Teacher resigns after nude pic from her phone spread through school says district

[Matrosov]

Interesting story I came across earlier, where a teacher in Union, SC was asked to resign after a student found nude pictures on the teacher's phone, took pictures of them himself, and then shared them with other students.

http://wspa.com/2016/02/29/nude-pic-from-teachers-phone-spread-through-school-says-district/

- The nude pictures were taken by the teacher her husband for Valentine's Day
- She stepped out of the room for a few minutes to be hall monitor
- A student accessed her phone, found the pictures, and then took pictures with his phone
- The student offered to forward the picture to any other students who wanted them
- The student told the teacher 'your day of reckoning is coming.'
- The district asked her to resign for inappropriate material on her phone and for making the phone easily accessible
- The district admits it has no policy for inappropriate material on cell phones
- The teacher filed a police report and Union County Sheriff's Office now has the student's phone

I'm no legal expert but find this interesting from a legal perspective. I'll admit I think it was foolish of her to have nudes on her phone and not have some password protected screen lock in place. However I also wonder whether she could have legal recourse against the school and/or the student?

This isn't a case of her voluntarily showing these pictures to students. It's not even a case of her leaving the nude pic on her screen and then leaving the phone on her desk, for everyone to see the photo. It seems more akin to someone going through her purse or briefcase without her permission and finding something. I think it's also important that the student didn't then run around with her phone to show everybody, he actually took pictures and distributed them. Could he get in trouble for theft?

By the way I'm not saying she was asking for it by not using a screen lock. Even if she left her phone on her desk, she had a reasonable expectation to privacy, no different from leaving out her purse or briefcase. I put the blame on the student for invading her privacy like that, especially in a manner that seems malicious ('your day of reckoning is coming.') I also blame the district for asking her to resign - probably because they didn't want to deal with the fallout - despite admitting there is no policy against what she can and can't have on her personal phone.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. I hope she wins a big suit against the school district.

I'd have thought a school district would know better than to blame the victim.

[trueblue2007]

19. i hope she sues the school AND THE A$$ STUDENT

[ladjf]

2. The teacher was not as careful as she should have been.

But, the intentions of the student are obviously criminal. She invaded the teacher's privacy, stole the teachers' property and most damaging of all, after warning the teach the he intended to disseminate the stolen property. That teacher needs to get a good attorney now and sue the hell out of the student and the school.

[Blue_Tires]

3. I dunno...

Sadly, the student rarely gets in any trouble in cases like this...

I do hope there is some recourse for the teacher, though...

[hifiguy]

4. A good lawyer will proceed to put the district on the rack

and squeeze out a hefty payment to the teacher.

[LibDemAlways]

5. The student is guilty of theft. He ought to be prosecuted.

The teacher did nothing wrong. Her phone was tampered with and images stolen. She needs a good lawyer who'll file a substantial lawsuit.

I hate shit like this. When I was teaching in a Catholic school years ago, a student entered the classroom during the lunch break when I stepped out for a moment, went into my purse, and stole some money. Nothing happened to him. I was told to make sure to keep my purse hidden away. Why is it always blame the victim time?

[TipTok]

12. Children are precious...

... And we wouldn't want to do anything to endanger that fine young man's future.

Right?

[Matrosov]

15. In a Catholic school of all places

Did the school forget about 'Thou shall not steal?'

You'd think this would've been a perfect opportunity for the school to teach the student a lesson.

[-none]

17. The parents could have been well off and donated to the school.

Anything short of murder can get buried.

[LibDemAlways]

20. The priest in charge of the parish had the nerve to

ask me how much he took as though that made a difference, then dismissed it as a harmless prank.

Catholic school kids are no different from kids anywhere. In some cases, they can be worse. In the 5 miserable years I taught at Catholic elementary and high schools, I had dog shit left on my desk, my car keys stolen from my desk drawer, was pressured by administrators to change failing grades at the request of parents, confiscated Hustler magazine being passed around an 8th grade classroom, and had my personal belongings dumped all over a classroom floor not by a student but by a mentally disturbed teacher who was a member of a religious order. Total nightmare. Finally wised up. Left and never looked back. Sent my one and only daughter to public schools exclusively.

[-none]

6. What is the big deal about basic nudity in this country?

Many other countries don't have a problem with it. Why do we? Some even have full frontal nudity on prime time broadcast TV.
Here, we have blood and guts splattered against the wall as something that that is alright in prime time.
Save the Children? From what? How about we save the children from some hysterical adult laying a guilt trip on the kids for have a natural curiosity about things. That would help make for a healthier society right there.

