I looked up at the clock and it was 9 am. “Break till 9:10!” I said. The class gasped and vanished from my sight in two minutes flat. I thought that I would check my email and catch up on the day’s news. It is summer school and I am teaching speech class, which is required in the Wahpeton School District. I look at the subject line of my first email -- “Upsetting News,” I thought, “great, who else died?” But when I opened the email, it would not only change the way I teach, but ponder my longevity in this profession, again.
I received the email from Jeremy Murphy, West Fargo High School, advisor to one of the best high school papers I have seen in a long time and a fellow journalism advisor and visionary, who took a floundering organization and revitalized it to semi-greatness (it has been a tough road for him, but he is doing well). To summarize, the email said that he and his administration had different ideas on high school journalism and that he was removed from his position as advisor. The next day, this article was printed in the Fargo Forum a day after that another article was published.
As a journalism advisor, I am upset that something like this would and could happen. The administration felt that a story about them was not good enough to be published because the kids uncovered an issue that would make West Fargo look bad, wow. For those who are not familiar with high school journalism, a school has the right to pull a story from a high school publication if they feel that it will disrupt the functionality of the school, which is called the prior review policy. But, the school must have a prior review policy set in place. If West Fargo told Murphy not to publish something and he did anyway, then the termination would be valid. If the school had no policy, then West Fargo is going to look really bad in the coming months.
This always poses a problem with advisors across the country. We teach students that we build up our school and never tear it down with slanderous or libelous assaults. On the other hand, advisors also teach that students have a responsibility to find the truth; when they find that truth, no matter how unpopular it is or how unpopular it makes them, they have a responsibility to tell it. That is not libel or slander; that is good journalism.
As a parent, I would be worried about my student’s rights in a public school that hinders the students from seeking the truth. We always talk about how we want kids to explore and dare to be great. Yet, schools only want that to happen when the school is in a good light.
David,
ReplyDeleteI too have thought constantly in my mind that as a school librarian, my position could be in jeopardy if a book in the library were challenged. It is my duty as the advocate of intellectual freedom to ensure that proper procedures are followed for a book challenge; procedures that are spelled out in the library policies handbook. However, in our district it comes down to the school board having the say and written down policies don't hold a lot of importance, shall we say. I was recently asked in another class that should it come down to it, would I risk my job to uphold intellectual freedom. As of right now I would not risk my job. I am not a public employee and on the "rez" wouldn't really have any legal support.
I am curious to see what occurs in the near future regarding your friend in West Fargo. If the school district did not have a prior review policy, it could get interesting. Thanks for the insight on the situation!
Do you ever wonder, sometimes, if the administration that we work for would like us all to be "just mediocre" so they would have fewer problems? Many times as teachers we go out on a limb to try new things and push students towards greater thinking only to be told that this could be "problematic" and maybe we should "hold back" a little. I recall a recent incident (this past school year) where I was trying to do my job, as set forth by the administrator, and a parent was unhappy with an action I took regarding her daughter. I was "made" to apoligize to the student and her mother for following the rules with her daughter. It took me months to find the internal motivation to go above and beyond my job again that school year. The whole incident pretty much burned me out. Sometimes we question why good people leave the teaching profession. I think it starts with situations like the one you have described in West Fargo.
ReplyDeleteWow, that must have been on the back page of the forum, because that article never made it to Bismarck. That’s too bad that administration would feel the need to get rid of what’s sounds like a great teacher. I think that we give administration to much power sometimes. I like to think of them as being very similar to a police officer. Everybody knows that the best cops were the best crooks at one time. It sounds like from your article their must be more to the story, like a administrator had a problem with that teacher before, and was just looking for a way to get rid of that educator. Once again a definite case of Napolionism. A small person with a big ego, who wants everyone to do what he or she says. I thought we lived in a country of free speech. People want kids to have rights in school like their parents do in the real world, but they just can't have the freedom to print what they want. That too bad, I hope things work out for him.
ReplyDeletePeople like Jeremy Murphy who’s philosophy of standing on principal, instructing his students according to those principles, and who does not waiver from them need to be commended. Losing a position based on that philosophy makes it even more pertinent that he be praised for his actions. School administrators are always concerned about legal issues, bad publicity and unfortunately their authority being challenged. I can understand the first concern. Schools do not want to be sued over something that was written. This does not seem to be the case with the award winning West Fargo High School newspaper. As far as bad publicity, does an administrator allow an article to be published that would hurt the image of the school? Any company would try its best to avoid negative publicity. Standing on principle, we would say publish the article but most schools do not want to lose students or create uproar in the community based on an article they could have prevented from being published. I do not think this was the case with the West Fargo High School newspaper either. Lastly, the challenging of authority causes some administrators to take harsh steps to try to keep that authority in place. Jeremy Murphy’s actions of standing on principle and continuing to allow articles to be published that the administration deemed negative was seen as disobeying a direct order from the administration. Many administrators will seek to remove individuals that do not follow along according to their rules. From the information provided in the articles, this seems to be the case with Jeremy Murphy. I applaud you Jeremy Murphy for your willingness to stand on principle.
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