Courtesy of Atlanta Journal Constitution:
A Cherokee County high school teacher is facing criticism on social media after she told students they couldn’t wear shirts with the “Make America Great Again” slogan, the school district said Sunday in an emailed statement.
The River Ridge High School math teacher on Thursday erroneously told two students their shirts with campaign slogans were not permitted in class, Cherokee County Schools spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby said.
“Her actions were wrong, as the ‘Make America Great Again’ shirts worn by the students are not a violation of our School District dress code,” Jacoby said.
The teacher, whose name has not been released by the school district, also shared her personal opinion about the campaign slogan during class, which Jacoby said was inappropriate.
“Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower is deeply sorry that this incident happened in one of our schools,” Jacoby said. “It does not reflect his expectation that all students be treated equally and respectfully by our employees.”
Here is video of the incident in question.
As you might imagine this has caused a firestorm among those on the Right Wing who feel that this teacher demonstrated a prejudicial attitude toward the political beliefs of these students.
And as much as it pains me to say it, they have a point.
This is America and that means we have free speech.
Having said that I also completely understand where this teacher was coming from.
If I had to spend 50 minutes in a class with two of those obnoxious shirts staring me in the face I would probably start frothing at the mouth.
I would also probably retaliate by wearing a "Hillary Clinton: The People's President" t-shirt and start drinking from a coffee mug that portrayed Donald Trump as Adolph Hitler.
But I'm childish like that.
So are students also allowed to wear T-shirts with Hang ‘em or String ‘em up with picture of Obama and Hillary?
ReplyDeleteno political shirts at all. their favourite band, superhero, or Leonardo Da Vici is good.
DeleteSo-called "dress codes" stem from conservative's insistence of group think and homogenization. As such, the attire not being abusive nor prurient in nature, must be allowed.
ReplyDeletethe brats wore the shirts to cause trouble-pure and simple. political garb for either side should not be allowed for the reason-it causes problems. if they want to wear stuff like that they can do it off school grounds. it would be nice if some parents knew what their kids are doing.
DeleteWhoa, there! I can't think of anything I'd want to encourage more in students than interest in the political sphere. The shirts SHOULD cause spirited political debate. The teacher was wrong.
Deletekids with access to guns. political debate belongs in polysci. not a single one of you seems to get -TEENAGERS ARE VOLTILE AND CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. these kids wore the shirts to make problems-not to show their political leanings. these kids could join the next ALT march and could get hurt, or hurt someone else, just because being an ass IS FUN. they have also have access to guns. am i i the only one who feels that way? am i going to turn on the news and see more dead kids because some immature little ass got pissed off at a tee shirt? they can wear their shirts elsewhere.children should be safe at school.
DeleteI would "imagine" always loved that song, it is an extreme challenge to be a teacher in todays America and world. Critical thinking? I would ask the students to write down and describe what makes America great again and what it means to them. Then ask for Hillarys slogan and what that meant to them. Perhaps Bernies slogan. Then ask them to make up their own slogan. Debate and discussion, then history, then discussion, more history, discussion. Show them the 1925 political slogan, make America great again.
ReplyDeleteand so?
There is NO tolerance NOR room for fake news, liars, bullies and trash in America. Time for change AGAIN. Our ancestors have left us with a mess to clean up around the world and in America. The world does not have time, air or land for racist, hate, or religious wars. WE the people do not have time or money for liars or con artist. We don't want hateful leaders or nations in this world. Time for change. Remove the dictators, liars and con artist from the planet and send them to Uranus. flush. Teach the children the words of the song "Imagine" Teach the children about respect manners morals and this beautiful planet. Teach them to get along and live in peace and to resist negative energy and humans.
I wish you had been my teacher.
DeleteJohn Lennon could be a real shit head times-he said so himself. but he had an a connection that can still be heard today. i wish he he was here. people of his generation might have listened to him.
DeleteYes!!!! 5:03
DeleteMr Trump and his father https://twitter.com/BrianPaulStuart/status/904796263694131200
ReplyDeleteTrump doesn't like having #BlackPeople in his rental properties, only in his pictures. https://twitter.com/BrianPaulStuart/status/904734140561575937
The left's BIGGEST fear is that @realDonaldTrump resonates with black folks. His concern for ALL AMERICANS transcends race, creed, origin.
