Like any normal kid, 15 year-old Donny Tobolski hates his biology teacher. And like everybody these days, he needed to write it on Facebook to feel complete. Well, the school didn’t take too kindly to this, so he got suspended for cyberbullying. Then Tobolski’s mom called the ACLU and they totally bitch-slapped the school for infringing on Tobolski’s freedom of speech. His suspension was revoked and his school record scrubbed clean. Here is Tobolski’s original Facebook post about his teacher:
“a fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag.”
I say bravo, ACLU. This is really not so bad. First of all, his teacher may in fact be a fat ass and no one should really ever eat fast food. Secondly, he probably is a douchebag. Why? Because most high school teachers are douchebags. Yes, there are some wonderful teachers out there, but the majority suck and part of the high school experience entails bitching about how much of a loser your teachers are and that they’d only WISH you would have sex with them (that happened to you too, right?). And if students can’t express themselves socially online, what are they gonna do?
TALK to each other???
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I love the back in my day nonsense augment, like the past is some grand standard to live up to. I guess there are a lot of people who view the past with rose colored nostalgia glasses. My mother grew up in the 50’s and for her it was a bright shiny time of happens but even she understands that it wasn’t that way for everyone. Many say “back in my day” we had respect of our elders, right if they were white, male, or a certain religion, and had no disabilities psychical or mental. I can even ask my 73 dad about what he felt about an education process of the his youth. “Back in his day” they showed so much respect for their students by beating them with a sticks if they got a questions wrong, sat wrong, or show human emotion. How glorious and respectful was past when they used to segregate and deny people the right to an education. Even when I was young in the 80’s it was simpler to label a child (me) a retard (no political correct back then) and try stick child with a mild learning disability (me) in a room of children who had severe mental illness and disabilities because that was easier that allowing a few simple concision like books on tape or extra time to catch up. By the time a student (me) is of a certain maturity to realize that it is their legal right to have reasonable accommodation their soul has already been broken by the education process. I have had multiple teachers in elementary school who would single me out and turn the whole class against me because I was slow. I was the reason the class couldn’t get special rewards because I couldn’t get my work done fast enough and as a result I got bullied by everyone because I refused to settle for being labeled a retard not just by the other students but by the school itself. People talk about bully prevention today but “back in my day” as you can see by what I just wrote above, the teachers are the ones who initiated the bullying. My school system always blamed me even early as the first grade for my failures, (because every small child loves to fail) and for the longest I believed them and allowed them to destroy my soul. I graduated seventh from the bottom of my graduating class and the public system failed me (despite the fact there were some areas I tested in the genius level). I went to college and got the education deserved and I graduated an Honors student from college and finally learned it wasn’t me who was a failure.
I said this before but it worth repeating, There are over six billion people on this planet and chances are there is someone out there that believes you’re a Douche bag. I don’t care if some call me a Douche bag because it is their right to do so, I’m a adult now and I can take it, it’s not like when I was a child and teachers labeled me a retard. So to all teachers who got so offended buy being called a Douche bag grow up and consider the source. An immature teen calls you a name don’t stoop to his level and cry be a better person tell the face to face it was immature and move on.
So when I say “most” of my teachers were douche bags they were and some were far worse. I have survived physical and psychological abuse at the hands of teachers but I don’t paint them all as villains, I did have some amazingly wonderful and supportive teachers who deserve the highest praise. I did have a select few teachers that helped me and fought for their students against scum teachers that were just their to get a pay check. If you’re a teacher look around and do a little Douche bag prevention and make sure you fellow facility members are not being Douche bags.
Freedom of speech is not carte blanche to say what you will without repercussions. The spirit of the term lies in maintaining a government free from tyranny without fear from censorship or reprisal.
Personally, calling the ACLU and claiming freedom of speech infringements for this case is like using a steam roller to crush aluminum cans.
Actions have consequences that powerful yet esoteric concepts can’t protect you from. You can’t anticipate another person’s reaction to criticism, Gabriel, for example provided his address (theoretically) so he can provide ass-kickings to those seeking them.
Want to keep the world civilized? Act like it.
Gabriel you sound like one of those bitchy parents who blame the tachers. There are a lot of parents who are bad parents. As for the boy who called his Teacher a fat ass needs to be punished. The parents likely mouthly like their son. As for FB on who sees your wall is how they det up the privacy on their account. Kids get away with stuff these days . Back in my days we had more respect because we were learned respect thru our parents.
@Sean – She probably heard it through gossip, and his profile is completely open.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000506386634&sk=wall
Have a read… some profound stuff. Even though this precious little snow flake is a spoiled brat, I think the school made a bigger deal out of this than it really is.
Literally every person I went to college with changed their major.
If you’re calling someone a douche bag, you are most likely a douche bag yourself.
