Teacher and Student's Civil Rights Violated

I am a High School Criminal Justice Teacher. Prior to being a teacher I was a law enforcement officer for the past 15 years. Serving as a Army Military Policeman/CID Special Agent and as a Civillian law enforcement officer.

Currently as a teacher I am forced to stand for the pledge and force my students to stand or face disciplinary action by the school board and my Principal Geri Painter. I do stand now so i don't loose my job, but i do not make my students stand. I choose not to stand for my own reasons provided me under the Constitution, but i guess this doesn't apply because the school principal, the Teachers Union, and the school board, feel diffrently. My Pricipal called me a poor role model, and the pricipal of a school doesn't know the Constitution because she is Violating the first Ammendment. They only care about Standardized Tests, and conserving electricty, remodeling their offices while Teachers teach out of converted Sheds. Your Childen are not being taught to be independant thinkers they are being conditioned to take and pass tests. Not only are my rights violated but the students rights are violated daily, and getting formal punishment for exercising their civil rights. And Prior to being forced to stand for the pledge i was forced to walk to diffrent classes across the campus, i had 3 diffrent classrooms. now thats no big deal but i am twice disabled. My left Quad and Quad Tendion was torn while working as a civilian cop arresting a felon. And now i suffer from Gulf War Illnes, and both my hips need to replaced at 33 years old but i am to young for hip replacements. And i also suffer from a number of other illneses that relate to Gulf war Illnes

Another Teacher at the school wasn't allowed to pump her breast milk on her planning period for her new born child. She had to take Vacation time and leave campus. Because the Principal felt it was inappropriate, even though there is a Florida State Law that says a mother can nurse at anytime or anyplace and there is nothing obscene about it.

I am a patriot who stands up for his rights and the rights of others. We cannot use the law as we choose we must apply to all or someday we all may loose our rights given to us by the constitution. And i know i am not the only one who sees our rights being taken from us everyday. Don't let your childrens rights be taken away.

Jason Armstrong
Criminal Justice Teacher
Zephyrhills High School
Zephyrhills, Florida
The Pasco County School District
Principal Geri Painter

I agree with you completely. Our rights and the rights of our children are being taken away one at a time, infringed a little at a time, so as not to cause a big noticeable effect. But soon, we will look back and be able to see the effect this eating away at our rights is causing.

If I had children, I would not allow them to attend public school.

If you allow anything to go unsupervised, it will almost always become currupt.

I think one of the biggest contributors to this is the fact that parents are not interested in joining the PTA. At my kids school, there are 4 parents on it with over 2000 kids.

If you want something, you have to go and get it - join the PTA.

Its a start anyways.

I am glad others feel the way i do. My Children attend private school and will till they are done with high school. I even tried to get the ACLU to help but they said they are to busy with Hurricane issues, that was a sad day for me. And finding a private attorney has been very difficult.


Good Luck to all.

Jason

Yes, it is sad, and not enough people seem to care about it.

The one thing that the students could do, is just not stand up, or stand and not say the pledge.

I'm a junior/senior (I screwed up last year, so yeah), and in the last class I had that they did the pledge in, I did not stand or say the pledge, and I never got in trouble, and in the class I have that they say it now, I stand (only because the teacher, who's a giant of a guy and sorta intimidating, gives me dirty looks and glares if I don't.) but I don't say it.

I guess thought it depends on where you live, I live in, I guess a liberal state.


Anyways, there needs to be action taken against this, and I mean more than that one guy in California, who actually won successfully.

Im a student in PA and i dont stand for the plegde. the teachers i think are forced to because every teacher ive seen has stood for the pledge and spoken also. i dont think they even can make us stand for it if we didnt want to, reason being is that the pledge has the word god in it, what if ur an athiest, you wouldnt want to stand for it. i just dont think they have any right to lay a hand on you for some dumb reason like that....

Rekar

i do not personally say the pledge at my school BUT i am forced to stand and i agree that you are right and that that violates my rights ......

--YOURS TRULY--

cooldude76