Deletedavid a clarke jr<He'd know.
How about plain T shirts only in the taxpayer public schools. Because the kids are there for an education. Even in college you can express yourself without insult.
ReplyDeleteTBH, I'm shocked a teacher was foolish enough to compare the shirt to a swastika. It's gross hyperbole to do so. There's a reason Godwin's Law exists. And asking them to leave class? This is exactly what the progressive movement does NOT need.
ReplyDeletePeople need to stop worrying about their instant gratification glands and start working on voting these people out of office. Stop handing the Repubs their campaign ads.
She'll be unemployed soon, don't worry.
Deletemy concern that political clothing from either side could cause violence. the kids can wear their trump stuff off school property. we are not keeping the brats from free speech, just limiting where they can do it in the interest of protecting children from possible harm. these kids parents have GUNS. which i have mentioned before. teenagers have volatile emotions-it's part of their makeup at that age. can't any of you THINK? am i the only one who remembers school shooting????
Deletegood for her. students shouldn't be allowed to wear or carry political clothing. you know they did it just to make trouble. if you're not old enough to vote, forget it.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you aren't smart enough to think, YOU really shouldn't be on the internets. DO you think that at 18, a switch suddenly gets turned on and they become interested in politics?
Deletebub, i have an iq of 130-and a 3.0 at u.w. i took political science. unless these kids spend their free time on line looking for every atom of the political scene we have -THEY DON'T KNOW. the brats wore the shirts to get a rise out of people. NOT appropriate for high school. this sort of clothing could easily cause violence. and i guess your the one who can't think. these kids have access to GUNS, dimbulb.
DeleteAside from some specifics regarding skirt length, bagging pants, tucked shirts etc., yes, students do have some choice regarding attire unless it is a "uniform" school.
ReplyDeleteHowever, every district I know of has a phrase in their ed code regarding disruption of the learning process. These particular shirts may not be akin to wearing a Swastika but they can easily be associated with the same racist bigotry their leader spews. It won't be long before they're banned should one wearer of said shirt beat up on a minority student.
The destruction of DACA is being announced today. What do you want to bet someone wearing this shirt is involved in a physical altercation with another student, likely of Hispanic descent?
That's what will get these shirts banned.
My local school doesn't allow shirts with any sorts of sayings or logos specifically for this reason.
BTW students rights are extremely limited, as past court cases have shown. They are minors, not adults, so their "rights" under the constitution are limited.
Get some sleep:"The shift to later start times has been gathering momentum since 1996"!
ReplyDelete"at school start times are a public health issue and should be treated as such.
About 400 districts around the country have made the shift to date, with schools in at least 19 states doing so this year. But that still leaves too many schools that start too early: 87 percent of the nation’s public high schools and 81 percent of middle schools, according to the 2015–2016 data."
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/09/stop_starting_school_before_8_30_a_m.html
Not gonna happen.
DeleteIt's too disruptive to their bus and lunch schedules.
We've known about the research and data for 30 years and schools have yet to adjust their start times.
A hoot what you said you'd do, IM! Cracked me up. So right on!!! Love reading and participating in your blog!
ReplyDeleteI heard this teacher in the video clarify it was not Trump but the reference MAGA and what that means to neo nazis.
ReplyDeleteI say good for her to address and her personal objection to the slogan MAGA used by white nationalists America be only white.
She clearly took a stance how offensive she found the association not wanting that in her classroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=Gb31zK3UAJA
ReplyDelete3 year olds! With guns! Bam!
Ha, ha, ha, fixing a broken gene pool one 3-year old at a time :-)
DeleteAS another student in that class - yes to what you would do, x100. AS a professional teacher in that class, nope. Would we discuss the ideas (and the opposing ones) represented by those shirts - also yes x 10. The Rump and his follower's stupidity and paucity of ideas can always be exposed by logic - something that should be taught in EVERY SINGLE US classroom.
ReplyDelete