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In the least surprising and most predictable news in the history of the world, Clive McFarlane came out today and admitted that he thinks North High School Principal Lisa Dyer did the right thing by calling teacher Janice Harvey a racist in an email sent to the entire faculty. Serious question – does Jive Clive have the easiest job in the world? I can’t think of anything easier than writing two columns a week on the same exact topic and then repeating this cycle week after week after week. I mean, at least we toss in a few sports blogs from time to time.

Nevertheless we’re not letting this issue rest until Lisa Dyer is fired. The union has taken up the issue and demanded the same thing. Time will tell if this is just a lot of talk or if they actually have the minerals do to something about it. Personally, if I was in charge of the union the teachers would be in the building five minutes before the bell rang in the morning, and five minutes after it rang in the afternoon they’d be gone. No more after school activities. No more correcting tests and papers. Nothing. Work to contract. Will the kids suffer? Yup. Don’t want the kids to suffer? Fire Lisa Dyer. Simple solution.

Anyway, here’s what Spanky McFarlane had to say in italics:

The courts have traditionally given school administrators wide leeway in managing speech in order to create a school environment that is safe, orderly and conducive to learning.

Have they really? We all know how much Clive hates research, so we decided to do a little for him. Luckily this issue was settled by the Supreme Court in 2006 in a case called Garcetti vs. Ceballos. Ceballos was a district attorney in Los Angeles who criticized his boss, Garcetti publicly. As a result he was denied a promotion, so he brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The issue of course was that his free speech rights were being infringed upon.

The court actually ruled AGAINST Ceballos, but it was the way the decision was worded that legitimizes her writing. Justice Anthony Kennedy penned the majority opinion and basically said that an employee can speak on any issue in a public forum so long as what they’re talking about is a matter of “public concern.” Certainly since Janice Harvey is a Worcester taxpayer, and North High school is in the news on a daily basis, this qualifies as a matter of public concern. Her property taxes fund North High School, therefore she has a right to share her opinions on it.

Boom. Roasted.

We also consulted with local Worcester Attorney’s Michael Erlich and Anthony Salerno to ask what they thought. Here’s what they had to say:

Erlich – “Teachers do not forfeit the right to comment publicly on matters of public importance simply because they work in a public school system. Teachers cannot be fired or disciplined for statements about matters of public importance unless it can be demonstrated that the teacher’s speech created a substantial adverse impact on school functioning.”

So in other words, speech can be limited if it disrupts the learning process in school. Clearly that didn’t happen with Janice Harvey’s article though. HOWEVER, Lisa Dyer’s email has SIGNIFICANTLY disrupted the learning process. The students of North High that we have spoken with are offended and saddened to see one of their favorite teachers attacked like that. How can a student effectively learn with these type of distractions created by the principal?

Salerno – “Freedom of speech is one of the corner stones of our constitutional laws, and is protected by the First Amendment. Any infringement upon free speech will have a chilling effect on all political or social discussions. You may not always agree or like what is being said, but you have the constitutional right to speak it regardless of which side you are on.”

God bless America. When the founding fathers came up with the bill of rights, what was the first thing that came to mind? Oh yea, freedom of speech. Best amendment ever. Notice the founding fathers DID NOT put anything in the First Amendment that said, “except teachers.”

The right to share your thoughts on relevant topics in a public forum would only be infringed upon by a fascist. Like Lisa Dyer, or Clive McFarlane. That’s essentially what they are. They are nothing less than fascists.

Clive went on:

As such, North High School Principal Lisa Dyer has both a moral and an institutional obligation to call out any staff member she believes is endangering her ability to establish such an environment.

Oh I see. Apparently Janice Harvey was “endangering” the “safe learning environment” at North for suggesting that the Coming Together Circljerk should stay out of North High School. I could’ve sworn the fact that North High wasn’t a “safe learning environment” was due to Melinda Boone’s refusal to take the common sense approach of putting a police officer in the building. But I’m just a boy on a turtle, so what do I know?

