Welcome to the Teachers Need Teachers Podcasts, the podcast for teachers who don't want
to just survive teaching, but actually thrive. I'm Kim Laprie. If you
were new, I am eager to discuss today's episode with you because it's one
that was actually inspired by a question from a longtime listener. And I love
getting messages from you guys. And this is from Derek. Let's just imagine
this scenario. Imagine a teacher from Kansas who's passionate about his work being let
go from his job because of some controversial tiktoks. These TikTok videos raise objections
from the board, and in one video, he made some lighthearted jokes about
farting in his classroom and they were humorous to him and to his students.
But I didn't start there. Actually, it escalated when it was discovered that
some of these videos were actually filmed in his classroom, and that was actually
something that the board used in their case against him. Now, the school
district has a policy about social media and maintaining professionalism and responsibility on platforms such
as TikTok, so even on personal platforms, they stress that anything that's said
online on a teacher's account should be something that they would say in a public
meeting or to the media representing the school district. As a result, the
teacher had to make a difficult choice. He had to either take down the
videos or resign, and because he wanted to hold true to his principles,
it ultimately led to his termination. So this story is a stark reminder that
a lot of the things that we do outside of the classroom can actually have
ramifications on our jobs. But it also makes me wonder what are the ethical
and legal boundaries for teachers and how do they vary from state to state?
Can teachers truly separate their professional lives from their personal lives in this profession?
And what are the potential consequences for our actions outside of work. Now,
it goes without saying that we are entitled to our personal and private lives.
Teaching should not encroach on that because that's basically our time outside of school.
We are off duty, and honestly, we should be able to do what
we want to do because it's a free world, and just like any profession,
we have the right to engage in any lawful or frankly unlawful activities When
we're off duty. But the thing is, some people see us as role
models because of how impressionable our students are than the influence that we have,
and so they think that that influence and maybe the morality of being a teacher
should translate outside of the classroom as well. And because of this, some
people do view our behaviors outside of the classroom as something that they can scrutinize
in, something that can be held under a microscope, and we can be
fired for things that maybe the community and society don't necessarily approve of. But
I definitely think that what we do outside of the classroom should be protected because
it is our lives to a certain extent. Though, so I'm going to
dive into some of that gray area because let's be real, there are things
that if we do them outside of the classroom, we probably shouldn't be allowed
to teach. So let's talk about legal considerations. Now. Let me promise
this by saying that I am not a lawyer, I am not a legal
expert, and what I know is based on what's available on the internet,
what is googleable. So don't come back at me and say you said I
can get fired for this, But I wasn't, or you said that I
cannot get fired for this, and I was, because really it varies i
state to state and district by district, so let's start there. So in
general, pretty much most states are at wal states, which means that you
can be fired for any reason as long as your employer is not discriminating against
you, retaliating for being a whistleblower, or engaging in other protected activities like
being part of a union. But unless it's illegal, they do have the
right to fire you for whatever reason. I hate to say that, and
some of you have experiences too. If you saw my video about non renewal
notices, they could come up with whatever reason they want to not running your
contract and not have you come back. So what are some things that you
can get fired for as a teacher? Public intoxication where you're drinking to the
point that it's leading to fights, you're like passed out in public. That
can get you firing. But this isn't the same as like going and having
some beers with your friends or going to a winery. That is acceptable,
but when you take it to an extreme and you're drawing attention to yourself and
getting arrested for it, that could be grounds for letting you go. But
the laws vary from state to state in terms of what is and isn't protected.
Well. California has some of the strictest laws for firing employees at bill
Employers cannot fire employees for drinking in public unless drinking in public can show that
it had a negative impact on the employees' performance. That employers are more likely
to fire employees if it's disruptive in the workplace or damaging to the reputation of
that particular employer or company. I mean, some of it's really obvious.
You might have heard recently of a third grade teacher who came to school intoxicated,
and of course that teacher was fired, because let's be real, they
should be fired for that. Also posting inappropriate material on social media, California
protects employees from being fired for their social media posts. There are a few
other states that are also in that realm where employees are really protected for things
that they do during their personal time, but in most states, employers can
fire employees for what they put on social media. Kind of shocking, and
again it's because most states are at will states, and so whatever reason they
can come up with, or whatever policies they have, they have the right
to establish those or use those as reasons to fire you. So if you
have social media posts that maybe are criticizing the district or your administrator or something
like that, apparently that could be grounds for letting you go. In this
case, what I would do is read up on the policies that your district
has. So your district may have a policy or maybe it's just sort of
like a blanket policy about whatever you say or do in public, but I
would definitely look up on that because you just never know engaging in illegal activities.
If you're convicted of a serious or violent felony, you're going to be
out of a teaching job. And after doing some research, I realized that
there are actually a lot of factors that play into whether or not you would
get fired for doing something illegal, and these activities would definitely affect your ability
to get another job, because as a teacher, we have to disclose if
we've ever been convicted of a crime, even if it's something like a d
line. So that's something to take into consideration if you're going to be doing
something that's not on the up and up another thing that you can get fired
for. Obviously having a physical or romantic relationship with a student. I mean
enough said, also making discriminatory or offensive statements. Again, this should be
self explanatory, and let's not get caught up in the whole free speech First
Amendment deal because in many districts and in the changing political and educational landscape,
it really doesn't take much to offend someone, So you just definitely want to
steer clear of making any kind of comments that could be perceived as offensive.
