Facebook and teachers: Still a potentially dangerous combination for your career
While ex Barrow County teacher Ashley Payne still awaits her day in court over the Facebook page photos of her trip to Europe that landed her in hot water with her principal and to a resignation that she maintains was coerced, other teachers continue to get in trouble over their social networking sites.
Among the latest casualty: A Massachusetts school administrator resigned at the end of last week after posting on her Facebook page that the parents in her upscale town were “arrogant” and “snobby.” June Talvitie-Siple was the program supervisor for science and math at Cohasset High School until school officials found out about the comments.
The 30-year veteran also posted that she was, “so not looking forward to another year at Cohasset Schools.” And she called students “germ bags.” Unlike Payne who limited her Facebook page to her friends, Talvitie-Siple had not restricted the wall of her Facebook page. Parents spotted the comments and alerted the superintendent who asked Talvitie-Siple to resign. She complied, saying that she would have likely done the same thing if she were school chief.
“I made a stupid mistake, it may have cost me my career,” said Talvitie-Siple, who has since changed her Facebook settings and wants other teachers to learn from her mistake.
“I take full responsibility for my stupidity and I hope it serves as an example to kids that they need to be very, very vigilant about their privacy,” she told ABC News
In a case similar to Ashley Payne’s experience, a sociology professor at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania was suspended for a posting to her Facebook page, which she said she had on the highest privacy settings.
Writing in jest, Professor Gloria Gadsden wrote: “Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman? Yes, it’s been that kind of day?” A few months later, she posted, “had a good day today. DIDN’T want to kill even one student. 
. Now Friday was a different story.”
As happened to Payne, someone with access to the “private” Facebook page notified the school of Gadsden’s jokes. In Payne’s case, the anonymous note was written by someone alleging to be a parent whose teen was a Facebook friend of Payne’s. Payne says she had no students as friends and no student has ever been found. In fact, the district has yet to determine the source of the e-mail. You can read here why I am pretty sure another teacher wrote the incriminating e-mail that led to Payne losing her job.
In 2008, North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools disciplined seven educators for their social networking postings, including an elementary school teacher who posted derogatory statements about her young students on Facebook.
The teacher listed “teaching chitlins in the ghetto of Charlotte” among her interests on her Facebook profile. In her About Me section, the teacher also wrote, “I am teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte.”
According to the Charlotte Observer:
John Gresham of Charlotte, who represents the teacher, said she only meant to share her comments with friends with access to her page on the popular social networking site. She now faces possible firing for listing “teaching chitlins in the ghetto of Charlotte” among her activities.
“Facebook pages are only meant to be viewed by people permitted to see them,” said Gresham, who questioned how her private postings became public.
On Thursday, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools spokeswoman Nora Carr said the district allows teachers to post personal information online, but had to take action because it affected the teacher’s ability to interact with students and parents. She called the comments racially insensitive or offensive to students at Thomasboro Elementary School, where she teaches. “Clearly, when there is poor professional judgment, it impacts the teacher’s ability to do their job,” Carr said.
CMS officials plan to send a memo to their 19,000 employees saying that Web postings that can be viewed by the public should be appropriate.
A 26-year-old third-grade CMS teacher who did not want her name used, fearing reprisals, said the district hasn’t clearly specified what employees can and cannot post on such sites. Most teachers think if they keep their profiles private, she said, they’ll be safe.
“Our principal encouraged us to use our profiles to post links like ‘Adopt A Classroom’ to bring in potential donors,” she said. “But, given the recent investigations, he also told us to be careful about our Facebook material.”
CMS announced earlier this week it had suspended the teacher and disciplined four others for postings on Facebook. The action came after WCNC, the Observer’s news partner, discovered the pages on the Web site by searching for people who identified themselves as CMS employees.
Postings include photos of female teachers in sexually suggestive poses and a black male teacher who listed “Chillin wit my n—as!!!” as an activity.
In her “About Me” section, the suspended teacher wrote: “I am teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte.” Most students at Thomasboro Elementary are minorities from low-income homes.
