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A 4-year-old boy and his mom got a big surprise after mom posted a comment about his private school on her Facebook page: the preschooler was asked to learn his ABC's elsewhere.
Ashley Habat, from Florida, says she was upset because she didn't feel the administrators at Sonshine Christian Academy gave parents enough notice about picture day. When she expressed this sentiment to an administrator after checking her son Will in late on picture day, she was told a note was placed in her son's folder the week before.
But that excuse didn't satisfy Habat. She did what a lot of us do when we want to vent: she posted a comment about the source of her frustrations on Facebook. And that one move was enough to get her son expelled from the institution.
To be fair, her comment was probably more ruthless than the situation called for. Habat reportedly wrote: "Why is it that every single day there is something new I dislike about Will's School? Are my standards really too high or are people working in the education field really just that ignorant."
Not nice. But, okay, this is supposed to be a free country and all -- so Habat should, technically, be allowed to post whatever she wants on her social media account.
But, by the same token, Sonshine Christian Academy is not a public institution and has the freedom to accept and reject students. It works both ways.
Habat says she tagged the school in her post, but she also says it was meant to be read by only her Facebook friends -- so that part is a bit unclear.
She was asked to come into school the day after she wrote the post and speak with administrators after she dropped off Will. That was when she was given the news that her son was no longer welcome to attend classes at Sonshine Christian Academy.
In the letter of dismissal, it states: "You utilized social media to call into question not only the integrity but the intelligence of our staff ... These actions are also consistent with sowing discord, which is spoken of in the handbook you signed."
I feel awful for her little boy -- it's terrible to rip him away from his friends and teacher because of a dumb thing his mother wrote on Facebook. And I wish the school, particularly because I assume it believes in Christian values -- one of which is forgiveness -- would have at least given Habat a warning before taking such an extreme measure.
But, at the end of the day, a private school has every right to make the final call on which students it will or will not accept. These administrators likely felt Habat would poison the well with her attitude about its teachers and regulations -- and, therefore, it makes sense that they would rather see her place her son in a school that better suits her needs.
What do you think? Did this school do the wrong thing expelling the mom's son because of her Facebook post?
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