16-year-old sophomore student, Samantha Pawlucy has not returned to school since last Friday when she was humiliated in front of her entire class by her geometry teacher for wearing a Mitt Romney t-shirt. Her parents claim that what she endured that day was bullying at its worst and should not be taken lightly.
Samantha showed up to school in Philadelphia and went about her day like always until she entered her geometry class. It was there that she says her teacher told her to get out of classroom because of the t-shirt she was wearing. After refusing to leave, her teacher pulled Samantha into the hallway and attempted to scribble on the shirt.
Amazingly, the teacher encouraged other students to make fun of her and even compared Samantha to the Ku Klux Klan.
After class, Samantha admitted to being extremely embarrassed and fearful that other students would continue to make fun of her. It is for this reason that she and her parents want further action to be taken by the school district and for the teacher to be fired for her actions.
During a meeting with the school officials about the incident, the teacher claimed that her actions were all a joke and that she frequently jokes with her students.
The Philadelphia school district is currently conducting an investigation on the entire incident to determine whether or not further action against the teacher needs to be taken.
What do you think of this teacher’s actions?
guest
I have A LOT of problems with Romney and his campaign, but that’s just wrong on so many levels. As a future teacher, I hope Samantha’ geometry teacher gets her ass handed to her. No matter how you “joke” with a student, humiliating her & comparing her to the KKK is not even close to funny, and certainly not appropriate.
guest
yeah I don’t see how comparing someone to the kkk could be a “joke”
or how the school would consider that to even be appropriate for a geometry teacher to be talking about.
sunflower / 300 posts
I don’t like Romney by any means, but (1) This is wrong in so many ways and (2) It also gives fuel to Romney-ers who criticize Obama supporters for being overzealous and whatnot.
guest
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Just because someone thinks differently than other people, that doesn’t give ANYONE the right to humiliate them. What that teacher did is a huge disgrace. I hope they get fired.
guest
It was all joke? RIGHT.
peony / 4 posts
now that is just b.s no one should be made fun of because of who they want to to vote for it called freedom of speech.. ON THE BILL OF RIGHTS.. it just makes me upset to see that people get way with bloody murder
guest
One more reason I support school uniforms. Then bullshit like this wouldn’t ever come up at school.
guest
It is like putting a “kick me” sign on your back to admit publicly that you aren’t pro-Obama in some places.
guest
that teacher should be fired and not b able to teach again if that was suppose to be a joke 1) it wasnt funny n 2) what would she have done if she wasnt jokin…. i dont think thats a joke at all n she needs to be fired
sunflower / 448 posts
Ah, the joy of public school.
guest
i am not a romney fan but what that teacher did was unbelievable! appalling conduct from a teacher and i agree with the first comment by shatteredmoonbeams. yes that teacher should be fired. just wrong.
orchid / 177 posts
NEVER joke about the KKK. How the hell can you compare someone to that and expect them to take it as a joke? I am most definitely not a fan of Romney’s political views, but that is just not right. It’s a free country.
guest
@asifsys23 - Romney used a slogan ‘Keep America American’ that was used by the KKK back in the day so i’m sure the teacher knew about that.
guest
Now none of her high school sophomores can vote for Romney.
guest
yeah it’s seriously fucked up, the teacher deserves to be fired. where was she trying to “scribble”? i imagine “trying” to do that involves touchign her 15 year old student’s torso which is extra inappropriate, invading someone’s personal space in addition to verbally abusing them.
sunflower / 264 posts
Very, very ironic.
guest
@blowingmoney@xanga - I TOTALLY forgot about that connection!
And a few other people mentioned a point I forgot-in what way is a political issue appropriate for a GEOMETRY teacher to be speaking about?? Sure, treating a student like that is unacceptable for ANY teacher, but the guy is there to teach MATH, not political science. He should’ve just kept his opinions to himself. He’s a disgrace to the profession…
guest
Good on the teacher. Shirts like that have no business in school.
guest
At our local schools there are strict dress codes. Students are only allowed to wear shirts that are solid colored and have a collar. The only T-shirts permitted are school spirit shirts and the shirts they wear in Phys Ed. Does it prevent them from “expressing” themselves? No. They don’t lose their voice or their opinion. It does prevent them from advertising a political candidate, which has NO PLACE in school anyway. A 16 year old doesn’t vote. Was it right for the teacher to bully her? No. Was it right for her to go to school dressed up like a political yard sign? No. Just as it would be wrong for her to parade around in a KKK T-shirt or a sexually suggestive T-shirt, it’s wrong for any kid to try to disturb the class trying to rile a teacher that she knew was a democrat. If you all think for a minute that she wasn’t trying to rile her teacher up then you don’t know teenagers. Shame on the teacher for acting immature. And shame on the girl and her parents for their disrespect to the school and the other students. Good thing I’m not the principal, because I’d “suspend” both of them.
guest
Hmmm, I don’t think it’s right to humiliate a person for political beliefs.
But I also don’t think it’s appropriate for someone to be wearing a political t-shirt to school.
guest
@beesuze@xanga - I’m almost sorryish, but are you REALLY that ignorant that the only reason that she would wear a campaign shirt like that is to “rile her teacher up?” All of a sudden, it’s “disrespectful” to wear a t-shirt? Do you actually believe that or did you just puke while in the middle of the human centipede? I have to wonder if you went to a “special” school, my not-so-intelligent sir or madam.
@asifsys23 - You CAN joke about the KKK to people. I do it all the time, much to the amusement of my peers. Perhaps, it’s just white people you can’t joke about them with. They’re so stuck up on racial topics, you can actually make a carving of the words “racial topics” and sooner or later, the entire white community will be up there because none of them can get back down. It’s just something you have to be smart enough to know how to work.
orchid / 177 posts
@SuicidalKittenNuggets@xanga - I guess I’ve just never seen the KKK as a thing you joked about, nor have I ever found a pro-KKK joke funny. I assume you mean making jokes making fun of THEM.. but I do see your point. People joke about other taboo subjects and certain people are always offended. It’s just how I was raised, but who doesn’t love a good joke?
guest
“I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend with my life your right to say it”