Students Who Caught Gym Teacher Stealing Money From Lockers May Get Punished

from the that-doesn't-seem-right... dept

Fri, May 7th 2010 6:20am — Mike Masnick

A few years back, we had a story about some students using a mobile phone camera to record a teacher's outburst on film. Rather than disciplining the teacher who appeared way out of line, and who had pulled a chair out from under a student, the school disciplined the students for filming the teacher. In what may be a similar situation, reader Pickle Monger alerts us to the story of some students who got upset about money regularly disappearing from their lockers. After complaining to school officials and getting no help at all, they set up a mobile phone camera to record what happened to the lockers... and actually caught their gym teacher breaking into the lockers to steal the students' money.

So how is the school reacting? Celebrating the ingenuity and the sleuthing skills of the kids in catching a bad teacher stealing money from students? Nope:

A school spokesman said it's possible the student who recorded the cell phone video could get in trouble as well because students are not supposed to use their phones during the day.

School officials said they are not allowed to record video in locker rooms because of privacy.

Now, obviously the situation is a little more complicated due to the privacy issues in a locker room, but there's no indication that there were any privacy problems here at all. The whole purpose was to catch the thief that the school wouldn't catch. Punishing students for breaking those rules, while ignoring the reasons why they did it, teaches a really bad lesson to students.

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Filed Under: mobile cameras, school, spying

107 Comments

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Anonymous Poster, 7 May 2010 @ 6:24am

They won't punish the teacher because the teacher's union would go ballistic on them.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:20am
  
  Re:
  Teachers don't get paid enough and so stealing from students is just part of their salary.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:54am
  
  Re:
  They won't punish the teacher because the teacher's union would go ballistic on them.
  
  And it's all Obama's fault, too! (You left out that part)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 6:25am

INTERNET OUTRAGE!
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Improbus (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 6:28am

Deja Vu
This teaches school administrators can't be trusted. Who else learned this lesson in high school? I know I did.

Welcome to the world children.
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- DCX2, 7 May 2010 @ 8:30am
  
  Re: Deja Vu
  You need to generalize this. People with any significant amount of control over others cannot be trusted.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Boost, 7 May 2010 @ 9:19am
    
    Re: Re: Deja Vu
    It's not that people with any significant control over others can't be trusted...it's that they shouldn't be trusted. This is why it isn't necessarily anti-government to not trust the government.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:00am
  
  Re: Deja Vu
  This teaches school administrators can't be trusted. Who else learned this lesson in high school? I know I did.
  
  That was one of the best lessons I learned in school.
  
  Welcome to the world children.
  
  Yep. And remember, don't point out that the Emperor has no clothes, either, if you don't want to be punished for it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 6:34am

Now that this story has gone public the school will have no choice but to punish the thief.

The power of the internet is great my friend.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 7:12am
  
  Re:
  I wonder if the school administrator was getting a good cut of the booty? It's the only way they can get past the teacher stealing from lockers thing.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:03am
    
    Re: Re:
    I wonder if the school administrator was getting a good cut of the booty? It's the only way they can get past the teacher stealing from lockers thing.
    
    They often stick together, like cops do, and develop an "us against them" mentality concerning school staff versus the students.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 6:34am

wait wait wait, north marion? is that the same as the other scandel
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- Dark Helmet (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 6:58am
  
  Re:
  That was my thought too. Is this school system just absolutely terrified of technology in the hands of anyone other than spying administrators and criminals?
  
  Dark Helmet, checking in from vacation in Napa Valley (Drunk) and heading to San Fransisco. Mike, if you have any restaurant recommendations, now is the time....
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Xanius, 7 May 2010 @ 8:37am
    
    Re: Re:
    It's a different school. This one appears to be in Florida, the other is in Penn.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Comboman, 7 May 2010 @ 9:12am
    
    Re: Re:
    Dark Helmet, checking in from vacation in Napa Valley (Drunk) and heading to San Fransisco.
    Hopefully you're not driving.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:23am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      He's flying his space ship I'm sure.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - The Groove Tiger (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 11:21am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        She's gone from suck to blow.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - TW Burger (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 3:48pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        At ludicrous speed.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - BearGriz72 (profile), 8 May 2010 @ 6:33pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        They've gone to plaid!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 11:08am
    
    Re: Re:
    "if you have any restaurant recommendations, now is the time...."
    
