Teachers are one of the most underappreciated jobs in this country. They are literally the backbone of our society and responsible for the success of future generations. Unfortunately, they can also be the most abused. When one Florida teacher gave her students 0’s on missing assignments – something teachers normally do – she was met with angry parents and a termination of her job. Find out what happened and see how this storm is brewing.
New Teaching Job
Philadelphia-native Diane Tirado started her new job at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Tirado has an extensive 17-year career in the education business, so the only thing ‘new’ about this job was the area and students. Or, so she thought.
Keep A Journal
Tirado gave her students their first long-term assignment: Keep a journal for two weeks and write like an explorer would in the 15th century. They were required to take notes about historical events they learned about and draw maps. As usual, some students didn’t turn their assignments in. That’s not completely unheard of, but things got really dicey when grades were returned…
No Work, No Credit
When Tirado didn’t get assignments, they didn’t get the credit. This is usually the standard procedure for any teacher. “I’m used to kids not handing in work… but then chasing them until the report cards are in to make sure they make it up. But I don’t give a grade for nothing.” That’s when she was met with a mob of furious parents.
Met With Outrage
When the grades went back, children and parents were both angered. Tirado recalls one student standing up to her. “I had a child look right me in the eye and cross their arms and say, ‘Uh, you have to give me a 50. And I don’t have to do anything.'” Obviously, there was an issue with using the 50% minimum as a safety net to not do any work. Tirado was not pleased, but the parents raged on…
Getting The Higher Ups Involved
“I got called down to the principal’s office because parents were not happy with me,” she said. “It was ruining my life for weeks.” That was when Tirado was told about the “No Zero” policy. She was enraged at such a horrific and pandering policy. Oddly enough, the grading policy in print was absolutely confusing…
The Grading Policy
In a bizarre twist, Tirado revisited the grading policy and was confused. A zero was a part of the policy, which meant it was incomplete. That’s what she was doing! Her students did not hand in their assignment, which meant it was incomplete. So, why was she getting harassed by the parents, school board, and children over this? The red print is contradictory, Tirado says. Then, she exposes two huge lies…
She Was Fired
Only two months after she was fired, the 17-year veteran teacher was fired from her job. Since she was a new teacher, the school did not give her a reason. But she knew why. “I loudly bucked the system. I refused to do their policy. I guess you would call that defiance.” She knew that what they were doing was corrupt and money-hungry, and she was determined to expose the district for who they really were…
Going To Facebook
Triado knew that this was unjust. If anything, this school district is pandering to parents and weakening the children’s’ work ethic. Her primary goal was to create a conversation, and that’s exactly what she did. Little did she know just how crazy things were going to get.
Not Allowed To Say Goodbye
This is the photo that started it all. The day she went to collect her things, she wrote this on the board. In the comments section on her Facebook post, she says that the person advising her as she was collecting her belongings erased the message, and so she wrote it again quickly before leaving. People were outraged.
Getting Support
At first, her friends and family were the ones outraged. Then, the post was made public and sharable. After that, it had been shared over 3,000 times. Most were livid at the harsh punishment for a teacher that was supposed to be doing her job. Things started to blow up even more…
The News Overheard
A change was finally going to start happening! Tirado claims that news stations were discussing the school policy and putting it up for debate. It’s gotten so real, that even the national news station of Fox & Friends were talking about her plight. This prompted the school to finally put up their own statement, which had people rolling their eyes and even calling out a complete lie.
What The School Says
A spokesperson finally released a statement: “Ms. Tirado was released from her duties as an instructor because her performance was deemed sub-standard and her interactions with students, staff, and parents lacked professionalism and created a toxic culture on the school’s campus. During her brief time of employment at West Gate, the school fielded numerous student and parent complaints as well as concerns from colleagues.” This next part is what shocked everyone.
Are They Lying?
The spokesperson went on to say, “Based on new information shared with school administrators, an investigation of possible physical abuse is underway.” The spokesperson also added, “There isn’t a policy prohibiting teachers from giving students a zero for missed assignments.” There are two things horrifically wrong with that statement… And one of them is absolutely shocking as there is total proof that they are lying.
Abuse?
The idea of physical abuse only ever came up in this statement… Once all eyes were on the case. This was shocking since her 17 years of teaching, physical, mental, or emotional abuse was never something that went onto her record. Now, people are wondering if the school district is slandering the teacher. But, that’s not all…
More Lies
The school has said that they didn’t fire her due to the policy, but due to the toxic work culture that she created. They refuse to go any deeper, and people are now curious as to why they would make such a claim but not follow it up. Tirado is positive that they fired her for her pushback against this policy.
Contradiction In Their Statement
Backtracking to their statement, “There isn’t a policy prohibiting teachers from giving students a zero for missed assignments.” Yet, in the large red ink, it says that plainly. What else is this school district lying about? Things are starting to get sticky as the school district continues to dig themselves into a hole.
Going On Air
A local news studio lent their space to Tirado so she could go on Inside Edition, which is a national show, for an interview. Finally, she was able to completely come out and talk about these issues.
Getting Her Point Across
She was able to talk with the interviewer about how she was treated by the school district, which is now reaching even more audiences due to Inside Edition’s high viewer volume. If anything, this just made it harder for the school district to deny that they fired her just to please the parents.
The Day After
Tirado was met with even more supporters as that interview aired. Her plea to parents was hopefully being heard, but even more so, other schools should listen to her as well. Her fight is no longer with the people that fired her, but with parents who may be causing policies like this without really knowing what they are doing. Other teachers weighed in, and it made the situation even grimmer…
The Dark Reality of a Teacher
Unfortunately, the lack of help from the administration is what caused the end of this teachers career in particular. People are obviously allowed to disagree with the way a teacher teaches, but when it comes to the student not even trying and then having the teacher get in trouble, that’s where the problem lies. So, why do the school districts do this? It’s even sadder than you might think.
Money, Money, Money
This is the true reason why these are implemented. It’s not for the student, but for the school to look good. If they have students that fail and not show up, that reflects poorly on the school. So, if the school doesn’t let teachers fail students, they look much better. It’s absolutely twisted, and people are shocked by this sort of mindset.
Defamation
In a recent statement, Tirado also claims that she will be suing the school for defamation of character due to the false abuse allegations. The fight isn’t over for Tirado as she continues to expose this corrupt school district.