Teacher suspended for Facebook post: called kids future criminals, parents say
The New Jersey teacher is the second this year to be involved in a controversy over a post on Facebook. Experts say cases like this are multiplying.
Once again, a Facebook post has gotten a teacher into trouble.
The Paterson, N.J., school district suspended a first-grade teacher Friday to investigate charges from parents that she wrote on Facebook about feeling like a 鈥渨arden鈥� and referred to her students as future criminals, the Record newspaper reports.
鈥淲e are seeing more of these cases,鈥� says Francisco Negr贸n, general counsel of the National School Boards Association.
Whether or not a district has a specific social media policy, he says, 鈥渢he question is one about teacher judgment.鈥� District officials will need to consider the details, but the types of comments alleged in this case 鈥渟how not only bad judgment, but are also hurtful to students and simply inappropriate.鈥�
Paterson school board president Theodore Best told the Record: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 simply fire someone for what they have on a Facebook page; but if that spills over and affects the classroom, then you can take action.鈥�
In February, the suspension of Pennsylvania high school teacher Natalie Munroe for Facebook posts about unnamed students sparked widespread debate about what鈥檚 appropriate when teachers use social media.
These cases are 鈥渆mblematic of a very large social shift that鈥檚 taking place in the age of social media ... [where] the boundary between work and home is not nearly as distinct as it used to be,鈥� says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
When people used to complain about their jobs over the backyard fence it usually stayed between neighbors, but when such comments are placed on a social media page, people need to realize they probably have a much larger audience than they intend, he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a public act.鈥�
School board president Mr. Best told the Record that he received messages from local NAACP members and others worried about the teacher鈥檚 comments.
The local teachers union told the Record that the suspended teacher will be provided with an attorney.