    French Laundry
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mark, 7 May 2010 @ 7:03am
  
  Re:
  Same thought I had, but no they are not the same.
  
  This is from Florida, judging by website that is doing the reporting. The other one is Lower Merion, on the main line right outside of Philadelphia.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- interval, 7 May 2010 @ 8:21am
  
  Re:
  Digg this: "School officials said they are not allowed to record video in locker rooms because of privacy."
  
  But in Pennsylvania the school is allowed to record you in your privacy in your own home without your knowledge???
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
ITrush, 7 May 2010 @ 6:35am

Hmm, thank goodness that vid was not posted on youtube.. :P
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Named One, 7 May 2010 @ 6:58am

Privacy should rule the day
I think both parties are at fault. The students just as easily could have recorded a noncrime.
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- stevehn (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 7:17am
  
  Re: Privacy should rule the day
  From what planet are you from? You can't fault the student for a possibility of violating the law. There is a big different between a could have and a have not.
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  - Alimas (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:11am
    
    Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
    Possibility? The rule is no recording in the locker room. It's not "no recording in the locker room - sometimes" or "recording allowed so far as you don't think your spoiling anyone's privacy". It's no recording in the locker room, ever.
    What the kid's are learning is consistency and equal treatment of the rules and accepting the consequences of their actions. They should be seeing it in two ways; they get punished and the teacher gets let go.
    
    They should also be learning that sometimes doing the right thing doesn't mean getting a reward.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:32am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
      Yeah, a lot of times doing the right thing means getting punished.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:41am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
      You're right. There are laws preventing any recording devices in restrooms and changing rooms. The kid should get a slap on the wrist. Nothing major considering the situation he was in, but something.
      
      "the student who recorded the cell phone video could get in trouble as well"
      
      From the sounds of that, the teacher is getting into trouble for it. The school administrators should also get disciplined because they ignored a serious problem.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 11:04am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
      How's that authority-figure cock taste?
      
      Remember, the rules set down by the powerful are more important than those silly notions of good and morality.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Alimas (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 12:11pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        You mean the rules set down by the society this takes place in, right?
        
        Try as you might, AC, you cannot develop rules that will consistently line up with everyone's individual concepts of "good", or any other moral and entirely subjective constructs.
        
        If the rules aren't enforced consistently and equally they lose their value. As a potential example; if these kids were not punished, a potential and likely lesson to them would be that it's possible to avoid the consequences of the rules if they can merely come up with a good enough excuse when caught. On the other hand, if the kids know the rules will be enforced even if they DID have a "moral reason" then they will be more likely to save such exploits for those occasions exclusively.
        
        And that gets to what the rules are really about, not morality, but order. They are, in their ever evolving (and sometimes questionable) state, the best middle-ground we have for a system to try to allow our infinite number of perspectives to attempt to live and cooperate together.
        
        The different levels of consequences that can be applied for breaking the rules is the design where we get to recognize and react to the difference between these kids looking for a thief and if someone set up a camera specifically to invade student's privacy.
        
        I'm really starting to ramble, I could go on and on about this. Suffices to say you're an idiot.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 12:36pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        I absolutely despise attitudes like this.
        
        Rules are a means to an end. That's it. Specific rules are created, set in place and enforced to achieve a goal. The purpose of the rules is to clear away ambiguity about what may or may not hinder that end goal, otherwise everything in the world would be as simple as "don't do bad things".
        
        In this instance, the rule about "no cameras or recording devices in locker rooms" is to maintain privacy. Even though the rule was violated in this circumstance, the end result was the protection of personal privacy for the students, as well as the protection of their personal items.
        
        Punishing the students in any way, even if it's a simple "don't take pictures", does not further the goal, it only protects the rule.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Alimas (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 1:51pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        "In this instance, the rule about "no cameras or recording devices in locker rooms" is to maintain privacy. Even though the rule was violated in this circumstance, the end result was the protection of personal privacy for the students, as well as the protection of their personal items.
        Punishing the students in any way, even if it's a simple "don't take pictures", does not further the goal, it only protects the rule."
        
