Teachers, Pupils and Social Media
First published on Kieran Dhunna Halliwell’s ‘ThoughtSpace’ blog 03.12.17
As social media and the multitude of ways we can interact have changed so too have the boundaries within society. Teachers must now be hyper aware of their behaviour, image and where they may be seen.
A few years ago, a teacher was dismissed for drunken behaviour when out on a hen party and another for sharing what was considered a provocative photograph on her Facebook page which was then seen, screenshot and shared by pupils. Previously, these aspects of teachers lives - the alcohol they liked, what they do in leisure time and familial interactions - were not known and perhaps not of as much interest to wider society. The details shared about the teachers who appear in classrooms was much more filtered.
Nowadays, Teachers must be careful not to be seen behaving in ways that do not uphold the image and ethos of the school they are in, or the professionalism or education generally.
If my media settings are private, do I have any responsibility if others share images of me on their profiles that may display something about my personal life/values that conflict with the image the school wants?
What if I’m just at an event, appear in a photo and it’s shared on Edu-Twitter - should I be considering the fact that anyone, including parents and children, could be downloading my photograph? Certainly, if you look at the things I’ve done as Ezzy Moon over the last 5yrs I’ve shared images of myself freely, often without thought; I don’t care what people think of them….but should I? Should I have been more aware that my pupils may have been watching every conversation I had with whom or reading every blog I put out? Should I have been aware that my pupils may have followed or tried to interact with my network without my knowledge?
These things have given me a lot to think about recently. The ways of the world have changed, even in the short 5yrs I’ve been on Twitter. I think as an educational community we have become complacent in evaluating ourselves and our interactions with it as the use of both smartphones and media have become normalised in our daily lives.
At the back of my mind when writing this are the things I read when Edu-Twitter was discussing some of the messages women receive from other educators in our community. This, coupled with the knowledge that some educators connect with pupils on social media has led me to publish this set of blogs. I am not offering answers. I write to think for myself and hopefully, to encourage others to think too.
Yesterday, I wrote about schools and social media. It has had lots of views and I’ve had several thoughtful conversations about it - it’s a sensitive area and one which needs these conversations to happen.
One of the people I’ve chatted with generally disagrees with my view but also acknowledged they hadn’t really thought about it before; if reading the set of blogs I’m writing has you thinking about what you’re doing, why and whether any changes need to be made then that’s enough for me - that’s the purpose.
Some starting points for reflection for teachers with Twitter accounts:
1) Why do you have one?
2) What do your professional interactions ‘say’ about you?
3) What’s the process you’ll follow if you encounter a child or parent on social media?
4) Will you be following the same process if it’s an ex-pupil who is still a minor?
5) If you wish keep in touch with pupils after they leave school:
a: is this healthy for the pupils transition?
b: should this be done via the school?
c: have you considered your reasons for why you personally wish to keep in touch?
6) Who are your support network should you encounter pupils, parents or minors on social media? How will you handle it if the situation arises?