“Nevertheless, Ms. Dyer’s action should not obscure her intention to make clear that while teachers may have the right to freely express their opinions, there is a difference between being a rabble-rouser and an educator.

The difference is not difficult to discern.

Rabble-rousers can get away with marginalizing students, parents and other members of their community, but educators should not. Rabble-rousers can wage a public campaign against school administrators trying to help young people successfully navigate their complex and trying world. Educators should not.”

AKA – shut the fuck up and speak when spoken to. Like a true fascist. Dictator Clive doesn’t like what you have to say, therefore you need to know your role. How ironic, coming from a guy who hides behind the first amendment for a living.

What we have here is a cleverly manipulated campaign to manufacture and sustain the lie that Ms. Boone’s policies have created a climate of mayhem and unrest at North High.

This isn’t a manipulated campaign. It’s a fact. We’ve been calling for cops at North High for months. So have students. During that time every single vice principal in the school was assaulted by a student. That’s like the definition of a climate of mayhem and unrest. Dr. Boone did that. But apparently you can’t point this out, because that makes you a racist.

“Lest we have forgotten, this particular campaign to discredit Ms. Boone and Ms. Dyer coincided with the two administrators’ efforts to turn the tide on the disproportionately high suspension and expulsion rates of blacks, Latinos and special needs students. Groups such as the National Education Policy Center have long suggested that these disproportionate and nationwide rates “raise questions about a school’s disciplinary policies, discrimination, and the quality of a school’s leadership and the training of its personnel.”

Doesn’t he ever get tired of this jive? Newsflash Clive – students of color are being suspended more often at North High because they get caught violating the rules more often. Unless you have a specific example of a case where a white student was NOT punished for an incident that a black student WAS punished for, then all you have is a stupid fucking chart that means nothing. But of course you have to insinuate that this is racist, because without the race-card you’d have no cards to play at all.

It was against this background that fights among North High students were magnified to alarm the public that students were attacking faculty members and that Ms. Boone, in trying to meet the state’s mandates, had gone too far.

Yea, why was the media “magnifying” the fact that every principal at North has gotten punched in the face this year? It’s totally not a big deal or anything. And did I mention that all of those SAVAGES were white? Ya got that Clive? All of them. White. Tell me again how this is about race. Oh yea, and just for the record we’ve provided irrefutable evidence time and time again that Boone kept kids at North High in order to improve her stupid fucking suspension rate chart.

Then he ended with this gem:

“The lesson to be learned here, then, is that in responding to the pain and anger students may have, educators seek out constructive remedies that unite individuals and communities. Rabble-rousers lean heavily on punitive measures that reinforce individual and community divisions.”

AKA, I’m going to whip out my thesauraus and throw a bunch of words on paper so you think I’m smart. Because this sentence, no matter how many times you read it, is the biggest piece of fluff you will ever see.

My question is – where’s the ACLU? How do they sit there and let a citizen’s civil liberties get infringed upon in such a manner? Oh yea, that’s right. Janice Harvey is white and she she’s not a child molester or a drug addict begging for money in the middle of highly trafficked street. Therefore the ACLU has no use for her. Here’s what Chris Robarge, the president of the Worcester chapter of the ACLU had to say,

She has a right to write articles in WoMag, but she has to take “responsibility” for it? What does that even mean? So Janice Harvey is now responsible for provoking Lisa Dyer’s insane email? Chris Robarge must think that girls in short skirts were just “asking for it” too.

The bottom line is these people continue to be both fraudulent and predictable. If you don’t agree with them they’re gonna boycott your sponsors and insist that your rights be taken away from you. Because that’s what fascists do. But guess what hippies? You don’t matter. The Supreme Court and the constitution does. And they say that Janice was in the right and Lisa Dyer was in the wrong. Case closed.

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