        Exactly, because, as you said, everything in the world is not simple as "don't do bad things". Enforcing the rule predictably and continuously sets the standard that there's no wiggle room to avoid the rule. THAT protects privacy, by protecting the rule protecting privacy. When the ends justify the means and individual moral compasses outweigh the agreed upon rules, then you don't have "rules" anymore, you have "guidelines" and good luck with that.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 4:34pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        Except, in this situation, enforcing the rule is hurting privacy. It promotes a fear of punishment, even when an action is the right thing to do. Meanwhile, in exchange for a minor rule, your harming a much more severe one - the socially promoted expectation that you report wrongdoings to authorities.
        
        The only thing you're arguing here is the "slippery slope" fallacy, that somehow one exception will lead to video tapes of naked children.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 5:10pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        Meanwhile, in exchange for a minor rule, your harming a much more severe one - the socially promoted expectation that you report wrongdoings to authorities.
        
        In the Texas community I grew up in, reporting wrongdoings by certain people was a very good way to wind up in prison (or worse) yourself. The social expectation was that you would not do such reporting.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 2:14pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
        You mean the rules set down by the society this takes place in, right?
        
        "Society" is not a school administrator.
        
        And that gets to what the rules are really about, not morality, but order.
        
        Now get in the back of the bus and shut up, eh? Yeah, I know your type.
        
        I'm really starting to ramble, I could go on and on about this.
        
        And I imagine you do all the time.
        
        Suffices to say you're an idiot.
        
        It suffices to say that you're a fascist. But we could all see that.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 2:35pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
      They should also be learning that sometimes doing the right thing doesn't mean getting a reward.
      
      What are you, some kind of Obama socialist? America is based on capitalist values, and that means that "the right thing" is determined by one thing: profit. Ask any Ferengi to explain it to you.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- tracker1 (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 9:38am
  
  Re: Privacy should rule the day
  Of course, the students should have loaded dye packs into their wallets instead. (funny: almost used the wrong dye/die)
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:50am
    
    Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
    Of course, the students should have loaded dye packs into their wallets instead.
    
    I can just imagine what might have happened if they had planted one of those exploding dye packs in a locker. The police would have classified it as a "terrorist bombing event" and closed down the whole school and the feds would have hauled off the students involved to some federal "facility". A little water-boarding then could probably get them to confess to being "terrorists". And of course it would be the Internet that would then be blamed for turning what used to be "good kids" into bomb planting "terrorists".
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - lbds137 (profile), 9 May 2010 @ 8:20pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy should rule the day
      You should really read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. One day this may well be a reality.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 7:03am

A perfect opportunity for blackmail, wasted. What ARE they teaching kids these days?
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:35am
  
  Re:
  I was thinking the exact same thing.
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rpk!!, 7 May 2010 @ 7:13am

Now wait a minute...
Just because there are a few nut-jobs out there, as well as some idiots at the admin level doesn't brand the whole profession as defunct! We have shifty co-workers and lousy bosses just like any other profession, and its a little unfair to pick out the few outrageous examples of how things can go wrong as representative of teaching as a whole.

I have been teaching for 7 years now and I can guarantee you in my (normal) district that guy would be fired ASAP, and the union would not touch him with a 10' pole! This has probably happened numerous times around the country, but rightfully-fired bad teacher is not nearly as interesting a headline...
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- Marcel de Jong (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 7:19am
  
  Re: Now wait a minute...
  no-one exclaims that the whole profession is defunct. It's just these rotten apples that deserve to be picked out and thrown away. I just hope that that will happen.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:26am
  
  Re: Now wait a minute...
  I live in the infamous LAUSD school district (Los Angeles Unified School District). You incompetent union-loving, Kool-Aid drinking shills will get your hands on my children over my dead body. Over my dead body.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:08am
    
    Re: Re: Now wait a minute...
    Over my dead body.
    
    Are you sure that's how you want it?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hoeppner, 7 May 2010 @ 7:17am

Sure they caught the guy, but how many privacy laws did the students break to do it.

It's not a good lesson to teach: The end justifies the means.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 7:44am
  
  Re:
  You're probably right: the students should be slapped on the wrist because of the possibility that they might have 9though they didn't) violate someone's privacy.
  
  The teacher should be fired and found guilty of criminal charges.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:08am
  
  Re:
  Tell that to our government!!!!! They routinely break laws in order to 'catch' somebody at something.
  
