Your opinion... Teachers and Facebook

[MichelleCarmen]

My kids school sends a form home at the beginning of the year asking whether or not our kids' pictures can be put anywhere, including the yearbook. That's how serious they take public posting of their students photos.

If my kids were on another FB page, I'd be mad! In fact, someone had and I'm still very annoyed about it. Their profile picture had my son included!

She didn't even ask me. Finally she changed it but it still bugs me because a) my son is a minor, and b) it wasn't even a good picture.

lol Plus, I was in it and was glaring at the camera.

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 2/24/2010 11:49:03 PM
Author: thing2of2
I don't think she should do it.

At the same time, is one of her Facebook friends really going to hunt down a kid in her class and kidnap them? Sometimes I think the internet paranoia goes a bit far. All of the parents I'm friends with on Facebook have seriously hundreds of pictures of their own kids up. That's probably more dangerous than a pic here or there with someone not even related to them.

Yes, I do believe this could happen (and for all we know, it has happened).

Facebook has been linked to identity theft, burglaries, harassment, bullying, suicides, murders, and I'm sure, just like MySpace, it's a feeding ground for pedophiles.

I would venture to say that most people on Facebook probably either don't personally know all of their Facebook "friends", and/or their pages aren't completely private. Regardless of if you do personally know all your friends, and your page is on lock-down, you could still have a pedophile among your friends.

I would bet that this teacher the OP is talking about has her city of residence on her page. So, from there it would be extremely easy to figure out which school she works at. She may even have the name of the school on her profile, or in one of her pictures.

Honestly, I don't see how this has anything to do with being "paranoid". I don't think these are irrational fears. Facebook is not an anonymous site, it's full of personal information.

And no, I don't have any kids

ETA: I think the principal should be notified, in the OP's situation.

 

[oobiecoo]

I voted that I would contact the principal/teacher immediately. If I remember correctly, my parents always had to sign a permission slip of some sort in order for my picture to be used in the yearbook or on the school's website and that sort of thing.

I don't think its AS BAD if the students names aren't listed but its still an issue. I would contact the school... not necessarily out of immense fear for my own child but as a gentle reminder that some parents are not okay with this practice and it could be very dangerous especially for kids with divorced parents or family members with a violent history. All it takes is the wrong person finding out where your child goes to school...

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Date: 2/25/2010 9:34:38 AM
Author: Maria D
I know a teacher who takes class pictures every year and then puts them on the wall of his classroom. He's been there for a long time so there's a lot of group photos! The new students like looking to find older siblings and friends and seeing how this teacher has aged over the years. If a kid doesn't want to be in the group shot, he doesn't force it but virtually all of his students look forward to 'making it to the wall' at the end of the year.


So I don't think teachers having pictures of their students is necessarily creepy. We do care a lot about our students. I have taken pictures of my students to post on donorschoose.org (which has its own permission slip for parents to sign) and have shown those pics to family and friends by referring them to the site. I also point out certain kids in these pics to my DH; the ones whose antics I'm prone to talking about. To me this is no different than pointing out that the grocery store bagger is 'that kid in my math class I've been telling you about.' But I don't just carry around pictures of my students.


Is this a generational thing though? I know my students post pictures constantly on facebook and I know I've been in some of them. The kids' cameras come out in my classroom when we have end of year parties. They don't ask my permission and I don't worry about it. What I do worry about is one of my students surreptitiously videotaping me and putting it on youtube! We have a sub at our school who talks and talks and is clueless about the fact that the kids are videotaping her babble with their cellphones. I know the vids have been posted on facebook because my daughter has shown me some of them. I wouldn't really care if a video of me deriving the quadratic formula showed up somewhere but more than likely it would be one where I'm giving a kid detention for something!

Posting pictures in your classroom is COMPLETELY different of posting pictures on your FACEBOOK on the INTERNET. Also, I don't know of laws regarding children posting pictures of teachers, because that's not a common as the other way around. I KNOW it's illegal to even take pictures of children without their parents consent, at least here in MI.


