My comment about this article is, this is one more reason our teachers are losing respect from their students and parents. In the old days, and I do mean old days, teachers were considered professionals, that was before Unions took control. Then teachers became just working people like everyone else. They would Strike for more benefits, and were not concered about their students, but more about money. Now with a teacher posting blogs like Monroe did, only puts some thoughts in parent and students minds, that to the teacher it is only a job. They are not teaching for the love of working with children. There are many wonderful teachers out there, who truly love working with children, but the few bad apples like Monroe give the teachers a black eye. Any parent that meets their childs teacher for their childs conference, will surely wonder what the teacher means, if the report is written with the comment "Cooperative in Class". As Monroe did with her students.

Teachers are professionals NOW, with professional certifications and advanced degrees, yet many will never be compensated comparably in the professional world. Lawyers, accountants, engineers, and teachers are all in the same boat when it comes to training and qualifications, but there is still one area in which they will never be equal. The public doesn't often as an architect if he or she is an architect for "love of building" or a lawyer if "passion for law" is the driving force in his or her career. The truth is, we all wake up and go to work to make money to live, and we are lucky if our jobs bring us satisfaction and joy. I do not condone what THIS teacher did, but I certainly do wish that the public would refrain from making judgments about the profession of teaching and what this one act says about teachers as a whole. One bad apple does not spoil the whole bunch. Education is a round, in which the teacher is not the end-all. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community all play important roles in educating young people, and an attitude of disrespect for any one of that group will only lead to the system crumbling.

Of course it was not right for her to blog about her students the way she did and she certainly should be terminated from this school. However, the uncomfortable truth has to be spoken and that is that far too many of the students DO have an attitude problem which they have no desire to control while in school. I think it is a mistake for parents to assume the old philosophy that if their children are decent and respectful to them, that this would automatically carry over to their behavior in school. Perhaps this used to be the case but I no longer believe that it is.

She has certainly decided to leave her career in the most self-defeating way possible. The accusations she made against her students as self-dramatizing and narcissistic seem to apply pretty well to herself. Her other blog posts are unreadably boring, self-involved and LONG. Her most reprehensible blogged comment was the one about not liking students to stay after class to ask questions. Anyone who feels this way should exit the profession.

This article gives far too much weight to the kids' opinions and far too little actual facts about her blog posts. This was obviously started by some kid trying to dig up dirt on a teacher that he didn't like. How was this blog found in the first place? Neither her last name nor the school where she taught were associated with the blog. Some kid dug this up and then created a dramatic little firestorm. Drama is what teenagers do best - even the smart ones. What they don't do well is consider the long term consequences of their actions. They are going to ruin her career for their own amusement. Shame on the paper for making them feel grown up and important. They are neither. Shame on their parents for doing nothing to help them see the gravity of what they are doing. That sort of behavior is what started this in the first place.

As a substitute teacher in the OR school system, I feel some empathy with this teather's position...
I have not read her blog, (it was removed) , but I have read many excerpts, and postings on line which quot her, and I must say it was brave of her to print the "truth" about how so many of our students treat teachers today.

As a fellow teacher, I can understand why she made the statements that she did. I would say her biggest crime was not setting her blog to private. I consider my blog to be a place where I can chronicle some of the frustrating moments of teaching. However, my blog is set to private and only friends and family can read my rants. When I have spent hours grading papers and including many comments, it is frustrating when either my students don't show up for class or they just throw the paper away without even reading those comments. She had the right to post what she did (she didn't indentify students or the school), she should set her blog to private.

She shouldn't be terminated from school for voicing her frustrations, even about her kids as from what I know she didn't name anyone in specific. She should be terminated IF and I say IF she is an ineffective teacher. Frankly, American kids are getting too sensitive, and need to start becoming thicked skinned. Parents need to start being harsher on the kids. IT is not the SOLE job of a teacher to get kids to want to learn. It IS the job of the parents, the kid, the community, the country to inspire kids to want to learn. We are failing our kids of America. Where being rewarded for being a football player or a hollywood star or a musician and making gobs of money is hailed more than inventors, scientist, and volunteering. Where we allow the thought that achieving something should be easy not hard. If I had my way from Kindgarten through 12 grade kids would not have summers off completely 90% of it would be spent volunteering whether it is to help the homeless or help a scientist to do their work. Kids need to understand that the fate of our country rests on each generation shoulders. That life is good right now because their ancestors made it that way. And we as americans whether young or old need to step up and be responsible for our part. And our part is to critically think, be creative, and lend a helping hand to ensure our future. Finally it is our job as a nation to help realize the hidden potential of every kid not to give them an easy A.

i am a mother and grandmother of 10. i have accepted the fact that there not always likable.
i would even go as far as saying that sometimes they drive me nuts. a parent who cant find
any fault in their children hasnt spent much time with them or hasnt grown up themselves.
every school year i thank my grandchildrens teachers for not physically harming them. the
fact is that my children were a real challenge at times and i dont have a problem saying so.
if their teacher says it, then it just validates my sanity. if a teacher were to say that my child
was as mature and responsible as any adult then i would think that one of us had some serious
issues with judgment. all i can add is lets leave this woman alone so that she can continue to do
our dirty work while we take the credit for responsible adults that were mostly a product of
good and honest teachers. excuse my spelling. i didnt have the privilege of high school. twyatt

I think this was terribly irresponsible of her, not to mention just plain ugly. It also indicates a breathtaking lack of judgment and an equally-breathtaking show of hubris, in that her blog was easily found and had no restrictions whatsoever. We all have difficult coworkers and/or difficult situations to deal with; most of us do not take to a public blog to castigate those people.
The cached entries are almost heartbreakingly crushing. What is telling, to me, is that if this blog had been perpetrated by a student about another student? We'd call it bullying.

I respect Jeffrey Shoolbraid's comments and his right to tell what he believes. At the same time I respect Natalie Munroe's comments and her right to tell what she believes to be the truth. But I believe that Jeffrey is wrong when he says that sher shouldn't be a teacher just because she spoke her mind. From what I have read she didn't name specific students, she didn't even identify what school, so what is all this hype about? Just because she is a teacher shouldn't take away her right to speak her mind and to give her opinion online in a blog. Whether I agree with her or not, or whether you agree with her or not, is NOT the question, DOES she have the same rights as anyone else top speak their mind is the question. I think she has that right. If she has defamed anyone then they can take it to the court and sue her, but I do not think they could win based on what I have read of her comments. PS: I did not read any coments from her that were profanity, but I understand that some others writing against did use profanity..

Correction to previous comments: After reading a number of articles on this subject, I did found a reference to one comment that includes 2 foul words. If that is all there is, again what is the big deal. She was writing to her friends and didn't intend the comments to be made public.