  Here in NY and NJ, they routinely set up traffic stops to catch people drinking, speeding what ever. I always get pulled over and searched. I don't drink, I drive fairly normal, so you figure out why I get stopped. I bet you if you think hard enough you'll get it. But that's OK it only goes against the constitution and bill of rights.
  
  the end doesn't justify the means!! yeah right! it depends on which end and whos means!!!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Matt (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 2:50pm
  
  Re:
  What about teaching the value of "context"? I think that is a VERY good lesson to teach kids. When I tell my kids, "Don't get out of bed." That doesn't mean I want them to stay in bed if the house is on fire!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 3:29pm
    
    Re: Re:
    What about teaching the value of "context"? I think that is a VERY good lesson to teach kids. When I tell my kids, "Don't get out of bed." That doesn't mean I want them to stay in bed if the house is on fire!
    
    That may be the case for you, but some parents have been known to tell their kids "don't get out of bed" and then set the house on fire.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 3:58pm
  
  Re: The end does not justify the means
  Since this takes place in the USA maybe they should have simply rigged a handgun in the locker to shoot the thief in the face when the door was opened. This would eliminate the problems of breaking school cell phone and recording rules and of violating the thief's privacy rights.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Chargone (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 5:31pm
    
    Re: Re: The end does not justify the means
    would have made getting into their own locker later a bit tricky though.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 7:41am

"Punishing students for breaking those rules, while ignoring the reasons why they did it, teaches a really bad lesson to students."

Seems to me that it's a good lesson for students to learn: laws aren't meant to ensure justice, just order. That will be useful for them to remember as they enter the real world.
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Pixelation, 7 May 2010 @ 7:43am

Cue the lawsuit
In 3,2,1... Lawsuit!
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hometoast, 7 May 2010 @ 7:50am

home schooling
they way schools keep getting weirder and weirder, I keep thinking that home schooling would be less weird. Which is weird, because home-schoolers are f'n weird.
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- Rose M. Welch (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:11am
  
  Re: home schooling
  Only the uber-religious homeschoolers are weird. They account for just over half of American homeschoolers, and are way more prominent in the media, so every one thinks of them when they hear the word 'homeschool'.
  
  Which is sad for the perfectly normal families that choose to homeschool because of the appalling educational choices offered locally.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 2:30pm
    
    Re: Re: home schooling
    Which is sad for the perfectly normal families that choose to homeschool because of the appalling educational choices offered locally.
    
    Where are those kids supposed to learn about the important things in life, like football and jocks and cheerleaders and pecking orders?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Rose M. Welch (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 11:25pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: home schooling
      In our local schools, we have guns, and gang beatings, and drugs, and pecking orders.
      
      But, in case you were seriously asking about socialization, homeschoolers apparently have it better. :)
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Big E, 7 May 2010 @ 7:50am

Anyone know a good lawyer.
It seems to me that if these kids are punished, then they should file suit against the school board and all involved for not prosecuting the teacher for theft. I believe it would be dereliction of duty, malpractice, and malfeasance. This teacher should loose his teaching license, and never allowed in a school again. Any administrators involved should also loose there jobs for not acting on this matter. It seems we are after the teacher when sex is involved, what is the difference when they are stealing from the kids locker.
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MRK, 7 May 2010 @ 7:56am

This teaches several excellent lesson to students:

Power corrupts.
Bureaucrats care more about protecting their own than administering justice.
A healthy disrespect for authority figures.

Kids who go through childhood sheltered from reality get a real shock when they enter their careers and find out how awful people are. The people who lie, cheat, and bribe get what they want, while the honest ones are left with nothing.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:16am
  
  Re:
  The people who lie, cheat, and bribe get what they want, while the honest ones are left with nothing.
  
  That's why they call it "the rat race", because the "rats" keep winning.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
WammerJammer (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:00am

Got Bad School Personnel
Sue them! The school board hates nothing more than a lawsuit. We did it because our son's math teacher, while being competent at math, could not speak English very well. My son's math grade plummeted because he couldn't understand her! When we talked to the school officials about it they would not move him or replace the teacher. So we sued and the school district settled out of court and the teacher moved to another school where people understood her language better.
The mighty United States justice system. $75.00 for filing fees and you have leverage. People are so afraid of getting screwed in the United States Justice System that they rush to settle out of court. Voila! Problem solved. But that is another article isn't it?
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:37am
  
  Re: Got Bad School Personnel
  Yeah, because what we need more than anything is more lawsuits...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 11:16am
    
    Re: Re: Got Bad School Personnel
    Aaaaawww, is the little corporate cocksucker going to cry? Keep sucking down that Kool-Aid they're funneling into you about those evil, evil lawsuits. Don't you dare do any research into how many lawsuits there REALLY are, nor how many of them are both logical and necessary.
    
