momreads

One of our top teachers has a Facebook page, and all our kids know it. Everyone is her friend!!!! Sometimes, they post looking for homework assignments they've missed. Sometimes, they have graduated and want to reconnect. She is also the FCA sponsor, so her FCA group works with her in posting on that page. I find nothing wrong with what she does.

Now, I will mention that her students are not as professional as she is. She sees their news feed on her page, and yes, there are some "f" bombs or risky photos. The best one was when one of her students was ripping on her assignments. My son, who is one of her friends, read when he said. We both laughed. And I'm sure she saw it, too.

z123carleigh

One of my teachers has a private Myspace page and a teacher myspace page with only appropriate stuff on it.

brieb08

Teachers are people too. They have lives, but they should (like everyone else) keep them private on the internet.

I once got behind my science teacher in line at Safeway, and he was buying a few cases of beer and lots of hards lol. I joked with him and said "thanks for inviting me to your party..." We still laugh about that lol.

Son of Opie

Puritanism: The worry that somewhere, someone is having a good time.

As for the Drunken Pirate, the school gave her a degree in English instead. I would think recipients of either degree could be offended by that. That school will lose its case.

The doctor who posted case details online should be punished, because violating HIPAA doctrine is a CRIME, and keeping patient confidentiality is required by LAW. Having pictures of yourself drinking out of a red cup is neither a crime, nor governed by any current legislation.

As far as the meaning of privacy: People do get to have an opinion on my actions, but unless I'm breaking the conditions of a prior contract into which I've entered, you don't get to act on that opinion. For some school districts, the contracts the teachers sign may extend into the realm of teh interwebs, but that's not universal, and most contracts don't have language dealing specifically with this form of media.

And the wonderful thing about the internet is that a lot of what's on there is patently FALSE. We, as "the internet generation", are less inclined to believe everything we see online, the same way I don't believe the commercials that tell me "Single girls in your area are waiting to talk to you on the phone!". It's not a faster, more interactive version of pen-and-paper correspondence. It's a whole new paradigm onto which the older generation is trying desperately to retrofit its ideals, when there isn't a one-to-one correspondence. There is no "truth filter" for social networking websites. If you say that Top Gun is your favorite movie, and really you only think it's okay, the administrators will not cancel your account. Anything on a facebook profile should be taken with a grain of salt. My "about me" section right now has the lyrics to a song by Prince.

The ultimate example of authorities acting on facebook information that was in no way related to reality follows below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/ed...=1&oref=slogin

Northstarmom

More from the Wash Post story:
"Like several other teachers interviewed, Webster said she thought her page could be seen only by people she accepted as "friends." But like those of many teachers on Facebook, Webster's profile was accessible by the more than 525,000 members of the Washington, D.C., network. Anyone can join any geographic network.

Local school officials say they have no policies concerning social networking pages or blogs kept by teachers. But they said that online improprieties would fall under general guidelines requiring proper behavior in and outside school and that sketchy Web sites would be handled case by case....

In Prince William, Rich Davila, a real estate company director and the father of a 6-year-old first-grader, said that when he found a substitute teacher's risque MySpace page recently, he complained to school officials and the teacher was eventually removed. School officials said they cannot comment on the teacher's case, citing personnel rules.

The teacher's page includes a painting of a young woman lifting up her dress, exposing her lingerie, and another showing her bare chest. "I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the page," Davila said. "These Web sites are the bars and restaurants of our new era. It's like running into your teacher in a restaurant and seeing them not act appropriately. It's going to come back and haunt him."

cmbmom

Re post #18 My husband taught school for 30 years and we never lived in the neigborhood where he taught. He wanted to be able to sit on the deck and drink a beer without students gaping. And of course everytime we went to the liquor store we would run into parents and students.

Ephemeral2

It's not a big deal.
If my teachers (or colleges, for that matter) saw my facebook.... haha, thank god it's private.

Son of Opie

"Oh Noes! Our Teacherz and Docterz is drinking beerz on the interwebs!"

cptofthehouse

Son of Opie, I don't think he was violating HIPPA rules. He was just plain stupid discussing things that should not have come out. It's not just the teachers. The thing is, not everyone finds out that they missed out on something because of their on-line indiscretions. Many people when they discover info or behavior that they don't like, just black ball the person if they are applying for something. You may not know how much damage you have done to yourself.

churning

Well as for that student teacher: they denied her a teaching degree and a career, but did they give her back her tuition money? Doubt it!

Pseudonym

Sigh. Yeah, teachers should be careful what they put online just like everyone else, but since when is a picture of an adult holding a bottle of tequila shocking and horrifying? It's probably best for teachers to keep all their profiles friends-only anyway, but seriously, some of the stuff referenced in that article? Not a big deal. The case where someone was denied her teaching degree over the "drunken pirate" picture is especially ridiculous. Teachers are human, and sometimes they have a drink. If they're over 21, why is it a big deal?

My girlfriend teaches high school, and so is absolutely paranoid about what shows up online about her--even though her facebook and Myspace are friends-only, she keeps them squeaky clean just in case. Better safe than sorry...

galoisien

Teachers have real lives too you know.

So now students can find out about what teachers do out of school. I have had the luxury of having a teacher be the parent of a fellow debater from another school, such that when he was assigned to judge my school's team (he was officially affliated only with his son's team) he swore under his breath. It was sort of revealing.

The only danger it seems, is that well, by making teachers seem human, you break down their use of authority, if you know that teacher has a weak spot.

So a teacher makes a sex joke online -- so what. Do you expect teachers to be sterile organisms? Must everything in their private lives be centred around teaching? They have a role to act in school, but they should not be penalised for actions outside of school, so long as reasonable precaution was taken.

Having to protect your personality from your students even in your private life is *not* reasonable.

yousonofatree

for facebook, 2 words:

limited profile

aisgzdavinci

Whoever is stupid enough to put his/her private stuff on FB or Myspace that can be used against them deserves no sympathy.

jude_36

"Having to protect your personality from your students even in your private life is *not* reasonable."

I think it's completely reasonable. I don't tell my boss what I do in my bedroom, I don't post racy pictures of myself on my filing cabinet. I'm always very aware that ANYONE I meet could be a patient or a client. I'm aware when I post things on this forum that any one of you could walk up to me tomorrow and say 'is that you posting on CC?'.

While I don't "change" my personality, I definitely try to make sure that the things that I would not want my professional colleagues (or my children) to know are not on public display. I have some sympathy for those who *thought* they were only sharing their photos and stuff with friends, but for those who don't give it a thought, that's extremely naive and unprofessional.