Gresham said the district took action against her because officials were embarrassed by news reports. He questioned whether it was appropriate for a reporter to air private postings.
He said the teacher is helping the district with grading while she is suspended, and has been sharing lesson plans.
Teachers nationwide have been fired or suspended for online postings. Among them: A Colorado English teacher lost her job for posting her sexually explicit poetry on MySpace, a Florida band director was fired for a profile that included “his musings about sex, drugs and depression,” and a Virginia art teacher lost his job for posting photos of his “butt art,” done by painting his private parts and pressing them onto canvas.
I still go back to what Tim Callahan of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators said in response to the Ashley Payne incident.
We have talked to teachers about their expectations of privacy in this new world. As American citizens, they have a First Amendment Right to have a Facebook page, but we are telling them, ‘Don’t do it.”’
I think it is good advice. What do you think?
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127 comments Add your comment
Chris Potts
August 23rd, 2010
2:52 pm
One of my dearest high school friends, a teacher, recently went missing on Facebook.and I didn’t understand why until now. Turns out she wasn’t worried as much about embarrassing content, as she was about the parents of her students trying to track her down on school-related matters. Facebook certainly has its pros and cons, but what a shame that my friend feels the risks just aren’t worth the rewards. Guess we’ll have to resort back to e-mail, phone calls or good ole’ snail mail!
Phlash
August 23rd, 2010
3:03 pm
This is what happens when people “think out loud.” It’s bad enough that such blogs have to tell us utterly pointless things about people (number of bowel movements per day, etc), but these “educators” HAD to know their posts would be read! Unless, of course, these teachers thought (as I do) that no one really reads Facebook posts because they are completely lame. Alas, I suppose people DO waste their time reading what others are doing in their mundane and unremarkable lives.
cobb mother
August 23rd, 2010
3:06 pm
Dah! anyone can go on your site and friend someone while you are not looking. My daughter has had friends, friend other friends parents while she is at their house and gone into the bathroom and left her i-phone in the bedroom. I asked why was Mrs. S her friend, it was because so and so friend her. My 10 year old randomly accepts everyones friend request that comes in our computer. I have to go in and delete.
Springs
August 23rd, 2010
3:12 pm
When will people learn what I’ve been telling my kids for many years. Nothing posted on the internet is private. So-called “Friends” will turn against you the first chance they get. I’ve never been on Facebook or any other social networking site and I never will. If it’s important, you can call me and tell me about it.
Tom
August 23rd, 2010
3:12 pm
@Drew – right on the money!
White boy
August 23rd, 2010
3:37 pm
What if the situation were reversed and the suspended CMS teacher was black and she commented on Facebook that she taught a bunch of little Klanners in training?
I am as white as a gallon of milk and you would call me a redneck if you knew me, and it really pizzes me off that a teacher would not only think something like that about little children, must less be stupid enough to put it in writing. Makes you wonder how having disdain and disrespect like that in her heart manifests itself in her relations with her students.
Shame on her and she should have her a## thrown to the curb.
Lea
August 23rd, 2010
4:16 pm
The rule we are told in our district is “Don’t put anything on your page you wouldn’t want on the front page of the newspape.r”.
beyond the pail
August 23rd, 2010
4:42 pm
Drew, Cissy, Interested Observer, Seen It All – You are exactly right.
TD – Free Speech is NOT the the same as Freedom From Consequences (which does not exist, by the way)
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:05 pm
item one:
its not censorship. you can still say damn near anything you wish. the goverment won’t toss you in jail.
there is NO section of the constitution which protects folks from the social, moral, financial, ect consequences of their use of free speech.
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:08 pm
item two:
like it or not, educators, clergy, elected officials ect (excepting Beverly Hall) live in a glass house. higher scrutiny comes with the territory.
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:11 pm
item three:
in this day and time, any teacher who is stupid enough to post that kind of stuff on facebook deserves to get run.
there have been more than enough examples of people getting in hot water due to facebook ect comments — if you’re not smart enough to look at trends, see the cause and effect in action, and not vent under an alias in a neutral site
you don’t need to be in a classroom. you’re too stupid to teach.
