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California teachers on leave for mocking ‘Day Without Immigrant’ students

February 20, 2017

Five teachers and a counselor at a Southern California high school took to Facebook last week to express their immense satisfaction with the “Day Without Immigrants.” The teachers stated that, for a day, they did not have to deal with failing and disruptive students. [Washington Post]

The comments triggered immediate backlash, and the school district placed all six employees on administrative leave. On the following day, dozens of students walked out of school early to protest the teachers’ remarks.

During last week’s protest against President Donald Trump and his immigration policies, numerous students were absent from Rubidoux High School in Riverside County. The campus is part of the Jurupa Unified School District, which is predominantly Latino.

Geoffrey Greer, a social science teacher at Rubidoux High, commented on the student absences in a widely circulated Facebook post.

“Having my class size reduced by 50 percent all day long only served to support Trump’s initiatives and prove how much better things might be without all this overcrowding,” Greer wrote. “That’s what you get when you jump on some sort of bandwagon cause as an excuse to be lazy and/or get drunk. Best school day ever.”

Other teachers replied by saying, it “was a very pleasant day;” “mostly failing students were missing;” and classes were less disruptive and more productive.

Guidance coordinator Patricia Crawford said the school cafeteria was much cleaner, the roads had less traffic and there were no discipline issues.

“More please,” Crawford wrote.

The school district responded on Friday with a state announcing the six employees had been placed on administrative leave and that the social media posts did not reflect the school district’s opinions or beliefs.

“We want to express that we are deeply concerned and distressed about the postings,” the statement said.

Greer has since issued an apology in which he acknowledged he “infuriated a great many people.”

“While I stand by my assertion that skipping school is no way to demonstrate one’s value to society, I do apologize for the harsh tone and hurtful structure of the previous message,” Greer wrote. “I hadn’t meant for it to come across as quite so scathing.”

The school district is conducting an investigation into the online comments surrounding the “Day Without Immigrants.”


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Phony bologna plastic banana nonsense. Stay in class, learn something. Go to work and earn something. No one cares. The teachers were spot on to belittle such a worthless use of valuable time and lost earnings.


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So When are people not allowed to have a opinion , Boy the Left gives Negative Opinion ..


If those kids do not want to attend class, and the teacher had a lighter day .. whats wrong with that?// Has The world gone MAD?


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There’s nothing wrong with that at all AGDUDE. I admit that I enjoyed the bit of calmness that was felt on my campus (but I also felt sad for the misinformed students.) The problem here is that the employees voiced their opinions over social media. There is a line that they crossed and it’s a bold line, one that might even be written in their contract.


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As a public school employee at a very small district, I can tell you that the absence of these students was felt but for the wrong reasons. Over 1/3 of our students were out that day but most didn’t even know why- they only knew it was a day to miss school. The few that knew it was political still didn’t know the intended “meaning” behind it and were grossly misinformed. Solidarity can be a wonderful thing if it’s rooted in facts and logic.


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Free Speech: it shouldn’t cost anything and it shouldn’t result in a decrease of anyone’s freedom.


By definition, these teachers engaged in free speech, which ended up costing them and decreasing their freedom…..because we don’t have free speech in America.


Today, “free speech” means politically allowed speech. You can say hateful, untrue things about Trump…..but you can’t say certain things, true or untrue about protected classes.


We all know this unwritten rule by observing what happens when people try to exercise free speech.


Imagine organizing a “Day without employers” or a “Day without taxpayers.” On this day, all businesses with employees will shut down and not generate any taxable income.


Think you’ve got the free speech to do that?


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Sounds like free speech is only for the chosen to have it. I would not send the teachers home, I’d go after those who ordered the retaliatory behavior. That is the law.


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Silly teachers don’t they know you are only allowed to mock conservatives in this day and age.


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The left wants us to fear Trump but the reality is far more sinister.


1933 The Nationalist “Socialist” Workers Party burned 10’s of thousands of books.


1946 the Allies band over 30,000 titles after they invaded.


Today we still censure those we have the power to silence.


What are you going to do before you are silenced?


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