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Teacher Canned for Using “B-Word” on Facebook
A high school English teacher who used the “b-word” on her private Facebook page is out of a job thanks to an anonymous letter sent to school administration.
To top it off – she posted a picture of herself from a European vacation holding a glass of wine. Oh, the horrors.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution blog, Ashley Payne left a status that said “”Ashley Payne is at Bitch Bingo with her bitches.” (Crazy Bitch Bingo is an actual event held in Atlanta.)
The AJC got hold of an e-mail sent anonymously (via an e-mail address that does not exist) to the district – supposedly from a parent – complaining that one of Payne’s students read the status and then proceeded to refer to her friends as “bitches.”
Enter shock and awe.
Except Payne keeps her Facebook locked up. It’s private – so it can’t be seen by random web browsers – and she does not accept friend requests from students. There’s no way a child could have read it, she says.
But she did have other teachers on her friend list – and the AJC deconstructed the letter from the anonymous tipper, coming up with “evidence” that it was written by another teacher. We take some issue with the argument here at Strollerderby:
“First, very few people outside of teachers have the punctuation skills of this writer. Note the punctuation inside a quote.”
Actually, any parent who paid attention in high school English would. Not to mention writers, editors, proofreaders . . . But we digress. Because the AJC also points out the e-mail referred to the kid who supposedly picked up bad habits from Payne’s Facebook page as a “pupil.” Few people outside of school settings use that term – so score one for the AJC. Not to mention a major score for Payne.
The major fault here seems to be that Payne resigned when the school pressured her. She says she was forced to. But it sounds like she had a major case to hold her ground and thumb her nose at the establishment’s attempts to sneak into her private life.
She’s a grown woman well above the legal age who was pictured with a glass of wine. Not only is it not illegal but a glass of wine is hardly a beer helmet with tubes threading instant alcohol into her trashed face.
As for the word bitch – she neither referred to a student as a bitch nor did she put it out there for the world to see. And at the end of the day, what high school kid hasn’t heard the word? Or used it?
It’s clear teachers shouldn’t be friending their kids on Facebook unless they plan to sanitize their pages, but does a school district have domain over a private page with no child-teacher interaction?
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[...] sees if he or she is standing behind you in the school. If he was doing it after school (like the teacher with the “b-word” on her personal Facebook page), he’s just a bit of a creep – but not doing anything that should get him in trouble. They [...]
In Defense of the Editor Who Reported Teacher’s Dirty Net Comments | Strollerderby commented on Nov 20 09 at 9:26 am[...] say “uh, duh,” let’s look at the stories that get people outraged. Remember the teacher fired for simply raising a glass of wine and using the word b–ch on her Facebook page? The teacher [...]
High School Teacher’s Web Project Shows Teachers are People Too | Strollerderby commented on Feb 16 10 at 10:24 am[...] http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2009/11/15/teacher-canned-for-using-b-word-on-facebook/ [...]
Social Networks: Should Teachers be on it? By Jamie Kalicharan and Rose Calles « NY Teachers commented on Apr 15 10 at 4:11 pmMom of one commented on Nov 15 09 at 2:14 pmCommentsI am saddened by this story. This teacher did nothing wrong. While we have to be careful what we post on the net(it really isn’t all that anonymous), this sounds like someone had an axe to grind with this woman. It is however, a good object lesson for kids out there who post inappropriately on social networking sites. It can come back to bite you when a prospective employer reads it someday.
She really could have stood her ground, but how smart of a decision would that be? Those responsible for the raises and performance reviews being approved may be influenced by this story.
Personally, as a mom, I have no issue with her statement, and appreciate that she keeps her page private and is not accepting friends requests from student. We need good teachers, and while there is no mention of her history as a teacher, I will err on the side of her being competent, and possibly a wonderful teacher. I wonder what type of support she got from the PTA or parents of her actual students.
I got a good laugh at your “oh, the horrors” and “shock and awe”. Thanks!
Adam commented on Nov 15 09 at 4:50 pmLet me guess, the school is headed by a conservative republican?
John Rohan commented on Nov 15 09 at 7:45 pm“Let me guess, the school is headed by a conservative republican?”
