A 16 year old student wore a "Romney-Ryan" shirt to school one day. Her teacher made a remark about her shirt. The teacher was a black lady, who now isn't teaching until they investigate further into the situation. The story goes something like this: The girl walked into class and her teacher told her to get out because of the shirt. The girl told her teacher no, so the teacher had an assistant to come in. The assistant pretended to take a marker and write on the shirt. The teacher told the 16 year old that her wearing a Romney-Ryan shirt would be like her(the teacher) wearing a KKK shirt. Later, the teacher said that she meant for her comment to be taken lightly, and she felt bad that the issue had become such a problem. Also, the teacher stated that she tells her students that they should be themselves etc. The girl did not want to return to the school, because she was also being bullied on Facebook by peers. She did go back for some reason, and when she did, there were many people who were on her side, supporting her. Now, the state government is trying to help her find a new school.
This story brings up so many issues. First of all, comments we can make. It is so easy to say something and make it mean one thing, but someone else can take it the wrong way. In this case, the teacher claims that she meant for it to be a joke. To the student, it wasn't. Another topic it brings up is bullying. Bullying happens everywhere. Not just in our district, state, or country, but everywhere. If someone is being bullied, it can lead to fatal choices. We all need to be careful of our words and actions. These are a few things that everyone does. It's easy to do. I do believe in self expression, but yet it should be contained. There are certain ways that one would act in society or in public, and there are ways that they can act in their home. What are your thoughts? Do you feel the teacher was wrong? Do you feel the student was wrong? What would you do if you were in this situation.
This isn't the only student having problems at school. Another article I read said that a student's bus driver was telling them that they should have been aborted because of a political sign they had in their front yard. Students who ride that bus are witnesses to this harassment and are writing about the experiences for the school etc. This boy was only 12 years old. What do you think of this?
The first link is to the second shorter story. The last three links are all about the top story. It has had several different articles written about the situation.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/09/romney-t-shirt-controversy-sparks-rally-outside-port-richmond-school/
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/04/political-t-shirt-worn-at-port-richmond-high-school-stirs-up-controversy/
Replies
I don't think the teacher really thought before she spoke. If someone wants to wear a Romney Ryan shirt, or any other shirt then you should be able to. I would hope someone would talk to the teacher about the comment. Let people wear what they want, and say what they want, its a free country.
It is getting crazy how mean some people are getting over this election! I mean most of us are not even old enough to vote, so our opinions are not going to matter in this election.
I hope the teacher feels very bad and doesn't make stupid comments anymore!
Wow. If the teacher didn't mean for it to be a serious matter, she shouldn't have said anything. A person should be able to express themselves in anyway they feel.
I think that the teacher should be fired because no students should be treated like that. It is a free country and we can wear what we want
Teachers need to be careful about what they say to students. Despite that woman's own personal views the girl had every right to wear whatever she wanted to school and to not be targeted for it.
I hope the teachers gets fired for her comment. She has the right to ware what ever she wants.
This is bad! I don't know why the teacher kept making remarks! Seriously, one is a enough. She wouldn't want people making remarks about her opinions.
that is horrible that a teacher would do that like the teacher said that students should be themselves so i dont know why she would want to say that to them.