Defamation is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm.
Slander involves the making of defamatory statements by a transitory (non-fixed) representation, usually an oral (spoken) representation.
Libel involves the making of defamatory statements in a fixed or medium, such as a magazine or newspaper.
* Copying text from the AISD website about her removal is not a false statement.* I am not writing to cause her harm; I wrote what I wrote because teachers need to learn to stand up for themselves and not to be totally walked all over. I stood up, took the consequences, but was proven right in the end.
I wonder how many teachers leave the profession because of physical or emotional abuse from students and administration. You know what you're told? Don't break up fights. Don't break up fights because you, the teacher, could be the one that's injured. They follow this with examples from previous jobs--the person that had to have back surgery from being shoved into a locker, etc etc. But on the other hand, if you can save a kid from a brutal beating, aren't you obligated to do so as the parent in loco? If it had been your kid, wouldn't you have wanted me to do that?
I have documentation that the School Safety Act was violated at my school. I have documentation that I followed the proper chain of command in a professional way through the district. No one has ever disagreed with that. However, the violations were allowed to continue. If blogging about it isn't professional, so be it. But I will not be blackmailed into silence like other teachers. I care too deeply about the teaching profession and about teaching students.
At a time when we have Columbine and Va Tech and other school shootings in our country, I find teachers are left in a curious position. We are supposed to speak up regarding what we see as dangerous situations to prevent such shootings. BUT, you would have me say nothing about dangerous situations. I guess it's all ok because no one was killed at my school. Frankly, that was just luck that year.
BTW, saying she hijacked my evaluation is perfectly accurate. I had a copy of my evaluation from my original evaluator. I had wisely photocopied it for my files. It was the draft and changes were to be made to take into account the professional work I had done for the year and the quia.com related materials I had developed for my students. My evaluator had said that those areas would go up.
The principal did indeed hijack my evaluation--something the teacher's union said was illegal. She wrote me down in areas that I could PROVE were incorrect (and did prove). I was not allowed to appeal to my original evaluator regarding anything. No one else had a change of evaluator. The principal had never even observed me teaching. But, after I broke up the gang fight and appealed yet again to the district to address the safety issues on our campus, she came after me. I didn't gossip about it, I didn't go to the papers, AND I also did NOT leave my school responsibilities like half our faculty, taking sick days right and left to avoid the dangers and chaos of our campus. At a time when there were never enough substitutes to cover classes, I didn't shirk my responsibilities. I showed up at school, even though any place but my own room frightened me. PROFESSIONAL.
FWIW, all previous and subsequent evaluations by other administrators have been glowing.
But I guess it is ok for an administrator to abuse her position of power, eh? Or at least let's not talk about it because it's unprofessional. Kind of like when it was ok for husbands to beat their wives because it was a family matter? And family matters should be kept quiet?
And do you wonder why more people do not go into teaching? Or do you wonder why there really aren't more Columbine's?
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rosecarmine
Re: My 2nd reply to this
Date: 2008-01-09 11:21 pm (UTC)Slander involves the making of defamatory statements by a transitory (non-fixed) representation, usually an oral (spoken) representation.
Libel involves the making of defamatory statements in a fixed or medium, such as a magazine or newspaper.
* Copying text from the AISD website about her removal is not a false statement.* I am not writing to cause her harm; I wrote what I wrote because teachers need to learn to stand up for themselves and not to be totally walked all over. I stood up, took the consequences, but was proven right in the end.
I wonder how many teachers leave the profession because of physical or emotional abuse from students and administration. You know what you're told? Don't break up fights. Don't break up fights because you, the teacher, could be the one that's injured. They follow this with examples from previous jobs--the person that had to have back surgery from being shoved into a locker, etc etc. But on the other hand, if you can save a kid from a brutal beating, aren't you obligated to do so as the parent in loco? If it had been your kid, wouldn't you have wanted me to do that?
I have documentation that the School Safety Act was violated at my school. I have documentation that I followed the proper chain of command in a professional way through the district. No one has ever disagreed with that. However, the violations were allowed to continue. If blogging about it isn't professional, so be it. But I will not be blackmailed into silence like other teachers. I care too deeply about the teaching profession and about teaching students.
At a time when we have Columbine and Va Tech and other school shootings in our country, I find teachers are left in a curious position. We are supposed to speak up regarding what we see as dangerous situations to prevent such shootings. BUT, you would have me say nothing about dangerous situations. I guess it's all ok because no one was killed at my school. Frankly, that was just luck that year.
BTW, saying she hijacked my evaluation is perfectly accurate. I had a copy of my evaluation from my original evaluator. I had wisely photocopied it for my files. It was the draft and changes were to be made to take into account the professional work I had done for the year and the quia.com related materials I had developed for my students. My evaluator had said that those areas would go up.
The principal did indeed hijack my evaluation--something the teacher's union said was illegal. She wrote me down in areas that I could PROVE were incorrect (and did prove). I was not allowed to appeal to my original evaluator regarding anything. No one else had a change of evaluator. The principal had never even observed me teaching. But, after I broke up the gang fight and appealed yet again to the district to address the safety issues on our campus, she came after me. I didn't gossip about it, I didn't go to the papers, AND I also did NOT leave my school responsibilities like half our faculty, taking sick days right and left to avoid the dangers and chaos of our campus. At a time when there were never enough substitutes to cover classes, I didn't shirk my responsibilities. I showed up at school, even though any place but my own room frightened me. PROFESSIONAL.
FWIW, all previous and subsequent evaluations by other administrators have been glowing.
But I guess it is ok for an administrator to abuse her position of power, eh? Or at least let's not talk about it because it's unprofessional. Kind of like when it was ok for husbands to beat their wives because it was a family matter? And family matters should be kept quiet?
And do you wonder why more people do not go into teaching? Or do you wonder why there really aren't more Columbine's?