Teacher placed on leave for questionable Facebook posting
Posted: Feb 3, 2009 01:36 PM PST   
 
BEAVER DAM (WKOW) -- Beaver Dam school officials placed a middle school teacher on administrative leave after discovering a photograph of the teacher with a gun on the teacher's Facebook page.

In the photo, teacher Betsy Ramsdale is training a rifle at the camera.

Ramsdale emailed 27 News in response to our inquiries saying she "removed the photo immediately" and that she is not "interested in any controversy."   Ramsdale did not comment on her motivation for posting the photo.

Schools superintendent Donald Childs told 27 News he is unaware of any sinister intent on the teacher's part and said the use of the photo "appears to be poor judgment."

Childs said the Facebook photo was brought to the attention of school district officials by a concerned staff member at Beaver Dam Middle School.

Ramsdale's biography on the school district website states she is in her first year of teaching at the middle school.   Department of Public Instruction records show Ramsdale has been licensed to teach since 1996.

Middle school parent Jennifer Buzzell said the teacher's decision to post the photograph was concerning.   

"I don't think it's appropriate,"  Buzzell told 27 News.   "I'm not sure why this would be on the computer at all."

"I don't see anything wrong with it,"  school parent Mark Hagstrom said.   "She's on her time to do what she wants."

School parent Chad Van Loo said the photograph sends the wrong message.

"With the way things are going these days, with the kids bringing guns to school and bomb threats, (photograph) is something to be concerned about."

Ramsdale's union representation is through the Beaver Dam Education Association.  Association president Janet Schumaker has yet to return a call from 27 News.

Read our Assistant News Director's Blog on this topic:

http://addins.wkowtv.com/blogs/behindthenews/

To comment and provide news tips, contact reporter Tony Galli at tgalli@wkowtv.com

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9781795&nav=menu1362_2

I'm leery of any of those social networking sites like facebook.  Someone puts something up there and one of your friends posts a less than flattering picture of you from college.  Fast forward 20 years and the pictures come up at your government confirmation hearing, job interview etc etc.  I admit that I haven't looked into detail about them so I don't know how private they are.  On the other hand, you are putting your personal data on someone else's computer which could be tampered with.

Jim

Agree. This is about as social as I get.

They have no right telling him what picture he can put on facebook anyway. They really wouldn't like mine, even if you can't see my face.

They have no right telling her.

This is why I don't do face book or put stuff out there for the general public with identifying data. It's craziness though. She did nothing illegal. It's not like there was a picture of her smoking pot. Ohhhh.   

I don't actually have any info about me on facebook. The pic if from behind so there's really nothing to identify me.

It all comes down to two issues
* You are responsible for your personal security & privacy
* Anything posted to the internet is subject to being observed by anyone with a PC & internet connection

Since the Socialists took over Public Education in the 1950s, you must assume that every Staffer, Teacher & Teachers Union Member and most School Administrators are a part of the Anti-Gun herd. To assume otherwise is not prudent. If you are a Teacher, you may be operating behind Enemy Lines.

Your every living moment is under observation by folks that by and large do not respect your 2nd Amendment Rights. Staffers
& Parents that embrace Liberal views are lurking to raise a stink & are willing to do that if Your views do not coincide with theirs. Some of Your Student's Parents do not support the Pledge of Allegiance in class, let alone Your Right to Firearms Ownership. It quite frankly is none of their damn business. Some even contest Your 1st Amendment Rights if anything that comes out of Your Piehole does not support their Party Line dogma.

Bottom line, folks outside of your personal trust do not need to know if You own Firearms or what type. Anything that You post to social networking sites is Public Info, Period. Especially if You make Your Living working behind enemy lines, so to speak. Some Communities are worse than others but you must let your own best judgment prevail. Your Privacy is Your Personal Responsibility.

Look at the Cartoon Character that was just elected President by the Majority of Your Neighbors. Assume that Anti-Gun is their mindset until it proves out otherwise on an Individual basis. This may sound harsh to some of you but these are the times we are living in. I hope you are buying into that.
Assume nothing. Your view of Right or Wrong is a matter of Your Values. We ALL don't share that in common, sadly so.

I bet if you dug hard enough into the person who reported it you would find something they didnt want to be public. Irwin

Got Shovel?

*evil grin*

Tyranny wants to play hardball, then I am all for playing hardball.
I say we dig uncover, and expose.

The faster folks find out the real truth about snitches and tyranny, the faster folks can then work on legislation and changing society ijititis.

In 2010, we have the opportunity to replace 1/3 of the fools in Congress.   Only 1/3.

Not quite, Trooper.  We have the chance to replace 1/3 of the Senate.  The ENTIRE House of Representatives is re-elected (or not) every two years.  What that means is that we have an incredible opportunity to make a change NEXT YEAR.

Of course, lots of those Congress critters come from districts deliberately gerrymandered to be as protected as can be, but there will still be lots of seats up for serious competition, especially where the incumbent voted for the "stimulus" package and the folks in their districts suffer from the resulting inflation and unemployment.

1/3 of the Senate.
ALL of the H of R.

Plus, of course, all the statewide assemble / legislature / whatever your state calls it elections.

2010.  Bring it on!

Gerrymandered Districts, there are many, are Safe Seats for the Socialists.
There are Generations of Welfare Recipients that ACORN will get to the Polls,
some of them Twice in Major Metro areas. Large population centers expect gummint handouts
and know that Socialists hand it out. Thus my 1/3 comment.

I am a very firm supporter of Term Limits for that reason.

I do have some friends that live in places where having an NRA bumper sticker will get your vehicle broken into or vandalized.
Some had vehicles damaged for bumper stickers that supported other than Socialist Candidates in the past two elections.
Places that I do not choose to visit or reside.

I live on the West Coast of Iowa in Winter and at my Summer place in Kootenai County Idaho in the months with no snow.
All Gun friendly and surrounded by good folks that hunt & fish, shoot skeet and I live rural. I had a Pentagon assignment in years past
and can vouch for the fact that Mogadishu is as safe as DC after dark or Chicago at any hour.

My point is, be aware of your Community attitudes and those of your place of employment. Some things are best not advertised if you live or
work Behind Enemy lines. I am retired now after 28 years and more deployments than I care to recall.  My worst nightmare then on Active Duty would have been recruiting Duty in any major Metro. It never happened, thank God.

Be careful out there and lets get those rascals out of office in 2010!