    No, you just keep doing what they want. And then, when they're gotten what they want - what you think you want because they tell you it's what you want - and something happens to you, you'll try to sue and you won't be able to. On that day, you can come to me, begging for me to help you.
    
    I'll laugh at you and slam the door.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:42am
  
  Re: Got Bad School Personnel
  "United States Justice"
  
  Oxymoron much?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Philip (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:09am

This is a tricky one.
At first, I immediately jumped to the students' defense. However, the more I think about it, they broke a rule to catch a criminal. In essence, they are a small scale renegade.

Letting the kids off would show it's okay to break the rules to catch a criminal. Although, punishing them could make them less likely to blow the whistle (so to speak).

I keep thinking about the US wiretapping in all this: if the illegal wiretapping caught an actual criminal, would people still be against it? Or should that criminal go free cause the wiretapping was illegal? Hard choices! Stupid gray areas.
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- Alternate Reality, 7 May 2010 @ 9:41am
  
  Re: This is a tricky one.
  First, a rule is not a law. Second, this is like the LAW that says you can't video a police officer in public, doing his duty, like bating up an innocent person. There is an old adage that rules are meant to be broken. That said, sometimes laws need to be broken too as in civil disobedience. The kids went through the correct channels first and did not receive any support. RULES, set by the people who are supposed to deal with these situations the stop you from doing it when they don't are OK to break in my book.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Haapi, 7 May 2010 @ 10:24am
  
  Re: This is a tricky one.
  If they had used a video camera that was *not* a cellphone, the students wouldn't be busted for using a cellphone during the day. They might still have privacy problems, but, I'm sure the camera was supposed to be observing the time when nobody was supposed to be in the locker room.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 4:15pm
  
  You can think of it this way.
  Suppose a teacher (not the thief) heard about the students complaints and decided to act on it.
  
  What would you say if it was that teacher setting up the video camera in the locker room.
  
  Or how about this scenario: make it a male teacher and the female locker room.
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R, 7 May 2010 @ 8:14am

This is definitely a case where the school should be sued. School rules are arbitrary and often unfair because the school is effectively a dictatorship, though usually a benevolent one. If the students have footage of a teacher committing a crime, they can turn it over to the police and sue the school for not meeting their duty of care.
Any large organization will not give any weight to peoples' rights if the people fail to use them - it's a sad reality of the world that you have to demonstrate your power against them (i.e. sue them) in order to get some basic respect.
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cj (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:17am

what a bunch of crap!
If I was the students I would of packed up the video, and taken it straight to the local police department, and tell them you want to press charges against the teacher. Then hire a lawyer(s) for yourself to fight the school system for doing NOTHING. If the school wants to play hardball, then play hardball.

Yes the school could say the student went against rules, but so did the teacher! The students in my opinion had every right to protect their stuff, and cash. No school system has the right to make a student more vulnerable. If they fail the students, then the students have every right to step up.
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- PRMan, 7 May 2010 @ 9:05am
  
  Re: what a bunch of crap!
  Make sure you keep quiet and post the video on YouTube before talking to the cops or anyone.
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interval, 7 May 2010 @ 8:19am

Talk about your average low-life. If I were that guy I'd have removed all the mirrors in my house; I wouldn't be able to look at my self. And if I were dating, I don't see how I could keep a date; they'd find out from the media that I was a petty thief of children.
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beakman, 7 May 2010 @ 8:44am

screw the school board....
...call the cops. The teacher stole personal property, and it's on tape. End of discussion. I have cop friends and cops in the family. They all say the school board/district has nothing to do with the situation, other than deciding if they want to apply their own punishment on top of the criminal proceedings. As for the privacy issue, I think one can safely assume the teacher did the stealing why NOBODY WAS IN THE LOCKERROOM. So how has anyone's privacy been breached? And I agree with some of the other comments: if the school wants to play hardball regarding the use of the phone, fine. The kids and their parents should play hardball, too. Sue: the school administrator(s), the school board, the school district and the thieving jackass that caused the whole thing. If I were a local lawyer, I'd take that case in a minute, for a low contingency. Then the parents wouldn't be out a dime. Trust me, the school will almost certainly back down about punishing the kids if faced with thousands and thousands of dollars in legal expenses and possible judgments.
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jjmsan (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 8:46am

Privacy
Nothing in the article says the student would be punished because of privacy issues. It says the school could not do what the students did because of privacy issues. The student might be punished because he violated a rule against using your cell phone during the day.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 8:50am
  
  Re: Privacy
  Who are you responding to?
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:20am
    
    Re: Re: Privacy
    Who are you responding to?
    
