# NC teacher captured on video suggesting student could be arrested for Obama criticism **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606 "2012-05-21T15:05:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/1 "2012-05-21T15:05:43Z")
> **[NC teacher reportedly suspended after telling student not to criticize Obama](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nc-teacher-reportedly-suspended-after-telling-student-not-to-criticize-obama)** > > A North Carolina high school teacher was captured on video shouting at a student who questioned President Obama and suggesting he could be arrested for criticizing a sitting president.  Wow. What a crazy bitch. I know there are a lot of idiots who feel the same way, but they damn well shouldn’t be teaching. This kid is simply trying to ask a question, or even have a debate, but is shouted down by a hysterical, ignorant Obama nut. I had my kid’s english teacher transferred when I found out she couldn’t or wouldn’t speak proper english. This incredibly disrespectful bitch should never teach children, ever. Ignorance can be fought, but you can’t fix stupid. Thanks, Ron. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/2 "2012-05-21T16:00:11Z")
It says something (although I’m not sure what) about the political climate in this country that my initial reaction to the thread title was assuming that this was a right-wing teacher, of the paranoid Obama-has-shredded-the-constitution variety, as opposed to being a left-wing teacher of the Obama-supporter-and-also-dumb variety, which seems to be the case. It’s more fun when the idiots are on “the other side” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/3 "2012-05-21T16:13:56Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > It says something (although I’m not sure what) about the political climate in this country that my initial reaction to the thread title was assuming that this was a right-wing teacher, of the paranoid Obama-has-shredded-the-constitution variety, as opposed to being a left-wing teacher of the Obama-supporter-and-also-dumb variety, which seems to be the case. > > It’s more fun when the idiots are on “the other side” ☹ Well, to be fair, on the other side most of the newsworthy idiots aren’t in the classroom; they’re in the state legislatures and the governors’ mansions and the United States Congress, or hosting their own talk shows. Edit: And in case anyone thinks i’m making light of the teacher in this case, i’m not. That behavior is incredibly unprofessional and completely unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/4 "2012-05-21T16:16:30Z")
Wow. At least one person on the left is an asshole. Who could have imagined this possibility? The OP has left me underwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/5 "2012-05-21T16:19:19Z")
BTW, there is also an [MPSIMS thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652494) about this story. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/6 "2012-05-21T16:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > “Do you realize that people were arrested for saying things bad about Bush?” the teacher said toward the end of the argument, telling the student, “you are not supposed to slander the president.” Now, I haven’t watched the video, but this quote is telling. The teacher isn’t necessarily an Obama supporter. She’s just completely ignorant of what can and can’t be done in relationship to the office of the President. Any President. Hey, at least she respects the title, even if her views are completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/7 "2012-05-21T16:25:12Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Now, I haven’t watched the video, but this quote is telling. The teacher isn’t necessarily an Obama supporter. She’s just completely ignorant of what can and can’t be done in relationship to the office of the President. Any President. > > Hey, at least she respects the title, even if her views are completely wrong. No. From the video: > [@](#): > > Student: “Whenever Bush was president, everybody talked shit about him.” > Teacher: “Because he was shitty.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/8 "2012-05-21T16:39:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. > > From the video: > > > [@](#): > > > > Student: “Whenever Bush was president, everybody talked shit about him.” > > Teacher: “Because he was shitty.” Hey, just because she’s an idiot doesn’t mean _every_ word out of her mouth is wrong… ETA: On balance, her being right about that doesn’t make up for her wrongness about the “you could get arrested” thing. Fire away. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/9 "2012-05-21T16:44:30Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > BTW, there is also an [MPSIMS thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652494) about this story. Considering the undeniable import of the story, I’m shocked it isn’t breaking news on every network around the world. Clearly it’s being suppressed. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/10 "2012-05-21T16:53:00Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > She’s just completely ignorant of what can and can’t be done in relationship to the office of the President. Any President. In light of the fact that the teacher doesn’t know the basic fact you’ve laid out above, what, if anything, do you think should be done about her career as a teacher? Firing? More training? A counseling session from the principal? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/11 "2012-05-21T17:08:32Z")
I don’t know what class she was teaching. If it was one where current events debates are not germane to the curriculum, such as math of chemistry, I’d like to think a counseling session encouraging her to discourage non-course-related chatter in the classroom should be sufficient. If current events debates _are_ a part of the course content, it should begin with counseling, followed by retraining, or at least insisting that she only moderate classroom discussions UNDER SUPERVISION for the rest of the school year. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/12 "2012-05-21T17:11:35Z")
