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Post by jennifercw on Sept 18, 2015 18:56:28 GMT
I need an outside/unbiased viewpoint please...
Would it bother you if a high school teacher accused all students in one of his/her classes of "insubordination and sexual harassment"? What, if anything, would you do about it as a parent of one of the students in the class?
EDITED TO ADD SOME DETAILS:
Here is what we learned from my dd...
First, some background. This is a yearbook class - so atmosphere is a bit different than a typical class. Eighteen females and two males. For the past two years (perhaps before that but this is my dd's third year) the class has been very much student run, with the Editors in Chief at the helm and the teacher taking an advisory role. This particular teacher is new this year. The kids know each other pretty well. They are all working together toward a common goal and know how to accomplish that goal.
So today the advisor asked the students to all sit down (they were up and about working on various projects) because she needed to talk to them. First thing she talked about was how she "fact checks" and knows they have been lying to her. No specific examples were given to my dd's recollection.
Then she tells them they are not too young to be charged with sexual harassment. Specific examples given were inappropriate touching, sitting on eachother's laps, hanging on eachother, and hugging.
Advisors last major point was about insubordination. She told them she is their superior. She is not the tail of the dog - that the students are not wagging her. She is the dog and the students are the tail. ? ? DD does not remember her giving any specific examples of insubordination.
My DD says she has never witnessed inappropriate touching or students sitting in eachother's laps. She has personally done neither of these things. She says hugging is a common behavior and that she has personally hugged classmates on several occasions - sometimes just as a greeting, sometimes if someone is upset about something. She says she has never lied to this advisor and does not feel she has ever been insubordinate.
We talked a lot about sexual harassment and told dd that we agree with the teacher that some of those behaviors could indeed be considered sexual harassment.
DH feels like advisor has seen some issues that may begin to be a problem and was trying to educate the class. We talked about this too. DD did not completely discount this as a possibility but said it felt very much like an accusation - to her personally and to some of the others in the class. She said the feeling in the room was shock and discomfort. DD also maintains that this was out of the blue - that advisor has not previously given any warnings about these types of behaviors.
To DD's knowledge, the advisor has not officially written anyone up for any of this. She told the class that she could and would.
I'm not sure if this is an over reaction by my dd or by the advisor - or perhaps both? I'm feeling like my next step needs to be to ask this teacher for specific examples of lying, insubordination, or sexual harassment that involve our dd.
Sidenote: dd was recently recommended to compete for a very prestigious honors program in our state. Guess who the recommending teacher was?
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Post by anxiousmom on Sept 18, 2015 19:00:03 GMT
Honestly?
I would start by asking my kid what in the ever loving hell was going on in that classroom that brought a teacher to the point that it would even be something that they would be accused of doing.
A question for you? What is the school doing? Is the whole class being punished? If so, what are doing as the punishment?
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Sept 18, 2015 19:02:25 GMT
It would depend on what my kid said happened.
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Post by maryland on Sept 18, 2015 19:04:36 GMT
I would ask my kid what she did and what her classmates did. I would need more facts first. I am not in favor of group punishing for the most part.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Sept 18, 2015 19:04:37 GMT
I would need a lot more details before I could decide what I thought. I would also want to speak with the teacher and get there reasoning behind it and what they say happened.
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Post by moveablefeast on Sept 18, 2015 19:04:38 GMT
Oh dear - this is unfortunately not nearly enough information. But something went on for sure and I would want to know what!
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Post by anonrefugee on Sept 18, 2015 19:05:16 GMT
Well of course it would bother me! But there's not enough info here for any answer beyond that good luck. Can't imagine any scenario where this is fun!
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Post by magentapea on Sept 18, 2015 19:05:35 GMT
I would wonder WTH was going on in that class. I would also think (but not verbalize to my kid) that the teacher is probably overly dramatic.
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Post by littlemama on Sept 18, 2015 19:06:40 GMT
There is not nearly enough information in the OP to make a determination of what I would do.
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Post by hop2 on Sept 18, 2015 19:08:00 GMT
Well if thevteacher was accurate my Kid would be in a ton of trouble
If the teacher was inaccurate then I'd be all mama bear.
Can't specifically say though without more details
I will say that I went to bat for my DD with the principal (politely ) when he tried to make my DD clean up after someone else's food fight. ( yes I know she wasn't involved we just got there from the dentist ) But unless there's a mistake I back the teachers up
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calgal08
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,519
Jun 27, 2014 15:43:46 GMT
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Post by calgal08 on Sept 18, 2015 19:08:08 GMT
Like all the other responses, much more information is needed. Is this a situation where a few students started something and everyone else joined in?
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wellway
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Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Sept 18, 2015 19:08:09 GMT
Firstly, I would hear what my child had to say. Then, is the accusation formal, in writing from the school or something said in the classroom?
Then, the headteacher.
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Sept 18, 2015 19:09:37 GMT
Honestly? I would start by asking my kid what in the ever loving hell was going on in that classroom that brought a teacher to the point that it would even be something that they would be accused of doing. A question for you? What is the school doing? Is the whole class being punished? If so, what are doing as the punishment?
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Dalai Mama
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La Pea Boheme
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Sept 18, 2015 19:09:48 GMT
Would it bother me? Of course it would.
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Post by hmp on Sept 18, 2015 19:10:02 GMT
I would start by trying to get both sides of the story. Given these are high schoolers nothing is outside the realm of possibility. Might be a good time to also discuss the effects of watching others do what you know to be wrong and doing nothing about it. I try to hold myself accountable not just for action but also inaction. Good luck Mama.
