A tale of two free-speaking teachers

America is a funny place.

Here we have Natalie Munroe, (at top) a Central Bucks High School teacher, who combined the most cherished American traditions of free speech and blogging and used them as a vehicle to ridicule her students -- and even special needs stuidents -- in ways that were mean and not at all constructive:

In the now-infamous post, Munroe wrote that she would like to tell some parents that their children were "ratlike," "frightfully dim," "dunderheads," "whiny," "tactless," and "utterly loathsome in all imaginable ways," among other things. It has since been taken down, along with all others from before her suspension.

As a result, Munroe's case has become a national talk-radio and cable-TV cause celebre, and she is even a free speech icon to some.

Then we have the case of Hope Moffett, a teacher a few miles down Route 611 at Philadelphia's Audenried High School who had the audacity to speak out against what she sees as arbitrary changes from district headquaters that will nip in the bud what she argues, persuasively, has been a successful reform program there. In other words, she is exercising her free speech to make life better for students, not to call them rats. Her reward for speaking her mind has been a reassignment from the-Mubarak-of-North-Broad-Street. And her case has received 1/1,000th the attention of loathsome Natalie Munroe.

So let's be clear.

Hope Moffett is a free speech hero.

Natalie Munroe is a zero who's merely fortunate to live in a country where there's a right to free speech.