Teachers in Scotland are being warned that their careers could be at risk due to their use of social networking sites. The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association is of the view that too much personal information can be shared with pupils if teachers connect with them on popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. There is also the fear that these sites may breed over familiarity between pupils and teachers.
As an advisory and precautionary measure, a set of new guidelines on social networking sites is in the works from The General Teaching Council of Scotland. This action has been spurred by a number of recent cases brought before the GTC’s regulatory body.
Jim Docherty, assistant secretary of the SSTA, told BBC Scotland that teachers should follow his advice:
“First thing is don’t bother telling anybody else about your social life. Nobody is interested about your social life and it doesn’t help…Secondly, never make any comment about your work, about your employer, about teaching issues in general… There is always a possibility it will be misinterpreted.”
His comments may seem somewhat draconian, but the sentiment is true enough. To be fair, when I was at school there was no such thing as Facebook, so any digital interaction between staff and pupils all took place over the school email system, which was reasonably monitored for improper language and attachments - everyone knew the limits. However, since the dawn of social networking I have connected with a handful of my old teachers. Given that I am in my mid-20s and no longer a student under their tuition, I can legally go into a pub, buy them a pint and be on a level social playing field as an adult.
But Jim Docherty has a point, insofar as a teacher’s primary role is to impart academic knowledge to minors, not to engage with them on a social forum that may – inadvertently – lead to the students gaining too much of an insight into what their Geography teacher gets up to in his spare time. If you are a teacher who is wary of the claims made by The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association, a more secure private network may be the answer.
