North Carolina Teachers Disciplined for Facebook Comments and Photos

Recently, we have seen students being punished for statements and actions outside of school. At the same time, we have teachers fired for their outside jobs, here and here. Now, North Carolina teachers hat the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School are facing discipline over comments and photos that they put on their Facebook sites, including “I hate my students!”

The teachers posted such lovely missives as “I hate my students,” and “I work in the ghetto of Charlotte.” The pictures show the teachers drinking and posing in a manner that the district found inappropriate. The CMS Code of Conduct says that teachers can be punished for behaving in any unethical or lascivious conduct at any time if the conduct interferes with the employee’s professional abilities.

I find some of these comments to be very problematic. To say “I hate my students” is a legitimate concern for parents. However, I remain very concerned about the monitoring and punishment of teachers for conduct outside of work, particularly these pictures that are deemed inappropriate. Teachers should not have to live in a fishbowl and avoid stupid pictures with friends. Their personal life and professional life must have some demarcation.

We have seen the same crackdown on police officers.

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