To post or not to post, that is the question

Since I began teaching twenty years ago a lot has changed for teachers, especially in the digital sense.  Social media has become a huge part of our lives and the children and many of their parents don't know a society without it.  I have always maintained high privacy settings on any social media and rarely post anything personal.  I have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and Instagram among others.  When googling my name these are the things that come up first as well as my name and photograph being part of our school webpage.  When first starting out in teaching I lived in a community where everyone at the school knew who you were, where you lived and saw you at the local pub, or knew someone who had seen you.  You ran into children you taught while completing your grocery shopping.  Now I teach in a city while living out of town but there are still relatives and children living in my community.  They all have access to finding out something about me on the internet.

A few years ago I left my current school and taught at another school.  I wasn't planning on coming back so accepted a couple of families as 'friends' on facebook as I had done with families and students who had grown in the first town I had taught at.  My circumstances changed and I have ended up back at the school and have families that are still my 'friends' on Facebook and who I have now taught their youngest children.  Other families are linked through this to me and several have requested to be my 'friends'.  I have not accepted these and some have expressed their understanding towards my decision.  It was a dilemma at the time but if I still have a lot of contact with these families once I have finished teaching their children, they have grown up and left the school or I have left the school, then my decision may change.

I am one of the admins on our school Facebook page.  I know that my account will come up for some families as 'someone you may know' as I regularly see their pages highlighted within my personal account.  It is something I am well aware of.

I undertake some testing of our students which involves videoing their speaking.  I always ask the student for their permission as they are the biggest stakeholder involved in that video.  There are times when students say no but it is rare as they are used to having themselves videoed at home.  I think this is important and schools should consider this when posting staff pictures on their websites.  Are staff asked or is this demanded of them?  We ask families on enrolment to give consent for pictures to be published and we have several students for whom their families have declined.  This has become a point when photos of events are displayed in classrooms or in school foyers.  These are published, not necessarily in a digital sense, but they are still being published.  Do we have the right to have these pictures displayed?

Dr Graham Stoop states in the introduction to the Education Council's new draft code of conduct that
'Teachers hold a unique position of trust in society. We have a strong influence on learners, their future and their understanding of the world. We must perform at the highest level of integrity and professionalism. Society expects this of us, and we must too.'

This new code highlights that we must be communicating and using social media appropriately and that it is everyone's responsibility to speak out if the behaviour of a colleague may be in breach of the Code.   We are to use communication and information technology with diligence and care to protect our privacy and confidentiality.  We have a commitment to the Teaching Profession, a commitment to Learners; a commitment to Parents/Caregivers and Families/ Whānau; and a commitment to Society.

Teachers will be held accountable and the draft code states that as professionals 'we recognise that we hold a trusted position as teachers and that we have considerable influence over learners in and beyond the learning environment. We understand that our behaviour, whether this is in a professional or private capacity, can affect others’ confidence in us and the reputation of the profession.'

Hall states that 'In the new millenium, New Zealand teachers work in schools and classrooms characterised by cultural, social and ethical pluralism.'  We have ethical dilemmas daily and need to be able to respond to these appropriately for the children and their families foremost as the biggest stakeholders but also for ourselves as accountability rest with ourselves and our colleagues.


References:
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