First, watch this video:
Then read these articles:
- Philly.com: Philly student's Romney T-shirt likened to KKK sheet
- Students heckle parents of Philadelphia teen over T-shirt incident
- Bullying is the Issue in Romney T-Shirt Episode
- Editorial: Use T-Shirt Tale to Teach Lesson
Finally, describe how you would handle this situation if you were the principal of Carroll High School in Philadelphia. Structure your analysis into three paragraphs that address the following:
- Key information that is already known.
- Key information that would have to be investigated.
- Decisive steps to be taken (you may want to consider multiple scenarios here).
As always, your response is due by Friday at 4:30pm.
Sierra Hall
ReplyDeleteIf I was the principal of Carroll High School and I had an alleged complaint from a sophomore student about one of my teachers harassing her I know I would have to look into the situation. I know that the situation cannot just be ignored because bulling is not acceptable but you can’t just take one students word for it. I have to get the teachers side of the story as well and any student s who was around the time of the incident.
This girl said the teacher humiliated her, but if kids were threatening her what does that have to do with the teacher. The kids probably said something to her before the teacher did anyways. If Samantha's peers really felt so strongly about her shirt as far as to threaten her then that would have happened with or without the teacher.
Also we don’t know what kind of teacher this is. Ms Gaymon could just be a playful teacher and was joking. Or maybe Samantha just didn’t like this particular teacher and just needed to have a complaint filed against her. Samantha and her family might just have done all this for publicity.
As a principal you have to look into these kinds of things because you don’t want bad publicity for your school, you want your students to feel safe and your teachers to be respect them. Sometimes situations can just be blown way out of proportion.
If i was the principal of Carroll High School I would have disciplined the teacher for disrespecting the student. The reason why is because based on what i have seen and read about the situation the student have a right to show her support of a candidate that she is supportive of there is nothing wrong with expressing your thoughts in a respectful way. The teacher on the other hand was out of line of making the comment about the student referring it to wearing a KK shirt which is totally inappropriate and not acceptable and very unfair comment.Because it took into a whole another level of misunderstanding the reasoning behind that shirt. Even if the teacher was so called 'joking" the teacher should know the difference of whats appropriate and whats not. So my decision would be for the teacher to apologize to the student that was disrespected for wearing a shirt that reflected on her support for the presidential candidate.
ReplyDelete"IF you got nothing nice to say don't say nothing at all"
Nysha Johnson
In this situation, if I was the principal of Carroll High School in Philadelphia taking into account that Samantha Pawlucy had been accused by her Geometry teacher of humiliating her for wearing Romney T-shirt, and after that students had made threats against her.
ReplyDeleteThe information that would have to be investigated is if Lynette Gaymon the Geometry teacher is a person that like to joke with people with no intention of hurting the feelings of others.
Some decisive steps to be taken are to talk to the teacher, and the student to see the two points of view. Considering some opinions of others that say that if you do not kill but only hurt you only makes you stronger.And that we all have the right to expressed what we feel as a freedom of speech.Clearly, if the student feel offended the teacher must apologize, and to make sure nothing like that happens again punished the bully because nobody deserves to be bullied.
by Diana Cruz
DeleteTo me, if I was the principal of the school. This kind of things wouldn't be happening at all. Why making it a big deal over a T-Shirt that a student is wearing? First of all, its Romney's face that is shown. Its not like she was wearing something inappropriate to the school, she was just being supportive for the candidate that she's rooting for. What the teacher did was unnecessary. Even though she didn't take it seriously, but she made it seems like it. Its teacher vs. student... because of her dramatic reaction to the T-Shirt. It is now a problem, not only for her and the student. But also for the school.
ReplyDelete-Angeline Low
If I was the principal of Carroll High School. I would find out information about each side of the story. I would then make my decision depending on the information that was given to me.
ReplyDeleteThe student expressed how she felt about the presidential campaign. She is free to express what she wants in the campaign. The teacher should not be able to tell the student to root for the democrats even though that is the mostly chosen side of the election.
I would ask the teacher to apologize to the student because what she did was very unprofessional. She said she was joking but that is something you should not joke about. The teacher started an uproar and the student is getting threats from other students about what she believes in.
Stephen Taing
if i was the principal of Carroll High School in Philadelphia, i would talk to the teacher to apologize to her publicly even though it's the teacher's right to say that. “It’s a Constitutional right. It’s freedom of speech,” Gallard said.
ReplyDeleteInformation that would be investigated is if the teacher was really joking about that or "that's the tactic employed by someone whose had the bully mask ripped from her face, and who is attempting to retreat in the face of unexpected consequences."
The decisive steps to be taken is to make the geometry's teacher and the teen to tell what is happening and apologize to each other.
-Malvin Wijaya
if i was the principal of the school i will call both the teacher and the girl to investigate what happen i know its not good to investigate between a older person and a child but in the situation i will have to do so.
ReplyDeleteAnd i think the girl was very stubborn and dramatic about the whole situation or t-shirt thing, and also the teacher shouldn't have pick on her the way she did because the girl felt offended about it,it sounded like the teacher was playing when she said something about the t-shirt and all the girl should have done to avoid the trouble or situation was to take the t-shirt off when the teacher first said something about the whole mitt romney t-shirt
*RANYA HANEY KENYON*
If I was the principal of Carroll High School, I would handle the Romney shirt and KKK response from the teacher situation is to get them to get the victim (Samantha)a and the teacher to tell me what happen on in the classroom. After that I would get some students from the classroom that saw the situation between the two to tell me what on in the classroom. Once I got more information about the situation base on have bad it was I would suspended the teacher for a certain amount of days for making the rude remark to the students for expressing her opinion on who she would vote for and the student had the right to wear it because it was dress down day and it was unprofessional for the teacher to go over board with the whole situation of the shirt.
