Principal Assaults H.S. Student for Wearing Pro-Gay Shirt

The ACLU isn't demanding the principal be fired for this?? All they want is for the school to say kids can wear clothes with "peaceful messages"?

Weird.

This principal should be fired and he should be stripped of his benefits and pension. He assaulted a student who posed no threat to him. There is no other solution.

As an educator, I am embarrassed.

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I feel like something's not being said. I fail to understand what "who's the big man now" has to do with the shirt.

Not that gives the principal the right to ever touch a student. I once witnessed my elementary school principal grab a student by the throat and throw him across a room.

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Perhaps he needs to recieve some emails on how we feel...

The office email address for Principal Moser is: moserm@monroe.k12.tn.us ... and his office phone number is: (423) 442-9230

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"Sources say that the anti-gay hatred in Monroe County runs deep. One source claimed that churches in the area were telling parishioners to fight the GSA as hard as they can. Another source indicated that religious corruption has dictated governmental affairs there for a long time."


But they're now ALL like that, so, y'know, that's good.

for the most part I am not in favor of backseat drivers with respect to employee discapline. It is interesting to note that you are reacting to an article of an isolated incident without a hint of the principal's side. I note that the article does not quote either the victim, his sister or the ACLU as demanding a termination. Maybe the 'assault' itself was exaggerated. we sure don't have a copy of the principals employee file to show if a pattern exists or if this educator could benefit from either a physical or mental screen for possible contributors are You are jumping the gun..

careful and circumspect. I dont know the policies, employee history or the details of his defense. School boards have written policies for investigation, and determination of disciplinary procedures usually involving a committee and peer review.

I saw an episode of Judge Judy once where a teacher was being sued for assaulting a student after school. The teacher had a spotless disciplinary record and had even been nominated for some teaching awards in the past. At the end of the hearing, Judge Judy said that she did not believe a word the teacher said about what happened after school. She had no doubt that the teacher had grabbed the student and thrown him to the ground. The difference was this student was sexually harassing a cheerleader by grabbing her inappropriately and not stopping when she said no. The only reason the teacher didn't pay a dime to the family for his one and only transgression as an educator is the danger this student posed to another.

Educators are not allowed to touch students aggressively unless they pose a risk to another student or themselves. Period. Wearing a t-shirt is not a risk to anyone. Both sides admit the student was wearing the shirt and the school corroborated the principal's story. The fact that the school and the police have refused to interview the only eye-witness is pretty telling, as well. If the school wasn't hiding anything, the sister would have been interviewed immediately.

You seem to be doing a lot of "backseat driving" in order to justify this man's actions, and you also seem to know very little about how the education system works. I'm a college professor, my dad taught high school for forty years and retired as an administrator, my brother and sister-in-law are both teachers, and many people in my family are in the profession. So, let me fill you in on some things about education:

Many--most, actually--schools have a zero tolerance policy on student/teacher assault. In almost all cases, this included teachers who feel that they're "provoked" by the student in question. Many teachers have lost careers and pensions for acting in situations where they felt they had to physically defend themselves. The way this has been handled does not seem typical, based on my knowledge of the education system.

An administrative/desk job is almost always a promotion, not something that they'd give you as a way to keep you out of the classroom and away from kids. It certainly wouldn't be given to someone as "punishment" for assaulting a student.

While free speech isn't always completely protected inside the walls of a high school, a teacher or principal would have to have a justified reason for telling a student not to wear a shirt (e.g., it features profanity or something that goes against the school's student behavioral code). No article has made mention of any such provision.

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