Teacher placed on leave for questionable Facebook posting (In photo she's holding a rifle)

WKOW-TV ^ | February 3, 2009

[2ndDivisionVet]

BEAVER DAM (WKOW) -- Beaver Dam school officials placed a middle school teacher on administrative leave after discovering a photograph of the teacher with a gun on the teacher's Facebook page.

In the photo, teacher Betsy Ramsdale is training a rifle at the camera.

Ramsdale emailed 27 News in response to our inquiries saying she "removed the photo immediately" and that she is not "interested in any controversy." Ramsdale did not comment on her motivation for posting the photo.

Schools superintendent Donald Childs told 27 News he is unaware of any sinister intent on the teacher's part and said the use of the photo "appears to be poor judgment."

Childs said the Facebook photo was brought to the attention of school district officials by a concerned staff member at Beaver Dam Middle School.

Ramsdale's biography on the school district website states she is in her first year of teaching at the middle school. Department of Public Instruction records show Ramsdale has been licensed to teach since 1996.

Middle school parent Jennifer Buzzell said the teacher's decision to post the photograph was concerning.

"I don't think it's appropriate," Buzzell told 27 News. "I'm not sure why this would be on the computer at all."

"I don't see anything wrong with it," school parent Mark Hagstrom said. "She's on her time to do what she wants."

School parent Chad Van Loo said the photograph sends the wrong message.

"With the way things are going these days, with the kids bringing guns to school and bomb threats, (photograph) is something to be concerned about."

Ramsdale's union representation is through the Beaver Dam Education Association. Association president Janet Schumaker has yet to return a call from 27 News.

Read our Assistant News Director's Blog on this topic:

http://addins.wkowtv.com/blogs/behindthenews/

To comment and provide news tips, contact reporter Tony Galli at tgalli@wkowtv.com

[Cringing Negativism Network]

“Well, we wouldn’t have wanted Ronald Reagan, who pointed weapons at the camera, to be a school teacher.”

-

Weapons?

Or Hollyweird models?

It is just plain wrong, to point a (real) weapon at someone who is not your enemy.

Pointing toy guns at people as make-believe, if they have no reason to believe it’s real, isn’t wrong. Squirt guns for example. Or playing GI Joe as a kid.

Ronald Reagan never pointed, a functioning weapon at a camera.

I’m rather sure of that.

Please do not misrepresent his legacy, in this manner.

[wardaddy]

Are you familiar with Oleg Volk's photowork with women and guns? women find them epowering and securing...

[death2tyrants]

[William Tell]

Ol' Dan Tucker said: "Was this a harmless photo, too? "

You're the one who posted it here. You tell us whether you intended to terrorize FreeRepublic by causing this photo to appear. Was it your intention to threaten the rest of us?

Or are you able to distinguish between murderous acts and the publishing of pictures of guns?

[meyer]

Was this a harmless photo, too?

It's harmless because it's a photo. It also shows a couple of violations of safe gun handling.

[death2tyrants]

Good for her. Guns are an important part of American culture and history.

"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Or are you able to distinguish between murderous acts and the publishing of pictures of guns?

Of course. Until he went on his murderous rampage, it was just a photograph published of someone pointing a gun at the camera. Just like the teacher.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

Are you familiar with Oleg Volk's photowork with women and guns? women find them epowering and securing...

So, when a woman is faced with a violent attack, she should just show them one of Volk's photographs?

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

It's harmless because it's a photo. It also shows a couple of violations of safe gun handling.

Good point.

[familyop]

"Ronald Reagan never pointed, a functioning weapon at a camera."

"I’m rather sure of that."

Very famous actors have been killed on their movie sets by firearms. Also, you have no reason to suspect that the firearm pointed at the camera by the teacher was capable of firing a round at the time. It's alright for individuals to point firearms at cameras for artistic purposes, as long as everyone involved makes sure that the firearms are not capable of hurting anyone. You haven't dis-proven that, yet, and won't be able to do so. Doing that for artistic purposes (e.g., movies) is both legally and morally accepted in the USA.

"Please do not misrepresent his legacy, in this manner."

...appeal to emotion, appeal to popularity, guilt by association, poisoning the well, red herring. Will you be trying to use all of the fallacies during this now ridiculous and effectively concluded exchange of arguments?

[MrEdd]

[ApplegateRanch]

Sarah Palin’s cheesey sister hunting moose; or an ugly moose cheese hunting?

[MarkL]

Interesting...

In order to combat teen-aged and pre-teen pregnancy, we must stuff these kids heads with information, much of which is probably NOT approved of by their own parents...

In order to combat teen-aged and pre-teen violence, we must hide any information about guns from the kids.

And we wonder why kids are screwed up today... With people “educating them” with this sort of thought process, it’s amazing that their heads haven’t exploded.

Mark

[MarkL]

Ol' Dan Tucker said: "Was this a harmless photo, too? "

You're the one who posted it here. You tell us whether you intended to terrorize FreeRepublic by causing this photo to appear. Was it your intention to threaten the rest of us?

Or are you able to distinguish between murderous acts and the publishing of pictures of guns?

His picture frightened me, and I wet myself. Where do I sign up for the class action to sue him?

Mark

[Kozak]

What about this one?

[Starfleet Command]

[mvpel]

Pointing a gun directly at a camera is a rather offensive image. It's visually akin, as I and many others see it, to photos of lynching, holocaust executions, etc. It's shocking, and unnerving. It's "gun porn" in the most literal sense of the term. If it gets her off, good for her, but putting it on Facebook for the world to see exhibits rather poor judgment. Should she be fired for it? Of course I don't think she should, but of course leftist moonbats think she should. Suppose she were a church schoolteacher moonlighting as a stripper in the local t-bar? That's about the equivalent comparison for a gun owner in a leftist moonbat bastion like public schools.

[mvpel]

I don’t find such photos “frightening,” I find them irritating and offensive.

[FreedomPoster]

>Unless the camera was somehow set to a remote shutter - there is NO excuse for pointing a weapon at another person.

While I agree, damn near every modern digicam has an auto shutter available, as well as a tripod screw recess.

[Atlas Sneezed]

She was pointing it at the photographer. Unless the camera was somehow set to a remote shutter - there is NO excuse for pointing a weapon at another person.

---

I’ll bet you really go ape at the movies when the bad guy points the gun at the camera for a point-of-view shot, huh?

Heck, I’ve even seen them film a guy pointing a gun at another guy. I’ve even seen them show them pulling the trigger! I think it was in a Spielberg movie about the Holocaust, or maybe a war movie. Horrors!

Are you sure there is NO excuse?

So, if Hollywood can display dangerous-looking images, why can’t an ordinary person express themselves that way?