ETA while looking it up, I didn't find anything to back that up but maybe it's just not allowed at the school that I am doing my required field placement in. oopsies

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/25/2010 5:33:50 PM
Author: IloveAsschers13

POsting pictures in your classroom is COMPLETELY different of posting pictures on your FACEBOOK on the INTERNET. Also, I don't know of laws regarding children posting pictures of teachers, because that's not a common as the other way around. I KNOW it's illegal to even take pictures of children without their parents consent, at least here in MI.

That is what I was saying about my school district too. When parents take photos during school functions, an identification badge must be worn.

 

[House Cat]

I would contact the principal. This isn''t a matter of paranoia, it''s a matter of privacy. These are MY children and it is MY decision on whether or not I want photos of them plastered all over the internet. This isn''t a decision for a teacher or anyone else to make.

I would warn your friend. If I were the parent of one of her students, I would be making very sure that disciplinary action was taken against her.

 

[sphenequeen]

For the same reason that I feel it is wrong to put pictures of children up on a publicly accessed site like Facebook, I feel that it is wrong for people to put up pictures of their children on ANY public forum or website. I just don''t think you can ever be too safe in that regard...

 

[Cehrabehra]

I think if you would post pictures of your own children in their classrooms with their friends and teachers OR if you would post pictures of your kids'' birthday parties then there is no problem with posting the kids'' pictures on facebook by the teacher. All the same to me. Don''t think they should be using names though.

 

[Laila619]

Date: 2/24/2010 10:51:39 PM
Author: Haven
They should not be posting photos of their students anywhere, least of all Facebook.

Ditto.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/25/2010 1:25:36 PM
Author: lilyfoot

Date: 2/24/2010 11:49:03 PM

Author: thing2of2

I don''t think she should do it.

At the same time, is one of her Facebook friends really going to hunt down a kid in her class and kidnap them? Sometimes I think the internet paranoia goes a bit far. All of the parents I''m friends with on Facebook have seriously hundreds of pictures of their own kids up. That''s probably more dangerous than a pic here or there with someone not even related to them.

Yes, I do believe this could happen (and for all we know, it has happened).

Facebook has been linked to identity theft, burglaries, harassment, bullying, suicides, murders, and I''m sure, just like MySpace, it''s a feeding ground for pedophiles.

I would venture to say that most people on Facebook probably either don''t personally know all of their Facebook ''friends'', and/or their pages aren''t completely private. Regardless of if you do personally know all your friends, and your page is on lock-down, you could still have a pedophile among your friends.

I would bet that this teacher the OP is talking about has her city of residence on her page. So, from there it would be extremely easy to figure out which school she works at. She may even have the name of the school on her profile, or in one of her pictures.

Honestly, I don''t see how this has anything to do with being ''paranoid''. I don''t think these are irrational fears. Facebook is not an anonymous site, it''s full of personal information.

And no, I don''t have any kids

ETA: I think the principal should be notified, in the OP''s situation.

"For all we know it has happened" isn''t much of an argument. For all we know there are underground tunnels all over the world where a secret tunnel people live. For all we know, the teacher posting the pictures is a pedophile herself. For all we know, the world''s going to end tomorrow and none of this will matter.

I''m NOT saying it''s okay that the girl did it and I''ve said that several times. I am saying that jumping to the conclusion that a pedophile is going to see the photos on Facebook, track down a kid in the photo and kidnap that kid might be reaching just a bit.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 2/25/2010 11:34:52 PM
Author: House Cat
I would contact the principal. This isn''t a matter of paranoia, it''s a matter of privacy. These are MY children and it is MY decision on whether or not I want photos of them plastered all over the internet. This isn''t a decision for a teacher or anyone else to make.

I would warn your friend. If I were the parent of one of her students, I would be making very sure that disciplinary action was taken against her.

