On Facebook, out of class

Religious conflict leads to teacher's suspension

Melissa Hussain, an eighth-grade science teacher at West Lake Middle School in southern Wake County, was suspended with pay Friday while investigators review her case, according to Greg Thomas, a Wake schools spokesman. The suspension came after some of Hussain's students and their parents objected to comments on her Facebook page, many revolving around her interaction with Christian students.

Hussain wrote on the social-networking site that it was a "hate crime" that students anonymously left a Bible on her desk, and she told how she "was able to shame her kids" over the incident. Her Facebook page included comments from friends about "ignorant southern rednecks," and one commenter suggested Hussain retaliate by bringing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster to class with a swastika drawn on the NASCAR driver's forehead.

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On her Facebook page, Hussain wrote about students spreading rumors that she was a Jesus hater. She complained about her students wearing Jesus T-shirts and singing "Jesus Loves Me." She objected to students reading the Bible instead of doing her work.

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The flash point for the comments came after the Bible was left on Hussain's desk in December. The Bible was accompanied by an anonymous card, which, according to Hussain, said "'Merry Christmas' with Christ underlined and bolded." She said there was no love shown in giving her the Bible.

Link

I'm getting angrier and angrier with each incident. We seem to be regressing back to the Dark Ages--can the Inquisition be far behind? And what in hell is the matter with the school board, suspending the poor teacher? She was obviously harrassed by a bunch of snotty, self-righteous teenagers who, I suspect, were egged on by their wingnut parents. I realize I'm making all sorts of judgments here, but this has really ticked me off. Where is Wake County, anyway?

Diane, a devout agnostic

Anishnabe in MI

but Apex is around 20 miles outside the city.

:(

I currently live in Apex, where this school is located. The kids in my neighborhood go to that school, and there are hardcore thumpers all around.

Perhaps the city proper is more progressive, but Wake County, in general, is quite red, in my experience. I've lived throughout Wake County and that's been what I've observed since '91.

Chapel Hill, on the other hand...THAT is a progressive haven. I love to visit Chapel Hill. :)

:hi:

and it was primarily due to Raleigh.

whenever I have to venture into North Raleigh or down to Garner for my 2nd job I feel like I'm venturing into enemy territory. But i live and work downtown quite happily.

kind of bullshit, we all need to fight back against the reich wing's effort to take over the schools.

Teachers have rights, even in the classroom.

The little brats that harassed her should be expelled.

This makes me so angry I don't have any words...

:argh:

In the same vein, I plan to send my response to the administration.

It was inevitable. The thumpers are crazy here. :(

This is the big news story here today.

Although I do have to say, it's foolish of a teacher to allow her pages and info to be viewed by students - glad I don't teach, but if I did, I'd have things sewn up pretty tight on my page, you know?

Doesn't take away a bit from the wrong done to her, though. Bullying in the name of religion doesn't make the bullying any better.

Why would you put derogatory comments about your students in a public forum like that? It's not very professional.

While some of the incidents went overboard, leaving a Bible on a desk is NOT a hate crime. Pushy, silly perhaps, but not a hate crime. Be the adult here. Thank the students for the interesting piece of literature they so generously gave her, and tell them she looks forward to reading it. Take the wind out of their sails.

Of course, the threats to her job take it to a new level, I think.

But yeah, don't we know by now what can happen on FB? Don't throw anything out there you don't want read!

I might do that to an annoying relative who tried to push religion on me, but the teacher needs to be the adult in charge--especially when the kids involved are so immature as these seem to be.

I would suggest staying above it. By focusing on thanking them for the gift of the physical book, you take religion out of it at your end. They can't accuse you of hating their religion if you thank them for the book! But don't make any statements one way or the other about the religion (either positively or negatively).

I still don't see this rising to the level of "hate crime," and I don't think teachers should discuss their problems with classes in a public forum.

The pattern of abuse and disdain for her because of her faith - THAT is the hate crime.

