Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2 & 3 Assignment 1
Lori Hyland
Dismissing a teacher can have a serious, life-changing effect on lives of the teacher and
his or her family. In fact, many incidents related teacher dismissal have been presented in court,
leading all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has ruled on these cases based on the
Constitution. One scenario to consider is the case Ann Griffin, a white, tenured teacher who
works at a predominately black high school. One day during a heated conversation with her two
Brothers, Ann Griffin said that she hated all black folks. After word of her statement got
around, both Griffins black and white colleagues had negative reactions, and the principal
recommended that Ann Griffin be dismissed from her teaching job. Both sides of the argument
will be examined based on relevant court cases, and a final opinion on the case will be
determined.
The schools side in this court case is that Ann Griffin should be dismissed from her
teaching job because of her statement that she hated all black folks on the grounds that Griffin
is unable to treat her students fairly and her lack of judgment and competency as a teacher. One
court case that supports the schools side in this argument is Loeffelman v. Board of Education
of the Crystal City School District. In this case, teacher Jendra Loeffelman was asked by one of
her students how she felt about interracial couples if they are in love. Loeffelman replied that
she was totally against interracial couples and that such couples should be fixed so they will
not produce mixed children who are racially confused (Loeffelman v. Board of Education).
After the school board decided to terminate her for these racially discriminatory statements,
Loeffelman appealed, stating that her comments were protected by free speech under the First
Amendment. After hearing the case, the decision of the school to terminate Loeffelman was
Ch. 2 & 3 Assignment 3
upheld, stating, The school Districts interest in efficiently operating a school that is free from
race-based discriminatory speech outweighs any First Amendment right that Teacher may have
Education). Thus, this similar case supports the schools decision to terminate Ann Griffin
because the schools interest in running a school free of racial bias in which the teachers treat
Another court case that supports the schools decision to terminate Ann Griffin is the case
of John W. Stroman, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Colleton County School District. In this case, John
W. Stroman, a public school teacher, was terminated from his job after he wrote and circulated a
letter to his colleagues complaining about a change that would result in a delay in summer pay.
Stroman filed a lawsuit against the Colleton County School District on the basis that his
dismissal violated his right to exercise free speech under the First Amendment (Stroman v.
Colleton County School District). After hearing the arguments in this case, the decision upheld
the school districts decision to terminate Stroman. The decision stated, We Therefore hold that
any First Amendment interest inherent in the letter that Stroman circulated is outweighed by the
public interest in having public education provided by teachers loyal to that service (Stroman
v. Colleton County School District). This means that a teachers comments are not protected by
free speech if the school reasonably believes that speech undermines the teachers ability to
perform his or her duties, disrupts normal school operations, or destroys the effectiveness of
working relationships (Stroman v. Colleton County School District). Therefore, this case
supports the schools decision to dismiss Ann Griffin based on the belief that her racial comment
about hating black folks affected her judgment and competency as a teacher and her ability to
Ann Griffins side in this argument is that she should not be terminated from her tenured
teaching position because her comments are protected under the First Amendment right to free
speech. One related case that supports Ann Griffins side in this argument is Tinker v. Des
Moines Independent Community School District. This case involved three public school students
who were suspended from school because they wore black armbands to school to show their
protest for the Governments policy in Vietnam. The Court ruled that the students had a right to
wear the armbands and should not be suspended from school. Further, the Court stated that the
right to free speech applies to not only verbal communication, but also to written and symbolic
expression. The decision stated, First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students,
prohibition against expression of opinion, without evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid
substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the
First and Fourteenth Amendments (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School
District). This ruling can be applied to the case against Ann Griffin because teachers have the
same right to express their opinions as anyone else, provided they do not substantially interfere
with school discipline or rights of others. A school cannot make the decision to terminate a
teacher as a result of the teacher exercising his/her right to free speech. Hence, the school
wrongfully terminated Ann Griffin based on one comment in which she was expressing her
Another similar court case that opposes the termination of Ann Griffin is Pickering v.
Board of Education. In this case, Marvin Pickering, a high school teacher, was dismissed from
his job after he wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, criticizing the board of
educations allocation of funds between academics and athletics. Pickering filed a lawsuit
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claiming that the school board had violated his First Amendment rights by terminating him for
exercising his right to free speech (Pickering v. Board of Education). The Supreme Court
overturned Pickerings termination, explaining that unless the public comment undermines that
effective relationship between the teacher and colleagues , the teachers ability to perform his/her
duties, or the ability of the school to operate, the expression cannot be used as grounds for
against black folks in the midst of a heated conversation cannot be proven to substantially
change her working relationship with colleagues or to interfere with her ability to perform her
duty as a teacher. Therefore, Ann Griffins comment is protected under the right to free speech.
In summary, I believe the court would rule against the termination of Ann Griffin on the
grounds that her comment is protected under the First Amendment right to free speech. In
regards to the case of Loeffelman, the comments about interracial couples were stated directly to
the students, some of which were biracial and could have been directly influenced by her
comments (Loeffelman v. Board of Education). However, in the case of Ann Griffin, she was
speaking to adult administrators and in the midst of a heated exchange, not to the students she
taught. Secondly, in the case of Stroman, the letter he circulated could have negatively impacted
the morale and working environment of his colleagues because of his complaint about a policy in
which teacher pay would be delayed (John W. Stroman v. Colleton County School District). On
the other hand, Ann Griffins comment was not directed at any school policy that would
influence the morale or work ethic of her colleagues. Additionally, the Tinker case explains that
the rights of free speech apply to teachers as well as everyone else, and a teacher should not be
terminated on the basis of a comment that is protected under the First Amendment (Tinker v. Des
Moines Independent Community School). Finally, the Pickering case ruled that an expression of
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free speech cannot be used as grounds of termination unless the comment substantially impacts
the persons ability to perform his/her job or the working relationship with colleagues (Pickering
v. Board of Education). In the end, I believe the court would rule against the schools position
and reverse Ann Griffins termination on the grounds that it violated her First Amendment right
to free speech.
Ch. 2 & 3 Assignment 7
References
Pickering v. Board of Education 391 U.S. 563 (1968). Retrieved January 24, 2017, from
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/391/563/case.html
The Crystal City School District. Retrieved January 24, 2017, from
http://www.lawcitations.com/case/n/the-crystal-city-school-district
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist. Retrieved January 24, 2017, from
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/393/503