PUBLIC OPINION > Addressing a Student's Cleavage in Class Is Awkward
SodaHead News
2012/04/03 13:00:00
Joan Bannister, a 53-year-old Florida middle school teacher, put in her resignation last week after two months of ongoing investigation into how she handled a student's... er, excessive cleavage. According to the student, Bannister pointed it out during class and measured the cleavage on the spot with measuring tape. Bannister was all ready to fight the five-day suspension in court, but then submitted her resignation before anything went down. We asked the public if the way she handled the student's cleavage was acceptable.
Now, this doesn't mean people think excessive "boobage" is acceptable, but most people do think the way Bannister handled the situation was way out of line. The Top Opinion read, "If the attire was inappropriate you send her to the principal's office. You don't whip out a measuring tape!" Many suggested the teacher should have spoken with the student after class, in private, instead of potentially embarrassing her in front of the rest of the class. Pointing it out in class is questionable, and measuring it is out of the question.
Men Don't Mind as Much
Is it any surprise men were less concerned? We're going to bypass the obvious explanation and suggest maybe it's just that female voters were better able to put themselves in the student's shoes. Or... bra? Whatever. Female voters seemed more invested in comments, contributing a lot of "If that were me..." arguments.
Progressives Are Appalled
While there wasn't a single demographic that approved of the teacher's actions, there were a few that almost unanimously voted against it. In this case, progressives were some of the strongest naysayers with just 10% of them offering the teacher support.
Friends in High Places
Height rarely has a noticeable correlation, but since the voting sample on this poll was so high, a strong pattern emerged. Support for the how the teacher handled the situation increased proportionally along with voters' height, from 11% among the shortest voters, up to 41% among the tallest -- by far the heighest level of support with a reasonable sample size.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about in-class cleavage. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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Crislee M 2012/04/03 18:32:09
+7Wow! How inappropriate, if it's true! I'd be very angry if that was my kid. However my kids boobies better never hang out. What am I worried about, she's mine, we don't have enough to show...lol. But I've worked in schools. I've had to privately talk to a girl. I took her out in the hall and told her that I could tell she was pulling her shirt down (private school with uniforms) to show more, and rolling her skirt up. I told her there was no place for it here and it must stop. I know them all very well so I jokingly told her...'if you have more than me (which is obvious to us both), then you can't show them off.' She laughed and she stopped. You can approach the subject right. This child knew me well enough to know I was not trying to be offensive but to lighten an uncomfortable discussion. But it was my job and responsibility to let her know it was not appropriate in school. Especially not 8th grade. Adults are a different story. It can still be inappropriate and distracting to others, but what can you do? Kids are not the same. We are responsible to help them make good decisions. But if what this story says is true, that woman put her hands on that girl and as a mother she'd have to deal with me. My mom always said "two wrongs done make it right."
When I was subbing HS English, two girls in the front row were giggling and talking. I told them to shut up and threw a paper clip at them.
It went right down the front of one girl's blouse!
And THAT'S when the whole class went totally to hell!
And yes I am 6'2".
I believe the reaction we are getting on this one is not so much that people think the teacher was wrong but the fear of people being publically embarrased themselves.
It has been said more people are afraid of public speaking than that of dieing. that would mean that at a funeral most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. :)
As I male if I was a teacher I would find issue with males or female wearing revealing clothing, approaching females would cause more hesitation do to issues of sexual harassment. It is school you are there to learn not put yourself on a meat rack.
At the mall this last weekend my husband made the comment "These girls need to run over to Walmart, the poor things don't have any clothes..."
As long as I am paying for my my kids clothes, they will buy/wear what I deem appropriate.