ARTIFACT #2 !

Artifact #2
Leah A.Findlay

College of Southern Nevada

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Abstract

This essay compares court cases that are similar to Ann Griffin, a teacher, who said she

“hated all black folks”. There are two sides, some believe this was a discriminatory remark, and

some believe she was exercising her first amendment rights.

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Artifact #2

The case between Ann Griffin and the school that dismissed her is one that I would

categorize as racial discrimination. Principal and assistant principal, Freddie Watts and Jimmy

Brothers, are two black administrators that run a predominately black school. A tenured teacher,

Ann Griffin, was in a heated argument with the two and stated that she “hated all black folks”.

Freddie Watts decided to dismiss Ann Griffin saying she might not treat students fairly and have

good judgement as a teacher.

There may be some people that believe that Ann Griffin was practicing her 1st

amendment. Using her freedom of speech and that she should not have been punished because

she should be able to speak without limitation. People who believe the opposite of that believe

that Ann Griffin got the punishment she deserved because what she said was out of school

conduct. Out of school conduct refers to teachers as role models for students, and agrees that

educators should have a good influence on students values. Most believe what Ann Griffin did

was say something that discriminated African Americans.

A supreme court case that defends Ann Griffin’s point of view is Tinker v. Des Moines. In

Tinker v. Des Moines Mary Beth Tinker, and friends, all decided to wear black armbands around

school so they could protest the Vietnam war. They asked Mary Beth to remove the armband she

refused, so she got sent home. The court ended up ruling that this was a violation of the first

amendment, and that students were allowed to practice first amendments rights as long as they

were not creating a disruptive learning experience. Although Ann Griffin may have not been

doing something for a good cause and protesting, this situation resonates with hers because she
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was practicing her first amendment and was not being disruptive, and she got placed on

dismissal. Both of their speech was censored and did not distract the learning process.

Another case the resonates with Ann Griffin’s side is Pickering v. Board of Education. In

this case, Pickering v. Board of Education, a high school science teacher wrote his local

newspaper. His letter went on to criticize the board of education, and talked about the funds that

were being sent to athletics vs. the funds being sent to academics. The school board terminated

the teacher saying his statements were false. The science teacher then sued the school saying his

first amendment rights were violated. The court then decided that they were violating the

teachers first amendment rights, and that terminating him for exercising those rights, was wrong

and it became reversed. Ann Griffin was also exercising her first amendment rights, and also was

put on dismissal.

Even though there are cases are all pros to Ann Griffin’s situation, most cases would be

considered cons to Ann Griffin’s case. A case were Freedom of Speech does not work out in

one’s favor is Miles v. Denver Public Schools. John G. Miles was a ninth grade Government

teacher when talking with his class. Miles was saying how much better the school was when he

attended as a student, than it is now. Students were asking Miles for example and he gave a few;

that there was not trash laying around, the school has stricter rules and that you, “wouldn’t see

two students making out on the tennis court.” The incident Miles was referring to was a popular

rumor, that two students had sexual intercourse on the tennis court during their lunch hour. The

school was against Miles saying this because they believed he should not informed the students

of this incident and that this topic was an inappropriate discussion for class. Miles received a

letter of reprimand which was placed in his files. Miles believes he wasn’t able to exercise his
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first and fourteenth amendment rights by answering the students question but the court saw him

hurting members of the student body. This may be the same or very similar option for Ann

Griffin, by her comment of disliking all black folks, she is hurting (the majority) of members in

the student body.

A case that also was not in favor of the teacher, and is quite similar to Ann Griffins case is

Loeffelman v. Board of Education of the Crystal City School District. Jendra Loeffelman was an

eighth grade English teacher. During one of her classes, an African American student asked

Loeffelman a list of yes or no questions. The student asked about abortion and other various

questions, but then asked a question about interracial relationships. Loeffelman confirmed that it

was “easy to answer” and she was against it. The student then asked her, “what if it was true

love” and the teacher replied that they just should not have kids. A parent of one of the students

called her later that day, and Loeffelman reiterated what she said in class and said white people

should be with white people and black people with black people. She had been accused in class

of calling mixed students “dirty” and on the phone call with the parent said that interracial

students had “dirty little faces and their hair never combed properly.” Loeffelman was placed on

administrative leave, and then later terminated. This case is awfully similar to Ann Griffin’s

because both teachers were in trouble for making discriminatory comments towards African

Americans.

I am 100% on the “con” side of these court cases. Ann Griffin could be the greatest

academic teacher in the world, but the fact that she said these hateful comments, could put the

majority of the student body at danger. Ann Griffin could be biased when grading, and give

African Americans lower scores than earned. Even if she is completely unbiased and grades
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fairly, she is toxic to have as an educator. Educators not only teach students academically they

also teach them life lessons, talk about moral conflicts, be there for them, and always teach

students the right thing to do. To be racist is to discriminate against a particular or multiple races.

So if Ann Griffin is racist, how is a racist person supposed to be teaching students about moral

conflicts and the difference between right and wrong. It is hateful behavior, and even though it is

her opinion and she is allowed to exercise her first amendment rights, having this kind of person

in the school district could be a danger to students, and it is hateful towards her fellow peers and

higher employers. This case should end up how to Loeffelman v. Board of Education ended, with

the teacher getting fired for discriminatory remarks. It is almost the exact situation the only

difference is Loeffelman was talking directly to students, and Griffin was talking to the assistant

principal and principal. The same goes for Miles v. Public Schools, he made a comment he

believed was okay and now has to pay repercussions. With the similarity between both cases, I

believe Ann Griffin should be terminated.

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References

FindLaw's Missouri Court of Appeals case and opinions. (n.d.). Retrieved April, 2018,

from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mo-court-of-appeals/1109760.html

Loeffelman v. Board of Education of the Crystal City School District (February 24,

2004).

McCarthy, Martha M., McCabe-Cambron, Neklda H., Thomas, Stephen B. (2013) Legal

Rights of Teachers and Students, Boston, Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. ISBN-10: 0132619431

Edition: 3rd

Miles v. Denver Public Schools (1991).

Pickering v. Board of Education (1968).

Tinker v. Des Moines (February 24, 1969).