When I grow up...

"I know that employers will look at that page, and I need to be more careful," said Webster, adding that other Prince William teachers have warned her about her page. "At the same time, my work and social lives are completely separate. I just feel they shouldn't take it seriously. I am young. I just turned 22."

Like several other teachers interviewed, Webster said she thought her page could be seen only by people she accepted as "friends." But like those of many teachers on Facebook, Webster's profile was accessible by the more than 525,000 members of the Washington, D.C., network. Anyone can join any geographic network.

--When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web

When we were little, teachers did one thing--they taught. The boyfriends and grandchildren and cats they had pictures of on their desks? Yeah, right. It was all lies, all a part of the elaborate act they had to carry out to pass for human until summertime, at which point they'd blink out of existence until September 3rd.

As I recall, they also lived in their classrooms.

I've long since moved past that particular mentality. Teachers are people, too. I remember when some of my friends found the facebook of one of my younger teachers. She was completely unclickable; all we could see was her picture. She refused to add any of us, and I don't blame her. I'm willing to bet money that there was nothing offensive on her page, but who'd want a bunch of nutty high schoolers spamming her facebook with their chain letters?

Okay, but seriously. Yeah, we have to hold teachers to professional standards. But I think the writer of this article missed an important point--we have to hold everyone to professional standards, or no one at all. 

Trackback