In today’s society everyone is online. Teachers, school officials, and students are online networking on social media platforms. It is very easy to go home and get behind your screen and have a mental block that anything you post has no effect on your 9-5 life, but it does.
Teachers have to realize social media isn’t “private” as long as there are other people online to see their posts. Posting pictures of private parties and situations that show teachers drunk and partying too hard has serious consequences leading to termination.
For the teachers that decide to accept friend request from students, or seek out student profiles, they have to be very careful with their wording. When in doubt if you wouldn’t say something to a student at school then you shouldn’t write a post, and tag the student. Teachers have gotten serious backlash for sharing a status calling a student an inappropriate name or speaking ill of a student.
Another thing that can get teachers fired is speaking ill of their supervisors, principals, or any other administration. Even with other teachers participating in a conversation, it still doesn’t make it right. Social media ranting could lead to teachers getting fired for not being respectful.
Hi Kia. I agree. I am a preshool teacher and I have a co-worker who is also a preschool teacher. She posts a lot of drinking, clubbing, and other inappropriate things on social media. She has even been denied a job because of her Facebook. Although it is totally okay to have a life outside of the classroom, it is strange to me to have such a drastically different online persona from your work one, especially one that is off private. Some things do not need to be shared, especially when you reach a certain age.
You know I was just having a conversation with family about how many things are not “ok” after a certain age. You should not want to be doing the same things at 35 as when you were 21.