Loose Lips Sink Ships – Things That Can Get Educators in Legal Hot Water!

By Susan FitzellcloseAuthor: Susan Fitzell Name: Susan Fitzell
Site: http://aimhieducational.com
About: Susan Fitzell is a nationally recognized speaker and author of several educational resource books. She has over two decades of experience with differentiated instruction, teaching youth with special needs, students with behavioral and anger management issues, and students who experience bullying. Susan’s company, AIMHI Educational Programs, focuses on building caring school communities. aimhieducational.comSee Authors Posts (20)
 

Students, Cell Phones, and Cameras
There is a camera in the student’s pocket. Most of us have seen or heard of teachers being caught on a student’s cell phone video camera behaving in a compromising way and then having that video show up online in places like YouTube.
In large classrooms, it’s almost impossible to catch every student using their phone during instruction. Teachers have to presume that they are under a technological microscope all of the time.

In my work as a teacher’s coach, I have observed students using their phones in the classroom while the teacher was not looking. They put their purse or backpack on the desk and text message with their hands inside the bag. Students can easily record the teacher’s voice in this manner. In addition, if a teacher is in a verbal confrontation with another student, that teacher is likely not paying attention to the camera that might be pointing at him from across the room.

Attorney Pamela Parker of Austin, Texas, agrees. She warns that being recorded is the number one danger for teachers right now. Even students who do not have malicious intent are recording things that they think are funny. They forward the video or post to everyone or online. This is much more dangerous because what has been recorded can be out of context, yet some people think that what is recorded is the truth. Kids treat it as a parlor trick – “OK, I have this statement, what can I turn it into?”

Allow Time for Reflection
Teachers should be acting and speaking in a professional way – at all times. The informality that our society is moving towards cannot invade a teacher’s professional demeanor.

Take the Time to Think before Responding

No matter how urgent you or anyone else believes an issue is, take the time to think before you respond. When asked to speak about someone, take the time to marshal your thoughts and consider your words carefully. Parker shares an example from her experience: An upset parent comes to talk to you about an incident without an appointment. Teachers need to know that it is OK to say, “I understand your concern. I want to help you. Let me look into this and I will get back to you.” In addition, sometimes, the teacher should not be the one addressing the issue. Teachers need to know that they can be attentive to a parent without getting into a conversation in that moment. Teachers need to speak with an “office type” demeanor.

In Conclusion
Since the days of Socrates, educators have been taught to consider the profound effect of their words. Despite the revolutionary changes in teaching strategies and the explosion of communicative technologies and social networks, those lessons still apply today. You may think that all of these caveats may affect the quality of your teaching. Perhaps you see them straitjacketing your behavior in and out of the classroom. On the contrary, use them as guidelines to sharpen your professional performance and to ensure that your words and actions reflect the gifts that you bring to the classroom.

Contributors:

Diana D. Halpenny
Attorney at Law
Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Inc.
400 Capitol Mall, 27th Floor; Sacramento; CA; 95814
(916) 321-4500

DHalpenny@kmtg.com

Ms. Halpenny is an attorney of-counsel with the firm who has 30 years of practice in education law. Her areas of practice include personnel matters, labor relations and collective bargaining, student rights and discipline, governance and open meeting laws, charter school matters, as well as numerous general education issues.
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Pamela Parker
Attorney at Law
Austin, Texas
(512) 804-9934
pparker@parkercounsel.com

http://www.texasteacherlaw.com/

Teacher Law to include: Personnel Issues, Employee Grievances, Teacher Certification Actions, Special Education Hearings, Disciplinary Hearings
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Bradford A. King, Esq.
Thompson McMullan, P.C.
100 Shockoe Slip
Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 698-6253
bking@t-mlaw.com

Mr. King is a member of the Virginia State Bar, past-president of the Council of School Attorneys (COSA), and a Hearing Officer for the Virginia High School League.
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Mark Joel Goldstein
Attorney
7177 North Port Washington Road
#200
Milwaukee, WI 53217
(414) 446-8800
goldstein@mjglegal.com

General Counsel and labor and employment lawyer to small and mid-sized businesses.