Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I was in college it was stressed to us that ANYTHING we do will be under the scrutiny of students, parents, administration, etc. We were advised to not go out to the bars in the towns where or near where we were teaching, etc. All it takes is one vindictive parent or student to ruin your career. This was before the days of the internet and PC's so I am sure they now talk to prospective teachers about what they have on social networking sites. Right or wrong that is just the way it is. Heck, look at all the posts here about how a teacher did this and that to their child-never considering that just MAYBE it was the student that did something wrong. Teachers are expected to live up to an impossible set of standards and this is just one more case of that.
People in authority have become so PC correct along with dime chasing lawyers that humans aren't supposed to be human anymore.
And all these "perfect people" will probably go celebrate and have a beer if they win a case that might destroy someones career that did nothing wrong.
I hope the teacher sues. And I hope she wins.
And I hope the hipocrite saints that brought charges against her get caught doing something like any normal person would do in daily life that harms no one and gets the "what goes around comes around".
I hate the freaking do gooders that don't know the difference between real right and wrong.
If the "perfect people" wanted a "perfect society" they should have been born years ago and been part of Hitlers regime.
We all know know how he ended up.
Hopefully, these aholes who want to make robots out of humans with no rights will end up the same way.
Destroyed.
I think it's terrible, and I hope she wins her suit. Teachers are adults, should have the same full rights that everyone else has, and there's nothing wrong with an adult (teacher or not) having a beer, assuming it's not on school property or during work hours.
I don't think she should be fired for it. OTOH, I think it shows an amazing lack of judgment. Any adult with hopes of a professional career should be smart enough to keep their Facebook/Myspace/LJ/blogs clean of anything they wouldn't want to show up in a job interview.
People in authority have become so PC correct along with dime chasing lawyers that humans aren't supposed to be human anymore.
And all these "perfect people" will probably go celebrate and have a beer if they win a case that might destroy someones career that did nothing wrong.
I hope the teacher sues. And I hope she wins.
And I hope the hipocrite saints that brought charges against her get caught doing something like any normal person would do in daily life that harms no one and gets the "what goes around comes around".
I hate the freaking do gooders that don't know the difference between real right and wrong.
If the "perfect people" wanted a "perfect society" they should have been born years ago and been part of Hitlers regime.
We all know know how he ended up.
Hopefully, these aholes who want to make robots out of humans with no rights will end up the same way.
Destroyed.
I don't think she should be fired for it. OTOH, I think it shows an amazing lack of judgment. Any adult with hopes of a professional career should be smart enough to keep their Facebook/Myspace/LJ/blogs clean of anything they wouldn't want to show up in a job interview.
What happens sometimes is that you can get tagged in a photo and then it will show up on your page. Of course, you can un-tag yourself and it will disappear from your page, but that doesn't mean it won't be on someone else's wall. I think Colleges (and even HS's) are making this extremely clear to the kids but those not in the education field don't realize what it means for future teachers who are their friends.
I believe you're in an "at will" and "right to work" state. I'm not sure about the tenure requirements but if they're similar to most she would not have been tenured until the first day of her third year and it sounded as if she had completed two years. No tenure means she could be fired for anything or nothing.
Having said that, no I don't think she should have been fired. It was probably bad judgement ( a factory worker, say, wouldn't be terminated for) but not a firing offense.
Why is it even bad judgement? What is wrong with having a drink?
I don't think she should be fired for it. OTOH, I think it shows an amazing lack of judgment. Any adult with hopes of a professional career should be smart enough to keep their Facebook/Myspace/LJ/blogs clean of anything they wouldn't want to show up in a job interview.
Here's the rub though. Let's say you show up at a job interview and it turns out the person interviewing you is a friend of a friend and remembers seeing you at a bar having a beer and comments on that at the interview. Most people would not be embarrassed by that.
How are teachers supposed to live a normal life outside of school if they are not supposed to be doing things that are legal and anyone else over 21 is allowed to do?
Why is it even bad judgement? What is wrong with having a drink?
No kidding, last time I checked it was LEGAL to go have a drink. And by the way, how many of us have been at a work-related function that had *gasp* BARS??? OMG!
Here's the rub though. Let's say you show up at a job interview and it turns out the person interviewing you is a friend of a friend and remembers seeing you at a bar having a beer and comments on that at the interview. Most people would not be embarrassed by that.
How are teachers supposed to live a normal life outside of school if they are not supposed to be doing things that are legal and anyone else over 21 is allowed to do?
Sitting in Chili's with your friend having a margarita is not comment-worthy, or usually, photo-worthy. OTOH, being photographed sitting in Dirty Joe's (featuring All U Can Drink Night!) wearing what's almost enough clothes for a Barbie Doll and enough makeup to bankrupt Mary Kay, and hoisting your mug o' whatever, shows a certain lack of discernment.
I don't care if Miss Bell, fifth grade teacher (or pediatric nurse, or occupational therapist, or tax attorney), is a party girl (or even a complete ho) on her own time. But little Mikey and Isabella-- and their parents-- don't need to be confronted with the evidence.
"A normal life" doesn't have to include behavior worthy of Girlz Gone Wild. A little discretion doesn't kill people.
That's a pretty big leap as it pertains to this case.
Sites like facebook aren't pure public pages, as there is some control over who can read the content, etc.
However, with that said there should be some discretion about what is posted. I firmly believe you should keep your professional life out of your personal life, including social networking. So if you are using it for office gossip, putting down your company, solicitation that isn't corporate approved, etc there is an issue.
Going on vacation and having a drink doesn't seem to be in violation of that. I went to the carribean and i'm sure you can find a picture of me in my bathing suit holding a drink. Doesn't mean anything wild, crazy or inappropriate was going on. Just a vacation.
A photo of having a drink in hand from a collection of photos on a european vacation isn't a big deal.
Also note that she teaches HS. It's not like she is partaking in greatly deviant behaviour and showing up hung over to teach kindergarten.
The article is also upset that she went to a local bar to play "***** Bingo". Going further to state that the combination of the photo and the language is just too much.
Finally, a key component to the lawsuit is the alleged breach of protocal in how to dismiss someone. Even if they have the right to terminate her for such things, they need to follow proper procedure. If that was violated there should be some recourse.
One last bit, as often is the case I see right to work and at will thrown about when they have little implication. Just because you cannot make joining a union a condition of employment (right to work) or you are hired under the pretense that you can be fired or quit at anytime for any purpose (at will) doesn't mean you lose legal remedies or that you can be harrassed, discriminated against, etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