    I think he was responding to the story at the top of the page.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 11:13am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Privacy
      his response doesn't seem appropriate for the original story. No one said that anything in the article said that the student will be punished for privacy issues, the article merely quoted that he could be punished for breaking rules.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 2:05pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Privacy
        No one said that anything in the article said that the student will be punished for privacy issues,...
        
        Nor did he say they did. Perhaps we should be asking to whom YOU were responding.
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Peter, 7 May 2010 @ 9:12am

@Dark Helmet - re repast returning from Napa - Liverpool Lil's on Lyon St. just off Lombard (Rt. 101) near the Lombard/east Presidio gate. A pub with reasonable food not too far from the GG Bridge.
Camera phones are allowed but they won't steal your money anyway.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:15am

Arrested!
The school district hasn't made any movement toward punishing the students, and the PE teacher was arrested for grand theft. So far all the outrage is over what might be done, not what has been done.
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Peter, 7 May 2010 @ 9:27am

News and blurry video at 11!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWalwdhvuaU

Surprisingly, he wouldn't answer the news team when they knocked on his door for an interview. He was arrested and is now out on $200,000 bail according to the story.
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 9:29am
  
  Re: News and blurry video at 11!
  Good. Justice!
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 10:23am
  
  Re: News and blurry video at 11!
  He was arrested and is now out on $200,000 bail according to the story.
  
  I wonder if he was bailed out by the school district.
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Wifezilla, 7 May 2010 @ 9:53am

All the students need to do is say they are investigative reporters. They did a better job than many of those already posing as reporters in the work place.
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Joseph, 7 May 2010 @ 10:32am

Double Standard
I do agree with the school's position to punish the students however, the teacher should be fired and criminal charges brought against him. Both are wrong and should be punished accordingly. The right thing would be to put the camera inside the locker which negates the privacy laws or they could have contacted the police.

I would tell the kids to go right to the police and have the teacher arrested now that they have proof. If the school is not going to do anything about it, force the issue. And if the police refuse then go to the DA and then the newspapers. Make a big public stink out of it.
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P3T3R5ON (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 10:51am

See!!!
This is what happens when the government has to cut budgets... they ALWAYS target education first. Not only are the students getting screwed with a sub par education now they have to deal with underpaid/underskilled teachers and faculty who are total BS!
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- Rose M. Welch (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 12:15pm
  
  Re: See!!!
  He's been there for 25 years. I doubt that recent budget cuts resulted in hiring him.
  
  Besides, how skilled do you have to be to coach?
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 2:17pm
    
    Re: Re: See!!!
    Besides, how skilled do you have to be to coach?
    
    "Very", it would seem, as they tend to be paid more than any of the other teachers. (often even more than the principal)
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    - Rose M. Welch (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 7:02pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: See!!!
      Pay has nothing to do with competency.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2010 @ 7:15pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: See!!!
        Pay has nothing to do with competency.
        
        Maybe not for you, but for most people it does.
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        Rose M. Welch (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 11:24pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: See!!!
        Do you live in America?
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        Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2010 @ 9:45am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: See!!!
        Do you live in America?
        
        Yes. Do you? And if so, do you work for the government? I don't, which is why competency actually matters to my employer.
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        Rose M. Welch (profile), 9 May 2010 @ 3:28pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: See!!!
        Yes, no, and I didn't say that competency didn't matter. I said that it doesn't have anything to do with pay.
        
        For instance, a brand new college graduate in an IT field versus a fifteen year veteran of the same field. Who gets paid more? The graduate.
        
        A brand new RN-BSN versus a ten year veteran RN. Who gets paid more? The RN-BSN.
        
        A brand-new doctor or an experienced nurse practitioner?
        
        A child care worker on her first day at work or a stay at home mom of three?
        
