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Dublin school expels 4 pupils for 'disparaging Facebook comments'

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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,205 ✭✭✭Benny_Cake


    Completely justified in my opinion. This sort of thing could ruin a teacher's career, and having been on the receiving end of bullying when I was in secondary school, my sympathy is limited, particularly given their age.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,252 ✭✭✭✭stovelid


    Suspension (under threat of expulsion next time) would have been more fair.

    I suspect a bit of moral publicity seeking on the part of the school.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,512 ✭✭✭Ellis Dee


    When I went to school, it was the teachers that did all of the bullying, a lot of it.:eek: And there was no Facebook or anything like it. There just ain't no justice in this world.:D:D

    Anyway, who takes any notice of anything posted on Facebook any longer?:confused: And who would believe an allegation of vile sexual misconduct against a Christian Brother? Everyone would immediately know that it just had to be a spoof.:):)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,250 ✭✭✭lividduck


    Good enough for them, actions have consequences.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,025 ✭✭✭problemchimp


    mikemac1 wrote: »
    Mick Wallace represents Wexford yet his family live in Dublin?

    You should live where your voters are imo
    Maybe the kid is from his first marriage, not that it matters in this debate.


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  • Posts: 50,630 ✭✭✭✭ June Limited Bug


    Ellis Dee wrote: »
    And who would believe an allegation of vile sexual misconduct against a Christian Brother? Everyone would immediately know that it just had to be a spoof.:):)

    I'm not sure if you're trying to be ironic :confused:


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,025 ✭✭✭problemchimp


    stovelid wrote: »
    Suspension (under threat of expulsion next time) would have been more fair.

    I suspect a bit of moral publicity seeking on the part of the school.
    You're not wrong.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,439 ✭✭✭SunnyDub1


    Doesn't say if it's a permanent or temporary "exclusion" in that Aussie school... Suppose by rights they should be closing the accounts as they shouldn't have them in the first place (according to FB TOS).. :)


    I'd understand that if joining fb at the age 12 effected your eduction or effected the school but what business of the schools is it if a person wants to join fb?
    Surely punishment or closing of an account is down to their parents decision if they find not obeying the T&C of facebook an issue.

    You have to be over 18 to drink and smoke but yet there is Young teenagers do it anyway.
    The school cant expel pupils for drinking and smoking outside of school.

    Imo what a person does outside of school grounds is their or their parents business unless it's affecting their eduction or affecting the school.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,250 ✭✭✭lividduck


    Kids will always say stupid and sometimes nasty things about teachers, nothing new there. When they grow up they usually realise it was just kids stuff. Punish them yes, but to ruin their furure prospects is a bit much. Teachers are well aware of situation and have to accept it as an unfortunate part of the job.
    Being expelled from a private school is hardly "ruining their future prospects", or do only the privlidged few have "future prospects"?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,674 ✭✭✭Mardy Bum


    "vile sexual allegations" seem like it was something pretty serious.

    It is very hard to expel someone in a public school currently, it takes months of abuse from a student, correct and calculated documentation of these actions by a principal and then a student will be passed over to the board of management who decides whether to expel or not. If the board is in the wrong it will be turned over fairly quickly by a competent solicitor.

    Im guessing these students had a previous record.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,215 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    Benny_Cake wrote: »
    Completely justified in my opinion. This sort of thing could ruin a teacher's career, and having been on the receiving end of bullying when I was in secondary school, my sympathy is limited, particularly given their age.
    I agree it must have been really serious stuff because an expulsion is a huge step, although it still seems a bit much IMO. Shut down the page, suspend the little pricks and give them a warning - surely sufficient? Unless there were allegations on the page?
    I also don't understand how something like this could damage a teacher's career.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,876 ✭✭✭pirelli


    I hate the amount of time that being sick from work gives me to google things :o

    http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=157793540954833

    It's just as bad in work! Suck on a lozenge and watch some TV.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,025 ✭✭✭problemchimp


    lividduck wrote: »
    Being expelled from a private school is hardly "ruining their future prospects", or do only the privlidged few have "future prospects"?
    Being expelled from any school 1 year before your leaving could have an impact on your future, private or public.
    What's your angle here?


  • Registered Users Posts: 214 ✭✭Flaker


    This weird cos something extremely similar is going on in the scholl my friend works in (it's not in Dublin) and she was the victim of some of the rumours, gossip, slander, call it what you will. I think the kids at her school may have used twitter though.

    Anyway, as she says, a teacher's reputation is SO important to them and once some sort of an allegation is made against one of them, you will always get people who say things like "no smoke without fire" even if they are proved totally innocent.

    I do think expulsion is probably a bit harsh for a first time "crime" but kids need to realise that posting stuff online is like taking an ad out in the paper or handing out flyers or something.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,205 ✭✭✭Benny_Cake


    Dudess wrote: »
    I agree it must have been really serious stuff because an expulsion is a huge step, although it still seems a bit much IMO. Shut down the page, suspend the little pricks and give them a warning - surely sufficient? Unless there were allegations on the page?
    I also don't understand how something like this could damage a teacher's career.

    I was under the impression that there were allegations on the page?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,753 ✭✭✭davet82


    stovelid wrote: »
    Suspension (under threat of expulsion next time) would have been more fair.

