When a teacher loses it over students being disrespectful during the national anthem, while other students videocam the ruckus and post it on the web - who should be punished?
The Board of Education may toughen its policy on use of wireless telephones in schools, after a videotape showing a Brick Township [NJ] High School teacher screaming at his students to show respect for the national anthem — and then pulling the chair from underneath one student who refused to stand — was posted on several independent Web sites.
The tape was made by a student in Stuart Mantel's class and shows Mantel screaming at his students about standing quietly while "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played. When a student, identified on the Web site only as "Jay," refused to stand, the video shows Mantel yanking the chair from under him.
Although state statute does not specifically address whether a student must stand during the national anthem, Ron Rice, a spokesman with the state Department of Education, said there have been numerous court rulings stating that a student cannot be punished for refusing to stand while the Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Rice said those same rules apply to the anthem.
On the video, Mantel tells the class to stand and keep their mouths shut. At one point, whistling can be heard, to which Mantel screams for the student to stop. He also told the students to stop whispering. Then, while the anthem is playing, Mantel approached Jay, who was sitting, and told him to stand. When Jay told Mantel he did not have to stand, Mantel pulled the chair from under him.
"Are you serious?" Jay asked.
"I am damn well serious," Mantel replied.
According to a written description posted on some of the Web sites, the student who taped the confrontations was suspended for 10 days. Mantel was not disciplined.
Interesting. On the one hand, I can certainly understand the frustration of the teacher; at my school, we sure wouldn't have been able to get away with much during the national anthem. On the other hand, he seems to have crossed a line in his actions. It seems that the suspended student got in trouble for breaking the rule about using cell phones in schools, which would cover the video part.
Posted by kswygert at March 2, 2005 07:05 AM