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:12 pm
item four:
anyone stupid enough to put their business out on facebook has just
surrendered their right to privacy.
cynthia
August 23rd, 2010
5:20 pm
The misuse of the word discrete by a university professor speaks volumes.
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:25 pm
@ Maureen,
its not just clergy spouses, it their family and friends et al.
back in the dark ages when I was in HS, I dated a preacher’s kid.
three things still resonate to this day:
1) once we held hands walking her home after church. people complained about inappropriate behavior.
2) another time she got ill at church and passed out. I was nearest to her and caught her. I carried her to their family car with her parents clearing a path. more complaints of improper behavior.
3) my favorite: I was working in my own yard, miles away from her/her family. it was hot, so I tossed my shirt (I was about 50 lbs lighter in those days – wouldn’t dream of it now). someone driving by saw me and yup – complained.
amazingly enough, I quit seeing her soon afterwards. too much drama.
and so many people wonder why preachers kids run so wild when they get the chance…
the simple fact is, some professions come with an expectation of a higher expectation of behavior standards than others. no one is forced to enter these professions – if the standards are too high, reconsider.
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:28 pm
deal with it people.
next time you apply for a job, you can damn sure bet someone is gonna google you, with special attention to your facebook and myspace pages.
some a modicum of taste and keep your private business
ready now…
TO YOURSELF
bootney farnsworth
August 23rd, 2010
5:32 pm
I dated a Elementary school teacher eons ago who taught in a small town south of Atlanta.
in public, she would take my arm, and that was it. no drinking with dinner. when we had a big/special event we went downtown Atl where neither her students or their parents were likely to run into her.
anonymous?
August 23rd, 2010
6:25 pm
This article quoted a 26 year old third grade teacher who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. Way to protect her identity. I’m sure CMS officials won’t be able to narrow that one down…
Sara
August 23rd, 2010
6:28 pm
Teachers have a right to their privacy, BUT FACEBOOK IS NOT PRIVATE!!!! You can’t expect to have privacy when other people can see what you are doing – that is the definition of NOT being private.
Now, look at this from the perspective of a student. How would you feel if your teacher called where you live or where you go to school ghetto – even if it is? How would you feel if that teacher wasn’t as nice as you thought she should be? I know if I were a student who knew about said teacher’s postings, I would think the teacher was racist or worse. Perhaps the teacher isn’t, but the post gives the APPEARANCE of negativity and impropriety to the students and parents – it doesn’t matter if it is true. Teachers need to realize that they have very PUBLIC positions. Kids look up to them and kids need encouragement – not to be bought down by some teacher who is unhappy about where he or she has to teach. If you don’t like the school where you teach, go find another job – don’t put the kids or the parents down. You need to just move on.
Private School Guy
August 23rd, 2010
6:37 pm
There are no end to the things that I have seen held against someone by a supervisor – being gay, inter-racial dating, being Catholic, being jewish, being from up north, not being from up north, not being gay, not being Jewish, not being born again. Ain’t the human race grand? They could not fire a person for these reasons but could make work unpleasant.
Atlanta mom
August 23rd, 2010
6:37 pm
Lea,
That’s exactly what I tell my kids. “Don’t put anything on your page you wouldn’t want on the front page of the newspaper”
And how about: “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything”? It’s one thing to speak to a friend in private, but why would you post anything in cyberspace and think it won’t come back to bite you in the ……….?
I understand teenagers might not get it, but no excuses for adults.
Kim
August 23rd, 2010
6:41 pm
I am curious about the absence of comments about the flip side of this — can students and parents post negative things about teachers? I am not taking any side on this argument, just curious.
