, complete with “his” thoughts various athletic teams at the school as well as “his” impressions of various teachers and staff members, It was up for weeks and most of the kids at this high school had friended the profile and contributed to it. Somehow the culprits were discovered, and they were expelled. As I recall, it impacted graduation for some of them. Compared to that, this little girl got off lightly.
 
karow said:
Folks young and old need to remember - private thoughts and the Interwebs do not mix. This is true for everybody, but it’s especially true for the emotionally immature those lacking a mental filter.

Children who harbor ill-will against their teachers aren’t a rarity, and if middle school teachers got a nickel every time one of their students wished a pox on their houses, they could retire at 30 to mansions on St. Lucia. Children who grumble amongst themselves in the cafeteria or pass nasty notes back and forth in homeroom are different from the ones who end up on CNN in that the former have learned the difference between private conversations and public discourse.

Last year in my community some high school kids faked a Facebook profile for their principal, complete with “his” thoughts various athletic teams at the school as well as “his” impressions of various teachers and staff members, It was up for weeks and most of the kids at this high school had friended the profile and contributed to it. Somehow the culprits were discovered, and they were expelled. As I recall, it impacted graduation for some of them. Compared to that, this little girl got off lightly.
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At my son’s school it is forbidden to show on Facebook any association with the school or comments about it. The penalty is expulsion.
 
WoundedIcon said:
It’s an over dramatic 13 y/o girl… why is this even a big deal.
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karow said:
Children who harbor ill-will against their teachers aren’t a rarity, and if middle school teachers got a nickel every time one of their students wished a pox on their houses, they could retire at 30 to mansions on St. Lucia. .
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I agree with both of you, and am sad that this is playing out in the national spotlight. I think the girl made an emotional, but common for that age, comment in the expectation that it would only be seen by friends.

Of course, if she had an actual plan for killing the teacher, or described realistic and achievable ways of committing the murder, the story would be different. But I don’t think that is the case here. Putting it before a potential audience of 300 million people is making more out of the situation than it merits, and it puts needless pressure on a young person who is still maturing.
 
It is a big deal because the mother brings the daughter to CNN with the intent to justify a stupid behavior and blaming all the fuss on the principal. A three day suspension is not a big deal. The big deal is the the behavior of the mother and the example that she gives to the daughter. If she were my child I would have said no to any news channel and if she happened to be on the news the only comment that she would have been authorized to make is an apology to the teacher. I think that this is a woman seeking public attention at the emotional expense of her already troubled daughter.
 
I think it’s kind of unfair they suspended her. I’ve said such things about teachers and general people I dislike, there’s no real truth behind it - it’s just something people say when they’re frustrated and angry.
 
PerfectTiming said:
I think it’s kind of unfair they suspended her. I’ve said such things about teachers and general people I dislike, there’s no real truth behind it - it’s just something people say when they’re frustrated and angry.
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Especially when they are young. When I worked as an IA I dealt with some troubled children and I’ve had a child wish for my death to my face. I just shrugged and said “I’m sorry you feel that way now, but I am sure you’ll change your mind when you calm down.”

This is what a rational response to a young child learning control emotions should look like, not ruining their lives over it. It makes the official even more immature than the child! :rolleyes:

As to why a 13 y.o. is on facebook - 13 is the age that most websites allow accounts for children. Not to mention many classrooms use facebook or other social networking sites for educational purposes. Schools need to be teaching responsible internet useage along with using the technology. I certainly plan to incorporate this into my own classroom someday.
 
Cristiano said:
At my son’s school it is forbidden to show on Facebook any association with the school or comments about it. The penalty is expulsion.
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What do they put for their school connections? :confused:

Most kids not yet of high school age usually put the high school that they plan to attend (since I don’t think you can put anything lower than high school in that box) but I don’t think you can leave it blank?
 
ESMDHokie77 said:
why is a 13y.o. on facebook… :confused:
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Because 13 year olds are allowed. If you look in the Facebook rules, you have to be at least 13 to create an account. Many of my younger sister’s friends have faked their date of birth to have accounts.
 
PerfectTiming said:
I think it’s kind of unfair they suspended her. I’ve said such things about teachers and general people I dislike, there’s no real truth behind it - it’s just something people say when they’re frustrated and angry.
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But does that make it ok, the fact that you’ve done it too?

This girl has to learn morals. She has to learn it is not okay to say things like that publically. If an adult posted on Facebook threatening to kill someone, I wouldn’t be surprised if the police came knocking. The same about any threads - bomb, stabbing, damage to property…

She got off lightly and I hope she learnt her lesson, and that the mother stops expoiting her children. No need to go on TV about it. Doubtless they were offered some money.
 
I know a ton of people (one of which is my sister in law) that make accounts for their kids.

They have their personal account, and they’ll make one separate for their children and photos of their children growing up. My newborn Neice had one on her second day of life. A sort of ‘tribute’ page I guess.

I was peeved, personally. Way I see it is that kid has NO privacy. Not one day of my Neice’s life, will she have ever had privacy. Know what I mean? It’s just weird to me.
 
LemonAndLime said:
But does that make it ok, the fact that you’ve done it too?

This girl has to learn morals. She has to learn it is not okay to say things like that publically. If an adult posted on Facebook threatening to kill someone, I wouldn’t be surprised if the police came knocking. The same about any threads - bomb, stabbing, damage to property…

She got off lightly and I hope she learnt her lesson, and that the mother stops expoiting her children. No need to go on TV about it. Doubtless they were offered some money.
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That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying that it wasn’t like she was saying it as a genuine threat, it was just the careless words of a probably angry/frustrated teenager. To have essentially ruined her permanent record over it is unfair - with a suspension on her record she could have problems getting into college/university.
 
PerfectTiming said:
That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying that it wasn’t like she was saying it as a genuine threat, it was just the careless words of a probably angry/frustrated teenager. To have essentially ruined her permanent record over it is unfair - with a suspension on her record she could have problems getting into college/university.
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How is her permanent record ruined?

She can explain to the college or university how her school treated her unfairly when she threated to kill her teacher - I’m sure they’ll understand.
 
PerfectTiming said:
That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying that it wasn’t like she was saying it as a genuine threat, it was just the careless words of a probably angry/frustrated teenager. To have essentially ruined her permanent record over it is unfair - with a suspension on her record she could have problems getting into college/university.
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Did she say “just joking” at the end of the post? Was it clear in the post it wasn’t really meant?

If not, then her saying it’s just a joke is literally just that - her saying. I don’t think she meant the threat, I really don’t think at all she intended to murder the teacher. Facebook however is a public medium. It’s one thing saying it in front of your friends, but it’s like printing out leaflets and handing it out to everyone she knows. Each person only has the slip of paper in front of them to go on. They can’t see her speaking it, using the tone to judge whether she meant it or not.

What do you think would be a suitable punishment?

My sister fell out with her best friend a few months ago. This best friend, who I shall call M, had a boyfriend. M’s boyfriend was a few years older, and tall. He sent my sister a message threatening her because she had argued with M, and said he was gonna beat her up and kill her. My mother contacted the school with a photocopy of the messages. Nothing happened, because it happend outside of the school. That bully deserves to be thrown in jail overnight so he can see where he’ll end up if he makes threats.
 
I think it just and equitable that people bear the consequences of their actions, mitigated by circumstance. Wishing death upon another person is a highly uncharitable (and can be illegal in certain contexts if it can be construed as a threat). Words have meaning and effect, whether delivered as an emotional response or a clinically evaluated comment.
 
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