Schools act against students for flaming' teachers on blogs
Sandra Davie & Liaw Wy-Cin
Tue, Sep 27, 2005
The Straits Times
FREE speech may be the buzzword on the Internet - but libel is unacceptable everywhere.
The message has been sent out loud and clear, with five junior college students being punished for posting offensive remarks about two teachers and a vice-principal online.
The students, all girls, were made to remove the remarks from their Internet diaries, or blogs, and suspended for three days last month. Their parents were also informed.
The case is not an isolated one. Of the 31 secondary schools and junior colleges contacted, 18 said they were seeing more such incidents as the number of bloggers surges.
Seven secondary schools and two JCs have asked bloggers who criticise or insult their teachers online - 'flaming' in Internet jargon - to remove the offending remarks.
One such remark referred to a secondary school teacher as a 'prude' for disciplining a student for wearing a too-short skirt. 'Frustrated old spinster. Can't stand to see attractive girls,' the blog read.
Tanglin Secondary science and PE teacher Tham Kin Loong said: 'I've had vulgarities hurled against me, my parents and my whole family in some students' blog.'
The 33-year-old addded: 'Most of them do not realise the legal implications of what they are writing in such a public domain.'
If teachers wish to prosecute, they may have legal gounds to do so.
Singapore Teachers' Union general secretary Swithun Lowe said the union is ready to back any teacher who wants to take legal action. It has offered legal help to a few members, but they 'did not want to affect the prospects of their young students.'
Lawyers say students can be sued for defamation, even if a teacher is not named.' As long as someone is able to identify the teacher, and it is an untrue statement that affects his reputation or livelihood, then the student is liable,' said Ms Doris Chia of Harry Elias and Partners.
An injunction can be taken to get the student to remove the blog and issue an apology, she added.
But none of the schools contacted by The Straits Times has banned blogging. Rather, many English and General Paper teachers encourage it to improve students' language and writing skills.
Schools also said they do not police blogs. They say they only check them after complains are made.
'And if we feel that the remarks is untrue or unfair, then we expect the students to apologise,' said Raffles Institution vice-principal S. Magendiran.
The recent cases of two young men and a teen charged with making seditious and inflammatory remarks about the Muslims on the Net have led to teachers discussing the dos and don'ts of blogging with students.
It is not known exactly how many student bloggers there are, but after a recent school blogging competition, the Media Development Authority called the practice a 'raging phenomenon among the youth'.
The MOE said it does not issue guidelines to schools on blogging, but leaves it to them to take appropriate action.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sep 27, 2005.
Article taken from http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20080313-54249.html
Feel free to post your reflections on this article :)
Thank You <3
I find that students nowadays are just too much. The teachers come to school to teach them and sometimes, they might even need to sacrifice their free time to give them extra lessons and yet, students still criticise them as if the teachers owe it to them. If I was being scolded by my teacher certain reason, I would have somply accepted the fact that I was at fault instead of blaming the teacher. Afterall, we go to school to learn. If the teacher doesn't teach them a lesson, they will keep making the same mistake and this does them no good. Students might not understand why teachers reprimand them now since they are still young, but they will be thankful when they grow up and become matured teennagers or adults.
ReplyDelete-Cheryl <3
I agree with Cheryl. The teachers sacrifice so much for them and yet they do not appreciate them and post bad things about them on their blogs. I find this very mean. They should not criticize them because teachers give up their free time and such just to teach them. The students may not understand it but teachers have lives too. We should not add to their burden by posting cruel things about them on blogs. Technology can hurt people, but also has its pros. The power of technology is very strong..
ReplyDelete-SYAFTHEBIEB
I think that what the students do not understand that the teachers are disciplining them for their own good. They hope they can do better and follow the rules/laws in future.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the students think that they are just being cruel. That is just sad.
I am sure that the teachers in the article were simply trying to do their best to nurture their students.
I have read in a book that most teachers are underpaid, underappreciated servants of the community and I think that there is a kernel of truth in that. Some teachers are abused verbally by their students, when sometimes their good intentions are taken for granted.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear of these stories, I sometimes feel for these teachers. They are just trying to nurture and teach students to be disciplined and have good virtues so they will have good jobs in the future. Why can't they understand that?
Eda
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ReplyDeleteI think that students these days are going too over board. The teachers try to be friends with them, however, they take it for granted and say bad things about their teachers. Teachers make very big sacrifices. Without them, there will be no future for Singapore. I agree with Eda that teachers are under paid. They are practically servants and we treat them badly. Students now do not know how to respect their elders (not implying that teachers are old). They should seriously learn how to appreciate their teachers more. If not, one day, there will be no more teachers to serve the country. :( I have always wanted to be a teacher. However, if students do not treat teachers properly, I may not want to be one anymore.
ReplyDelete-Gabrielle^^