[lame54]

16. No kidding - suspend the kid and let the teacher get back to work

[LiberalElite]

23. How about we teach the children to keep their hands off what is not theirs?

In this case, that teacher's phone.

[-none]

31. That also.

But that has nothing to do with my question. The student rifling the teachers phone is the worst crime here.

[Major Nikon]

28. You can show someone getting their skull bashed in...

but if you show any part of a nipple it's a national tragedy.

[-none]

32. That has never made sense to me.

It should be the other way around.

[Major Nikon]

33. I don't see much point in restricting either

I doubt there's too many TVs left out there without the V-chip, and kids can see whatever they want on the internet anyway.

[Human101948]

7. The student needs to be prosecuted and incarcerated...

This is the type of person who later goes on to a life of crime or a job on Wall Street which is worse.

[Meldread]

8. Fuck the school and that asshole fuck trophy.

Nothing beats blaming the victim. Her career is basically ruined now.

I hope she sues the school and takes them to the cleaners. Then I hope that little sperm blossom gets his ''day of reckoning.''

[JI7]

9. the student is an asshole

[MurrayDelph]

10. I graduated High School 45 years ago

One of the teachers there has been a Playboy Playmate of the Month (don't ask me which).

One day, someone posted a copy of her centerfold in a classroom window facing the forecourt.

You know what the school did about it? They took the picture down

That's it. No upright neo-Puritan bullshit about "how dare she," or "won't someone please think of the children.

It was a simpler time.

[struggle4progress]

11. If she'd had an envelope full of 8x10 color photos of herself for her hubby, and

briefly left it unsecured where a student found it, she'd be out of a job

[TipTok]

13. ... And the student and district would be just as wrong.

What's your point?

[Igel]

14. Probably.

Because students are all rights and no responsibilities, and the way to make sure they learn responsibility is to make sure they never suffer any consequences of failing to live up to basic human values.

Meanwhile, teachers are all responsibilities and no rights, and anything less than perfection on the part of the teacher is a vile sin and crime against all the higher laws of nature and must be recompensed with the sharp, sure sword of truth and revenge lest any other teacher think that a mistake could ever be forgiven. Even if the "mistake" is failing to properly secure something that only a thief would want.

Hell, if she'd had them on her phone in a closet at home and a student broke in and took them, she'd probably be condemned for allowing photons to touch her naked body, being received by a CCD device, recorded, and the record used to violating the eyes of the students. It's the student who was violated, not the teacher, and the teacher would be punished. That would be silly talk.

The student did something very bad. The teacher did nothing wrong.

I am honestly surprised by the failure of the courts in this case to see the foolishness of their actions: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/26/us/massachusetts-teacher-killing-sentence/

Obviously, whoever pronounced this kid "evil" should also lose their job and be forced to pay compensation for the rest of his/her miserable life.

But seriously, not a week goes by where I don't hear some students figuring out how to plot to set up a teacher to get him fired for giving them a low grade or daring to tell them to be quiet or keeping friends from sitting together. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in these cases.

[dsc]

21. the difference is that there is no reasonable reason to have that envelope

but there is such a reason to have the phone.

[struggle4progress]

22. It could limit my teaching effectiveness if naked pics of me were circulated to my classes

and that might actually be a good reason to resign that job

The kid might be in violation of South Carolina's Code 16-17-430

The teacher might have a winnable action against the student, but it sure looks like an uphill climb to me: she left the material where the kid could easily access it

[LiberalElite]

24. The kid had no right to touch her phone nt

[struggle4progress]

25. Due to their immaturity, we usually hold children to a lower standard than adults,

and we usually expect the professionals charged with educating children to understand something about that immaturity

[panader0]

30. So, a teacher eh? I've wondered. Good.

[Bucky]

18. Blame the victim. The last two grafs of this article really piss me off

She says the district told her there was no policy about “inappropriate material on her cell phone” but they were firing her for that reason.
She was also in trouble for “making her phone easily accessible,” according the Arthur.

This is how you translate "Bitch was askin' for it" into bureaucratese.

[Major Nikon]

26. She would definitely have a legal recourse against the student

But outside of potential union or civil service protections, she may be out of luck with the school.

[liberalfromaustin21]

27. That student is a jerk

Hope the teacher gets back on her feet after this mishap, and the student gets punished for this.

[onecaliberal]

29. Hope she filed a large suit against the district and the parents of the kid.

[Matrosov]

34. Interesting update

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article63858492.html

- Thousands of students at the school signed a petition for her to be reinstated
- Apparently she was not so innocent, allowing students to use her phone in the past
- The teacher says she was forced to resign
- The petition has over 3,000 signatures
- The teacher says she has forgiven the student responsible for spreading her pictures