ACLU Sues on Behalf of Pa. Student (xfer'd after parodying his principal on the internet)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 1/28/06 | AP

[appleharvey]

Is there anyone who hasn't made fun of their principal during their high school years?

[SoftballMominVA]

Sadly the reason many think it is funny is because it involves a principal of a public school. The lack of respect here is alarming. And we wonder why the kids mouth off to faculty and staff. They see that behavior modeled every single day.

Free speech or not, it was wrong and the kid knew it was wrong as evidenced by his apology and the fact that I'm sure he didn't go up to the principal and say "hey! check out my new myspace.com. You'll love it!"

[Oztrich Boy]

This is off topic, but do you happen to work in Pittsburgh as a high school principal.

"That depends on the definition of sex." Prez BJ

[yarddog]

That actually sounds like something I might have done while in high school, and I liked my principal. I was very respectful in most ways but loved to do parodies, jokes, etc.

Of course we didn't have computers back then.

[AlexandriaDuke]

Sadly the reason many think it is funny is because it involves a principal of a public school. The lack of respect here is alarming.

Yeah, that's the problem. We must have respect! We must have ORDER!

That kid has been sent off to re-education camp and might not get into college. Have they drugged him? Does this scenario sound familiar? Have these tactics been used by anyone else?

Good thing he didn't egg his car!

[Hoodat]

"Not to excuse it, but school officials need to understand that they're not parents," Walczak said. "School officials can't reach into parents' homes and tell them how to raise their kids."

Perhaps if the parents had been doing their job, little Justin wouldn't have gotten expelled. Instead, we get the parents teaching the boy that there should be no consequences for his bad behavior. For this kids sake, I hope he loses the suit.

[DJ MacWoW]

Yeah, that's the problem. We must have respect! We must have ORDER!

Have you been in a school lately?

My D-i-Ls sister taught 4th grade. 2 yrs ago she told a 4TH grader to sit down. He said "F##k you". Her hubby, a 6'6" cop, came to have lunch with her and spoke to the boy. You know what the kid said? Yup. "F##k you."

[SoftballMominVA]

I'm in a middle school 180 days a year. I teach special education reading in a rural VA school.

I do have respect and order in my classroom, and I have never raised my voice above a normal. When I have had a kid tell me to Eff off, I have a special way of dealing with it that doesn't require me to send him/her to the principal.

I would gather that the reason the kid said that to your DIL's sister is because he says it on a regular basis to the other adults in his life. Can't wait for him to try that with a cop when he's been stopped for a traffic violation.

[DJ MacWoW]

I do have respect and order in my classroom, and I have never raised my voice above a normal.

My answer was to post 25 and because 25 was addressed to you I included you in my respone. :)

Can't wait for him to try that with a cop when he's been stopped for a traffic violation.

Well, he wasn't intimidated by the 6'6" cop. So it's not looking good!

[SoftballMominVA]

All good :)

[stinkerpot65]

Slander and desrespect from children has nothing to do with "freedom of speech."

[AlexandriaDuke]

When I have had a kid tell me to Eff off, I have a special way of dealing with it that doesn't require me to send him/her to the principal.

I guess I haven't been to a school for awhile. I can't even imagine a kid doing that.

That's not the issue here, though. It's the principal and the state who are out of control.

[F16Fighter]

"This is just chilling. The jackboots have run amok in the USSA and the "conservatives" are usually on their side, so it's only gonna' get worse.

I hope the kid wins a big settlement and defects to a free country. "

I guess then you wouldn't mind a student parody over the internet of your wife or daughter's picture and name depicting them as "hookers"??

[SoftballMominVA]

But the student who set up the website and over and over slandered the principal was not in the wrong?

[DJ MacWoW]

That's not the issue here, though. It's the principal and the state who are out of control.

Sorry. That's EXACTLY the issue.

[OldFriend]

Now if only the student had been insulting President Bush, then he would be hailed as creative and given accolades.

[AlexandriaDuke]

It's not "slander". It's a joke. Grow up. Everyone who read it would know it's a joke. That's what's wrong with this country. That's how we get TSA thugs.

If he'd done it at school or drawn the principal's name on a wall or something, that would be punishable. This kid was at home for Heaven's sake! He wasn't hacking into the guy's computer or anything. The forced apology was plenty.

[teacherwoes]

I would like to know what other kinds of trouble the kid done in school and how often.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

To me it is a form of identity theft.

[Born Conservative]

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