Yes, let''s DO make sure that there is one more teacher in the world, who finds out just how viscious some parents are, shall we? We, as a society, demand more and more every day from the schools....ooo! teach our kids morals, religion, how to handle credit, how to invest, manners, how to change a tire, how to handle GUNS, be basic HUMANS, and all sorts of parental things, and yet when they make an incorrect ''parental'' decision, let''s be completely sure that they''re nailed to a cross.

I don''t know the particulars, but I suspect this is a fairly young teacher who hasn''t been burned yet, of a generation with boundary issues anyway (says the woman who was well into her 20s before home computers, the internets, cell phones, cell phones with cameras and YouTube). It would be better to ask the principal to implement a school policy about teacher facebook pages and what school related things may be posted there, then go in screaming for blood. But "OFF with her HEAD!" is so much more fun and effective.

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain''t doin'' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

 

[waterlilly]

I don''t have kids, but would absolutely be P''d if I found that out.

My sister won''t even email pictures of her children to close family or friends for fear of them being forwarded without her permission...she would have a heart attack if a teacher posted pics of them.

 

[waterlilly]

Date: 2/25/2010 4:10:34 AM
Author: Mrs Mitchell
I''d be uncomfortable with a teacher who felt enough of a sense of ownership over my child that she thought she could share her pics with her friends. For their entertainment. Really? I would question her judgment, to say the least.



I decided not to post my child''s photos in public sites, it isn''t up to a teacher to substitute her judgment for mine. For me, this would be about privacy, respect and boundaries. I would be as mad as hell.

And you know what? That teacher does not even own those pictures now - they are property of facebook. Yikes.

 

[waterlilly]

Date: 2/26/2010 12:47:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Date: 2/25/2010 11:34:52 PM

Author: House Cat

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain't doin' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

FB has a ton of security features, no one can find you if you don't want them to. It only takes a few minutes of educating yourself to learn how to use the privacy features. Some of my friends still say that same thing, it really isn't true - you can completely hide yourself if you want.

 

[Natylad]

Indeed this is unacceptable and illegal. The moment i read your post i got extremely upset, because i can''t accept the idea of anybody posting pics of my child on the internet or anywhere else. I don''t want to sound paranoid, but there are certain things that should be respected, not only bacause that''s what the law says but also because that''s what common sense says...U n a c c e p t a b l e ...

 

[Maria D]

Date: 2/26/2010 12:47:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Yes, let''s DO make sure that there is one more teacher in the world, who finds out just how viscious some parents are, shall we? We, as a society, demand more and more every day from the schools....ooo! teach our kids morals, religion, how to handle credit, how to invest, manners, how to change a tire, how to handle GUNS, be basic HUMANS, and all sorts of parental things, and yet when they make an incorrect ''parental'' decision, let''s be completely sure that they''re nailed to a cross.

I don''t know the particulars, but I suspect this is a fairly young teacher who hasn''t been burned yet, of a generation with boundary issues anyway (says the woman who was well into her 20s before home computers, the internets, cell phones, cell phones with cameras and YouTube). It would be better to ask the principal to implement a school policy about teacher facebook pages and what school related things may be posted there, then go in screaming for blood. But ''OFF with her HEAD!'' is so much more fun and effective.

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain''t doin'' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

This is why I wondered in my other post if it''s a generational thing. People who have no problem displaying their own life online, from every random thought to pictures of every gathering, may not realize that others could have a serious problem with this. I am amazed at some of the identifying info people post here, even though they also use the forum as a place to vent/get advice on serious personal issues.

Cehra commented that displaying pictures in the classroom is no different than putting the same group shots online. I disagree. A physical picture on a wall can only be seen by people who actually enter the room. The people in the picture are aware that others can see them and they know the sorts of people will likely see the picture -- people allowed access to the room. Viewers can''t take the picture with them, it stays on the wall. When your image is posted on someone else''s FB page, you have no control over it. Who is allowed access? What prevents someone from copy/paste-ing your likeness and re-posting on their own site -- maybe with some unflattering photoshopping or captions (think Perez Hilton). Child pornographers are known to take pictures of the faces of school age children and photoshop them onto pics of naked bodies. (Kiddie **** cases made more difficult by Photoshop) Bottom line, when an image is posted online it''s in the public domain.