William Casey
August 23rd, 2010
6:55 pm
As a retired teacher/coach, Facebook is a wonderful tool for keeping in touch with former students and players. One of my big gripes as a teacher was that I seldom knew how the kids turned out. Facebook makes that possible. It’s a good deal!
benny
August 23rd, 2010
6:58 pm
In 20 years I have never had anyone from PAGE or GAE talk to me about anything. That is why I dropped them as they are basically just ripping teachers off. I am sure someone will take exception to this but the truth is the truth. Even the local yokels in the schools that represent these two impotent organizations will not brief teachers. USELESS.
Atlanta mom
August 23rd, 2010
7:08 pm
““Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman? Yes, it’s been that kind of day”
You think if a student had posted that he/she wouldn’t be in an alternative school the next day?
TL
August 23rd, 2010
7:25 pm
I do not think that teachers’ personal lives should cause such a problem but I absolutely do agree with firing the teachers who post derogatory statements about students. We need those teachers in those classroom caring about those children and about their futures. If they call them derogatory names, what are they doing in the room? There is no WAY a teacher can effectively teach a students if she thinks negatively of them. She just won’t put enough into it to make a difference.
ScienceTeacher671
August 23rd, 2010
7:27 pm
@Kim, haven’t there been court cases that found students couldn’t be punished for posting inflammatory things about teachers and administrators on the internet?
Johnny
August 23rd, 2010
7:30 pm
I think Facebook should redo their privary act before it comes out of hand. By the way anything that goes on the internet will come back and haunt your a**
wolf
August 23rd, 2010
7:47 pm
It seems that we hold those who educate our children to such a high standard, they must rise beyond mere mortals in every sense. They are never allowed a human bit of negative emotion, or to vent their true feeling,because, after all, they are educating our children. As for the parents of these children… not so much.
Robert
August 23rd, 2010
7:56 pm
Private School Guy,
You’re actually wrong, people CAN be fired for being gay. That’s why LGBT groups are pushing for ENDS (Employment Non-Discrimination Act). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Non-Discrimination_Act
Chicagojeff
August 23rd, 2010
8:03 pm
In Law Enforcement.. and we’ve already had a number of officers and supervisors fired for internet/facebook postings. We talk about it in roll call and counsel younger officers about making good choices. Common sense will keep you safe IMO.. Whining about political correctness is silly.. just use your damn head.
White boy
August 23rd, 2010
8:19 pm
Sara–right on.
Chynadoll131
August 23rd, 2010
8:53 pm
Don’t post where you work morons. And don’t be friends with anyone you work with. I teach, and if anyone searches for me, they won’t find me. You can leave the “work” section blank. Your real friends know where you work.
YesI'maFacebookingUsingTeacher
August 23rd, 2010
9:24 pm
Too often teachers forget that we are scrutinized more than others. People of other professions can get upset and call someone by a derogatory name or post something adult themed and get away with it….teachers can not! My fellow educators please wake up and realize that you need to keep your “clean/boring” image for the public and let loose in private…..FYI THE INTERNET IS NOT PRIVATE!!!!
Jeff
August 23rd, 2010
9:42 pm
When dealing with privacy online, I always refer to the trash-can-on-the-street method that the police use. While your garbage is on your property, the police have no legal right (without a warrant) to search through your garbage. However, when you place your trash can on the street for pick up, the garbage is then considered “public property” with anyone having the right to access it, including the cops. Now, why would you automatically assume that posting something online would have any expectation of privacy. For those teachers who wish to bad mouth their parents/students, get a spiral bound notebook at Wal-Mart for 19 cents and use it! I don’t understand where these people get their notions that anything online is safe. Someone will ALWAYS spill the beans about what has been/is being said online. Don’t ever assume anything is safe. And please use some common sense. With all the recent shootings in schools/on campuses, why would you seriously, as a highly educated professional, “make a joke” about shooting students? Umm, what we’re lacking here is some darn common sense.
Angela M. Alexander
August 23rd, 2010
9:42 pm
I am deeply saddened that children are left in the charge of people you’d think could be trusted. Unfortunately, colleges don’t offer Common Sense 101 or Character 101. I believe this is greatly needed.
booklover
August 23rd, 2010
9:58 pm
I’m sure this is too nuanced of an argument, but here goes:
1) Of course it’s stupid (Not to mention unprofessional) to post negative info about your students.
