The Headteachers Union has said that schools should tell new teachers what they can and cannot do on Facebook because apparently many younger teachers are letting their pupils be all friendly with them and funnily enough the kids take advantage of this.
What does this say about the IQ of new teachers? Whilst my own Facebook page consists of little more than the trivial witterings of bored mothers labouring under the mistaken impression that the story of their two year old eating his first ice cream is somehow of interest to the outside world, I imagine that if I were 20 years younger it might contain rather more exciting stuff. One thing I do know is that I would make sure that my life outside work was kept well away from the prying eyes of those I taught.
Schools should simply regard the whole Facebook thing as Darwinian Selection. The intelligent teachers will not share their private lives with the pupils and will have no problems, whereas the dumb ones will. Why not just let them suffer the consequences?
15 comments:
Thank you for another essential article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a complete way of writing? I have a presentation incoming week, and I am on the lookout for such information.
Having seen some of the stuff my kids' teachers have posted - with very low privacy levels - I'd have to agree. They can't be that bright if they don't think kids are going to take total advantage.
I'm actually quite horrified at what some people think is acceptable to display, essentially in the public domain.
Nanny state rides again. Trying to protect people from their own stupidity. Let them get on with it.
In my first year of teaching I was given some very sound advice, which I should like to pass on to any young teacher.
(i) You can be friendly but never friends; remember you are not their mate.
(ii) Live outside the catchment area: you don’t want the staff, let alone the children, to know you’ve got something going with the R.E. mistress.
(iii) Make sure your telephone number is ex-directory.
(iv) As a rule, don’t talk about your family, except to hint that you have a disreputable twin brother: he will prove an indispensable asset when you are spotted lurching out of a pub on a Saturday night.
(v) Above all, never screw the crew.
I'm not entirely sure why it's suddenly considered necessary to issue yet another set of guidelines on what is, after all, just basic common sense. Those who grasp the importance of it are already taking sensible precautions, while those who don't will assume that it doesn't apply to them and carry on regardless.
I would suggest the basic premise is:
a) Assume the kids will look for your Facebook profile and find it.
b) Assume that they'll put the worst possible interpretation on anything even remotely incriminating that you've posted there.
Friending kids on facebook, no. Punishing teachers for having pictures of them drunk? fuck that noise. Teachers are people too, and it's naive to think that seeing a teacher drunk on fb is going to set a bad example for the kids when the rest of the population is behaving the same way.
Nice comment, Anon (above). It's crude and primitive sheep like you who will move the profession forrward, no doubt!
What happened to the Old Days when teachers were 'educated'? Now they're merely 'skilled' - well, some of them are...
XX Fee said...
They can't be that bright if they don't think kids are going to take total advantage.XX
Their problem is, they have been poisoned into thinking that all the dear little children are inherently good.
The natural state of things is; empty, cold, devoid, etc.
Therefore left wing social working morons, and teachers are deluding themselves to say that “all children are born inherently good.
“Good” is a condition of conforming to a set of morals, attitudes, and ideas, which society accepts generally as “good”. They are a societal control on the base, wild nature of the human animal.
Allow me to repeat, the natural state of things is; empty, cold, devoid, etc.
People are born as “a blank sheet”. Therefore none of the morals, attitudes, and ideas that make “good” exist.
Base humanity, animalistic instincts, is exactly the opposite of what society accepts as “good”.
Therefore, contrary to the commy imbeciles world view, children are born inherently BAD.
The sooner teachers (social workers/Courts/Governments/etc) realise this, the sooner they will realise that FB is a TERRIBLY bad idea.
Y not a Marvel Comics Team up - frank and natalie!
http://natalieshandbasket.blogspot.com/
Facebook in Ruraltown is simply the latest way for the dependency classes to threaten to kill each other, burn each other's council house down and kidnap their various multi-fathered children. Before this it was by text message. We now have a specialist unit to deal with all this nonsense, since the government insist we make a report of all 'threats to kill' and Facebook inc. won't make records available, it's a damn full time job.
Seems to me that most teachers have never had any time in the real world out of the education system, and what they got in the education system was more than a little lacking. With no commonsense, new teachers need to be force-fed "Lord of the Flies" by Golding to ensure that they start to understand life, in all its fullness. Or then again, maybe if they were taught family systems theory instead of pinko propaganda they would understand that making someone suffer the consequences of their actions, whether good or bad is an educational experience that should not be missed. And might even prevent a visit to casualty later in life when they mouth off at the wrong eprson.
It can be the best way if the things work in proper way. Its all about putting the things in right way to give anybody a chance to understand and apply them. So its good to have teachers on facebook as well the kids who are really follow them in a good manner.
Great article! I totally agree - teachers should be more careful as to what information they're willing to share on facebook. But in reality, this also applies to all facebook users. People seem too willing to share personal details without much thought behind it.
Agree with Jaljien, being friends with a pupil on Facebook has to be one of the most irresponsible things a teacher could do.
My facebook is full of exciting stuff. I'm not gonna hide my true self. I find teachers who try and be good all the time and don't do what they want are a bit depressed and repressed.
http://teachingisitmeorisitthejob.blogspot.com
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