Teachers Facebook Content -Think Before Posting

[williamjackson]

Teachers Facebook Content -Think Before Posting

“Social Media can be our best friend or worst enemy.”
Jacksonville Urban League â€" Leadership Summit
William Jackson

The ability of Facebook to allow educators to share their
thoughts, ideas, and feelings has created a platform that
questions just because you can say something, do you
say something and encourages, think before posting on
any Social Media platform.

The recent firing of counselor, Karon Wright after
she made statements concerning the death of several
people in the West, Texas fertilizer explosion, sparked
discussions of First Amendment rights of Freedom of
Speech and being responsible for what is stated as an
educator.

The statement leading to her firing stated by school
district comments made reference that her statements
were, “highly offensive, insensitive to the tragedy
happening to our friends and neighbors in the West,
and disrespectful to the very human bond that we share
with the people of the West, especially those who have
lost their loved ones.”

Social Media allows for quick and unfiltered comments,
this content represents the person and how they perceive
events, people and situations at their level of understanding.
Educators need to remember they are held to a higher
standard when commenting on situations and circumstances
in light of public events.
The counselor employed in Grand Prairie ISD was fired for
making very poor judgment and insensitive comments on
Facebook. Karon Wright was immediately fired after school
administrators received word of a Facebook comment she
made on television stations (WFAA-TV) Facebook page
regarding the explosion in West, Texas.

Educators should never allow frustrations and personal challenges
to prompt posting of inappropriate content online. A professional
educator should always remember to reposition and refocus
their minds to that of professional educators and the
responsibilities they have to the public. Even when not in the
classroom or on school campuses educators are held accountable
for their actions, including online postings.

In Pickering v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court held
that it’s not a First Amendment violation to dismiss probationary
teachers for what they say or write, if their speech involves
merely personal things or if the speech might disturb the workplace.
Unprofessional and inappropriate Internet postings by
college students can be used to prevent them from entering the
teaching profession. This shows unprofessional judgment and
lack of responsibility for the potential effects of their postings.
Young teachers are prone to make rash and unconsidered comments
when using Social Media.

Social Media has created a paradigm shift in the exposure educators
are receiving. Vocal words carry weight, but are not alone now
with text, pictures and video being used to judge the instructional
abilities and professionalism of educators. That being said, teachers
should be mindful of their online content that is not temporary,
but will remain online for years. Online content can present a
distraction that may cause unforeseen professional
ramifications.

The debate continues on an educator’s privacy as individuals, but
in the field of education in many ways educators and administrators
loose privacy when working in the public spotlight in a profession
that has great exposure. Working with children automatically puts
educators in the spotlight and with the progress of interactivity
on Social Media platforms, growth in Social Networks, and integration
of  Web 3.0 protocols (tools) online content is scrutinized even more
whether teachers like it or not.

In any social media situation educators should be careful of what is
said about students, their families, politics and other discussions.
Posted on the web site “The Drum” it is stated about teachers and
students that, ”teachers (should) keep their private and professional
lives separate.” The statement has proved challenging because increased
access to Social Media has created a hyper-sensitivity to information.
Online information has ramification for years. As I have shared in
presentations with teachers the way you present yourself online in
social media today may be scrutinized for over 5 years. Teacher
evaluations may also be subjected to Social Media postings as
professional behaviors.

Teacher’s will need professional development in media literacy,
Marketing and Branding themselves in this digital world. The ability
to think critically is important when posting and replying to Social
Media content.
Teachers, administrators and support staff should remember that
anything posted online will never go away, it will always be located
some place. Simplistically do not share or post any information about
any student in a social media environment even
if you think your security or personal settings will protect you.
THEY WILL NOT!!! Be cautious about posting your
ideas and opinions on social issues, religious issues and political
issues that may seem demeaning, insensitive and destructive.
You do have the right to free speech, not demeaning or slanderous.

Educators should make sure that information posted is not out of
frustration, aggravation and argumentation. Social media is not the
place to vent and even to be sarcastic. You never know who could be
reading your entries, looking at your photos and videos, importantly
who could be telling others what you said. In the digital age information
is never discarded, it is archived, stored and housed on a computer
sever some place. That is why those in professional positions as
educator, physicians, law enforcement, etc must be mindful of the
information they create and share. It could be used against you in
the future and has happened in recent court cases against educators and
even with Homeland Security officials.

Posted on Teachers and the Dangers of Social Networking (2011)
a reminder that, "teaching is a public profession and it's a public image
issue." An educator’s private information through social media is made
public. As we teach students, education will empower us to make intelligent
decisions that affect our lives. Use information and knowledge to
empower and protect yourself as professional educators and role
models in our respective communities.

More information to support teachers and social media can be found at:
NEA Social Media Nightmares
http://www.nea.org/home/38324.htm

NPR â€" Teachers Beware of Facebook
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/07/143264921/friendly-advice-for-teachers-beware-of-facebook

Texas Counselor Fired
http://www.yourblackworld.net/2013/04/black-news/texas-counselor-fired-for-making-offensive-facebook-comment-about-whites/

[KenFSU]

For context, the offensive statement that got her fired was "“It’s amazing how the ‘whites’ get angry when Obama speaks. Oh well….its most of the whites who is getting blown away. So they will soon be wiped from the earth. Lol” Goodness, regardless of her professional position, definitely not a very smart move to post something like that in a public forum. People are more than entitled to hold whatever opinions they'd like, but she should have known that there would be consequences for a statement like that.

William, I don't always agree with you, but I always find your columns interesting.

My wife's a teacher, and I've got mixed feelings about this. I don't necessarily think that providing teachers with "professional development in media literacy, marketing and branding themselves in this digital world" is a top priority considering all of the other BS they are already overloaded with. I do, however, believe that schools need to have and enforce very strict social media policies. It's one thing if a tech-savy teacher wants to tweet test reminders or homework due dates to their students from an official school Twitter account. I think things get a little blurrier though when teachers start friending students on their personal social media accounts. Bordeline creepy and unprofessional, even if the intentions are good.

Sadly, I think the best thing for educators to do would be to stay away from personal social media completely. As William correctly stated, nothing is truly private when it comes to social media. More than ever, it seems like parents always want to blame the teachers for everything these days. Hypersensitive is a great term, William. If you're going to educate, you're going to have a bullseye on your back each and every day. Someone is always going to be looking for ammo to use against you, and even the most innocous statement can be so easily misinterpreted or used against you that it just becomes more trouble than its worth.

[Jaxson]

As someone who is active on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, I beg to differ with those who believe that educators must somehow cloister themselves from interaction with the Internet.  In my opinion, like with other public aspects of our lives, a little discretion goes a long way for any person who chooses to broadcast his or her views online. 
If someone is a probationary or at-will employee, he or she should understand the tenuous nature of his or her work.  This applies to anyone in any career field.
We can point to all sorts of absurd and inflammatory comments made online and these sensational statements indeed have the potential to wreck a career.  Most of the time, however, there are millions more who use social media without making jackasses of themselves.