http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/03/469047582/students-use-petition-to-call-for-teachers-return-after-racy-photos-emerge?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=education
Leigh Anne Arthur had a few lapses of judgement. She took a racy picture of herself for Valentine's day. That's not unthinkable, after all many have as have read the cover of a Cosmopolitan magazine giving women the impression that is it our responsibility to keep the fire in our marriage. Her next mistake, leaving her phone attended in her class room, her third mistake, not having a pass code. The result? A 16 year old male student got a hold of this picture and spread it via social media. Now before I go on about Mrs. Arthur, I want to make it clear that this boy should have consequences for his actions. In world where were are trying to stop cyber bullying, sexual harassment/abuse, and victim blaming, this boy should have consequences and be made an example out of. If gets away with it young boys will think that if its okay to do to a female teacher, its okay to do all to all women, including their fellow students. I would hate to see that type of thinking continue into college.
Back to Mrs. Arthur. I do feel that teacher have to be super human, they are held to the highest public standards and scrutinized for the smallest mistakes. Its sometimes unfair how much of our lives we have to make sure we act accordingly to ensure it does not affect our job. But as future teachers, we are educated and warned about our futures. We do need to be extra careful. We spend years and thousands of dollars preparing ourselves for this job, its important that we prepare ourselves through technology and social media as well to prevent us from getting into these situations.
I definitely agree that teachers need to be careful. I never actually thought about having personal photos on my phone getting stolen or used by students. My concern has actually always been with social media such as with Facebook. Even with privacy settings, stuff on Facebook can slip through the cracks, and the last thing we need is to see drunk photos from last weekend of our kid's elementary school teacher! While we should all be entitled to our own private lives and be able to have them protected, it is our job to make surer that we protect ourselves as well. In my opinion this is also setting a good example for our students as well, in order to teach them what is right and what is wrong to post on the internet and what its repercussions might be.
ReplyDeleteHi Jackie!
ReplyDeleteI remember something like this happening a few years ago. I completely agree that the student should be punished! In my opinion, the teacher should not have even had her cell phone out at all while her students were under her supervision. The time is for teaching and learning, not being on your phone. With that being said, everyone needs to be careful. Whether it is students or teachers, workers or bosses, once it is out there, everyone knows. That is the unfortunate side of the internet. In a perfect world, everyone would mind each other's privacy, but that doesn't happen. So, everyone needs to be aware of what is on their phone, and make sure it does not get in anyone else's hands.