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Fired teacher honking for justice
OrlandoSentinel.com ^ | 09/13/07 | Tamara Lytle

Posted on 09/13/2007 2:11:14 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70

Now in Osceola, she is appealing her dismissal in Indiana to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kissimmee Middle School reading teacher Deborah Mayer said her world has been "devastated" by four words she uttered in an Indiana classroom four years ago: "I honk for peace."

(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; US: Indiana
KEYWORDS: bloomington; guilty; guiltyascharged; guiltyofugly; honk; indiana; peace; teacher
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Deborah Mayer, 57, a former Indiania elementary-school teacher, says she lost her job after saying 'I honk for peace' in class. (MARIE D. DE JESUS, ORLANDO SENTINEL / August 30, 2007)

1 posted on 09/13/2007 2:11:15 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70
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To: MotleyGirl70

From the picture, I doubt that her honkers are very impressive.


2 posted on 09/13/2007 2:13:33 PM PDT by VRWCmember (Fred Thompson 2008! Taking America Back for Conservatives!)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Why is she pictured with a flag?

Odd.


3 posted on 09/13/2007 2:15:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: MotleyGirl70
She doesn't look like a goose....
4 posted on 09/13/2007 2:16:13 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: BenLurkin

Because she burned it shortly thereafter.


5 posted on 09/13/2007 2:16:19 PM PDT by TheThirdRuffian
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To: MotleyGirl70
'I honk for peace'

I think she wants us to believe that, but I'm sure there were some other words that actually had a lot to do with her being fired.

I can't believe they told her she was being fired for saying, 'I honk for peace'.

6 posted on 09/13/2007 2:18:43 PM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Depends on what the definition of “Honk” is...


7 posted on 09/13/2007 2:18:55 PM PDT by Doomonyou (Let them eat lead.)
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To: MotleyGirl70

I’m sure it’s true that she lost her job “after” saying, “I honk for peace,” in class. What’s questionable is whether she lost her job “because” she said it.

As hard as it is to fire a teacher even if he’s committed a felony sex crime, I have trouble believing the spin here.


8 posted on 09/13/2007 2:19:08 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("My parrot thinks you're cute. I think so, too!")
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To: MotleyGirl70
She said she also told the students, "People ought to seek out peaceful solutions before going to war."

Hmm, I wonder what else she said.

9 posted on 09/13/2007 2:20:24 PM PDT by donna (If America is not a Christian nation, it will be part of the Islamic nation. Take your pick.)
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To: BenLurkin

Why can’t liberal teachers keep their political views outside the classroom. Are they really that desperate that they feel the need to express their anti-war sentiments to 4th, 5th or 6th graders.


10 posted on 09/13/2007 2:22:26 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70 (Go Packers!)
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To: MotleyGirl70
the eve of the Iraq war -- during a weekly current-events discussion in her Grades 4-6 class at Clear Creek Elementary School in Bloomington, Ind. A pupil asked if she would participate in a peace rally.

"I honk for peace," Mayer, a veteran teacher in her first year at Bloomington, said she told them. She said she also told the students, "People ought to seek out peaceful solutions before going to war."

If she was essentially terminated for saying "I honk for peace" I think that the school board overreached just a wee bit. However, if her termination was due to her failing to meet "teaching goals and standards" then off she goes!

11 posted on 09/13/2007 2:23:39 PM PDT by A_Tradition_Continues (THE NEXT GENERATION CONSERVATIVE)
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To: MotleyGirl70

Yup, she a honkey for sure.


12 posted on 09/13/2007 2:24:43 PM PDT by Clioman
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To: MotleyGirl70
Yet another example of moonbats trying to write law via the judiciary branch.
13 posted on 09/13/2007 2:26:24 PM PDT by Clint N. Suhks ( BUILD THE WALL, ENFORCE THE LAW!)
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14 posted on 09/13/2007 2:26:35 PM PDT by evets
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To: donna
Ellington, who describes her family as conservative Republicans, said her daughter was upset that Mayer was "bashing" President Bush in class. But she said Mayer's teaching ability was more important that her political views. She thinks the combination of those views and her strict discipline cost Mayer her job.

"Freedom of speech is perfectly fine for a teacher," Ellington said. "I don't think she was trying to make card-carrying Democrats out of her fourth-, fifth- and sixth--graders."

This mother is naive.

15 posted on 09/13/2007 2:29:55 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70 (Go Packers!)
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To: A_Tradition_Continues
a veteran teacher in her first year at Bloomington

I wonder why she left her previous employment ...

16 posted on 09/13/2007 2:30:55 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("My parrot thinks you're cute. I think so, too!")
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To: MotleyGirl70
here is an interesting snippet from further down in the article:

Mayer said her troubles started Jan. 10, 2003.
She said several parents subsequently complained about her comments, leading to the non-renewal of her contract at the end of the year.
"I said four little words, and it destroyed my life," said Mayer

She wasn't fired! They chose not to renew her contract 6 months later!

Huge difference!

17 posted on 09/13/2007 2:31:09 PM PDT by Michael.SF. ("The military Mission has long since been accomplished" -- Harry Reid, April 23, 2007)
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To: Clint N. Suhks
Yet another example of moonbats trying to write law via the judiciary branch.

Would it be possible for you to justify your statement?

18 posted on 09/13/2007 2:32:33 PM PDT by A_Tradition_Continues (THE NEXT GENERATION CONSERVATIVE)
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To: MotleyGirl70

“Honk” must be moonbat for “overthrow the government.”


19 posted on 09/13/2007 2:33:26 PM PDT by Millee (Tagline free since 10/20/06)
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To: A_Tradition_Continues
But Thomas Wheeler, attorney for the Monroe County Community School Corp., said her real problem is she was a bad teacher. Besides, he said, teachers don't have First Amendment rights in the classroom because they teach a curriculum decided by state and local officials. So far, lower courts have agreed -- and the Supreme Court has not decided whether to hear her appeal.

But Wheeler said the peace comments "had absolutely nothing to do with her termination. What happened was, she was a bad teacher."

He said parents began complaining in October 2002, and some requested that their children be transferred to another class.

The article is vague in describing what her "bad" teachings were so it's hard to say.

20 posted on 09/13/2007 2:37:18 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70 (Go Packers!)
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