    My first reaction was it was harsh then reading some of the posts i thought, actually this is pretty serious they should be fcuked out...

    but i think the above post hit the nail on the head imo


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    I think its very extreme...expeling them for Facebook comments?! That's ridiculous. It makes a mockery out of online bullying, which is a real issue.

    I'm sure the kids knew there'd be repercussions...but expulsion?!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,215 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    I think its very extreme...expeling them for Facebook comments?! That's ridiculous. It makes a mockery out of online bullying, which is a real issue.

    I'm sure the kids knew there'd be repercussions...but expulsion?!
    I bet it's a lot more than mere comments - an expulsion is never for a minor thing, to be fair. There were girls in my school who assaulted teachers and didn't get expelled!

    Benny Cake, I dunno. Presume considering the fallout that it was something really serious like that all right.


  • Registered Users Posts: 305 ✭✭Offside


    What I've heard is it was on a Meme's page dedicated to the school - Obviously these things can escalate and I'd assume the meme's just started to get very out of hand. It's idiotic to be posting such allegations on a public page that can be viewed by anyone - I'm not sure if expulsion was the right option but these kids needed to see there are consequences to these actions that when done were probably just viewed by them as banter or a bit of craic.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 512 ✭✭✭GaryIrv93


    From reading this it seems that just the teachers are under bullying protection. Millions of kids everyday are bullied, many much more seriously than these teachers, and it's seen by teachers. How come those bullies don't get suspended or expelled? Why aren't kids as fully protected?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,533 ✭✭✭Jester252


    Schools do have a very hard stance on bullying
    Maybe the expulsion could have been more to do with the people involved.
    If the school didn't expel them they the school would have not followed through with its bullying policy and question would have been raised about the fact they were not expelled was due to the fact one of the parents was a TD. Suspension is not a real punishment IMO.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,215 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    lividduck wrote: »
    Being expelled from a private school is hardly "ruining their future prospects", or do only the privlidged few have "future prospects"?
    I'd assume the very same concern re their futures would be expressed if it were a state school? :confused:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 209 ✭✭MarkyTheLips


    SunnyDub1 wrote: »
    I'd understand that if joining fb at the age 12 effected your eduction or effected the school but what business of the schools is it if a person wants to join fb?
    Surely punishment or closing of an account is down to their parents decision if they find not obeying the T&C of facebook an issue.

    You have to be over 18 to drink and smoke but yet there is Young teenagers do it anyway.
    The school cant expel pupils for drinking and smoking outside of school.

    Imo what a person does outside of school grounds is their or their parents business unless it's affecting their eduction or affecting the school.

    I see where you're coming from with regard to gargle and smokes, but perhaps the point is that online bullying IS affecting the (reputation of the) school and the education of the pupils adversely.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,252 ✭✭✭✭stovelid


    Thing is, if you chanced across a Facebook page set up by kids saying two of their teachers are banging each other, you'd just think it was a joke, albeit a dumb one.

    I'm not saying I'd like it but I'd hardly consider it some massive assassination of character and I still don't think it's as bad as bullying your peers, that is, kids that are at the mercy of their peers re: acceptance and status and a bit more emotionally vulnerable.

    Not saying they don't deserve to be punished or that they are nice kids, of course.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,312 ✭✭✭AskMyChocolate


    lividduck wrote: »
    Being expelled from a private school is hardly "ruining their future prospects", or do only the privlidged few have "future prospects"?

    When did Oatlands become a private school? It never was in my day.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,897 ✭✭✭MagicSean


    The stuff they alleged had to potential to result in a person losing his family job and freedom as well as leaving them open to investigation by the HSE and Gardaí. Once something is on the internet it's there forever. It's interesting how people were in arms when RTE did something similar to a priest but in this case people are prepared to say they've learned their lesson.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,215 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    MagicSean wrote: »
    The stuff they alleged had to potential to result in a person losing his family job and freedom as well as leaving them open to investigation by the HSE and Gardaí. Once something is on the internet it's there forever. It's interesting how people were in arms when RTE did something similar to a priest but in this case people are prepared to say they've learned their lesson.
    Oh right, so reading between the lines there were allegations of the worst kind? Thought that might be the case all right and that it wouldn't have just been for malicious but harmless comments, because an expulsion for that would be a bridge too far.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,753 ✭✭✭davet82


    MagicSean wrote: »
    It's interesting how people were in arms when RTE did something similar to a priest but in this case people are prepared to say they've learned their lesson.

    unless RTE is run by children, i dont see the comparison


  • Site Banned Posts: 5,676 ✭✭✭jayteecork


    MagicSean wrote: »
    The stuff they alleged had to potential to result in a person losing his family job and freedom as well as leaving them open to investigation by the HSE and Gardaí. Once something is on the internet it's there forever. It's interesting how people were in arms when RTE did something similar to a priest but in this case people are prepared to say they've learned their lesson.

    What were the exact allegations if you don't mind me asking?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,439 ✭✭✭SunnyDub1


    I see where you're coming from with regard to gargle and smokes, but perhaps the point is that online bullying IS affecting the (reputation of the) school and the education of the pupils adversely.

    It's affecting the reputation of the school cause of 4 students...
    Why should others have to be punished or told what to do because of it ?
    Punish the 4 involved but leave everyone else out of it and let their parents take care of what they join or do outside of school.

    It's like having 4 students drunk in school, the 4 students get expelled and then the other students are told if they seen drunk out side of school they will also be expelled :confused:


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