I only brought up the group pictures in the classroom to show that a teacher having pictures of his students isn''t necessarily creepy. Carrying them around in your wallet? A little weird, I think. Posting them online? In a lot of cases I would bet it''s a generational "cluelessness" meaning someone younger who has been "living online" for some time and hasn''t got a clue that this might bother anyone.

 

[Haven]

Date: 2/26/2010 12:47:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Date: 2/25/2010 11:34:52 PM
author: House Cat
I would contact the principal. This isn''t a matter of paranoia, it''s a matter of privacy. These are MY children and it is MY decision on whether or not I want photos of them plastered all over the internet. This isn''t a decision for a teacher or anyone else to make.

I would warn your friend. If I were the parent of one of her students, I would be making very sure that disciplinary action was taken against her.

Yes, let''s DO make sure that there is one more teacher in the world, who finds out just how viscious some parents are, shall we? We, as a society, demand more and more every day from the schools....ooo! teach our kids morals, religion, how to handle credit, how to invest, manners, how to change a tire, how to handle GUNS, be basic HUMANS, and all sorts of parental things, and yet when they make an incorrect ''parental'' decision, let''s be completely sure that they''re nailed to a cross.

I don''t know the particulars, but I suspect this is a fairly young teacher who hasn''t been burned yet, of a generation with boundary issues anyway (says the woman who was well into her 20s before home computers, the internets, cell phones, cell phones with cameras and YouTube). It would be better to ask the principal to implement a school policy about teacher facebook pages and what school related things may be posted there, then go in screaming for blood. But ''OFF with her HEAD!'' is so much more fun and effective.

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain''t doin'' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

You make a great point, ksinger.

While I believe it is wrong for a teacher to post pictures of her students on the Internet, I agree that it is equally uncalled for to vilify that teacher for doing so.

And yes, the schools are expected to do so much more than teach these days. It''s a wonder that any of us teachers are allowed to continue teaching year after year if you listen to what many parents have to say about how awful we are (as schools) at doing our jobs.

 

[princesss]

I feel that the only person who has the right to decide if somebody can post a picture of a child is their parent. If they give permission, great. I have a lot of pictures of my friend''s daughter on my Facebook page, but she''s asked me to so that she can share them with her family. It sounds like Mere''s friend hasn''t gotten that permission.

Mere, I would definitely talk to my friend if I were you and tell her that it''s crossing a line. Better she hear it from a friend than from an upset parent.

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Date: 2/26/2010 12:47:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Date: 2/25/2010 11:34:52 PM

Author: House Cat

I would contact the principal. This isn't a matter of paranoia, it's a matter of privacy. These are MY children and it is MY decision on whether or not I want photos of them plastered all over the internet. This isn't a decision for a teacher or anyone else to make.


I would warn your friend. If I were the parent of one of her students, I would be making very sure that disciplinary action was taken against her.

Yes, let's DO make sure that there is one more teacher in the world, who finds out just how viscious some parents are, shall we? We, as a society, demand more and more every day from the schools....ooo! teach our kids morals, religion, how to handle credit, how to invest, manners, how to change a tire, how to handle GUNS, be basic HUMANS, and all sorts of parental things, and yet when they make an incorrect 'parental' decision, let's be completely sure that they're nailed to a cross.

I don't know the particulars, but I suspect this is a fairly young teacher who hasn't been burned yet, of a generation with boundary issues anyway (says the woman who was well into her 20s before home computers, the internets, cell phones, cell phones with cameras and YouTube). It would be better to ask the principal to implement a school policy about teacher facebook pages and what school related things may be posted there, then go in screaming for blood. But 'OFF with her HEAD!' is so much more fun and effective.