It kind of sucks because we never really know if something that we say in
our classroom is going to set someone off or make a student run home and
tell their parents, And it's really hard to feel like we can do our
jobs to the best of our abilities, but still we're being looked at under
a microscope. So this made me wonder, what is that line that you
can toe in terms of something that you do during your personal times. For
example, if I live in California and I want to go buy marijuana,
I get fired for that gnome because it's legal. But if you are out
and about smoking marijuana and getting high somewhere, then that could be a reason
why your employer fires you because you're doing that in public. My recommendations,
so first, when you're in public, you definitely want to exercise discretion.
So this doesn't mean that you can't go out and drink with your friends and
your family, and that you can't smoke marijuana if it's legal in your state.
But what it does mean is to just be mindful when you're in public.
So you definitely don't want to get hammered because that could be seen as
questionable. And you want to think about the conversations that you're having with other
teachers, especially you don't want to be talking about a particular student or a
parent or a colleague, administrator district. You don't want to be naming names
in public because that could get back to you and buy chewing the butt.
And also be mindful of what you post on social media. If you post
things that could in any way be perceived as questionable, then you want to
put your accounts in lock down and have them be private. And I don't
care what you post, honestly, I'm not going to judge those, but
we can no longer use the excuse I didn't know to justify the things that
we put on social media. It's out there, it's public, and a
lot of employers even look at your social media account before even deciding whether or
not they want to hire you. So just really be mindful about And that's
something that I think about too, and why I honestly don't post a lot
on social media. It's not that I'm doing anything that would be questionable,
but I just tend to be private and I don't want a lot of people
to know too much about me, because not only are those of you that
are listening or watching my YouTube videos, I'm sure that you want to connect
with me, but so do my students and their parents, because a lot
of them have found me online, or they've found me with my YouTube channel,
or they google me and they find pictures of me. I'm fairly googleable,
so I try to curate what I do put out on social media and
on the internet so that what they find is not questionable. I'd also avoid
illegal activities. I mean, it's your life. Just know that if you
do decide to do something illegal, it could definitely catch up with you,
whether it's something that gets you fired or something that prevents you from future employment,
not just teaching, just future employment. In general, just think twice
about that. I'm not saying that you have to be goody goody and that
you have to constantly obey the law, but just know that when you're making
those decisions that again we're not saying I didn't know that we are doing them
knowing full well as adults that it could lead to consequences. I would also
learn about your district's policies, whether it's conduct in public or social media.
Knowledge is power, and it can prevent you from doing something that will later
be regrettable. There are some districts where it's impossible to fire a teacher.
It seems like teachers get away with coming to school drunk or they do things
that in a normal workplace they would have been fired for. But at the
same time, teachers are also being let go for some of the stupidest things.
So, unless you have the power of tenure and you're in a district
with a strong union, you definitely want to take the time to look up
the district's policies, be in the no so that you're not sidelined if you
do something now someone's coming after you for it. Now. I'm not telling
you guys that you need to be a saint because we're humans. There's good
people in all professions, and then there's just some rotten people everywhere too.
I don't think that we should be expected to be the moral compass for students.
In fact, many parents would prefer that we not be the moral compass
and that we just stick to teaching the content, but just use common sense
in terms of the things that you do inside and outside of the classroom.
Because, as weird as it might sound, you are somewhat of a mini
celebrity because you encounter so many students in your life. I have one hundred
and semi students every year for the past twenty two years. You do the
math on that. That's how many students and their families know who I am
and who recognize me when I'm out and about. It doesn't mean that I
don't get to be who I want to be and who I am, but
it does mean that I am thoughtful about what I put out there and how
I am when I'm in public, and it's just something that I know that
I kind of signed up for. So bottom line, yes, of your
lives how you want to, but at the same time, do it with
the knowledge of the possible consequences, and it's up to you whether or not
it's worth it, whether or not those consequences are worth the actions. And
if living this way in terms of having to censor the things that you do
and say, doesn't align with your values, just know that these laws don't
apply just to teaching. A lot of employers also have these types of policies,
and so you're not necessarily going to be in the clear if you quit
teaching. I mean, if you think about it, when companies get a
celebrity to represent them, like in a commercial or on an advertisement, if
that celebrity does or says something that goes against the values of that company,
a lot of times that celebrity is let go. So it's not just teachers
that have to worry about what they say and how they act. It's kind
of everybody, and there could be repercussions no matter what job you have.
So thanks for hanging out with me today, you guys. I hope that
this was helpful for you. I'd love to hear your take on this and
what you think, and maybe if you have any horror stories or any stories
about things that have happened to you or your colleagues. Because of this,
please let me know. You can DM me at Kim Laprie on Instagram or
you can email me at kimat teachersnadteachers dot com. Thanks for hanging out with
me you guys today and I will see you next time.