<p>I don't know where to put this, but I need some group suggestions... it would be gladly appreciated. I wrote this as a letter to my government teacher because he thrives on this stuff.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>I would like to ask your opinion on a situation concerning my cousin. My cousin, who is in fifth grade, was suspended from school for ten days because her Myspace (which had no last name of hers or any affiliation with the school or city) said ?Mrs. Braun is a *****.? Basically, my cousin and a large group of her friends created this space to vent about a teacher that they disliked. She didn?t access her account in school, and the teacher that found out didn?t find the account during school either, so all of the actions happened on private property, not in school. I just don?t understand how or why the school could pin this on her so hard or even at all. We searched the code of conduct to find the policy on internet use, and we couldn?t find anything except for school computer use and threats, and those weren?t violated. The principal also stated that issues not stated in the code of conduct are at the discretion of the principal to determine violation and disciplinary action, while no reference is made towards issues not addressed in the book. Yes, I know she is young and her actions were wrong, but the fact is, she has never been involved in any trouble and is an intelligent A-B student, and I don?t believe she deserves ten days for a small, profane statement. A similar occurrence happened when my sister was in sixth grade when she wrote and illustrated a comic book with vulgar statements and pictures about her teachers. In that situation, the school (and actually your friend Mr. Urqhart) told her to take a day off to think about what she had done and write a letter of apology. I think that was a good way of handling things. So what I?m asking is, isn?t there some protection of freedom of speech, especially on private property. The ACLU defended a Myspace case in Ohio, where a student was expelled, and the school board dropped the case before it hit court because they realized they wouldn?t win, and the student was reinstated. Is there anything we can do to help her get back in school, or protect some right or privilege? Does the school have the right to force her to delete her account, also? Are there any precedents regarding situations like this? </p>
<p>I would gladly appreciate your opinion on this, or at least I can teach my cousin a lesson in government.</p>
<p>The school has no right to take action against her because (1) it took place on the Internet and (2) it was not a threat or libel of any kind.
I bet if your cousin was a high school delinquent posting it the school wouldn't have done a thing. This is no more than an attempt by the government to force morality on the "innocent" youth, which it shouldn't be doing in the first place.</p>
<p>10 days? Goodness, kids at my school get suspended for two days for being in a rather gruesome fight. </p>
<p>I agree, it was on private property and absolutely un-school related except that it dealt with a teacher. I don't know anything about law, but that seems absolutely preposterous. Your cousin obviously did this in an outlet where she'd think that the teacher would never see it. It's not like she curses her in her face. </p>
<p>I understand schools punishing athletes for finding pictures of them drinking on myspace, but I don't see how the school has any justification for suspending a fifth-grader for saying one insult about a teacher on the internet.</p>
<p>I thought you had to be at least 13 to use sites like myspace...I know there's no real way to enforce that kind of rule, but 10 seems WAY too young to have unmonitored internet use. Of course, I'm assuming that her parents would warn her of possible consequences (more-so in later years) when you post that kind of stuff on the internet had they been monitoring her use.</p>
<p>As for what you're asking, I don't really think it's your place to raise a fuss. Her parents are the ones that need to say something about it. I agree that the punishment is ridiculous, though.</p>
<p>Does she go to a public or private school? because i think that can make a huge differance. Public schools have no right, in my opinion, to tell you what you cant do outside of school as long as your not breaking the law. Private schools have more power over you. I go to a private high school, and they actually just put a clause in the handbook related to internet use. A kid last year (a junoir) was <em>expelled</em> bc he wrote F*** (insert school name here) on his myspace, no warning, just strait expelled. My school also tells kids to take pictures off myspaces they find offensive, and can discipline kids for what they have up. (like pictures of them drinking). While i totally disagree with it, by the students paying to go to the school it counts as signing a contract in which the school is allowed to do all those things. However, for a 5th grader (they shouldnt even have a myspace in the first place) i think that punishment is really excessive, at least colleges wont ever know about.</p>
<p>I too want to know if she goes to public or private school. I know this isn't a popular opinion but I have to say...cyberbullying and harrassment are a big deal and I think the administration was right to do something about it. I think the punishment was WAY too severe but that's another issue.</p>
<p>Well 10 days is excessive and she should be able to go to the school board and have it decreased by a lot. If a student whispers that TeacherX is a **** in class, I doubt that that would get you anything more than a slap on the wrist, not a suspension (let alone 10 days). I mean, it was on Myspace, outside school, etc. Also, doesnt everyone under 18 have private myspace pages? And what is a teacher doing on a 10 year old's myspace page? Also,a school can't dictate what you do in your own free time outside of school (unless they are like private schools banning their kids from facebook and myspace). Contact the ACLU. They have no problem sticking it to the man.</p>
<p>When I used to go to the school way back when, a kid in fifth grade shouted profanity at a teacher and got in a fist fight with another kid the same day and only got ISS for three days.</p>
<p>The teacher found her myspace because my cousin sent her a message on the wrong account telling her she had a nice picture (the teacher was drunk holding a beer in her hand). The funny thing is, when my aunt had the conference with the teacher and principal, the teacher cropped the picture and when confronted about the old picture, lied about it to the principal and my aunt... Too bad my sister went through all of the temporary internet files and found the old one.. hehehe</p>
<p>Why is your cousin spending her time trying to threaten and embarass her teacher? How do you know a teacher was "drunk" from a picture of herself holding a beer? Doesn't the teacher have a constitutionaly right to drink a beer in her spare time without being harassed in veiled threats by a student? Your cousin might be driving her to drink. When all this blows over (and BTW I think the ACLU might side with your cousin) you really have some serious concerns to refocus your cousin. She sounds to me like a very manipulative little child who needs to focus on scholastics and not trying to extort her teachers even if she dislikes them. Where did the cousin learn this kind of behavior? If she were my kid, I'd get her off the hook by the ACLU for the constitutional issues and then LAND on her for her bad priorities. I'd suspend her myself in-house, for about half a year.</p>
<p>I go to a public high school. A couple people at my school wrote about how bad their engish teacher was and included a couple names on myspace last year. The teacher created an account on myspace and found all of their comments and reported it to the principal. They were not suspended, but they were all called to the office and were lectured and the teacher subsequently became more subjective in his grading towards the students. We all argued against the teacher. He's at a different school this year. (Although he's the vice principal there now...it's a really bad public school). </p>
<p>I don't understand why these administrations can think they can regulate these activities especially on a public website that is blocked at the school anyways. She probably shouldn't be on the site at 10...but in my case, everyone is 16-17. </p>
<p>If it were my kid...the ONLY punishment I'd give was to get rid of the myspace. Everyone has complained about teachers...even in 5th grade. Obviously the language used wasn't common 10-20 years ago...it is extremely prevalent now. Kids need a way to vent...not just stick their heads in books half their lives. I would help my kid(if i had one) find another way to vent...like sports, music, etc. Your cousin just needs something to do after school...thats all.</p>