While on Facebook this morning (gross, I know) I saw that my sister had posted a comment on what I thought was one of her local high school's pages (it turned out not to be her local school though), Charles Carroll High School, in Philadelphia. Since her children are elementary-aged, I thought that was weird, so I followed her comments. And was appalled by what I learned.
Last Friday, 16 year old student Samantha Pawlucy wore a t-shirt with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan's name and logo on it. It was a normal day until she went to her geometry class, where her teacher evidently had a problem with the shirt.
Samantha's teacher actually told her to get out of her classroom, just because she was wearing the shirt seen in the picture above. When Samantha didn't, the teacher pulled her into the hallway where she apparently encouraged others to make fun of Samantha and bully her. The teacher compared her to the Ku Klux Klan, all but calling her a racist, for supporting the Republican Party.
It went another step further. She (or a teacher's aide?) got out a Sharpie and attempted to scribble on the shirt Samantha was wearing, while the other students made fun of her.
Samantha was so embarrassed by what happened that she didn't return to class and has not apparently returned since. She felt threatened by this teacher and I don't blame her.
The teacher says it was a "joke." I'm not laughing. Neither is Samantha or her family. The school board has not decided whether they will take disciplinary actions. In the meantime, she remains teaching in the school.
You can read more
here, including a video interview with Samantha and her father.
Have you heard about this story? Have you ever seen this kind of bullying at school, or in your college? What would you do if you were Samantha or her family?
image source
 Student Over Political Shirt "Pin It")
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Comments (54)
Wow. If I were the principal there that teacher would already be out the door. I don't think anyone realizes how little things like that impact a kid's life.
That's pathetic of the teacher. Being a teacher is really tough and I'm sure they misplace their anger at students sometimes but that's going too far.
That's pretty atrocious. I always say that in the cases of the best teachers, the students should have no idea their personal opinions on any "hot-button" issues... not because these issues aren't explored, but because it is the job of the teacher to play devil's advocate and encourage open-minded thinking and debate. In any case, singling out a student in public for anything but praise is generally frowned upon, and though I hesitate to pass judgment based on any media report, if this report is accurate, the teacher is pretty far out of line.
@Endrath@xanga - Not to mention, this was a math class.
Politics is always important in geometry, it's all about who is being obtuse!
Ha... I kid, I kid to dull the pain I feel inside because I cannot comprehend how much of an idiot this teacher is and how bad that child must have felt. Sad.
I hope they filed a police report against that teacher. She had no right to put her hands on that poor girl! That school definitely should've kicked her out the door as soon as they learned about the situation!
There are two sides to every story and then there's the truth.
The students in the school have made the environment so nasty, it may be hard for Samantha to go back to school. This is an interesting follow-up on those lines:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20121006_Students_heckle_parents_of_Philadelphia_teen_over_T-shirt_incident.html?cmpid=124488469
This teacher not only needs to be fired, she needs to be banned from ever holding a teaching position again.
Ha back in my highschool days I woulda warned the teacher to take their hand off me and one warning only. Then I would have knocked the living hell out of the teacher. I know not the right thing to do but really they put their hands on you... You defend yourself. Teacher or not.
What about this is a "joke"?!
I feel so sorry for that girl. I hope the teacher faces some sort of punishment.
Some teachers really have a problem with their temper. We had one teacher who threatened to kick a student out of the classroom if she continued talking to others. So far so good.
Then she just turned her head around (I know bc I sat beside her) and he did the same...grabbed her, and threw her in the hallway, and then even threw a chair after her.
Teachers like that should be fired or at least forbidden to work for several months, and not come back until they can 'prove' they are mentally stable enough for this job.
And while I hope Romney loses the elections, it is wrong to infer such things about his supporters (like racism). The teacher could have discussed it with her personally, but in a non-accusing way.
If she thinks THIS is the worst going on in a students head, she lives in a pretty rosy world.
What kind of a parent allows their 16 year old to go to school wearing that political t shirt? It's asking for it.. j/k...but yea, what the teacher did was very unprofessional. If the story is true (which sometimes I doubt it is...people have a way of blowing things out of proportion), then that teacher needs serious disciplinary actions taken against her.
@XXVl@xanga - Not just unprofessional but against the law.
Public shaming from the masses. Gee, wonder why I only hang out with people who think similarly to me, politics-wise. That teacher is an asshole.
while i understand the teacher's frustration of a student wearing a romney/ryan t shirt, his/her behavior was unprofessional and overall unacceptable. bullying is not the way to go.
Yeah. That's not cool. At all.
wow. this world just never fail to be appalling.
While I despise Romney, what this teacher did is NOT okay.
I don't agree with the girl's politics, but that's just low and awful.
Regardless of which party her shirt supported, what that teacher did is completely unacceptable and wrong.
I don't think anyone but the girl and her parents need be involved, and as I'm writing thing, I'll bet it's been taken care of. I don't know how, or what kind of discipline was involved, but as a wife to a teacher, trust me, something's either already been done, or is being done. I'm also questioning perhaps a policy in place where kids can't wear politically inflammatory clothing, because in this climate, in this country, that t shirt could have been just that. Doesn't excuse what was done. If that were the case, she could have quietly been taken to the nurse's office to change her shirt, where no conversation in the classroom or the hall was taken place. There's just too many questions I have for this one that haven't been answered.
Could this be someone looking for brownie points for Mitt???