Facebook isn’t your personal journal. Pick yourself up a hello kitty diary if you want to say what you will without consequences.
I doubt this kid is stupid enough have friended his teacher in the first place, so how did she know he made this comment in the first place? Is she sitting at home alone at night looking though (cyber stalking) her students facebook accounts to see what they think about her. Teenagers make stupid comments and if your naïve enough to believe that everybody loves you, you also need to grow up. There are over six billion people on this planet and chances are there is someone out there that believe you’re a Douche bag.
Also 95% of my Teachers were Douche bags in High School.
I have to say that it would be libel, not slander, because it’s written words as opposed to spoken words. I’m sure everyone feels foolish making such a mistake.
From my experience in school, most of my teachers were good and as well liked as a teacher could be. I don’t think that is the same everywhere though and I don’t think I could make sweeping generalizations about the profession over the whole country.
Even though what the kid said was stupid, he still has the right to say it. Isn’t that the point of freedom of speech? That even if we disagree with what someone else is saying, we have to respect their right to say it.
Craig,
No, my son didn’t lose his textbook. He wasn’t issued one. The school never issued him one. I live at 6039 Van Dorn Dr, Wichita Falls, Tx. Come here and tell me to my face what you had the internet balls to say.
If you don’t think what I said about teachers is true take a look at the statiscs have to say about what entering freshman too college say they want to be and what students who are about to complete there bachelor’s degree say they want to be.
Yes there is a small number of people who want to be teachers. Most teachers are people who failed to do something else. A physicist isn’t going to be teaching at the high school level. I didn’t exagerate at any point. When I described my teachers I was describing particular teachers that I had in high school. If most people are honest they will admit that the majority of their teachers were useless at best and actually detremental to their education.
If we ever want to get good teachers and good schools in this country we will need to pay them like professionals. Then we will get qualified and motivated people. Until a teacher can earn a decent wage, with benefits we will continue to end up with the people who couldn’t do anything else. (Not counting the small number of teachers with a passion to teach.) Teaching is a noble profession that has been deystroyed in America. We don’t want to pay people a decent wage to teach our children. And then we are shocked at the kind of teachers we get. It is our fault. We should know better.
I’m finding it difficult to defend a kid who thinks people should just get over themselves if he wants to wear a confederate belt buckle to school, and who got a 50″ plasma tv 10 days after getting suspended.
“As a profession, I have no respect for teachers in general. I have met 1 teacher in 38 years who entered college with the desire to be a teacher. Every other one of them ended up in teaching because they couldn’t hack any of the hard stuff. That is why we will always have teachers. Because we will always have people who aren’t willing to put in the long hard hours of study to get a degree in a hard discipline.”
I went to college for teaching. Your myopic view of the profession is pitiful. Your examples sound more than a bit exaggerated. Could it be that your child LOST the book? Oh wait, you must be one of those parents who believes that their child doesn’t lie and that all adults who teach are out to get their students.
“Every other one of them ended up in teaching because they couldn’t hack any of the hard stuff.” RIIIGHT! So teachers who teach advanced subjects just pick up a “Physics for Dummies” book and just read out of it.
I have no idea what podunk area you went to school, but in most schools I’ve worked in, teachers not only teach their subject, but are constantly striving to learn how to better reach their students, how teach to different learning styles, and how to help students achieve. You obviously have no idea how many hours are put in or how much effort it takes to do the job right. Maybe you should do a little research on what most teachers learn in college and throughout their careers to teach students to the best of their ability. Try a search about “learning styles” to start. I’ll give you a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles.
But I guess that’s just simpleton stuff and you could just teach 24+ students at various learning levels, accommodate lessons for students who are ESOL, SPED etc.. and take no time do it right?
On top of that deal with any number of personal issues that encumber those students at any time. Try getting a 6 year old to focus and learn math when he watched his mother get beat up the night before by her boyfriend… Oh wait – I bet you’ll say I am making that up.
I don’t teach HS, and I can remember my share of idiot HS teachers, but list one profession that doesn’t have a share of idiots who shouldn’t be doing the job they are currently in.
@ Gwif
I think that’s what this really comes down to. Is it cyber bullying or not?
Californiawatch.org’s coverage included this bit:
“District spokesman Trent Allen said Mesa Verde’s principal reviewed the case and found Tobolski’s words did not constitute cyberbullying. In an e-mail to California Watch, Allen wrote:
‘In reviewing the facts of the situation, the principal determined that this was not an offense that warranted a suspension as it does not meet the requirement of causing a disruption to the school environment.
This case has been debriefed by those involved to clarify the threshold required for suspension and avoid similar issues in the future.'”
