<p>Facebook and Myspace pages are causing problems for teachers who reveal too much…</p>
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<p>Gotta love the closing quote from an elementary school teacher who was quite specific about her, ummm, dating habits:
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<p>Duhhh…</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702213.html]washingtonpost.com[/url”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042702213.html]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>This is a tough one. As a teacher, I make no apologies for having a facebook or MySpace page. I have reconnected with former students, and old high school and college friends that have fallen away. </p>
<p>We are people, and frankly, we are all kinds of people. Not all teachers are as bright as you would like them to be…as is the case with all professionals. Somebody had to graduate last in the class, whether it was your doctor, lawyer, accountant, or your child’s teacher…</p>
<p>I have to agree with Hedda, but add, “this is worthless without pictures”, lol.</p>
<p>It’s always best to keep a certain degree of anonimity on the internet… seems like common sense, but obviously sometimes forgotten. =/</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with teachers and professors being on Facebook/Myspace/etc., but they should think of what they choose to post there (as should the students).</p>
<p>they should just make it private, duhh</p>
<p>As far as I know, 3 teachers at my school have facebook pages. One of them refuses to friend a student until they graduate. The trick is not to be stupid (that goes for students and teachers). Don’t post any inappropriate stuff. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>I knew a teacher who was outraged when people complained about the crude content on her Myspace page. She said that what she does in school is all that matters, and her private life is private. Well, um, yeah, until you make it PUBLIC by creating a page with nude pictures and comments about your lifestyle, drunken pictures, etc. </p>
<p>I’m all for privacy, but apparently lots of people think ‘privacy’ means ‘I can do what I want and you have no right to have an opinion about it’.</p>
<p>The teacher who refuses to “friend” a student until they graduate is very wise. In this day and age when a teacher’s career can be abruptly ended by the hint of impropriety, it is foolish to become to familiar with a current student. </p>
<p>I think facebook/myspace are great, when used with some not so common sense.</p>
<p>How can the “internet generation” be so stupid?</p>
<p>If you want your privacy, don’t post your life online and leave your privacy settings where the world can see it.</p>
<p>It isn’t just a problem with teachers. Anyone, including students, are at risk when posting private info online. Especially info that can be used against you. There was a doctor who lost a major law suit because he was foolish enough to post about his case online. </p>
<p>I cringe when I see some of these blogs that have turned into private diaries gone public. I think some of the writers forget that ANYONE can be reading those entries. And anyone can lift your pictures and put your face on the back end of a donkey somewhere. There are risks for everyone when they go online. </p>
<p>I’m really not happy with so many highschool kids now going onto face book and myspace. Some of them are really too young to understand possible consequences.</p>
<p>I think colleges/grad schools would be wise to offer seminars to students on professional behavior/etiquette/etc. In my profession, I see so many bright and well intentioned young people who just don’t seem to understand the ramifications of posting on Facebook. They think they are protected if they limit settings to private. They don’t seem to understand that offers very little real protection. </p>
<p>Someone needs to tell the teacher referred to in post #8 that she is a public servant and her behavior is subject to evaluation whenever she is in public.</p>
<p>Recently a student teacher was not granted her certificate because of behavior that was posted on her myspace. She has sued the university and the commonwealth, but regardless of the outcome, it will be a VERY long time until she is hired. </p>
<p>I really feel sorry for these young adults who are basically good people but who are pretty immature.</p>
<p>anyone got any female teachers provacative pages?
i know someone know some</p>
<p>[MySpace</a> photo prevents teacher certification, lawsuit follows Moving at the Speed of Creativity](<a href=“http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007/05/07/myspace-photo-prevents-teacher-certification-lawsuit-follows/]MySpace”>MySpace photo prevents teacher certification, lawsuit follows – Moving at the Speed of Creativity)</p>
<p>[FIRE</a> - Student Denied Degree Due to MySpace Picture; Litigation Commenced](<a href=“http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/7987.html]FIRE”>Newsdesk | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)</p>
<p>A student teacher denied her teaching degree over a picture of her as “a drunken pirate”. She was holding a plastic cup.</p>
<p>For the attorneys
[Higher</a> Ed Law Prof Blog: Lawsuit of alumna denied teaching certificate due to photo on Facebook](<a href=“http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/highered/2008/03/lawsuit-of-alum.html]Higher”>http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/highered/2008/03/lawsuit-of-alum.html)</p>
<p>teachers can have their own lives out of school
they shouldn’t post offensive and lewd stuff not just because of their profession, but primarily because they’re being immature as adults</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>One of my teachers has a private Myspace page and a teacher myspace page with only appropriate stuff on it.</p>
<p>Teachers are people too. They have lives, but they should (like everyone else) keep them private on the internet. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Puritanism: The worry that somewhere, someone is having a good time.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>The ultimate example of authorities acting on facebook information that was in no way related to reality follows below: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/education/edlife/facebooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/education/edlife/facebooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin</a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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…</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>