Nov 15
Troubling Words
Should someone be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, because of what they write on their blogs or social networking pages on their own time?
It’s getting to be a more commonly asked question these days.
Recently, a North Carolina school teacher found herself with a lot of explaining to do after someone pointed out to her superiors that her Facebook page contained a write-up that the teacher had supposedly written herself. Her bosses weren’t pleased by what they found:
“Superintendent Peter Gorman has recommended firing a teacher who listed “teaching chitlins in the ghetto of Charlotte” as one of her activities and drinking as one of her hobbies.
“In her ‘About Me’ section she wrote: ‘I am teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte.’”
That’s not exactly the kind of comment that would do well to endear a teacher to her students. But still, it’s America, and there’s supposed to be Freedom of Speech, right?
Or is it?
No one is proposing, from what I can tell, that a teacher doesn’t have the right to post such things. But with exercising that right comes consequences, and that should mean that the right bears responsibility.
What do you think? Should such comments be enough to kick a teacher to the curb, or should the school and any concerned parents just look the other way and pretend it’s no big deal? How would you feel if it were your child’s teacher?
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November 15th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Informed people had better be careful what they write about on the Internet. Screamin’ Remo had to go private (back on AOL) because his superiors at work chastised him. I’ve seen at least two bloggers lose jobs over what they wrote in their blogs. I’m careful, these days, to not say negative things about neighbors. Because a person could get in deep trouble.
November 15th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
You must take personal responsibility for what you publish in a public forum and not be surprised if there is negative fallout. I would be very unhappy if that were my child’s teacher and she had so little regard for her profession and her students. I personally have the boss from hell and her crazy antics make for great posts BUT no matter how much I want to shout it from the roof tops I have been very cautious to keep those rants in a private journal and closely monitor who has access. I think it is a matter of common sense and some people do not exercise those muscles.
November 16th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Long ago I decided to NEVER commit my thoughts to paper or terminal regarding my job(s), co-workers and employers, nor neighbors and friends. I was reminded last year through an unanticipated dust-up that even references to family members must perforce be verboten unless express written permission is granted.
Sounds to me like the teacher in question failed to exercise sound judgment on her social networking site. Sad to lose a job for cause (and therefore her present career). Hope she learns from her mistakes.
And so it goes…
November 16th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
America’s “Freedom of Speech” does not mean “freedom to say/write whatever pops into your head without consequence.” It never has and never should mean anything else. All it means is that America provides an environment where you will not be prevented from saying or writing something prior to the act. We have plenty of laws and legal rulings that do allow for punishment when those statements are inappropriate, but those rules only apply after the act of free speech has been exercised–not prior.
The lady in question… Clearly she’s not that bright, so she probably shouldn’t be a teacher anyway. If you’re dumb enough to post such comments in a public forum and not expect to get caught, then really… how intelligent can you be? There have been enough news stories in the past decade to warn people that this kind of half-cocked web-posting will come back to haunt a person.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Clearly, the person in question is stupid. And I, for one, would prefer to have my children taught by someone who is, you know, not. I’d fire her ass, too.