2) As far as criticizing the district, last I checked, teachers are not mindless serfs but TAXPAYERS who have as much as right to criticize a public institution as anyone else. In fact, if I know something is amiss at my school, don’t I have a responsibility to let others know about it? (facebook isn’t the right medium, though)
3) I’m tired of being fed this “cultural sensitivity” spiel here in GA when few are sensitive to my culture. I grew up in the beer-drinking upper midwest. Almost every time my family went out to eat, we would run into one of my teachers, or some other “public” person, and guess what? Almost all of them were drinking! Even the priests! In Wisconsin, it is still legal for parents to give their children a beer at a bar, regardless of age. You can cluck-cluck all you want to, but that’s my culture.
4) Speaking of other cultures… yeah, I grew up in the midwest, went to college down south, then lived abroad for a few years, then moved to GA… so i have friends and family who live literally all over the world. I cannot speak glowingly enough of how facebook has allowed us to keep in touch.
The people comparing teachers to priests: get real. You might have a martyr complex, but that doesn’t make you holy. Teachers are human and we deserve to be treated as such.
monocle
August 23rd, 2010
10:03 pm
But wait. There’s more: http://articles.courant.com/2010-08-05/community/hc-windsor-locks-superintendent-0806-20100805_1_special-board-meetings-board-chairwoman-patricia-king-windsor-locks-middle-school
booklover
August 23rd, 2010
10:11 pm
Oh and another thing, whatever standards teachers are held to?
We need to hold parents to the same standards, if not higher. I mean, they are raising the children, right? Don’t parents need to be perfect, too?
adam
August 23rd, 2010
10:20 pm
Benny is so correct. PAGE and GAE are not unions. They’re “professional “organizations catering to administrators whims.
KK
August 23rd, 2010
10:31 pm
Teachers actually do have to refrain from talking about clients, which would be students and their parents. It’s a confidentiality issue. However, if a teacher doesn’t talk about a SPECIFIC student or parent, it’s not a breach of confidentiality. If you don’t want to keep your job, however, go ahead and say whatever you like on Facebook.
A parallel of this situation would be a sales rep posting derogatory comments about his or her clients on Facebook. It could get back to the client. Probably would. Why would the sales rep risk his or her job by doing that? It would be stupid.
Yes, teachers are definitely held to a higher standard than most. They have been for ages. Teaching is a special job that attracts special people who can do the job. It’s hard, it’s draining, it’s endless, with constant criticism and very little reward. But for some reason, and to the benefit of children, there will always be someone willing to do it and do it well for the slave wages they pay. (By the way, I’m saying slave wages because the wage is low compared to other professional jobs, our raises are miniscule, and benefits are terrible with expensive health insurance…and we have to supplement our retirement with an additional private IRA to just to be able to retire because our Social Security is not available to retiring teachers, even if they paid into it in a previous career, like I did).
Unfortunately, because of all the Facebook/teacher scandals lately, it’s just going to serve to push more people away from entering the profession.
I agree, there are some real a-holes in the classroom. I know, I have taught for ten years. These are the people posting smack on Facebook. They usually don’t last long anyway because even though we get the summer off, the job is anything but easy. The other 10 months of the year can really wear you out. Let’s just say you EARN your summer vacation. If you don’t have a calling to teach, you won’t last more than a couple of years, maybe 5. No one really knows what it’s truly like unless they do it. If a private sector professional did our job for even one day, at 4:00 they would leave that school vowing never to return and calling all the rest of us teachers crazy for doing it.
Off that soapbox and back to the Facebook issue….I would never consider even mentioning my job or any incident that happens on the job on FB unless it’s in a positive light. That’s plain common sense. Too bad that’s running pretty low these days. Free speech, yes, but free speech is best used in the right company!!!
another comment
August 23rd, 2010
11:45 pm
My cousin’s child a teacher in another southern state was transfered by her school district to a less desirable school and grade, after she posted her inter-racial wedding pictures on facebook, this summer. Young love could not understand when some of us relatives tried to tell her this was still the South.
