We also have some alcoholics teaching in the classroom too, one has even been escorted out by the police after one decided to throw something at a student. Only difference is it wasn't at the HS it was at the elementary school. We've even had a teacher arrested for selling drugs on school grounds. Not to mention the teacher who was just sentenced for possessing child porn (he was not employed at any of my kid's school but he was in the district).
The principal at the elementary school where my aunt taught was a closet alcoholic until it blew up in his face with a scandal. The truth was several months prior his wife had committed suicide (which people knew, they just didn't know how he was coping with it).
Of course it was highly improper and dangerous what the teacher the girl was talking about was doing. That did not mean the high school graduation ceremony was the place to go off on that. And one doesn't know what that teacher was going through either. Doesn't excuse the behavior absolutely not but it's terrible IMO to go off like that for a speech.
Which is probably why she decided to do the speech she did.
Had she gone through any other channels to express her concerns and complaints she'd just be brushed off because she's just a bratty teen.
I disagree. There were other channels and it's entirely possible she explored some of those already. But a high school graduation for all of her fellow classmates not the right place at all.
If her district has open meetings, that would have been the place to express concern, a formal letter to the district or even going further the state's school board (Board of Regents whatever the state calls theirs) would have been the place to express concern, over the course of the school years bringing light to what is going on would have been the place. And it's entirely possible she did some of those things. It's also entirely possible that some of those things she complained about fall under personal responsibility too.
And in all honestly I don't know what she did did anything to actually fix things.
A new guidance counselor if they wanted to fire the old one only does any good if the new one is all-knowing and perfect as can be.
As far as advising for scholarships that one may fall under personal responsibility. When I applied for college there were thousands and thousands of scholarships available you had to weed out the ones you might be eligible for (seriously there was one I believe for being Irish if IIRC lol). I never did expect anyone but myself to be responsible for finding out what I may be eligible for and I wouldn't dream of blaming my school. And when you get to college very few professors are fans of coddling and spoon feeding IME. Many expect you as a student to take that responsibility of your own success.
The work permit issue it's unclear what was the actual problem with that so I'm not sure what she was hoping to change.
And the public metaphorical pillory/stocks she placed the teacher who drank in just wasn't appropriate IMO. Doesn't excuse the behavior but two wrongs don't make a right.