In the UK there’s a convention that teachers do not reveal their political affiliation to their students. A government and politics teacher (don’t let my ignorance reflect poorly on him, he was rather good) did reveal he was a former member of the CND. When I saw Obama’s first election speech, I said I thought it was rather good. He said “well…” and that’s it. I rewatched it and realised his platform did not encompass any specific strategies to accomplishing change. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/13 "2012-05-21T17:15:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I don’t know what class she was teaching. If it was one where current events debates are not germane to the curriculum, such as math of chemistry, I’d like to think a counseling session encouraging her to discourage non-course-related chatter in the classroom should be sufficient. > > If current events debates _are_ a part of the course content, it should begin with counseling, followed by retraining, or at least insisting that she only moderate classroom discussions UNDER SUPERVISION for the rest of the school year. Seems reasonable. I’d only add that if the class were Social Studies, or another class that teaches the Bill of Rights in any sort of detail, I might question her core competencies. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/14 "2012-05-21T17:20:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In light of the fact that the teacher doesn’t know the basic fact you’ve laid out above, what, if anything, do you think should be done about her career as a teacher? Firing? More training? A counseling session from the principal? If ignorance were a fireable offence, we wouldn’t have any teachers left in this country. I think counseling is in order. My two biggest objections are (in light of the quote about Bush being shitty) hypocrisy and lack of neutrality. If she truly believed that the office of the President makes it illegal (or immoral or uncouth) to criticize the person holding that office, then Bush also falls under that same protection. More importantly, as a teacher, you shouldn’t pick a contentious topic and open the classroom discussion up for a debate when you’re unwilling to allow students the freedom to express viewpoints that arise from that debate. That’s shitty teaching. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/15 "2012-05-21T17:53:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In light of the fact that the teacher doesn’t know the basic fact you’ve laid out above, what, if anything, do you think should be done about her career as a teacher? Firing? More training? A counseling session from the principal? For this teacher? I’m not sure what the solution _should_ be. But i can tell you unequivocally that if this is the most ignorant thing that she’s ever said in the classroom, then she’s probably no worse than the person who might replace her. I don’t say this because i have a hard-on for teachers. I think teaching is an incredibly important profession, and i’ve worked with school teachers who are models of intelligence, curiosity, thoughtfulness and erudition. But i’ve also spent a considerable amount of time over the past couple of years teaching college students who are hoping to become school teachers, and it’s amazing how much these people don’t know. More troubling than that, however, is how uninterested some of them are in alleviating their ignorance. I’m not just talking about factual questions here, but basic skills such as writing a coherent sentence; understanding how to use apostrophes; knowing the difference between “their” and “there” and “they’re”; correct use of subject/verb agreement; and a whole bunch of other things they should know before Grade 9. I’m not talking about the occasional typo here; i’m talking about students who don’t know this stuff, and who also think that it really doesn’t matter, and that i’m just an asshole for taking their writing skills into account when grading their papers. They’re even worse when it comes to higher level skills like synthesizing an argument, using evidence to draw a conclusion, or comparing and contrasting texts in order to identify similarities and differences. I’m generalizing, of course. Every class contains some students who do all this stuff well, and who are also curious and committed and engaged. Many of them will, i think, make fine teachers. But in other cases? It’s pretty depressing when the person who is going to be teaching 8th grade students consistently demonstrates a level of writing ability and cognitive skill that is barely above grade 8 levels. Of course, there are economic issues at play here as well. The American taxpayers have, in many states and local jurisdictions, made clear that they want smart, qualified, professional, and committed teachers, but have also continued to chip away at education funding to the extent that students who have these qualities are less and less likely to be interested in the job. Taxpayers and legislators increasingly choose to pay peanuts, and are shocked and surprised when the system attracts a few monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/16 "2012-05-21T17:54:33Z")
Wrong thing to do. Teacher should be dismissed if there’s a pattern. Hopefully nobody defends her actions. Really nothing to do with politics at all, just an act of stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/17 "2012-05-21T17:59:44Z")
I think the president should call her regarding her support, and respectfully request it be withdrawn. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/18 "2012-05-21T18:01:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I think the president should call her regarding her support, and respectfully request it be withdrawn. If Obama was to reject support from blindly ignorant worshipful followers (and if they obeyed him on that), he’d lose the election by a big margin. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/19 "2012-05-21T18:08:01Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > If Obama was to reject support from blindly ignorant worshipful followers (and if they obeyed him on that), he’d lose the election by a big margin. Not if Romney did the same thing 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606/20 "2012-05-21T18:19:00Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > If Obama was to reject support from blindly ignorant worshipful followers (and if they obeyed him on that), he’d lose the election by a big margin. I doubt it, because if Romney did this, he wouldn’t even get a single vote. See both sides can use the wide brush just as easily. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teacher-captured-on-video-suggesting-student-could-be-arrested-for-obama-criticism/622606.md?page=2)