How would you react if you were subjected to DAILY attacks, each on its own inconsequential.

The students KNOW she cannot react against them, and so are free to do whatever the fuck the little monsters want.

If it was me, I'd have dropped the book and card in the trash can.

I started doing that before I got back into teaching this last fall because of my crazy ex-husband, but I'm careful about what I put on there about my students and whom I friend there.

She should've prepared herself for something like that happening.

put out there.

I brag about my kids, talk to friends and complain about the weather, lol. I'm open about my political and religious and music preferences, but that's not something I'd be concerned about any given stranger knowing about me. I think you have to use the standard of "would I post this on the supermarket bulletin board with my name attached?" or something!

that way nothing can bite him on the butt later. I asked him about it the other day & was very happy to hear his answer.

He also has another FB that he uses for World of Warcraft, and other gaming. That one he and his friends can get wacky, and could be totally misunderstood. But he keeps the two distinctly different & separate.

I have FB, too, but I sometimes wonder why. I don't do much with it, but post scenic pictures of Michigan.

:hi:

If you're using your own name, you have to work on the assumption that whatever you say there is absolutely public. Even keeping your list small and using lots of blocks... there's still someone who might say something to someone else, and on and on.

It's a ton of fun, I think. And I've reconnected with lots of old friends I'd never have found otherwise. But if I wouldn't say it publicly, I wouldn't say it there!

In other words, I don't want my students finding my page and tracking me down that way or using it to whine and complain about their homework or whatever. FB is for my friends and me, no one else.

I'd feel the same way.

fighting back.

So she says on her facebook (quite honestly) that some of her students are bigoted. Others make comments on her page that agree. And this is grounds for dismissal?

but I do think that it was pretty stupid, professionally. Lock the site down, keep it limited and no info outside your trusted friends or don't say things like that - it IS in public. And she IS the teacher - supposed to be held to a higher standard than the kids, you know?

She IS allowed to have opinions, and she IS allowed to tell the truth. There is no reason why she should be punished to suit the Talibornagains.

the students and see who's next on their list.

I don't expect that the administrators nor the school board will see it this way, because they are afraid of the kids too.

It the kids are harassing her over and over again like that and she tries to send them to the office to discipline them...to no avail, and then she is basically fired for talking to her friends about it, shouldn't she be able to sue the school for harassment and violation of her 1st Amendment rights?

They will make it about her conduct on Facebook. Since there is no policy on Facebook in Wake County, she should fight any job related repercussions directed at her.

"because of abuse." I'm sure the word "muslin" was used more than once. Who knows what other nastiness got posted in the comments.

Nothing like NC Baptists for making threatening phone calls. I know. I have one in the family.

;-)

down where the call comes from. Morons forget that.

The students are baiting her, all the usual fundie stupidity and so forth.

The teacher comes off as lacking maturity herself. Didn't know about the privacy settings on facebook? Please. Either that or take it to private email.

And Apex is a redneck area. :P

People that aren't my friends can't see squat on my facebook page. And I even have friends set up in lists so only some of them actually see everything, some are still limited. But then I don't have my place of work listed and I'd never post something about work like "I hate my boss" on my page, even though I have no co-workers as "friends."

Google failbooking and yourstatusisannoying There's a great on of a girl calling her boss a "wanker" and then the boss replying that she's fired. Stupid girl.

If Ms. Hussain was a little smarter, she could have addressed this at the beginning of the class which she suspects a student left that bible on her desk. She could have simply stated that she feels that someone left this book behind and if it isn't claimed by the end of class it will be donated to Goodwill.

Secondly, she really needs to lockdown her Facebook account and/or be careful about what she posts.

Thirdly, if she sees students reading other than the class literature then she can make a mental note of it and in each class she prepares for make a statement that she will be awarding X amount of the grade down to class participation. Obviously someone sitting there reading the Bible rather than doing the work is not participating in class and therefore that would be a demerit for that individual's class participation.

