Facebook: Ruining Careers one Post at a Time…..

I am sure everyone who is reading this post agrees that Social Media and being a teacher can ruin your career if you do not use your head and post something ridiculously absurd about your students. When you do such an idiotic thing, not only are you totally embarrassing yourself and ridiculing others, you are most likely sabotaging your career. However, in my district, it seems like teachers get away with this. Especially since they are tenured and our school district cannot afford the funds to fire a tenured teacher.

Being a teacher, I refuse to have a Facebook Page, Twitter or anything of the sort. Not only because I want to avoid making impulsive posts, but because I love my job so much that it is not worth the risk.All that it takes is one idiotic post and you are toast. Say goodbye to your career.I understand that people use Facebook as a place to vent their frustrations, but if you are a teacher, you should find a different outlet to vent.

What I do not understand is why some teachers who post these statuses think that just because they have marked their profile private, that it is actually private. Well, think again! You have about 500 “friends” on your friends list, who have access to everything, good or bad, that you post. And just because people are on your friends list, does not actually mean that they are your friends!! A friends list does not solidify that they are your “true” friends and that they can be trusted. Yes, to some people, being on people’s friends list is like a badge of honor, but in reality, it is only a popularity contest.Kinda like being in high school all over again.

I definitely agree with fact that when you are a teacher, you are held to a much more higher standard. Teachers are supposed to be role models, and we teach our students not to post negative comments on their Facebook profiles.In my school, cyberbullying is like an epidemic which is spreading like wild fire. This seems to be a trend with high school students who use Facebook to cyberbully. How can students refrain from/ be expected to stop posting about others when there are teachers who post about students!I know a teacher who has posted some pretty mean comments on her Facebook page about teaching and students and is currently being held under hot water.

Now, she is trying to get herself  out of trouble by saying that it was me  who gave a parent a printed out version of the posts to turn into administration. She is claiming that her profile was private and that it was done maliciously.I think this teacher is looking for a scapegoat to avoid getting into trouble. I mean really, why can’t you just accept that you made a mistake and take responsibility for your actions and face the consequences? It does not matter who handed in your posts, you posted the comments and there is no way of avoiding it. What is pointing fingers at other people going to achieve? I would not waste my time looking at her Facebook page, nor waste my time turning in her idiotic posts.

This teacher should not be posting bad comments about her students in the first place. If you hate teaching kids so much, well, then maybe you try a totally different career. I know that teachers, like any other person, have a right to freedom of speech, but I think that since teachers are viewed upon by society as role models, then they should think again before they post about their students. They should seek alternatives to venting about their students elsewhere. Perhaps writing in a journal is a much better alternative to writing about your students.

What do you guys think…..

Do teachers have a right to posting negative comments on Facebook about their students?

Should they be able to get away with posting about their students?