Teacher suspended for mocking student's name online

[Jazzy]

State officials have suspended a former New Jersey teacher's license for a year after she mocked a student's name on Facebook.

Yvette Nicholas agreed that ridiculing the student's name was immature and based on the fact that a syllable of the name sounded like a common expletive.

The name was not disclosed.

The Record newspaper reported Nichols resigned from her tenured job at Pine Lakes Elementary School in Wayne in September 2013. The newspaper says she was paid $76,990 in the 2012-13 school year, according to state payroll records.

Nichols admitted posting comments on her Facebook page ridiculing the student's name, such as, "I want to ask the parents if I can change it" and "I still can't get over the student's name!," according to the Board of Examiners' ruling.

Nichols is alleged to have responded to others' comments on Facebook, "How do you think I feel when I have to address him???? I literally can't stop laughing! I have to go all year with this'--!!!"

The school district determined she had violated the district's harassment, intimidation and bullying policy. The teacher denied bullying the boy.

Do you consider what she did to be harassment, intimidation and bullying? Why/Why not?

 

[seasidemike]

I think that people are just way to sensitive to anything these days, the cry over everything. However, as a teacher, it was really stupid and she should have known better and therefore deserved to be fired not for what she did, but for being stupid.

 

[Bluezone777]

I think it speaks to the respect the teacher has for the student. If she had respect for the student then she wouldn't make such a comment anywhere. How do students respect a teacher if the teacher doesn't show them respect? How can you expect students to respect one another if the teacher doesn't even respect their students? That's the issue so I say punishment was definitely in order for this teacher.

 

[Enter Username Here]

I think she was bias against the students name and was setting judgement, which I am very against judging others. Especially when its something they have no control over.

 

[Nebulous]

Just goes to show that some adults are just as immature as children.

 

[Sinion Kabe]

Facebook getting people into trouble, as per usual lol. It was wrong of her to do it though. Shameful for a teacher.

 

[DrLeftover]

She's going to have even more problems working at that "you want fries with that?" place because some of the menu items ARE "expletives".