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Sept 18, 2015 19:11:16 GMT
There is not nearly enough information in the OP to make a determination of what I would do.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 18, 2015 19:11:45 GMT
I would need to know more about the circumstances, but honestly, it sounds really overboard and almost unreal for the whole class to be involved, unless there was some sort of student-mob scenario going on!
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luckyexwife
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Jun 25, 2014 21:21:08 GMT
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Post by luckyexwife on Sept 18, 2015 19:13:15 GMT
Yes, it would bother me. Those are serious accusations, and I would wonder why the principal or other authority wasn't involved before it got that far.
If it involved my child, I would get his story, along with what the school says, and go from there.
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Post by katieanna on Sept 18, 2015 19:14:13 GMT
I would need a lot more details before I could decide what I thought. I would also want to speak with the teacher and get there reasoning behind it and what they say happened. Exactly.
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Post by megs78 on Sept 18, 2015 19:14:38 GMT
I can see a whole class being insubordinate but the sexual harassment issue is a bit different...
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 16:30:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 19:17:32 GMT
I need an outside/unbiased viewpoint please... Would it bother you if a high school teacher accused all students in one of his/her classes of "insubordination and sexual harassment"? What, if anything, would you do about it as a parent of one of the students in the class? I'd ask my student what was going on! I'd talk to them about what sexual harassment is, and what insubordination is. And try to find out what THEY as an individual was involved in. Group "think" CAN lead a whole class, or a majority anyway, get actively involved in insubordination and harassment. The teens who don't actively engage also likely aren't going to be standing up against it either so give a silent assent to what happened in the room.
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Post by jennifercw on Sept 18, 2015 19:37:33 GMT
Yes, I definitely need more information. Waiting on my child and DH to get home so we can talk it through. I don't know much more about what happened other than what is in OP. My child is the one who told me about the situation via text earlier today. She does not think there has been a formal complaint through official channels.
My initial feeling is that a sexual harassment accusation is a very serious charge and not something to pin on a whole class. If there are students engaging in these kinds of behaviors it would seem more appropriate to pull those students aside to address the issue directly.
Hopefully I'll have a better handle on this after our discussion...
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 18, 2015 19:49:19 GMT
Well first of all I detest group punishments. But maybe they all deserved it? If it got to that point I'd love to know where the administration has been. But I'd need more information.
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Post by scrappychick on Sept 18, 2015 21:19:46 GMT
I'd be demanding that the teacher lay out exactly what my child had specifically said or done that qualified as sexual harassment. I'd also be pulling my kid from that class.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 18, 2015 21:22:04 GMT
Yes, I definitely need more information. Waiting on my child and DH to get home so we can talk it through. I don't know much more about what happened other than what is in OP. My child is the one who told me about the situation via text earlier today. She does not think there has been a formal complaint through official channels. My initial feeling is that a sexual harassment accusation is a very serious charge and not something to pin on a whole class. If there are students engaging in these kinds of behaviors it would seem more appropriate to pull those students aside to address the issue directly. Hopefully I'll have a better handle on this after our discussion... I know you will, but please update us when you get more info-- and as a parent, for you to NOT be getting 'official' info about it is really weird.
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Post by Basket1lady on Sept 18, 2015 21:23:22 GMT
I definitely think that kids can get caught up in a mob mentality.
But. But... I can't imagine an entire class of kids (20? 30?) going in on something serious enough to threaten charges. And I'm not a believer in kids being expected to control their peers. If the teacher, an adult, couldn't control a group of teens, how can we expect a teen to control the class?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 16:30:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 22:01:30 GMT
I went through a similar thing in high school. There was a ring of cheaters in my class and the teacher got wind. They interviewed all the students in the class individually..it was a small school..about 35 people..to ask if they knew who was cheating and who wasn't. Since most of us wouldn't rat out anyone and just said we didn't know, our principal held a class meeting and asked us who in our high school career ever cheated on any level..even just asking for an answer on a homework assignment. We all raised our hands and he told us that we were all suspended for cheating and not to come to school the next day and we would receive zeros on all tests and work. Teachers were outraged and rescheduled tests so we didn't all fail. Parents called and tried to reason and principle said we all admitted to cheating and his hands were tied. A bunch of us just sucked it up, went to Six Flags and enjoyed the day off.
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Post by Drew on Sept 18, 2015 22:12:22 GMT
I didn't know a charge of insubordination applied to students as they are not employees but I guess I need to look more into that. As far as the sexual harassment, that's very serious and I'd be getting to the bottom of things right quick. P.S. I thought for sure you were going to say that you accused your class of these things!
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AmeliaBloomer
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Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Sept 18, 2015 22:24:56 GMT
I didn't know a charge of insubordination applied to students as they are not employees but I guess I need to look more into that. As far as the sexual harassment, that's very serious and I'd be getting to the bottom of things right quick. Insubordination isn't confined to employment or the military; it's just an overall refusal to authority. It's not a term I've frequently heard used in education, but it might be used in this school's discipline guidelines, so then it would make sense to use it when framing the transgressions. Along with others here, I'm now really curious. I'm thinking maybe an ill-advised prank gone wrong? Maybe all were complicit? Sexual harassment can include jokes.
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Post by pierkiss on Sept 19, 2015 0:36:39 GMT
Really? An entire class sexually harassed a teacher? All at the same time?
I cannot wait to hear the backside to this story.
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