Teacher Learns About 1st Amendment

In the aftermath of an anonymous blog post gone viral, a Philadelphia area teacher may find herself looking for a new job soon. Caught in a case of blurred interpretation of free speech as it pertains to the internet and social media, Central Bucks East High School teacher Natalie Munroe is still waiting for the schools next action. She was suspended with pay over a week when students started circulating a blog she wrote more than a year ago that they say slanders them and their school.

The 10th - 12th grade teacher wrote in one post "My students are out of control. They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying." Other writings included profanity and characterized students with comments like "rat-like" or "dresses like a streetwalker."

Munroe’s lawyer says her case is clearly within the bounds of freedom of speech. She wrote without naming names or mentioning the district. The only identifier she offered was her byline of NatalieM. Munroe describes her blogs as a caricature of certain types of students that she had taught over several years and was not meant to be taken as generalization about the student body or the school as a whole.

Students at Central Bucks East see it as an attack on their credibility however. Along with angered parents, they have protested at the school hoping to show just how engaged they are. When asked what should happen to Munroe as far as the school was concerned on student said, "Right now it's not about her, it is about the image of our school.”

While many people support her comments and tough-love take on education, Munroe echoes over again, "I wasn't trying to take a stance, I was writing privately to no more than seven friends.” The students spreading the comments that she says are taken out of context and the media attention that followed are what elevated the situation to out of control.

Now it’s just a waiting game to see what the school district will do next and what precedent will be set because of it.

By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for PhillyJobsBlog.com, she is co-founder of design and promotion company, Creative Kazoo with fellow Beyond.com blogger, Staci Dennis. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.