'Honk For Peace' Case Tests Limits On Free Speech - SFGate

[WillyT]

<snip>

The incident occurred in January 2003, when Mayer was teaching a class of fourth- through sixth-graders at Clear Creek Elementary School. As Mayer recalled it later, the question about peace marches arose during a discussion of an article in the children's edition of Time magazine, part of the school-approved curriculum, about protests against U.S. preparations for war in Iraq.

When the student asked the question about taking part in demonstrations, Mayer said, she replied that there were peace marches in Bloomington, that she blew her horn whenever she saw a "Honk for Peace" sign, and that people should seek peaceful solutions before going to war.

A student complained to her father, who complained to the principal, who canceled the school's annual "Peace Month" observance and told Mayer never to discuss the war or her political views in class.

Mayer, who had been hired after the semester started and had received a good job evaluation before the incident, was dismissed at the end of the school year. The school said it was for poor performance, but the appeals court assumed that she had been fired for her comments and said the school had acted legally.

"Teachers hire out their own speech and must provide the service for which employers are willing to pay," a three-judge panel of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Jan. 24. "The Constitution does not entitle teachers to present personal views to captive audiences against the instructions of elected officials."

Mayer, the court said, was told by her bosses that she could teach about the war "as long as she kept her opinions to herself." Like the Los Angeles district attorney's employee whose demotion led to the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling, the appellate panel said, Mayer had no constitutional right to say anything on the job that conflicted with her employer's policy.

Mayer's lawyer asked for a rehearing, saying the evidence was clear that the school had no such policy when Mayer answered the student's question. The court denied reconsideration in March without comment.

Mayer, who had taught for more than 20 years, couldn't afford to keep her Indiana home after being fired and left the state. She got another teaching job in Florida, but lost it after disclosing her previous dismissal, and didn't get another position until last fall.

And...

"If a teacher can be fired for saying those four little words -- 'I honk for peace' -- who's going to want to teach?" she asked. "They're taking away free speech at school. ... You might just as well get a big television and set it in front of the children and have them watch, (using) the curriculum the school board has."

Plus...

As for Mayer, she isn't sure what rankles her most -- the impact on her life, the stigma of being branded a rogue teacher, or the court's assertion that a teacher's speech is a commodity purchased by the government.

"My free speech," she said, "is not for sale at any price."


<snip>

Link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNG9PPQGVV1.DTL

I, and two of my sisters, were teachers. We all left after a few years. I don't know how anybody does it in this current mess.

:shrug:

[dsc]

1. This case would be a close call

I think that teachers should be permitted to answer questions provided that they are the student's questions and are pertinent to the subject at hand. That said, you can't have teachers baldly politicizing the classroom. I think she shouldn't have been fired for this.

[donco6]

5. I agree.

This just seems awfully weak to me. I can't imagine it happening in one of our schools. But Colorado isn't Indiana . . .

[WillyT]

9. When I Taught 8th Grade...

Friday, after quizzes\exams, was Current Events Day. Kids would bring in articles they found interesting, get into groups of 4 or 5 and discuss them, and then vote on the ones they wanted to discuss with the entire class.

I would lead the discussions, and because I didn't want to get my ass in a sling, I would play devil's advocate, or in some way show them both\many sides of any argument. Sometimes we would do mini-debates, and often I'd have them argue one side one day, and the opposite side the next day.

I told them that to be well informed, you had to know both sides of an argument. And I used to say, that a subject is controversial, because both sides have a good point.

Of course this was in the mid 80's, and I'm not sure that applies to our freaky brethren on the right anymore.

:shrug:

[depakid]

2. Raising good little fascist robots

No doubt that anyone who complained about pro-war propaganda would have been ignored, despite the self serving comments by the principle.

I can think of few countries throughout history who've so willingly thrown out so much and abandoned so many principles in such a short amount of time. America richly deserves its fate over the next decade.

[Cerridwen]

3. "no constitutional right to say anything on the job that conflicted with her employer's policy"

Not to dismiss the impact this has on teaching, but does anyone else see the precedent this sets for all employees in any workplace?

Wow, water-cooler monitors can insure we all participate in group-talk.

[countingbluecars]

4. It is sad

that wanting peace is considered political. Shouldn't that be what every parent wants for their children?

[donco6]

6. Wonder what they do at Christmas?

"Sorry, that 'Peace on Earth' wreath has gotta come down . . . "

[Fridays Child]

7. Teachers do not hire out their speech. That's just ludicrous.

A district cannot script its teachers. The complaining father should simply have been told that teachers are entitled to refer to their own views, within the context of a legitimate classroom discussion, and that, if he didn't agree with "honking for peace," he should say so to his child. I can't believe that they exhibited such an irrational, kneejerk response to his complaint, and shame on him for throwing the life of a good educator into chaos. I hope karma prevails.

[LWolf]

8. Opinions are ok, in a limited way.

I won't share all of my opinions with my students. When they ask me my opinion, I might share it with them after discussing appropriate ways to listen to, think about, and share opinions. After directly reminding them that nobody has to agree with someone's opinion. I won't share political or religious opinions.

My students know my opinions about tv, movies, videogames, music, literature, dogs, cats, horses, and sheep. They know my opinions about appropriate use of language in various settings and circumstances. They know what I like and don't like to eat, they know that I dislike shopping and shopping malls (horrors!) and many other things about me. None of those opinions challenge their own family/culture pov in any way; it's no big deal to accept individual differences of opinion. They can disagree with me without worrying that I'm a tool of Satan, or fearing for my salvation.

They don't know my political or religious preferences; those are differences which are more threatening in U.S. culture.

[iverglas]

10. Don't you people have unions??

The teacher's act probably was ground for disciplinary action. A written reprimand. NOT dismissal.

When the student asked the question about taking part in demonstrations, Mayer said, she replied that there were peace marches in Bloomington, that she blew her horn whenever she saw a "Honk for Peace" sign, and that people should seek peaceful solutions before going to war.

--should have ended at "Bloomington". And continued by saying that some people honk for peace, and most people agree that peaceful solutions should be sought before going to war, but that sometimes most people agree that going to war is necessary. Those are facts.

Then the discussion could have gone on to questions of when a peaceful solution might not be possible or the best solution, and how people are always going to disagree about some things and protests are one way that people express their disagreement.

There simply wasn't any need for the teacher to report her own activities, and the blanket statement that people should seek peaceful solutions isn't a matter of universal agreement. Chamberlain isn't regarded as a hero for seeking a peaceful solution before going to war against Hitler.

Teachers can effectively get students to consider issues, and consider differing positions on issues, without inserting their own beliefs into the discussion. And it is entirely appropriate to say, even if asked a direct question, "what I think doesn't matter".

The little girl across the street once asked me whether Santa Claus was real. I said: there are a lot of things in life that you are going to have to make up your own mind about, no matter what other people think -- and this is one of them. And she was actually very happy with that answer.