        Competency has nothing to do with pay.
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        Anonymous Coward, 11 May 2010 @ 8:22pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: See!!!
        Yes, no, and I didn't say that competency didn't matter. I said that it doesn't have anything to do with pay.
        
        Umm, I've got news for you. Pay rate is the primary way employers express their estimation of an employee's value in the market. To claim that competency matters to them but they don't reflect it in pay is absurd.
        
        For instance, a brand new college graduate in an IT field versus a fifteen year veteran of the same field. Who gets paid more? The graduate.
        
        A new graduate or a graduate with 15 year's experience? The more experienced (and generally more competent) one. An uneducated person trying to find IT employment versus an uneducated one with experience and corresponding competence? Again, the more experienced and competent one.
        
        A brand-new doctor or an experienced nurse practitioner?
        
        So what are you on about, trying to compare more educated persons to lesser educated ones? I've got news for you, nurse practitioners are not the "same" as doctors. And yes, they tend to make less than doctors. For a reason.
        
        Let me guess, you don't have much education, yet you think think you should be paid the same as those with lots of education, right? Because you think less educated people are generally just as "competent" as those with more education, right? And in your mind, the fact that they don't make as much then just proves that "competency" has nothing to do with pay.
        
        Yeah, I know your type. Lacking in education and jealous of the more educated. Believe it or not, medical school, for example, is not just a place that rich kids go to party for a few years before they get out and start making the bucks as doctors. They really do learn stuff there and it's part of what sets them apart from nurses. And, yes, doctors are generally more competent to practice medicine than nurse practitioners. And it is reflected in their pay. If you want to make that kind of money, maybe you should consider getting an education yourself instead of going around talking about sour grapes.
        
        Competency has nothing to do with pay.
        
        Actually, it does. You just don't want to accept that fact.
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  - P3T3R5ON (profile), 11 May 2010 @ 8:43am
    
    Re: Re: See!!!
    No budget cuts may not have resulted in him having the job he does. But less money means less resources. If there are fewer resources around to actually care for it means you can be a slacker and do your job half-assed and still keep your job.
    
    Plus budget cuts = "if you want to keep your job you will take a pay cut" or "there's the door". What better way to subsidize your paycut then to take it out of the pockets of the kids who (are supposed to) see him as a mentor.
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droslovinia (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 10:56am

Reality
The kids should probably get a wag of the finger and the coach should be prosecuted. Anything beyond that is getting a bit extreme, but, just in case you missed this, school boards are EXTREMELY hard to successfully sue, due to their sovereign immunity. As long as their attorney had anything like a spine, it would be hard to collect much beyond an apology from the schools in this case, since they may basically just be enforcing a written policy.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't pillory them like they deserve all over the blogosphere!
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Bat Boy, 7 May 2010 @ 12:17pm

link
Anyone have youtube link?
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known coward, 7 May 2010 @ 12:18pm

Ugh yet another stupid scchool administration
the more i see this stupid shit the more i think the chinese are right.

Publicly execute the thief, and fire and imprison for some long length of time those who allowed the thief to continue.

Public servants, People in authority, especially of children, have an extra duty of care to keep them safe and to be honest. Abuse of the public trust is a heinous crime with much stronger implications than just the single incident. The punishment of those in authority who abuse that trust must be severe and uncompromising. The Cop who steals, the teacher who abuses, the administrator who looks to the other way, much be held to a much higher standard to protect that public trust. the damage that cases like this do to the school systems, police and governmental organizations is much greater than the single case and must be treated accordingly.

I am glad it was not my kid who was involved. I would be in jail by now.
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Name Withheld23423, 7 May 2010 @ 1:16pm

violation of rights
I am reminded of sci-fi writer Robert Sheckley's "Status Civilization" (a.k.a. Omega), about a prison world, now a public domain e-book posted here;
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20919/20919-8.txt

The protagonist, prisoner Barrent, finds out on his first day on prison planet Omega that a certain class of citizens is legally entitled to shoot him on sight if they catch him outdoors during the first 24 hours (or 'until sundown', or something like that; it's a criminal world, so the rules are rather strange).

