Thorp gives black power salute in Parliament

Originally posted by Lapdog: ↑

@Parsifal; in an earlier response to you I commented "... Government regulations imposed on Victorian public schools means that 'procedural fairness' is not optional and that taking knee jerk actions in response to a gesture such as a fist pump can easily go belly up. ..."

Therein lies my answer re teacher conduct to which I'll now elaborate - I assumed you understood 'procedural fairness'.

The overwhelming majority of the time public school teachers conduct themselves professionally and with dignity. On rare occasions they need little more than a reminder / clarification and in cases where meeting expectations proves challenging for them they're provided with peer support, mentors etc.

If necessary they're provided with official written notices, a copy of which is placed in their official files. In cases of serious misconduct disciplinary processes are invoked [these are very specific and very detailed and can lead to dismissal and reference to police]. Responses to allegations of sexual assault include immediate suspension pending investigations.

Responding to members of the community is somewhat different and of course governments prescribe in considerable detail how teachers and principals are to manage and to respond when interacting with students - any teacher ignoring curriculum guidelines is on shifting sands and even open themselves to civil actions by parents / students.

Cheers!

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oh there you go again. That you felt the need to explain in detail what is involved in procedural fairness suggests you think I didn’t know what you were talking about. Did you miss my reference to having worked in the public service and specifically in education.

I didn’t think we were talking about a fist pump by a school teacher but rather an angry black power salute defiantly held high while distorting the oath.

I’m not sure that there are too many parliamentarians who have done either of those in australia in the same way as you think most teachers conduct themselves professionally. While I suspect a good few members of the community might disagree with you on that it appears that you understand that there are clear boundaries and expectations and standards of behaviour and that there are sanctions for breaching them.

That there is a specific process to follow doesn’t lessen the fact that sanctions may be applied depending on the nature of the breach. It also means that you do understand that an individual’s personal opinion is not necessarily adequate defence for an action

it seems to me that you are therefore inconsistent. You are appear to be saying that Lidia can justify her behaviour because of her race and her views on injustice but others are not given that leeway because standards apply.

that seems somewhat intellectually dishonest to me.