ReplyDeleteI would do those things because all I know is that Samantha Pawlucy came to school with a Mitt Romney shirt on and said it was a joke. Then the teacher made a rude comment about it and the KKK, and this made Samantha feel offended.
The things I would look for from the students that heard and saw what happen when they was telling me what went on in the classroom, I would look at how serious did it get and if you know if the student was really saying it was a joke. Also did you feel that the KKK response make them feel offend or if it was offensive.
That is how I would handle the situation, if I was the principal.
Johnny Chhay
If I was the principal of Carroll High School, this wouldn't have gone to extreme measures. This student felt embarrassed and humiliated by a teacher just because she was wearing a Romney 2012 shirt. She even got threatened by students because of the shirt. This shouldn't have gone to the extent of reporting this to the news.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I'd hear both versions of the situation. The student's and the teacher's. I also would've interrogated witnessing students about what they saw and heard. Then I'd take action and decide what would be the outcome if the situation. The teacher stated that she was only joking about telling her to remove her shirt, or even stating that it would be like her wearing a KKK shirt. She even invited other teachers and students to mock her for wearing the sire. The student didn't violate the dress code, and she took the "joke" seriously.
To resolve this problem, I would've made an assembly, regarding the whole situation. I would make the teacher make a public apology and warn those who threatened the student. She didn't commit a crime wearing the shirt and she did feel a certain way about the 'joke.'If this would've been resolved this way, everything would've been fine.
~Ruth M. Fraticelli~
If I was the principal of Carroll High School,I will defend the student for her rights to express her political viewpoint. because for what I read and seeing in the video,the teacher made a rude comment on comparing her shirt to a kkk shirt.That is very unprofessional for a teacher to state the comment to her student.If I were the principle I will made all the student who had witness this happens to write a statement about the incident. And on the note I will that teacher apology for making that comment.
ReplyDeleteQingxia Lin
If I was the principal of Carroll High School, I would reprimand the teacher. Even though she said it was a joke, it's still inappropriate. First, I would ask my students, the students in the class when the situation happened to write a report. I would then listen to Sarah's side of the story and then the teacher's side of the story. Lastly, I would read each student's reports and see whose side of the story goes along with the students, the witnesses.
ReplyDeleteI believe that each student should express their opinion in their own way. If wearing a Mitt Romney tshirt expresses her feelings of her and her family, Mitt Romney should be president then she should. There isn't a law that said she can't. If you are a republican you are a republican, if your're a democrat you are a democrat.
Being the principal of Carroll High School I would make sure the teacher gives an apology to Sarah, her parents, and the student body. Even if she was joking or not it was still unprofessional. Bad enough the students are being bullied by our students. They don't need to be bullied by our teachers.
Serina Banks
If I was the principal of Carroll High School I won't let this happen. What the teacher did is unnecessary and it could make the students upset or mad. The teacher make it seems like its a big deal wearing a kkk shirt and real too but she is joking but joking have a limit to it. I would have call the teacher and the students to my office and clear the misunderstanding between both and maybe Samantha Pawlucy was tease or make fun of before coming to the geometry class. She would of course feel offended too when the teacher about it too.
ReplyDelete-Doris Luu
So what I know so far is that it was a dress down day at Carrol High School and Samantha Pawlucy, a student over at the mentioned school, wore a shirt supporting Mitt Romney which end up causing a teacher to make a remark on how wearing the shirt is like being a KKK. Afterwards, threats are received from other students and Samantha is being harassed by other students as well.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the principal of Carrol High School, I would have asked what happened from both sides and asked what other students had saw when this incident had happen. If according to the students on the tone of voice the teacher had used, sarcastic, serious, jokingly, mad, etc.. and several other things, to if there are students willing to back up Samantha that the teacher had made the KKK remark then I would come to a conclusion on who is right or wrong then.
A decisive step to be taken is the punishment for the teacher and the safety of the student, for as to if the student is to be harmed during school hours, then the parents will be mad and blame the school and all and we'll get in trouble so, safety of Samantha Pawlucy and severe punishment for the teacher.
Henry Ariyakham
If i was the principal of Carroll High School I would be very upset at the teacher. Students have the right to wear whatever they please on a dress down day. For the teacher to critize the student for wearing a shirt representing republican is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe KKK response was just outrageous. Just because someone is republican doenst mean that they are a racist. We all are entiled to our own opinoions and sohould not be judged for them. The teacher is an adult and should be he;ld responsible for her actions.
A joke is a joke but when used at the wrong time it can be harmful to peoples feelings.What the teacher did sent a message to the students that they cant do the same to the student. Now if was a joke it went far.
Like i said the teacher saying all that bs was uncalled for and should be dealt with.
If I was the principal of the school I would confront the teacher. Clearly she was just supporting one of the candidates. Her wearing a Romney shirt is the same as wearing an Obama shirt. The teacher was, in my eyes was being bias. I don't see what the problem was. Also the teacher had compared it to wearing a KKK shirt. I seriously don't see the similarities in the two. Being a Romney fan doesn't mean your a white supporter. The teacher seems as if she was being racist.
ReplyDeleteSo if you would ask me what my decision would be, I would fire or change the teacher's room or school. I wouldn't't want a negative person like her in my school. It isn't a good reputation for the school and shows a bad influence on students with racism. It isn't right.
Alyssa Boquila