Yes, Adam, let’s interject national politics here, in order to raise the level of vitriol even higher and change the subject from the issue at hand. And BTW, statistically, educators tend to vote Democrat anyway. This is more like the aftermath of the Columbine shootings and many high-profile teacher/student scandals, where schools feel like they need to overreact to everything now in order to avoid a lawsuit later.
SamID commented on Nov 15 09 at 10:25 pmWow, as a middle school teacher, this story is scary! Aren’t we allowed to have a normal life outside of school?
PlumbLucky commented on Nov 16 09 at 10:34 amProving me correct in my refusal to friend coworkers, work associates, etc.
Jessie commented on Nov 16 09 at 12:37 pmThis is terrifying. She handled her Facebook how millions of professionals handle their Facebook. Is no one safe?
I also came across this great Christmas Gift guide that brought back memories of the past (Care Bears, anyone?)
Citizen Mom commented on Nov 16 09 at 1:40 pmWas this a public school? If so, where was her union? There was a case that went to the Supreme Court about whether a school district could fire a teacher for saying things it did not agree with (the teacher in question criticized the school district in an op-ed letter to a newspaper), and the SC ruled against the school district. Even if her page was public, it outside the school district’s jurisdiction.
I hope she’s fighting this.
Ali commented on Nov 16 09 at 8:23 pmMs. Payne was the idiot here. She was told one of her options was to resign or fight it and she chose to resign, she was not forced. Now she is suing, naturally. There is much more to the story than the public knows. The school board and the principal had no problem with the FB page. A week before she had an altercation with the principal because they had never come to observe her class. This FB thing was just an excuse so she could quit and sue. Her union would have backed her.
snarky mama commented on Nov 16 09 at 8:28 pm@SamID: Wait, teachers have lives outside school?! I find this very idea quite upsetting–next you’ll be telling me teachers are allowed to get married.
Impoverished Americans commented on Nov 17 09 at 3:06 pmwow Ali, do you have anything better to do than conjure up fabrications about people you obviously do not even know? or if you do apparently are no better than the crooked cowards running this disaster school district. Ms. Payne is a certified English teacher, not an idiot, like you. She was not told one of her options was to resign, she was never told she was entitled by GA state law to a hearing before the board of ed either. What she was told is that if she didn’t resign to save her teaching certificate, should be suspended and fired and would lose her certificate and that she needed to make her mind up on the spot of be suspended immediately and then fired. Having no knowledge of the law or her rights, which it was the Principal’s responsibility as the authority here explaining her situation, she did what she thought she -had- to in order to at least save her teaching certificate. There is much more to this story, the school officials are corrupt, prejudice, bullies and cowards, that’s right. Stop spreading lies.
Impoverished Americans commented on Nov 17 09 at 3:12 pmwow Ali, do you have anything better to do than conjure up fabrications about people you obviously do not even know? or if you do apparently are no better than the crooked cowards running this disaster school district. Ms. Payne is a certified English teacher, not an idiot, like you. She was not simply told one of her options was to resign, she was never told she was entitled by GA state law to a hearing before the board of ed either. What she was told is that if she didn’t resign to save her teaching certificate, she would be suspended and fired and would lose her certificate and that she needed to make her mind up on the spot or be suspended immediately and then fired. Having no knowledge of the law or her rights, which it was the Principal’s responsibility as the authority here explaining her situation, and which he did not do properly, she did what she thought she -had- to in order to at least save her teaching certificate. There is much more to this story, the school officials are corrupt, prejudice, bullies and cowards, that’s right. Stop spreading lies.
Elisabeth Dakak commented on Jan 07 10 at 9:40 amComments: I am sorry to say that we live in a system that has no grace in it, a system that does not believe in restoration, a system that condemns more than anything else. Even good teachers have the right to resign even in spite of their will, to protect their teaching certification. There is no TOLERANCE whatsoever. What is right and what is wrong to begin with? Too often those who see something wrong in something are the ones who live by doing wrong. I feel immensely sorry to read that such ridiculous stories happen in schools. Most people who govern schools have no place in education to start with. What kind of system are we in?
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