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain't doin' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

'

I completely disagree ksinger. Look at it this way: This is a matter of common sense. This teacher needs to learn that this is WRONG. I am about to be a teacher and I would NEVER do that. Also, facebook is a social networking site, not a site that puts you in a certain "class" of people. Millions upon millions of people have them and that doesn't make them the same. I am NOT on the same level as any of the students I come in contact with. I mean really, try finding me. Impossible.

Also- this is just ONE case of this happening. I am sure there are hundreds of teachers making this mistake- there are about 2 million teachers in the US and you think none of them other than this teacher has posted a pic of their students? Teachers get in trouble of posting certain pictures of themselves. I would HOPE they would get in trouble for this. I am not saying stone her to death, but at the very least, a slap on the hand to let her know just how SERIOUS this situation truly is. I don't just mean serious in terms of the child's safety, but a lot of districts are taking this very seriously and that could mean her job in some areas. I felt I had to clarify that.

 

[Lauren8211]

Date: 2/26/2010 12:47:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Date: 2/25/2010 11:34:52 PM
Author: House Cat
I would contact the principal. This isn''t a matter of paranoia, it''s a matter of privacy. These are MY children and it is MY decision on whether or not I want photos of them plastered all over the internet. This isn''t a decision for a teacher or anyone else to make.

I would warn your friend. If I were the parent of one of her students, I would be making very sure that disciplinary action was taken against her.

Yes, let''s DO make sure that there is one more teacher in the world, who finds out just how viscious some parents are, shall we? We, as a society, demand more and more every day from the schools....ooo! teach our kids morals, religion, how to handle credit, how to invest, manners, how to change a tire, how to handle GUNS, be basic HUMANS, and all sorts of parental things, and yet when they make an incorrect ''parental'' decision, let''s be completely sure that they''re nailed to a cross.

I don''t know the particulars, but I suspect this is a fairly young teacher who hasn''t been burned yet, of a generation with boundary issues anyway (says the woman who was well into her 20s before home computers, the internets, cell phones, cell phones with cameras and YouTube). It would be better to ask the principal to implement a school policy about teacher facebook pages and what school related things may be posted there, then go in screaming for blood. But ''OFF with her HEAD!'' is so much more fun and effective.

My husband steadfastly refuses to have a FB page even for close friends only. Says the thought of his kids being able to find him there is just...well, he ain''t doin'' it. Being at all on the same level as his kids would be a horrible hit to his authority and a potential for just such a thing that is being suggested above.

Totally agree!

What is wrong with just mentioning this to a teacher? Why does everyone have to get reprimanded for everything?

Her posting these pics is a sign of her really enjoying her job, IMO. Isnt that the kind of people we want teaching our children?

Not everything has to be a big production. Teachers are human too.

 

[doodle]

Quite frankly, my stepson''s teacher spends a significantly larger amount of time with him than DH or I do because of the number of hours in a typical school day, and when you''re spending that much time with a child, obviously you''re going to care about that child, so for those who think it''s creepy for a teacher to photograph a student at all, please think about that, too. Chances are far more likely that a teacher photographing a student is doing so because he/she cares deeply about his/her students or takes great pride in his/her work than for any perverted reasons. Yes, I recognize that risk is there, but for that matter, you face the same risk in lots of situations. As far as the posting of those pictures on FB, I honestly wouldn''t have thought anything horrible about it if I stumbled upon my kid''s picture on a teacher''s facebook, although I would be displeased that I wasn''t asked first since it IS my child. If I had a problem with it, I''d simply call the teacher up, explain my rationale, and request that it be taken down. My first thought would be that the teacher probably never even considered the possibility of a parent being upset by it and would appreciate the heads up. I wouldn''t feel the need to seek further action against that teacher as long as he/she complied with my request to remove the image from their site, and who knows? Maybe my mentioning it to the teacher in the first place would raise awareness about its being objectionable and that teacher would pursue having a more specific policy put into place to protect other teachers from facing possible disciplinary action for something that wasn''t done with malice in the first place.

 

[Tuckins1]

As a teacher, I would never put any picture of my students in public, at least not with explicit parental and student consent. It is definitely inappropriate. Do you know if the parents have given permission?