It appears that there is a weekly firing of a teacher somewhere in the United States for violating a law or rule in relation to technology. Almost always these same cases also result with criminal punishment. How can parents feel their children are safe where almost every person in the classroom has some form of social media technology? Even at the elementary school level you can find students who have some form of social media or technology. Teachers can’t avoid technology it is virtually impossible, but in this blog we will explore ways on how teachers can avoid the negative sides of it’s usage.
So here is our first thought…..
Why can’t technology (Such as Social media) be used as a learning platform?
Here is a video of a case from New Hampshire where a teacher was terminated for not willing to unfriend students from her Facebook account. Take a look.
Long-time teacher Carol TheBarge added many of her former and then current students as friends on the popular social media website Facebook. The administration told her to either comply by unfriending the students or should would be terminated. TheBarge did not comply so she was ultimately terminated from her job. She believes that social media websites such as Facebook can be used a way to connect with students positively and as a learning platform. The superintendent said she was terminated because the school has a policy in place where teachers can not interact with students over any social media platform.
Should TheBarge been fired? Should she have known better being a long time teacher? At her age shouldn’t she just comply?
Lets look at one more case of just how dangerous social media can be. Here is an article and video that shows a case of a teacher being terminated for using the social media platform Twitter in a way that you would never imagine.
See the article here: https://nowthisnews.com/videos/news/teacher-is-fired-for-white-nationalist-twitter-and-podcast
25 year old teacher Dayanna Volitish created a separate Twitter account under another name where she tweeted racist and extreme views. Although she did not use her own personal account and made a different account under another name she was still terminated. This case does even involve the classroom, but shows how teachers can still be affected by social media when outside of school.
Should teachers not be watched more closely by administration after seeing this case? I would say that schools should really put a close look into who they hire. It is almost impossible to watch every teacher’s movements on social media, with the number of platforms there are today. Especially when it comes down to making fake accounts to hide different sides of the teacher.
How To Avoid The Teacher Technology Firing Epidemic
Here is a great article on how teachers can be fired.
Read the Article here: http://www.nea.org/home/38324.htm
My way of summing up this entire article is: USING COMMON SENSE. If teachers would just use common sense (Granted not everyone has it), they would avoid the majority of these problems. Here are my Tips to Follow by, with doing the opposite of these will most likely get you terminated as a teacher….
Tip #1: Do not use social media to interact with students
-If you absolutely have to wait until later in life. You do not need to be friends with your students on Facebook or any other social media website while they are still in school.
Tip #2: Do not use social media to express thoughts or emotions about your school environment/Watch what you post
-There is always a parent or student who will take the lead in searching a teacher on social media websites. The article shows that teachers who post pictures of drinking alcohol or at a party can result in negative reactions from students and parents. Even if you set your account to private there is still ways for these posts or pictures to be reached.
Tip #3: Know and obey your administration’s rules & policies with social media/technology
Tip #4: Know FERPA
-FERPA is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. FERPA does not allow third parties to access important or private information belonging to a student. The student must give consent for any information to be released. Teachers can avoid this by making sure there is no possibilities of private student information to be accessed by teachers or other students in the classroom.
Tip #5: Cooperate
-If a teacher or anyone in society cooperates, then the chances of being successful in life is that much greater.
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @CoachKTech1