¶ … speech of a public institution's faculty member to be protected under the Pickering/Connickline of cases, what criteria must be satisfied? Do these criteria suitably balance the interests of faculty members and the institution in the higher education context?
There are really two key principles that must be satisfied. The first is that the court determines whether the speech in question hinges on a matter of public concern. If it does, the court takes further criteria into consideration such as:
Whether the statement impairs discipline in school or harmony amongst superiors or amongst cookers.
Whether the statement has a negative impact on close working relationships
Whether the speech interferes with the way the operator usually conducts his business,
Yes, these criteria take the interests of faculty members and school into consideration.
Specifically, what was the fatal flaw in the instructor's speech? Was it the profanity itself? Or was it the belittling nature of the speech? Or something else? Suppose the instructor had used the same profanity in the course of a lecture on the shortcomings of Communist economic systems; would the result have been different? Or suppose the instructor had made comments sharply derogatory of the students' attitudes but had used words like "heck" and "bull" rather than "hell" and "bullshit"; would the result have been different?
I think it was the belittling, crude nature of the speech.
The school tries to implement an efficacious, genteel and polite as well as orderly setting where children and all can be respected. It does this by promoting (or attempting to promote) an atmosphere of respect between students, and colleagues and between all individuals.
The professor should have set an example to students. He is placed in a responsible position as a model. By denigrating his position and not carrying out what he was supposed to, he not only acts as poor example to students but also corrodes the standards of the school.
If professor had used that speech, inoccasioanlly, in an infrequent lecture and about the lecture topic, he may have been excused. The fact that this was done on a frequent basis and in belittling manner on the students went against all hat a professor should stand for. Showing a non-credible reputation, he did not deserve to be hired as professor and therefore could not plead the First Amendment.
Source
U got nerve http://ugotnerve.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/teacher-free-speech-the-truth-of-the-matter/
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