Agent Junk,
Please provide some links to credible evidence. This sounds like urban myths that people just accepts as true. “Inner city schools are full of non-white kids, therefore they are dangerous jungles full of armed and dangerous criminal students. Teachers are always on the verge of getting shot or assaulted.” I suggest that you get an informed opinion before presenting such fictional depections.
“Also how often does a 15 year-old student bully a teacher? This would be a role reversal as it is normally the school and teachers that are bullying the students. Abusing their power and status and age to demean and take advantage of the students.”
Gabriel, have you ever been to an inner city school? Where kids bring guns to school, and teachers are always on the verge of getting shot or assaulted? I suggest you get an informed opinion before presenting such fictional depictions of our educational system.
Anjeanette:
Yeah, the punishment was harsh. But seems a bit artificial that writing X sucks on school wall is bad and X sucks on fence over the school border is not bad. I don’t really understand how physical border’s would work with social web anyway. Argument about it being private doesn’t work as the school heard about it, i.e. it wasn’t private.
And, wow, I really thought you were being sarcastic. I didn’t realise high schools’ sucked that much at your side of the pond. Hope you guys get that sorted out.
@Daniel — Most likely one of the kid’s FB “friends” was that annoying prick who always sat in the front row and would be the one to remind the teacher that she forgot to assign homework, and THAT little snitch showed the teacher.
I’m sure this is a gray area, but couldn’t you look at a fb posting as not only speech outside the jurisdiction of school, but *private* speech? As in, you have to be on the kid’s friend list to read it, and it wouldn’t come up in searches of the teacher’s name? (surely the teacher wasn’t on his friend list?) If fb is one of the important spaces for kids to get together and talk, isn’t it creepy if adults are able to secretly listen in? Bad enough that all our fb transactions will be instantly turned over to government authorities at the most casual request…
The kid posted the status on his own wall, which only his friends read. If he had written it on the school’s wall, or his teacher’s wall, they might have had something to complain about. I wonder if the ACLU would have still defended him then?
Anjeanette – I don’t think any of my teachers wanted to have sex with me. However, there were a few (very few) who I would have done in a heartbeat.
I have to agree with Anjeanette on this. The school was punishing the student for what he said. That is a government agency punishing a citizen for speech. A clear violation of the constitution. This wouldn’t even begin to approach slander. Also how often does a 15 year-old student bully a teacher? This would be a role reversal as it is normally the school and teachers that are bullying the students. Abusing their power and status and age to demean and take advantage of the students.
I have heard that there are wonderful teachers. I have met a handful that were decent human beings. I personally never had a teacher that was any good. My high school science teacher taught us that the world was 6,000 years old and that if you couldn’t do it in a labratory then it wasn’t science. My English teacher would spend her lunch break in the library with a black marker covering up all the words in books that she didn’t like. My History teacher didn’t understand the abuse that was caused by literacy tests on voting rights. Several of the teachers slept with students. When the girls got pregnant they married the teachers.
I spend ridiculous amounts of time trying to get my children’s teachers to actually teach. Several times a week I have to call or email the school about stupid stuff. Such as “My son will need a text book if you want him to complete the assignments. Please issue him one so he can stop borrowing from other students.”
As a profession, I have no respect for teachers in general. I have met 1 teacher in 38 years who entered college with the desire to be a teacher. Every other one of them ended up in teaching because they couldn’t hack any of the hard stuff. That is why we will always have teachers. Because we will always have people who aren’t willing to put in the long hard hours of study to get a degree in a hard discipline.
The kid is clearly not the most eloquent writer. But the issue at hand is suspending him from school for making comments about his teacher OUTSIDE of school. I personally don’t believe that is right. I also do mention there ARE wonderful teachers out there, but I think complaining/making fun of your teachers (online or not) is a pretty universal experience.
How was this a free speech issue? The kid wrote it on the net without anyone trying to stop him from writing it. Ergo he had free speech. Have I understood something wrong or isn’t freedom of speech freedom from censure _before_ you write something.
What happens because you wrote something isn’t anymore about freedom of speech but what happens if you publicly call someone a a fat ass and a douchebag. You know, normal consequences…
Christina: I read the end of the post, as, you know, sarcastic and not in a sincere tone of voice.
Yeah, not on board with the argument for the kid, a boss will fire you or an employer will not hire you. Kid needs to learn that what they say on fb has consequences.
The kid sounds like an asshole. Whatever happened to respecting teachers? Or, if not that, at least keep your damn mouth shut. If the teacher’s doing a bad job, that’s one thing, but what the kid said had nothing to do with the teacher’s job skills. Why anyone would go into teaching nowadays is, sadly, beyond me…
I don’t appreciate being called a douchebag. I’m sorry you had teachers who suck. I know it may be for comedic effect, but please don’t propagate stereotypes.
There is a line between free speech and slander.