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Should teachers be sanctioned for their activity online?

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Millersville University recently refused to grant a degree to a student who had posted a mildly embarrassing photo on her MySpace page, calling it unprofessional conduct.
fmanjoo

3 responses // Should teachers be sanctioned for their activity online?

  • I agree to a point. As long as the action is merely embarrassing, the person should not be kept from a degree or job. But if the online profile shows something relevant to the job, like an aspiring teacher who is actually a sexual predator, then prevention based on the online profile is relevant and should be allowed.
    thoughtfuldharma
  • Shouldn't the calculus be that we should get used to folks living their lives on the Internet when those doing the living get use to the fact that acting like a dumb-ass "in public" (that's the point, right?) might have consequences?

    I may not invite my professor to a party at my house to watch me act like a fool, but if I'm putting it out there for all comers, and given that we all know everyone is watching, I might as well have dressed like a pirate in class.

    In this case specifically, the entire thing seems silly.
    Bizz
  • Keeping this woman from being a teacher is asinine.

    For one thing, getting drunk in a pirate's hat is hardly shocking behavior. On a MySpace scale of irresponsible behavior, this rates about a 0.5 out of 10. As thoughtfuldharma suggests, if this were something truly serious, then maybe one could justify the decision to bar her.

    I would guess a huge percentage of her classmates have done much more embarrassing things. The self-appointed morality board just didn't find any evidence online, apparently. So in fact, Millersville U. is not sanctioning drunken piracy -- just the appearance of drunken piracy online. I would say that makes it clear that this is all about the school's image: not upholding reasonable standards for would-be teachers.

    What I'd like to know is how much time these professors spend trolling the Internet for information about their students. It seems they must have better things to do -- like trying to figure out how to attract MORE and BETTER students into the teaching profession, instead of ways to run good candidates out on a rail.
    jontv

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