Teachers in Ohio warned about MySpace.
Nov 10, 2007 -
Teachers who make inappropriate postings on Web sites risk losing their licenses or facing other punishment, a state official in charge of disciplining educators says.The Columbus Dispatch article can be found here.
While it's unclear how many Ohio teachers have online profiles at social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, the issue poses risks for teachers, said James Miller, director of the Office of Professional Conduct at the Ohio Department of Education.
A search of MySpace finds three profiles of people who say they are teachers — one says she's an animal in bed, another has taken drugs and likes to party, and a third says his mood is "dirty," The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday.
The profiles could be the work of malicious pranksters, but the three examples appear legitimate, with all types of personal and professional information, including full resumes, the Dispatch said.
If those three postings are from teachers, they're inappropriate, Miller said. Even worse, he said, "It does sound like something that could be conduct unbecoming."
TT - We've long questioned the boundary problems with teachers who invite students to their homes. And we've questioned whether communicating with students through MySpace and Facebook pages falls into the same category. As parents, we would automatically disapprove of a doctor who maintained a page to communicate with our children. Why is a teacher different?
A physician or a dentist, or any other professional meets our children because we allow the contact for professional purposes. Not to become buddies or hang out together. Why is it that other professionals know this?
Nov 1 - Read how three students in the U.K. helped catch an online predator who identified them from MySpace and then found them. He had printed out their profiles, knew what they looked like, where they went and followed them. He also had 20,000 vile child-porn images, including 182 photos classed in the horrific "Level 5" category.
