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FL Teacher May Lose Job Over FB Posting About Gay Marriage


Sprocket

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Do you think you actually would? I have a private facebook, and even though I probably could post political or controversial stuff on it, I'm not the type to do so. About my limit is occasionally calling "friends" out on narrow minded posts. I feel it's safer for me to have one, because then a student will have a harder time trying to impersonate me. (in my mom's school a student pretend to be a teacher on myspace to harass other students). That is why some districts ask that their teachers have a professional profile. (it doesn't mean that they can't have a more hidden one for personal use too)

I can't imagine posting anything so awful that I would put my job in danger- not to mention alienate family, and my friends are everything- quiverful fundie light, gay/lesbian with kids, total independent and childfree, and all the in between. I just stay away from controversial stuff.

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But with FB all it takes is a wee bit drink taken and a sudden urge to set the world to rights and you're in deep shit. Having facebook on lockdown privacy mode doesn't help either...a fair few people who have posted on FB and had the eye of authority turn their way were shopped by "friends".

I have had family and workmates send me friend requests, not a chance in hell. It's such a risky format that while it is fun to use, you really have to consider the repercussions of anything you do or post.

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I also think that the issues with judges and their employees are self imposed. I'd much prefer to know where a judge is coming from.

I agree. I guess it's kind of self-imposed, in that it is imposed by the Bar Association Code of Ethics, but that's not necessarily even representative of what the majority of lawyers and judges believe. But it's very real. You can be disbarred for breaking the rules. Therefore it can restrict speech of people who would like to speak on certain issues. I'm sure there are other professions that restrict speech in certain ways.

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Facebook has created some pretty interesting new legal issues, especially in regards to privacy. I have a Facebook account, I rarely use it. I was told that I needed to sign in so I could manage our work's page. I was going to create a second facebook account, but I found out that it is against the terms of use to do so - even if you just want to separate your personal life from your professional life. I do not like that. I do not agree with Mark Zs ideals that say that a connected world is a safer world. CLEARLY he has never been bullied.

One of the things that many companies now feel they can do is dictate what you do outside of work. With "at will" employment, employers can terminate for no reason, or because they don't fit in with the company. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/busin ... oking.html

The idea that a person can be fired because they smoke -- even if they never do it at work -- seems wrong to me. Do I think the employer has a right to keep health costs down? Yes. But it means that they can also fire someone who has a picture of them smoking in highschool/college! Nothing we do anymore can be hidden.

I think that it's a problem with Facebook. People should be allowed to have a work account and a personal account. Use your personal account to add your friends & family and talk about your issues; use your work account to linkin with people you work with.

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This is the exact reason why I, as a teacher, am not on Facebook. I don't want to post something that someone might be offended by, not thinking anything of it, and then make the national news. I'd rather not have one, than risk my job over something so stupid and trivial (Facebook itself, not what was said by this particular guy).

Very smart of you. The guy is an idiot, and an even bigger idiot not to realize Facebook is not private.

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OMG!!!!!!! THEY ARE PERSECUTING TEH CHRISTIANS!!!!111!11!!!!!1

In all seriousness: when will people learn that posting practically anything on fb is a terrible idea? Before I post most things I think to myself three things:

1. Will this offend my Grandmother?

2. Will this offend someone who is quite conservative (realistically conservative, not the Maxwells)?

3. Will this offend someone who is quite liberal (again, realistically)?

If the answer to all of the above is no, I post it. If the answer is yes then I stop and think about it. It is fine to have opinions but just because you think something or do something it does not mean you need to flail it about all over the internet because then things like this can happen.

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I just think it's funny how adults (people past college age) take facebook waaaaay too seriously! Come on, facebook is for saying hi to people, setting up events easily, posting pictures, and saying what you're eating for breakfast. I've never seen such ridiculousness among people my age on facebook, because facebook is not for political or religious ranting. Maybe letting EVERYONE on facebook wasn't a such great idea. Also a reason for my theory that facebook should magically expire when one reaches 25 and there should be some sort of "graduation" to another form of social media. Or you should have to pass some sort of test to ensure that you know how to use it appropriately. :roll:

As for this dude: as much as I hate his opinion, he probably shouldn't be fired for it. If he's not friends with current students, he's probably not technically doing anything wrong besides being a douche. On the other hand, is it really that hard to change your facebook so that it's "firstname middlename?" Student teachers do it every semester.

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I have no clue if legally they have any right to fire him. But I do think the school should send out a letter to parents and the kids informing them of the issue and saying they'll let the kids transfer out of his class they wish too (or if they they have enough credits can drop it). If they can't fire him that would be the best thing to do in my mind, because if you have kids in his class who are gay or are pro gay rights their not going to respect of him anymore I bet.