Barrent runs into what he believes to be a sanctuary where he cannot be shot, and the following, eerily bizarre but perfectly logical conversation takes place:

"That's very interesting," Barrent said, glancing toward the door and wondering how long his sanctuary would be respected. "Mr. Frendlyer, I'm not a member of your organization--"

"That doesn't matter," Frendlyer said. "Membership in our group is necessarily spontaneous. One joins when the occasion arises. Our intention is to protect the inalienable rights of all victims."

"Yes, sir. Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me."

"I see," Mr. Frendlyer said. He opened a drawer and took out a large book. He flipped through it quickly and found the reference he wanted. "Tell me, did you ascertain the status of these men?"

"I believe they were Hadjis," Barrent said. "Each of them had a little gold earring in his left ear."

"Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said. "And today is Landing Day. You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is," Barrent said.

"Then I'm happy to say that everything is in order. The Landing Day Hunt ends at sundown. You can leave here with knowledge that everything is correct and that your rights are in no way being violated."

"Leave here? After sundown, you mean."

Mr. Frendlyer shook his head and smiled sadly. "I'm afraid not. According to the law, you must leave here at once."

"But they'll kill me!"

"That's very true," Frendlyer said. "Unfortunately, it can't be helped. A victim, by definition, is one who is to be killed."

"I thought this was a protective organization."

"It is. But we protect rights, not victims. Your rights are not being violated...
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Spanky, 7 May 2010 @ 10:53pm

re
Its only OK when the school takes pictures of the students in their bedrooms. Not the other way around! And don't you forget it!

(seriously, someone must have said this already. I never read these comments.)
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Kevin Carson, 7 May 2010 @ 11:38pm

The only court that counts
Getting the school to address the problem isn't necessarily the point of this. Just going nuclear and destroying the gym teacher's reputation in the community--so that his family, the folks at his church and lodge, the regulars at the bar he hangs out at, etc., all know what he's a dirtbag--will go a long way toward addressing the immediate problem. Ditto the principal--that he be embarrassed in the community at large.

Open mouth sabotage isn't necessarily about getting due process within the system. It's about hurting the people who refuse you due process in the court of public opinion.

Regardless of how the school administration punishes the students, it can't suppress the video once it's online. And regardless of how the students are punished, making an example of the teacher in the court of public opinion will send a message to others.
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Kevin Carson, 7 May 2010 @ 11:49pm

As for "the rules..."
I have to say, in response to all the people wringing their hands over the possibility that someone might get away with breaking "the rules," that the rules are made primarily to benefit the people who make the rules. If you believe otherwise, you're like one of the Egyptian slaves who thought he'd get to be Pharaoh someday if he worked hard enough building pyramids.

"When You 'Work Hard and Play By the Rules,' the House Wins"
http://c4ss.org/content/2045
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no one, 8 May 2010 @ 1:39pm

Re: EVERY one of those students should be EXPELLED!!
Hello,
The teacher is an adult, the students are minors. Hence, they have no rights to do anything not permitted by adults, whatsoever, regardless of what the teacher may or may not have done. Further, if the teacher did indeed steal anything, the students have no right to try and get it back, report the teacher, or to do anything but accept what happened. Life is not always fair, and it's about time that today's students learn that fact, first hand, if necessary.
As far as evidence is concerned, the teacher did nothing wrong whatsoever, and it should remain that way. Appropriate punishment for the students should include:

permanent expulsion from the school.

A mark on their record so any other school official, law official, or anyone else who has a need to know, will be able to see this. This mark should survive adulthood, and anyone should be allowed to make decisions based upon this mark.

Loss of all school credits, any awards given, any grants given, or anything else gained through education. This should include SAT or other test scores as well.

The teacher should be allowed to sue the students, and their families, to the full extent of the law, with any evidence the students may have being thrown out automatically, based on the minor status of the students.

The students should have a special restriction placed upon them, so that even when they turn 18, they would still remain minors and until the law recognized their adulthood. In this special situation, the students would retain all adult responsibilities, but none of the privileges of adulthood.

Yes, I know others will concider this draconian, but in today's society, it's completely necessary.
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b4rfly, 10 May 2010 @ 12:13am

Were you people born in a turnip patch?

Didn't you get the true underlying lessons in pubic school is to teach you to take it up the ass quietly,without complaint,and with gratitude for there consideration.
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Deja Vu123, 18 May 2010 @ 7:20am

teacher stealing
that teaches the teachers not to mess with the KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Jun 2010 @ 8:00am

teacher is a jerk
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