David Prentice
August 24th, 2010
2:05 am
The privacy settings on Facebook can only get you so far. In order to keep messages that you send through Facebook really private, many users prefer to CLOAK their messages. This way neither Facebook nor unauthorized users can read your messages.
You still use Facebook as normal but protect your privacy, by CLOAKing those parts of your messages you want to keep private. Neither Facebook nor its advertising partners know what you’re writing about.
Pick a keyword, select the message you want to keep private, and CLOAK it and send. Only people you’ve shared your keyword with can then read your CLOAKed Facebook messages.
Try the free CloakGuard plugin or online tool to CLOAK your message.
Free Download — https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/194385/
Free Online tool — http://cloakguard.com/tryitfree.php
Demo — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4qN3TBqx08
k.b.
August 24th, 2010
5:50 am
what do i think?
yes, they have a 1st amendment right-of course!! and of course they have it on facebook just as much as they do when they are actually physically talking about their job.
BUT since facebook is a different venue from verbal conversation, its differences really need to be taken into account. just because you tell someone your private opinion doesn’t mean it will stay private–same with facebook. you mean it to be private, but it may not be.
NO ONE is having their 1st amendment right taken away by not being able to vent about their job on facebook. would you honestly say the things you say about your job on facebook out loud? to a group of your friends? no, i think not. therefore don’t do it on facebook.
if any teacher complains about 1st amendment rights, they need to stop and ask themselves the above question. any time you choose to open your mouth, you need to realize that whatever you say MAY or MAY NOT reach an unintended target. this is just reality–it’s life. get over it, and think about what you’re going to say before you say–or post–it.
Lee
August 24th, 2010
5:58 am
A parents perspective:
My child is the most important thing in the world to me. I would willingly give my life to save that of my child.
When I drop my child off at school, I have entrusted her teachers to exhibit a certain degree of care. If I read where that teacher is commenting about “hiring a hitman to kill one of her students” or refering to her students in a derogatory way, that teacher has violated my trust. I no longer want that teacher to be associated with my child. Period.
If you do not have the common sense to realize that, then you do not need to be in the teaching profession interacting with children.
That said, Ashley Payne got a raw deal and I hope she receives a huge settlement from her lawsuit.
shaggy
August 24th, 2010
6:28 am
Facebook, Myspace, etc…. You are all a bunch of idiots for having any of these ridiculous social networking pages. Nothing but trouble, and it further removes personal connections, where people actually talk to one another. You remember….have a conversation, even a freakin email is better that this crap.
Simple Solution for the morons: Cancel any account you might already have. Best solution is being smart enough to never have joined in the first place.
ihorizon
August 24th, 2010
8:08 am
My opinion: Teachers need to use common sense on posting Facebook pages, private or public, as well as those to work in public capacity that may affect learning and social graces. However, I see kids, both tweens and teens making shocking comments and statements online- things I would not dare say online or in public. As for Barrow County schools, you need to get over yourselves and worry about bettering your school systems and give the teacher her job back. We moved out of Barrow County and put her into Gwinnett school as it was your school who told us she scored very high aptitude testing for Scope, Focus, and Probe so she is far better off here than there. (She is still in gifted programs to this day.) So if you are worried about your teachers, you need to look at your curriculums.
lassy
August 24th, 2010
8:15 am
its crazy what facebook can really do to your life be carefull on this site not everyone you work with wont report you.
ihorizon
August 24th, 2010
8:17 am
sorry her = my kid
Danita
August 24th, 2010
8:22 am
Teachers are held to a very high standard. Our public face must be clean.
just my opinion
August 24th, 2010
8:56 am
I am a teacher…and in reading this all I can think of is its scary to think these people even PUT these comments up when they are teaching our youth. Why are they even teaching? Obviously they need to use better common sense nothing on the internet is safe. I have a Facebook page and I even have parents that are friends but I know how to be professional and not post stupid comments about my teaching. They dont need guidelines for what they can and can’t post…..just better judgment.