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I don't think he should lose his job over this. What he puts on facebook is his own personal decision, although he should not be friends with students. This, in my opinion is crossing a line. He should conform to the policies of the school on this issue, or otherwise be silent about, while he is at work. His personal life should be separate from his professional life, as long as he is within the law.

Basically, what Kelsey said.

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http://action.afa.net/email/online.aspx ... 54&tid=aai

On Monday, AFA asked you to take action on behalf of Florida teacher Jerry Buell, who was unconstitutionally suspended by the Lake County school administration for posting his support for traditional marriage on his Facebook page.

Directly related to your taking action, along with other Christians, sending tens of thousands of emails to the Lake County School Board, the school has immediately rescinded its suspension of Mr. Buell and he will be back to his classroom tomorrow morning!

According to a just-held press conference by Mr. Buell and his legal representation, Liberty Counsel Attorney Harry Mihet, outside the Lake County Board of Education Administration Building, the school board has issued an apology for violating Mr. Buell's First Amendment rights.

Your willingness to become involved in speaking out on behalf of religious liberties expedited Mr. Beull's case. There is no doubt this case will have an impact on hundreds of other public schools who challenge educator's right to share their closely held religious views in society.

Your actions made the difference!

Please consider making a small donation in support the work of the AFA Action Alert. Your donation will insure your voice for religious liberty continues to be heard

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I think the students and parents have every right to take a stand on this, regardless of what the school board should/will do/did. If I were his student, I would probably try to start a movement to walk out of his class or show up one day wearing pro-gay marriage shirts, etc.

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I think the students and parents have every right to take a stand on this, regardless of what the school board should/will do/did. If I were his student, I would probably try to start a movement to walk out of his class or show up one day wearing pro-gay marriage shirts, etc.

Yeah, me too. Or how about a t-shirt with "homophobia makes me want to throw up"/ Unfortunately, they would probably get in trouble because high school students basically have no free speech rights. Remember kids, don't talk to adults the way they talk to you, you will get in trouble.

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^That would be hilarious. I probably would. I was already in the shit anyway for my "Six Pack Abs" shirt, which I claimed depicted a six pack of "soda." Actually, I had a bio teacher that probably would've gone on a religious tirade, except he would've done it in class. And we would've shut up and taken it because he would've won every time, plus our parents would've agreed with him. You know how it is in super-enlightened areas. Hey, I guess it's a step forward that people disagree with him in mass quantities, right? :?

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In all seriousness: when will people learn that posting practically anything on fb is a terrible idea? Before I post most things I think to myself three things:

1. Will this offend my Grandmother?

2. Will this offend someone who is quite conservative (realistically conservative, not the Maxwells)?

3. Will this offend someone who is quite liberal (again, realistically)?

If the answer to all of the above is no, I post it. If the answer is yes then I stop and think about it. It is fine to have opinions but just because you think something or do something it does not mean you need to flail it about all over the internet because then things like this can happen.

Can I add one more question to ask yourself?

4. Have I had too much to drink or any medication that might impair my judgement?

I've never posted on facebook while drunk or otherwise impaired. To be honest, it doesn't even come to my mind when I've had a few drinks.

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I wish the news reports were more specific - my employer made us all sign an agreement not to say negative things about them on Facebook. Some districts have (anti-gay) "don't talk about it" policies that prevent teachers from talking about sexuality to students at all, specifically in the context of bullying, that would definitely cover this instance. Some have vague "professional conduct" policies that are shitty and only selectively enforced.

Teachers jobs shouldn't be popularity contests. As much as I hate homophobes, this guy should not be fired, any more than the woman who blogged that her students were "dim", or the English teacher who was also an erotic romance writer, UNLESS there's a clear, uniformly enforced policy.

But also districts should have clear policies about NOT injecting discriminatory beliefs into the classroom. Which Christians, who really are sometimes picked on for their beliefs, should SUPPORT and not fight!

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The poster who said don't talk politics, ah, you'd hate my FB ;) I don't use it all that often but when I do it is probably about a news item or such.

Two advantages to this. One, no pics of me wasted and dancing on a table. Two, removes the temptation to discuss work. I won't even say if I had a good or bad day at work, let alone where I work. I don't have a Facebook gagging clause but everyone in the world knows discussing your workplace on FB is stupid stupid stupid. Or they ought to.

It's not like "gay marriage bloke" partly to do with a cultural difference and partly because upon reading my FB all anyone could tell my employers is "she's quite left wing" which believe me, would not come as a shock to them. This guy really should have separated his FB life from his RW life, even allowing friend requests from former students was madness because you only have to piss one of them off...and they know just what to do.

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I have a number of friends who are teachers, and they keep their FB profiles tightly locked down and don't friend students (or parents of students). Some even keep their "personal" FB under a pseudonym - and still keep close watch over what is/isn't said on their walls or what photos are tagged.

I'm friended to exactly one of my former teachers. His younger sister is a friend of mine; her son is a week older than my daughter and we're in a moms' group together. When I found out what her maiden name was I asked, "Are you related to So-and-So" and when I found out that she's his sister, I friend requested him too. ;)

I don't work in the education field and I won't friend anyone who is at a higher pay level at work. None of this "friend your boss" BS. I'm friended to three of my coworkers, two former coworkers, and one of my former summer interns and that's about it.

While I think this teacher's posting was inappropriate and offensive, the FB friend in question was not a current student and he shouldn't be fired over it. I don't believe sensitivity training/diversity training will do jack squat in 99% of the cases, so what's the point? His views are pretty clear but as long as they're not expressed in the classroom or in an official capacity as a school district employee there's not much that can be done.

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This guy really should have separated his FB life from his RW life, even allowing friend requests from former students was madness because you only have to piss one of them off...and they know just what to do.

I don't necessarily agree that teachers shouldn't be friends with their former students on facebook, partially because I am friends with one of my former high school teachers on facebook and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. In fact, he requested me as his friend, not that other way around. But on the other hand, he doesn't teach at my high school anymore, or any high school for that matter. Also, he was always pretty candid about the fact that he's pretty damn liberal, although in class he would have us read chapters from books by authors across the political spectrum.

But generally, he's a pretty inoffensive person and I can't imagine him posting anything inflammatory that might be a risk in any way.

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OMG!!!!!!! THEY ARE PERSECUTING TEH CHRISTIANS!!!!111!11!!!!!1

In all seriousness: when will people learn that posting practically anything on fb is a terrible idea? Before I post most things I think to myself three things:

1. Will this offend my Grandmother?

2. Will this offend someone who is quite conservative (realistically conservative, not the Maxwells)?

3. Will this offend someone who is quite liberal (again, realistically)?

If the answer to all of the above is no, I post it. If the answer is yes then I stop and think about it. It is fine to have opinions but just because you think something or do something it does not mean you need to flail it about all over the internet because then things like this can happen.

That's why I maintain lists on my FB account, and my default setting is hide posts from my ultra-conservative fundie relatives who have friended me. If it's a status update that I know can't possibly offend anyone I open it up to my entire friend list but only for that post. This is way easier to do on Google+ but there aren't enough people on Google+ to make me want to ditch FB.

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That's why I maintain lists on my FB account, and my default setting is hide posts from my ultra-conservative fundie relatives who have friended me. If it's a status update that I know can't possibly offend anyone I open it up to my entire friend list but only for that post. This is way easier to do on Google+ but there aren't enough people on Google+ to make me want to ditch FB.

I do not have FB or Google or anything else, but I do remember when I was ironing my blouse this morning that CNN reported that FB is rolling out a feature which will work like google-whatever and will allow people to set up "circles" of people who can see different levels of your FB. I guess people really, really like this feature on google-whatever and FB needs to keep up.

I may not be using the right terminology there, but I'm sure I heard that this a.m.

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Guest Anonymous

Yeah, I have circles of friends who have access to different levels of information. It is a good way to give work colleagues, extended family, etc, access to 'global' information about my life, without the intimate details of what I did last Friday night...

As to the homophobic teacher, surely it will come down to what was in his contract and how that marries with applicable law, won't it. In the UK, a public sector worker's contact would have a clause about not bringing the employer's name into disrepute, and we have no 'free speech' laws that would save him, so he would likely face some kind of disciplinary procedure here.

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While I don't think he should be fired, I think posting that showed poor judgment on his part as well as his homophobia. I never friend any of my students and my Facebook is not public. Just as I avoid discussing my own political and religious views in class because my students might be swayed by my authority in my field to value my opinion more than they should, I'm not going to do it outside the classroom where they can see it.

At the same time, I am baffled by the amount of personal info that people post on Facebook in general that is open to the public. I had a student ask me to allow him to override into my already full class because he needed to pass it to get off of academic probation. In 2 minutes on Facebook, I knew he was partying all summer with his frat boys and gearing up for more partying this fall. So that would be a no on the override. I'll wait for someone who actually has a shot of passing the class if I want to add some extra work to my schedule. ;)

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Freehannie, I have a relative who is a state drug & alcohol counselor, and a LOT of her clients post about their partying on Facebook, not screened at all - even though they're posting photos of things that violate their paroles or custody agreements or other very important life goals.

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I can't believe the things that people post. They just seem oblivious to the fact that other people can actually see this information.

My son managed a sandwich shop for a time and employees would call off from work for illness or family emergency or whatever. On numerous occasions, he'd see FB photos of those same employees having a blast at an amusement park or at parties in the same exact time frame they were supposedly sick or at the hospital with their mother. :doh:

It was actually pretty hilarious.

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