Natalie Munroe, the First Amendment, and American Education

Natalie Munroe, the First Amendment, and American Education

Years ago, a tenured teaching colleague saw his dark hair turn albino white over the course of weeks when he was harassed with a vengeance by school administrators.

Inspired by an admittedly inappropriate remark in his classroom about Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini who had overseen the seizure of Americans in their Tehran embassy, school administrators used the remark as a pretext to drive the social studies teacher to distraction not because of what he said but because they wanted to get rid of him. He was considered a non-team player because he had also voiced disagreement with the administration and that was simply unacceptable.

The teacher, who was driven nearly insane by daily observations and repetitive conferences with vengeful administrators, eventually succumbed to stress-related diseases and was forced into a disability retirement, at age 46.

Things haven’t changed much in public education.

Pennsylvania’s Central Bucks East High School English teacher Natalie Munroe, 30, brought to mind something that former colleague said during his unremitting torment. He said that teachers left their right to freedom of speech at the door when they entered our high school. Ms. Munroe didn’t badmouth an ayatollah but is facing similar harassment and denial of her First Amendment rights for badmouthing some of her students in an online blog.

I don’t know Ms. Munroe but, regardless of what comments she posted–during her free time and anonymously but with her picture–her explanation that, “There are serious problems with our education system today,” is right on the money.

She elaborated by saying that, “the way that schools and school district and students and parents take teachers who enter the education field full of life and hope and a desire to change the world and positively impact kids, and beat the life out of them and villainize them and blame them for everything,” needs airing in the light of day.

Among other reflections on her students, Ms. Munroe referred to a select few as ”rude, lazy, disengaged whiners . . . rat-like . . . [one who] dresses like a streetwalker . . . frightfully dim . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3654)