1. Is it fair to scrutinize teachers' private lives (either online or offline)?
Generally speaking, I do not think that it is okay for teachers private lives to be scrutinized. However there are certain circumstances where a teacher should be scrutinized for their actions that may or may not be posted to the internet. When becoming a teacher, you must understand that people are holding you up to a much higher standard than say, your next door neighbor who is a business women. For example, when a parent finds out what teacher their child is going to have, they are going to start asking around and snooping on the internet to find our anything and everything about you. I don't think that any parent would want to find nude photos of their child's teacher on the internet or find them passed out drunk at a bar on sunday night. These are two extremes but it is possible that it is happened before. I believe that there is a very think line with what you are aloud to do and what you are not not aloud to do, if you are a teacher. A lot of times is also depends on the parents and what they think is right and wrong. Personally I do not see anything wrong with a picture of a teacher at a bar with a glass of wine in their hands. If the teacher is over 21, then they are aloud to be doing that. After a long week of teaching, it is not uncommon for teachers to do this. I do however think that it is inappropriate to post explicit pictures or anything that you're student could find that would make them see you in an inappropriate manner.
2. Should teachers maintain a presence on social networking sites? Why or why not? As a teacher, what steps can you take to protect yourself f rom criticism and/or sanctions when using social media sites?
I personally believe that it is perfectly fine for teachers to maintain a presence on social networking sites. Teachers are aloud to have a life outside of their career and social networking may be a way for many teachers to do just that. Whether it be for personal reasons or for classroom and education reasons, I think that it is okay for teachers to use such sites such as Facebook, twitter and blog spot, along with many others. I do however think that teachers should monitor what they post on the internet. Once something gets posted, it is in the internet forever for the world to see. Like I said before, teachers should know that they are being held to a higher standard and that is why they should monitor what they post. If I were a teacher and had social networking cites such as Facebook and Twitter, I would be extremely careful not to mix my personal life with my professional life. I would also make it not possible to be searched or found through Facebook. By doing this you greatly lessen the chance that one of your students will be able to find you and see things about your personally life. For example one teacher that I had my senior year in high school had her Facebook blocked so that none of her students could find her online. My friends and I one day, tried every way possible to try and find her on Facebook, and it was impossible. As far as we were concerned she did not even have one. I think that this is a really important way to make sure that your personal life stays separated from your professional life.
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