Fourthly, she and others should push for a Standard Mode of Dress to apply to the school. "Jesus Loves Me" T-Shirts would definitely not be in a SMOD and as such any teacher could send a student home for wearing such clothing.

Also from the article she was teaching a class about evolution and a student did ask a valid question about where does God fit into all of this... then there's a simple answer "It all depends on your beliefs - this is a science class, not a world religion class." If the student then continues to disrupt the class further, then the teacher would be within their rights to send that student to the principal's office for disrupting the class.

Neither the teacher nor the students are in the clear here. Best thing for Ms. Hussain would be to move to a different school in another part of North Carolina (Greensboro, Charlotte sounds good to me), keep her mouth shut on public Internet sites, and grow a thicker skin and learn some diplomacy. People can be cruel, especially younger people, and all the teachers I know don't outwardly take things too personally but I'm sure they're venting in the teachers' lounge :) - Also if she is this sensitive then maybe a career change may be in order - switch perhaps to community college or university where the students are more enlightened?

Mark.

They don't even deserve to be educated. Kick them out and have them try work at McDonald's, if they can even find a job there.

AFTER she was harassed with a religious text which was without a doubt, left in a menacing manner.

I would sue the school district.

because religion is a catalyst for divisiveness and bitter conflict.

Easy solution. Don't complain about the bible being "hate speech".

Instead, do "Bible Lessons" from the sections dealing with rape, incest, murder, etc - meaning R,I,M that was done by the "righteous" and was "blessed" by god.

leaving the bible and hateful card on her desk were part of an on-going pattern of anti-Muslim harrassment; and

YOU DON'T DO BIBLE LESSONS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. For ANY reason.

Not to mention how distracted and off-topic she, herself, sounds.

over your religious beliefs?

Fucking little hitler youth.

It sounds like the behavior of both the students and the teacher escalated over time. I'm thankful to not be a teacher anymore because I know how hard it can be to keep the class under control. Clearly, she wasn't able to gain the respect of her students.

However, I think it was poor judgment of the teacher to be posting petty, bickering, comments on facebook. It was unprofessional. Definitely not the best way to handle it, no matter how awful the students were.

to know how this came about. They very literally believe that non-christians are LESS THAN HUMAN. It is more than irritating - it is fucking scary. I am fortunate that I don't have to deal with these people in any professional capacity, so when I am confronted (which honestly is not often because its not the 'southern' way - back-handed, sniping, passive-aggressive shit is more the style in this part of the country) I can take them on. In THIS situation she CAN'T DEFEND HERSELF. She is forbidden by law and by threat of dismissal to confront her harassers. As I understand it she DID make an attempt at turning it into a 'teachable moment' but all that did was redouble the harrassment. Now, of course, if she were to respond in kind, in true southern fashion, she'd just make up a reason to flunk the little fuckers. Obviously, she's better than that

Put it this way. If this was about race, rather than religion; if she was being harrassed for being a black teacher, and the kids were singing white power anthems in class, and reading The Turner Diaries when they should be doing class work, and the schools would do NOTHING about it - would you expect her to just keep on keeping on? They can indimidate her all they want, and she has NO RECOURSE but to vent on-line.

It is DISPICABLE to turn this around on HER for what this hateful little nazis did.

You simply don't put this kind of stuff out there on Facebook or other social networking sites that are open to the public. This is the kind of shit that will come back and haunt you. You want to berate your students, rightfully or wrongfully, you do so in the privacy of your own home, or with a close friend. You don't write it all down for the entire world to see.

Part of the job description of being a teacher is dealing with annoying little kids.

If she cannot handle the position, I am sure there are hundreds of other teachers in the area who are dying to find a job.

It sounds like a serious lack of maturity on this teacher's part.

When you post things on the internet, you may be held accountable, no sympathy from me.

Fire her ass.