Week 29: Law and Ethics

There have been a few incidents in my career as a teacher that have I have been concerned about. One of the most serious incidents was when a colleague had set up a Facebook page under her own name, that was used for classroom interaction and she allowed her students to become friends. Unfortunately, the page become a forum for counseling students out of school hours, parents become involved and the teacher's personal information was well known to her students and parent environment.  Students personal information was shared as well. This is a very brief synopsis of the situation.

“What possible issues/concerns might this scenario raise?
The teacher's personal information was well known by her students and this was discussed amongst the students. Students information was on a public platform. 
How could this situation become a violation of the law, the “Code” or other school /district policies?
Our school has a policy in place that makes recommendations that teachers will not engage with students via a social media platform that is not educational based.  This was a very negative situation. 
The teacher's code of conduct is very explicit and I am glad the new draft code has revamped information bringing this into a more relevant document. There are 2 areas of the teacher's code of conduct that remind us of our responsibilities in relation to social media......the draft document is more in depth and relevant to current practices.

In this situation, what are some potential negative consequences for the teacher, for the students and the school community?
Her personal information was shared with students and also students information was shared on a social media platform that was very public. The information was widely known in the school community.
What responses/actions will result in a more positive outcome and/or what proactive measures might be considered?“ (p.7)
Support and guidance were given to the teacher and the Facebook page shut down. Professional development and guidance were put in place. Students were also supported through this process as well. An education programme was put in place for the students and parents around the potential impact of what could have happened and what was happening. 


Because of this situation, we have done much around protecting teachers and students. We do not support Facebook as a forum, even though it is a successful way of engaging with the outside school community. Classroom pages can easily be set up in Facebook and these can be made private only to that community.
Connecticuts Teacher Education and Mentoring programme mention "public school educators are held to high standards of behavior because they are entrusted with the well-being of their students. The public expects that their behavior exemplifies ethical and moral integrity. Teachers serve as role models who should recognize that their conduct, both on and off the job, can profoundly impact their professional image. Lapses in judgment can adversely impact students, damage teachers’ credibility and erode public trust in schools and the profession"  This is so true, we are the role models, the ethical police, and moral judge. But we are also human and can make mistakes. 

Part of the protection we have put into place, is we have provided each teacher with their own ipad. We have encouraged them to have a class itunes account and link the ipad to their computer through cloud sharing. The teacher ipad is for recording student progress and the taking of photos to upload to class blogs. The ipads were also given to teachers so they could play with apps etc.  We have discouraged teachers using their own smart phones and having any school information on their private phones.  Home is home, personal equipment is for personal use, school equipment for school.

Collste, G.(2012). Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan,19(1), 17–33.

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual....

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-et...

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers