Who Knew Teaching Could Get You Into So Much Trouble

The title for my blog is meant to be a joke, but until class today I never really sat down to think about what a teacher is liable for. The story about the substitute teacher from Connecticut really put things into perspective for me. While it seemed that this teacher did nothing wrong, she was still held liable for the pornography that the students brought up on her computer and eventually saw. She did not act with common sense in the classroom, which led to her being blamed for corrupting the morality of the students she was there to teach. For instance, she should not have left the classroom open for students to walk into. Also, she could have put something over the screen to prevent the kids from seeing it. While all of these issues seem like common sense, when put in that kind of high-pressure situation, it's easy to see why she made these errors.
Another thing brought to my attention was the mention of myspaces and facebooks. While I made sure to untag myself in any unflattering pictures, that still may not be enough to prevent a principal from finding me on the site and eventually finding something that he does not like. The second we left class, I made sure to change all of my settings to private, which is defintely for the best. As said in class, as teachers we are supposed to be role models for our students, and we need to act accordingly. Being a teacher is a job that one must uphold 24/7 because you never know in what environment you can see a student in. So far, this class was both the most informative and most interesting one we have had this semester.