I can’t believe the amount of support blogger Natalie Munroe is receiving after she was caught complaining about her students on a public blog.
Sure, she may not have named them when she called them “… rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying.”
She didn’t even use her full name. So what did she do wrong?
When you write a blog that complains about the people you work with or for, be very careful that the secret doesn’t come out. When a school board is presented with complaints from parents who were angry that their children were insulted online, they have no choice but to issue a suspension. It’s a really bad look – especially from a teacher.
Ms. Munroe’s defenders say she was just telling the truth. Firstly, she wasn’t telling the truth. Truth applies to fact, this is opinion. The old adage that one’s opinions is best left to one’s self certainly applies here. The school would look ridiculous if they allowed Ms. Monroe to write what she likes and they certainly couldn’t have defended it on the basis of truth.
But many disagree with me:
However, it is high time for teachers to speak up even at the loss of their jobs. United in this effort, they could turn the tables and help students achieve better educations. And they could have a better, safer, environment.
It might be noted here that she did not direct her statements to any specific student. There has been a Facebook group organized to support her.
Every classroom in America is filled with students like this, and sometimes it must be like working in a zoo. It might be an easier job than trying to reach and teach kids who could care less about school, respecting those in authority, and those who hold back other students who really want to learn.
This is not the forum for teachers to have a go at their own students. If they disguise their comments in general statements about the nature of kids in modern society that is acceptable, but when they make judgements about the personalities and behaviours of their own students, they must accept the consequences of these revelations should they reach the parents.
My own take on this is that she made a mistake. She is not a bad person or necessarily a bad teacher. Whilst it’s not a good look for a teacher to be caught out venting their frustration, it happens all the time, and given the time, place and circumstance it won’t lead to suspension. But seriously, Natalie Munroe is no hero!
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