Teaching, just like any other profession, requires best practices and ethical approach at all times. Teachers, just like any other person are humans and are therefore bound to react to emotions and feelings, and consequently, they cannot be at their best behaviors at all times. It is therefore essential for the human personnel department to continually monitor teachers while at work. However, some of their vices might be quite hard to spot at the school surroundings, which will then require other forms of scrutiny, which also includes monitoring of their social media accounts. So, why is this important?
One reason why it is crucial to check teachers’ social media accounts is to check on their moral integrity (Al-smadi, 2017). The inappropriate student-teacher relationship is one of the moral issues usually at play in learning institutions. It can be quite hard to tell whether there is an appropriate relationship between a teacher and a student within the school settings. There have been a lot of cases of inappropriate teacher-student relationship in the States, which makes it a possibility for any student to fall victim to a teacher. However, with the emergence of social media, it is quite easy to tell whether a teacher is likely to be a predator or not. A look at a teacher’s activities in the social media platforms, such as Facebook, snap chat, and Twitter can give a clue as to the moral integrity of a teacher. His or her status can reveal whether he or she is a family person, religious, gay, or straight, common features that can easily give a hint as to whether a teacher qualifies to be a predator. Apart from the status, the actual posts and pictures can also reveal a lot. For example, a teacher who seems to contribute positively on topics touching on early childhood relationships, and molestation, or who is a member of such groups, will certainly qualify as a potential pedophile. Therefore, scrutinizing social media accounts will help filter out such teachers. It is important to note that with social media platforms, it is now easy to verify a person’s emotional state which was quite hard in the past and required professionals and a lot of resources.
The second reason why it is vital to check teachers’ social media accounts is to verify a teacher’s general view of the school, regarding the school’s policy, running, and rules. It is true that a teacher may have a completely divergent view on some of the school’s policies, which he or she might not be willing to share openly with the school management and staff members. Such a situation is not good for group morale and productivity and might lead to underperformance and dysfunctionality in the school system (Fusi " Feeney, 2016). Checking a teacher’s social media account can, therefore, help in identifying a teacher’s independent views which are not influenced by the school system’s bureaucracy, intimidation, or fear of a back clash in school. This will, in turn, help the school administration know whether the teacher fully supports its endeavors or is just in it for survival. For example, a teacher might agree with other staff members on anti-gun ownership legislations when deliberating on the school’s stance on teachers owning guns. The action can be deliberate, with the intent of not being the odd one out. However, a review of the teacher’s social media accounts can reveal an entirely different story, of someone closely following and supporting the Gun Owners of America in all its activities. In a nutshell, checking the social media accounts can help reveal a teachers stance on social matters across the globe such as religion, same-sex marriage, interracial marriages to mention a few.
The last reason why it is vital to check teachers’ social media account is to guarantee the safety of the students at their disposal, at any given time. Social media can reveal a lot of personal information of a person, such as their sex, marital status, religious affiliation, the area of residence, appearance, close family and friends, and areas a person frequents the most (Zimmerman " Kiss 2017) Such details, if not shared responsibly, can put the life of another person in jeopardy. Because of this, it is important to frequently check teachers’ social media accounts to ensure that they are not putting any information out to the public that might put the life of a student in danger, either knowingly or unknowingly. The internet is full of psychopaths who can use this information to their advantage to directly or indirectly harm a student. Identity theft remains one of the most committed frauds on the internet, with identities used to commit acts of terrorism, or other illegal activities (Zimmerman " Kiss, 2017). Apart from committing internet fraud and terrorism, these details can easily lead child traffickers to their students. With all the information at hand, a child trafficker or abductor can easily persuade a child and in the process of kidnapping the child. That is why it is vital that the school administration monitors teachers activities in social media platforms.
References
Al-Smadi, I. (2017). The role of social networking sites in creating moral crisis and the
role of the university in confronting it from the view point of
qassim university faculty members. International Education Studies, 10 (5), 36-47.
Fusi, F., " Feeney, M. (2016). Social media in the work place: information exchange,
productivity, or waste. The American Review of Public Administration, 48 (5), 395-412.
Zimmerman, C., " Kiss, L. (2017). Human trafficking and exploitation: A global
health concern. Plos Medicine, 14 (11), 1-11.
