Thread: N.C. Teacher Tells Student He Could Be Arrested for Talking Badly About Obama

N.C. Teacher Tells Student He Could Be Arrested for Talking Badly About Obama

Posted on May 20, 2012 at 2:39pm
by Mike Opelka
Comments (513)

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Last Monday, a high school student in North Carolina engaged his social studies teacher in a heated debate about politics and the two leading presidential candidates. During the exchange, the teacher (an obvious Obama supporter) got very angry with the student and accused him of disrespecting the president. She even went so far as to tell the boy that he could be jailed for speaking ill of Obama.

Sarah Campbell of the Salisbury Post first reported on the story. She claims that the school district is not releasing the name of the teacher and that she is not responding to requests for public comment (although the two students identified her to the newspaper). According to Campbell’s story, the teacher will not be suspended or even face disciplinary action for what was heard on the recording. A statement from the school was released at the end of the week:

“The Rowan-Salisbury School System expects all students and employees to be respectful in the school environment and for all teachers to maintain their professionalism in the classroom. This incident should serve as an education for all teachers to stop and reflect on their interaction with students. Due to personnel and student confidentiality, we cannot discuss the matter publicly.”

So, how bad was the exchange? It got fairly heated, with the teacher shouting at times. The kerfuffle started after one student asked a question about the teacher’s “fact of the day” that said Romney was a bully back in high school. A student asked:

“Didn’t Obama bully somebody, though?”

The teacher started to get angry and said:

“Not to my knowledge.”

A couple of students relayed the story about Obama admitting that he bullied someone when he was younger. And that seemed to light the fuse on his teacher’s anger. A couple of the students exchanged words with the angry teacher.

“Stop! Stop! Because there’s no comparison. He’s running for president. Obama is the president.”

As one student attempted to argue for a fair, two-sided debate on the history of the candidates, he was shouted down and talked over by the teacher. She continued:

“You got to realize, this man is wanting to be what Obama is. There’s no comparison.”

Once again, the students pressed for equal discussion of the histories of both men, with one saying:

“If you’re gonna talk trash about one side, you gotta talk trash about the other.”

The teacher just seemed to dig her heels in deeper and press her defense of Obama telling the defiant teen:

“You will not disrespect the president of the United States in this classroom.”

Again the student persisted and invoked his First Amendment right.

“I’ll say what I want.”

The still unidentified teacher read the student her rules…her Obama rules.

“Not about him, you won’t!”

The back and forth continued and the most strident of the two students reminded his teacher that President Bush was constantly treated to negative statements about him while he was in office:

“Whenever Bush was president, everybody talked sh-t about him.”

To which the teacher responded:

“Because he was sh-tty.”

The social studies educator went on for a full minute with more ranting, saying that people were arrested for saying derogatory things about President Bush. The student correctly reminded the teacher that opinions are protected, but you cannot be arrested unless you threaten the president.

Our research has not turned up a single case of anyone in America being arrested for speaking ill of former President Bush. The local newspaper story also mentioned that their discussions about the story with a political science professor could not recall the arrests that the teacher was speaking about.

The entire confrontation was recorded by a student and posted on YouTube. Listen below; slight content warning for language.




H/T @keder on Twitter

Teacher Warns Student About Speaking Badly About Obama | North Rowan High School | Rowan-Salisbury School System | North Carolina | TheBlaze.com

I thank the Lord that I've been able to home school my kids for the past 10 years. THIS is what your kids are subjected to in many public schools; a "teacher" who can't even pronounce her words correctly and certainly doesn't know her 'facts' about much of anything - at least during this little confrontation. God help me, but I would be put under the jail if I had to put up with this woman or anyone like her "teaching" my children.

Glenn Beck is talking about this now on his radio program. He just played a clip from the audio.

North Rowan teacher suspended

Monday, May 21, 2012 11:02 AM 8 Comments Updated Monday, May 21, 2012 11:03 AM








By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Rowan-Salisbury Schools officials suspended a North Rowan High School teacher Monday while investigating an incident caught on camera where the teacher told a student he could be arrested for speaking ill of President Barack Obama.
In a nearly 10-minute YouTube video shot by a student in the classroom, Tanya Dixon-Neely, a social studies teacher, told students criticism of the president could lead to jail time.
“Do you realize that people were arrested for saying things bad about Bush?” she said of former President Bush. “Do you realize you are not supposed to slander the president?”
Dixon-Neely has been suspended with pay, according to Rowan-Salisbury School System Spokeswoman Rita Foil.

On Friday, Foil said the incident can be a learning experience.
“The Rowan-Salisbury School System expects all students and employees to be respectful in the school environment and for all teachers to maintain their professionalism in the classroom. This incident should serve as an education for all teachers to stop and reflect on their interaction with students.”
The video went viral over the weekend and viewership jumped from about 1,000 views to more than 168,000 Monday morning.

North Rowan teacher suspended | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post

The comments at the link are enlightening...

Student Who Recorded Teacher Yelling at Him for Criticizing President Obama Speaks Out

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 11:20

Fox and Friends
FoxNews.com
5/22/2012

A teacher is now suspended with pay after audio was found of her yelling at a student for criticizing President Obama. It all began in the classroom when the topic of the day was a discussion regarding GOP contender Mitt Romney being a bully in high school. When the student challenged the teacher, the audio reveals she began yelling at him.

In the audio clip, she said, “That’s disrespect!” The student then responds, “You’re disrespecting Romney!” That, of course, prompts another response from the teacher, who says, “How’s that disrespect? He’s not the president! You will not disrespect the President of the United States in this classroom!”

The student involved in that incident, Hunter Rogers, and his mother, Gina Rogers, spoke out about this matter on today’s Fox and Friends. After he asked the teacher if Obama had been a bully, he said she immediately got defensive and responded, “Not to my knowledge.”…

The article, with a video interview with student Hunter Rogers, continues at FoxNews.com

Read more at Common American Journal

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