Newton South Teacher Under Investigation After TB Blog On Facebook Post Telling Students To “F Right Off,” Says She’s Received Death Threats, Has Encouraged Strikes
On Monday I published a blog about a Newton South High School English teacher and MTA board member named Kelly Henderson who decided to attack Newton South High School students with profanity after they held a protest to reopen their school on September 10.
The poor kid on the right can’t figure out how to hold a sign right side up. He needs the schools open more than anyone!
I’m just kidding, I’m sure he’s a great kid. Relax.
Anyway, the post was so revolting because this woman has publicly supported students who protest for left wing causes and even said that she wants them to become leaders of the movement. But the second a student protests for something she doesn’t want (to go to work) she openly mocks them on Facebook and tells them to “f*** right off,” because apparently they should be protesting on behalf of rapists like Jacob Blake instead of advocating for themselves.
Teachers are supposed to be respected role models for children, and this is the example she has set for them.
The Newton Public Schools are now investigating Kelly Henderson and in the least surprising turn of events ever she’s playing the “muh death threats” card.
“It’s unclear how others got access to the post.”
Probably because you posted it on Facebook. Anyone who thinks that anything they post on Facebook is private in any way, no matter what privacy restrictions they have in place, isn’t ready to use the Internet. Nothing is ever private. Ever.
The second you whine about death threats (which I get on a daily basis) you’re redirecting the public away from valid criticism about you and turning yourself into the victim. “Death threats” are nothing more than words on a computer screen. I get them all the time. Go to the courthouse and get a harassment order, or call the police (if you haven’t gotten them defunded yet). That is, if she even got death threats, because I don’t see them anywhere in the article.
“While I may somehow do so in colorful language that some find distasteful, I post about and fight for racial, environmental, and social justice…..”
Translation – it’s OK that I told students under my care to “f*** right off” because I virtue signal about the environment and black lives matter too. I’m allowed to violate the district’s social media policy because my cause is really woke.
The “hyper individualism” she’s worried about is in reference to kids advocating for themselves. These kids are being robbed of an education and all the stuff that comes along with being high school students, because selfish teachers like Kelly Henderson are pretending to be afraid of a virus so they don’t have to go to work like everyone else.
“The health and well being of my family is intertwined, dependent on even, the health and well being of yours.”
“I believe our collective energy should be focused where it’s most needed, where it can do the most good for the most people.”
These are dog whistles for socialism. This idea that we must collectively all give up everything for the common good and leave ourselves dependent upon the government to make sure we don’t starve to death would give Karl Marx an erection. Words and phrases like “collective” and “most good for the most people,” are right off an Orwell novel. Who cares if kids have to suffer? It’s for the good of the collective.
I guess it’s not surprising because before she took her page down she posted about how “capitalism kills” in her social justice buzzword tree.
An actual adult tasked with teaching children took time out of her day to draw that and post it on Facebook.
Kelly Henderson will try to argue that she made these comments as a private citizen and has First Amendment protection. But take it from a guy who taught for 11 years in the public schools – you have a right to free speech, but you don’t have a right to your job. I “violated” the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District’s social media policy by writing a blog calling out a 300 pound lineman on the Miami Dolphins for saying that he was bullied by a teammate, because it could cause students not to trust me if they read it and were bullied by another student. But I certainly never directly mocked students online and told them to “f*** right off.” That would be a violation of Newton’s social media policy:
Henderson was speaking as a teacher, not as a concerned parent. She is a leader in the Newton Teacher’s Association and speaks for the group. She was speaking about a policy that directly affects her job, therefore she was a “school site” not a personal site.
And for what it’s worth Kelly Henderson is also in violation of MGL Chapter 150E, Section 9A from a May 31 post.
No public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, nor shall induce, encourage, or condone any strike, work stoppage, slowdown or withholding of services by such public employees.
“We all go back or no one does.”
That’s a threat to go on strike if she doesn’t get her way.
Sources are additionally reporting that she was the member of the union who was urging others to lie about their health conditions in order to get remote learning.
People like this are a disgrace to public education. A lot of people say they’re home schooling or sending their kids to private school. I view that as surrender. We should be fighting back against people like this and getting rid of them so that the vast majority of good teachers who show up to work every day and want to help kids learn can do so without being lumped in with selfish people like this.
Please consider supporting local journalism by donating to the Turtle fund:
Follow us on Youtube, SoundCloud, Twitter, and Facebook.
Hello Turtle Riders. As you know if you follow Turtleboy we are constantly getting censored and banned by Facebook for what are clearly not violations of their terms of service. Twitter has done the same, and trolls mass reported our blog to Google AdSense thousands of times, leading to demonitization. We can get by and survive, but we could really use your help. Please consider donating by hitting the PayPal button above if you’d like support free speech and what we do in the face of Silicon Valley censorship. Or just buy our award winning book about the dangers of censorship and rise of Turtleboy: